top of page

The Everyday User's Guide to SEO: 9 Tips for Improving Your Rankings

Writer's picture: RalphRalph



SEO can seem like a daunting task, especially if you're not familiar with the terminology.


If you're looking to improve your website's SEO but don't know where to start, you've come to the right place.


In this blog post, we will give you some tips for improving your rankings that an everyday user can understand.


We'll cover everything from keyword research to link building, and we'll even give you a few bonus tips for optimizing your website on a budget.


So whether you're just starting out in SEO or you're looking for ways to take your efforts up a notch, read on for our best tips!


1. Perform Exhaustive Keyword Research

The first step in any SEO campaign is keyword research.

You need to find keywords that are relevant to your business and have a high search volume.


Tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and SEMrush can help you find keywords that fit those criteria, and they also offer other valuable information like competition level and average monthly searches.

Once you've identified a few target keywords, it's important to include them throughout your website.


Use them in the title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and body copy of your website pages.



2. Optimize On-Page Elements

Once you've targeted a few keywords, it's time to start optimizing your website for them.

There are a number of on-page elements that you can tweak to improve your SEO:


Title tags: This is the text that appears in the tab of your web browser when you open a page. The title tag should include your target keyword and be no more than 60 characters long.


Meta descriptions: This is the text that appears under the link on search engine results pages. The meta description should describe the content of your page in 160 characters or less and also include your target keyword.


Header tags: These are HTML tags that mark headings and subheadings on a page. Use header tags to break up your content and include your target keyword in the H tags.


Image alt text: When you upload an image to your website, you can add alternate text that will be displayed if the image can't be loaded. This is a great place to include your target keyword.


URL structure: Make sure your URLs are SEO friendly by using keywords in the slug (the part of the URL after the domain name).



3. Fix Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO issues can wreak havoc on your website's ranking.

Make sure you check for the following common issues:


Broken links: Check your website for broken links and fix them.


404 errors: If a user clicks on a link that doesn't exist, they'll see a 404 error page. Make sure all of your links are working properly and redirecting users to the correct pages.


Duplicate content: Avoid copying content from other websites and make sure each page of your website has unique content.


Poor site speed: Your website should load quickly so users don't get frustrated and leave. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to track your site's speed and make optimizations where needed.



4. Focus on User Intent

One of the SEO tips that can be most impactful, especially for a beginner, is to focus on user intent.


User intent simply refers to what someone is trying to accomplish when they perform a search.


It could be anything from finding out information about a topic to looking for a specific product or service.


If you can figure out what someone's intent is when they search for something related to your business, you can then tailor your content to fit that need.


For example, if you sell shoes and someone searches for "buy shoes online," they clearly have commercial intent and are looking to make a purchase.


Therefore, your goal should be to provide them with the information they need in order to make a buying decision, such as product descriptions, customer reviews, pricing, etc.


On the other hand, if someone searches for "how to tie a shoe," they likely have informational intent and are looking for step-by-step instructions.


In this case, your content should focus on giving them the information they need in order to accomplish their goal.


By understanding and catering to user intent, you can not only improve your SEO rankings but also provide a better experience for your users, which is always the goal.





5. Make Your Content User-Friendly

Another SEO tip that is essential for beginners is to make sure your content is user-friendly.

This means ensuring that it's easy to read, well-organized, and visually appealing.


You should also use headings and subheadings to break up your content and help readers scan through it more easily.


Bullet points and numbered lists are also helpful for highlighting key points.

In addition, you should always use clear and concise language so that people don't have to guess what you're trying to say.


And lastly, be sure to avoid using jargon or technical terms unless absolutely necessary as they can be confusing for some users.



6. Use Keywords in Alt Text for Images

One of the best SEO tips for beginners is to use keywords in alt text for images.


Alt text is a short description that is assigned to an image which is used by search engines to understand the contents of the image.


By using keywords in your alt text, you can help improve your ranking for those terms.

However, be sure not to overuse keywords or it will appear spammy and could hurt your ranking instead.



7. Optimize Your Page Titles and Descriptions

Another great way to improve your SEO rankings is by optimizing your page titles and descriptions.


Page titles are the title that appears at the top of a browser window and should be around 60-70 characters long.


They should accurately describe the topic of your page and include keywords when possible.


Page descriptions are the text that appears below the title and should be around 150-160 characters long.


They should also accurately describe the contents of your page and include keywords where appropriate.


By optimizing your titles and descriptions, you can improve your ranking for those terms as well.



8. Link to Other Relevant Pages on Your Site

The next SEO tip is to link to other relevant pages on your site.


When you link to another page on your site, you're telling search engines that these pages are related and therefore worth ranking together.


This not only helps improve your SEO rankings but also provides a better experience for users who can quickly and easily find the information they need.


To do this, simply add links to other relevant pages within your content whenever possible.

And be sure to use keywords in the anchor text of these links as well.



Conclusion

Thank you for reading! We hope that you found this guide helpful and will be able to use the tips to improve your website’s SEO.


By following these SEO tips, you can improve your ranking and visibility on search engines, which can lead to more traffic and exposure for your business.

While there's a lot more to learn about SEO, these tips should help you get started on the right foot.


Don't forget to stay up-to-date with all the latest SEO news and changes as well as best practices by following some of the top SEO blogs and resources out there.


A few good ones to check out include Moz, Search Engine Land, and SEMrush.

If you have any questions or need help implementing these tips, please feel free to reach out to us. We wish you all the best in improving your website’s ranking!


Want to optimize your SEO? Contact us today and see how we can help you make small changes that make a big impact.


40 views

Comments


Ralph

21 Aug 2019

117

5

What is Ecommerce?

You’re on this page because: One, you’re researching different online busin ...

Ralph

15 Jan 2020

99

0

eCommerce Business Tips - Top 5 Tips From a 10 + Year Experienced Marketer

I’m writing this because I wish I knew this when I started in eCommerce mar ...

Ralph

2 Feb 2022

69

0

Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced

What is shopify plus ? Shopify Plus is the topmost level of Shopify’s plan ...

Recomended posts

bottom of page