Search Engine Optimization Free Tips

Understand What Your Customers Are Searching For

Good SEO starts with understanding how potential customer search for the products, services, and information your business provides.

The terminology used inside your company isn’t always the same terminology customers use when searching Google. Keyword research can help identify the phrases people actually search for, how often different topics are searched and what type of content appears for those searches.

But keyword research isn’t simply about finding the phrase with the highest search volume.

Consider:

• How relevant is the search to your business?
• What is the person actually looking for?
• Is the search informational or commercial?
• Does your business have a product, service, or expertise that genuinely satisfies that search?
• What type of page is Google currently showing for the query?

A smaller, highly relevant search can be more valuable to your business than a broad keyword with thousands of searches.

Understand Search Intent

Finding a keyword is only the beginning. You also need to understand why someone is searching for it.

Someone searching:

“what is managed WordPress hosting”

probably wants information.

Someone searching:

“managed WordPress hosting company”

is much closer to choosing a provider.

Those searches shouldn’t necessarily lead to identical pages. Look at the results Google currently displays for an important search. Are they service pages, product pages, guides, videos, local businesses or something else?

That provides useful information about what people searching that phrase are likely trying to accomplish. Build your page around satisfying that need rather than simply repeating the keyword.

Give Important Services and Topics Their Own Pages

One of the most common website SEO problems is trying to make a single page rank for everything a business does.

If your company provides several important services, each major service will often benefit from its own useful page.

For example, IDP is a digital agency that offers a variety of services, so we have separate pages for:

• Web design
• Search engine optimization
• Web hosting
• Custom web development

This allows each page to explain a specific service in meaningful detail and gives search engines a clearer understanding of the website.

The same principle can apply to important products, industries, and locations when there is enough unique information to justify a dedicated page.

Don’t create hundreds of thin pages simply to target keyword variations. A dedicated page should exist because it provides useful information for someone interested in that particular subject.

Create Helpful, Original Content

Search engines have become much better at understanding whether a page provides meaningful information. Good website content should answer the question a potential customer is likely to have.

For a service page, that might include:

• What does the service include?
• Who is is for?
• What problems does it solve?
• How does the process work?
• How much does it cost?
• How long does it take?
• What makes your approach different?
• What experience do you have?
• What results have you produced?
• What should someone consider before choosing a provider?

You don’t need to make every page unnecessarily long. A page should be as detailed as necessary to satisfy the subject and the visitor’s needs.

Whenever possible, demonstrate your experience rather than relying entirely on generic claims. Original examples, case studies, project details, photographs, data, and customer testimonials can make content substantially more useful and credible.

Optimize Page Titles and Headings

Page titles and headings help visitors and search engines understand the subject and organization of a page.

Every important page should have a descriptive title that accurately represents its content. The page should also use headings to create a logical structure.

Generally, the H1 identifies the primary subject of the page, while H2 and H3 headings divide the content into related sections.

Don’t force keywords into every heading. Use headings to make the page easier to scan and understand.

Write Useful Meta Descriptions

A meta description provides a short summary of a page and may be used by search engines when displaying the page in search results.

Write descriptions for people, not search-engine algorithms.

A good description should accurately summarize the page and give someone a reason to visit it.

Google may choose to display different text from the page when it believes another passage better matches a particular search, so don’t treat the meta description as something that controls rankings or always appears exactly as written.

Think of it primarily as an opportunity to communicate the value of the page to a potential visitor.

Build a Logical Website Structure

Search engines discover and understand websites partly through the relationships between their pages.

Important pages shouldn’t be buried several levels deep or accessible only through a sitemap. Pages should be easy to navigate and related content should be organized logically.

High-quality site structure helps visitors find related information while establishing relationships between important topics. Website architecture only becomes more important as a site grows in size.

Use Internal Links Strategically

Internal links connect one page of your website to another.

They help visitors discover related information and help search engines understand how pages relate to one another. When writing about a service or subject that has a more detailed page elsewhere on your site, link to it naturally.

For example, an article discussing organic search on the IDP site could link to our organic search page when relevant to direct visitors to the information they need.

The anchor text of the link should help users understand where the link goes. Descriptive wording is more useful then generic phrases such as “click here” or “learn more.” At the same time, don’t turn every keyword mention into a link. Internal linking should feel useful and natural.

Keep Your URLs Consistent

A page should ideally have one primary URL. Having variations or updating the URL will hurt SEO.

Sometimes URLs updates are unavoidable. When updating an existing URL, implement an appropriate redirect from the old URL to the new one whenever possible. This becomes especially important during website redesigns and migrations.

Redirect Old Pages When URLs Change

Deleting or renaming a page without considering its old URL can create broken links and waste search visibility the page may have accumulated.

When an existing page moves to a new URL, use a permanent redirect to send visitors and search engines to the most appropriate replacement. Avoid automatically redirecting every removed page to the homepage.

If there is no relevant replacement for a deleted page, allowing the old URL to return an appropriate not-found response may sometimes be the better option.

For large website redesigns, create a redirect plan before launching the new website.

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Mobile usability is a basic requirement for a modern business website.

A responsive website automatically adapts its layout to different screen sizes rather than maintaining separate desktop and mobile websites.

Check important pages on actual mobile devices and make sure:

• Text is readable.
• Navigation is easy to use.
• Buttons and links are easy to tap.
• Forms work correctly.
• Important content isn’t hidden.
• Images fit the screen.
• Visitors can easily contact the business.

A technically responsive website can still provide a poor mobile experience, so don’t rely entirely on automated tests.

