How to optimise your website for search engines

Have you got a beautiful website that no one is seeing?

It doesn't matter how good your website looks or how valuable the information is if you aren't getting any traffic.

Understanding search engine optimisation (SEO) is key if you want to increase your exposure and gain more clients. Optimise your content, and you have more control over who can find you and how many people can see your website.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a fancy term for making it easier for search engines like Google to understand your website and "read" your content. 

Good SEO will help your website rank when your ideal audience searches for services, products or information that you offer. 

SEO is divided into two areas:

1. Technical - this refers to the structure of your website and how it functions such as adapting to different sized screens or devices and the speed.

2. Content marketing - the content on your website helps search engines understand and rank your business. This includes descriptive copy on your landing pages, blog articles and media you publish.

Why SEO is important for your business

Have you invested time and money into building a beautiful website? Have you laboured over the keyboard writing informative blog posts?

If your website isn't optimised, all that hard work will have gone to waste. Apart from your current client (and your greatest fans - your family), it may go unread to your target audience.

When most people search for a topic on Google, for example, "nutrients for hypothyroidism", they tend to only look at the results on the first page. If your website or content isn't optimised, you are going to get lost in a minefield!

Things that will negatively impact your SEO

Many factors can negatively impact your website's SEO. Here are just a few common issues:

• Poor quality content including plagiarised or poorly written copy

• Using too many keywords

• Slow website speed

• A website that isn't mobile-friendly

• Too many internal links or no links at all

• A website that isn't secure

5 tips to improve your website's SEO

Edit the copy of your website to ensure it is well written and reads well. Make sure you incorporate keywords into your website's copy, titles, metadata, URLs, image descriptions, media alt text.

1. Conduct a keyword search to ensure you're using relevant terms and phrases that your ideal client will enter into their search engine. There are many free keyword search tools you can use such as Google Trends, Google Search Console, Keyword Generator or Word Stream.

2. Enhance your website design and functionality. Is it mobile? Is your site navigation easy to find and use? Are your images and media appropriately sized to ensure your website loads quickly?

3. Optimise your images by strategically labelling them to include your keywords. Yes, you need to stop labelling them image-01! You can also improve your SEO by adding an image alt text, description and sizing them correctly.

4. Use header tags to break up your content and enhance its readability.

5. Create topic bundles to enhance your authority and keyword search. If your niche is SIBO, write 5-8 topics on all things SIBO and link to the articles creating a web.

If you want to generate more leads and grow your business, improving your website's SEO is a great place to start!

Feel overwhelmed? Get in touch with us at Natural Health Resources to talk content and SEO strategy.

---