Improve Website Performance

Website speed affects the experience visitors have with your site.

Large images, excessive JavaScript, inefficient third-party resources, poor caching, and slow hosting can all contribute to performance problems.

Common opportunities include:

• Properly sizing and compressing images.
• Using modern image formats when appropriate.
• Reducing unnecessary scripts and plugins.
• Caching website resources.
• Using efficient hosting.
• Optimizing how critical resources load.
• Monitoring Core Web Vitals.

Don’t become obsessed with achieving a perfect performance score at the expense of useful website functionality. Focus on providing a fast, stable experience for real visitors.

Keep Search Engines Focused on the Right Pages

Not every URL generated by a website necessarily belongs in search results. Periodically review which pages search engines are indexing.

Google Search Console can help identify indexed pages, excluded pages, and URLs Google has discovered that you may not have intented to expose.

The objective isn’t necessarily to have the largest possible number of indexed pages. It is to have the right pages indexed.

Update Outdated Content

Publishing new content isn’t always the best way to improve a website.

Older pages may contain outdated statistics, obsolete recommendations, broken links, old screenshots or information that no longer reflects your business.

Periodically review existing content and decide whether each page should be:

• Kept as-is.
• Updated.
• Expanded.
• Combined with another page.
• Redirected.
• Removed.

Improving an existing page with established history can sometimes be more useful than publishing another page covering essentially the same topic.

Content maintenance is part of SEO.

Avoid Creating Duplicate Location Pages

Location pages can be valuable for businesses that genuinely serve multiple communities, but they need to provide meaningful information.

Avoid creating dozens of nearly identical pages where only the city name changes.

A useful location page might include:

• Services relevant to that market.
• Genuine customers or projects from the area.
• Local business considerations.
• Testimonials from nearby customers.
• Relevant service-area information.
• Questions specific to customers in that market.

If you can’t provide meaningful information specific to a location, a broader regional page may be more useful than another thin city page.

Strengthen Your Local Search Presence

Businesses serving a particular geographic market should consider their visibility in local search results as well as traditional organic results.

A local SEO strategy may include:

• Maintaining an accurate Google Business Profile.
• Keeping business name, address and phone information consistent.
• Selecting appropriate business categories.
• Earning legitimate customer reviews.
• Creating useful location or service-area content.
• Maintaining accurate listings on relevant directories.
• Earning mentions and links from local organizations and businesses.

Don’t create fake offices or misleading location pages for cities where your business has no legitimate presence.

Earn Relevant Links and Mentions

Links from other websites can help people discover your business and can contribute to a website’s authority.

Focus on earning legitimate links rather than accumulating the largest possible number of them.

Potential opportunities can come from:

• Business relationships.
• Professional associations.
• Local organizations.
• Industry publications.
• Sponsorships.
• Original research.
• Useful resources.
• Public relations.
• Client or vendor relationships.
• High-quality directories relevant to your industry.

Avoid schemes that promise hundreds or thousands of inexpensive backlinks. Low-quality link building can provide little value and may create unnecessary risk.

A few strong, relevant links can be much more valuable than hundreds of links from unrelated websites.

Use Customer Reviews, Testimonials and Case Studies

SEO isn’t only about keywords and technical settings. Searchers also need reasons to trust your business once they find you.

Customer reviews, testimonials and detailed case studies can demonstrate actual experience.

A strong case study can explain:

The client
Who they are and what they do.

The challenge
What problem needed to be solved.

The solution
What your company actually did.

The result
What changed after the work was completed.

Whenever possible, use specific results that can be supported rather than vague claims about success.

This creates content that is difficult for competitors to reproduce because it comes from your company’s actual experience.

Use Structured Data Where Appropriate

Structured data can provide search engines with additional information about certain types of website content.

Depending on the site, appropriate structured data may describe things such as:

• Organizations.
• Local businesses.
• Products.
• Breadcrumbs.
• Articles.
• Events.

Structured data should accurately represent information that exists on the page. Don’t add markup simply in an attempt to manipulate how a page appears in search results.

It is also important to understand that structured data doesn’t guarantee enhanced search-result features.

Pay Attention to Website Security and Maintenance

An outdated or compromised website can create serious problems for both visitors and search visibility.

Keep your content management system, plugins and other website software updated. Use HTTPS, maintain backups and monitor the site for security issues.

Website maintenance is particularly important for WordPress and other content management systems that rely on frequently updated third-party software.

SEO works best when the underlying website is actively maintained.

Measure SEO With Real Search Data

Don’t evaluate SEO entirely by manually searching Google for a keyword.

Search results can vary based on location, device, personalization and other factors.

Google Search Console provides valuable information about how your website actually appears in Google Search, including:

• Search queries.
• Impressions.
• Clicks.
• Average position.
• Click-through rate.
• Ranking pages.
• Indexing information.

Analytics can provide additional information about what visitors do after reaching the website.

Look for trends over meaningful periods rather than reacting to every daily ranking movement.

Measure the Right SEO Results

Rankings are useful, but ranking #1 isn’t the ultimate objective for most businesses.

The real objective is usually something such as:

• Qualified website traffic.
• Leads.
• Phone calls.
• Form submissions.
• Online sales.
• Appointments.
• Revenue.

A keyword that generates substantial traffic but no meaningful business activity may be less valuable than a smaller search that consistently produces qualified prospects.

Connect SEO performance to business objectives whenever possible.

Don’t Chase Every Search Engine Update

Search engines change constantly.

You don’t need to rebuild your SEO strategy every time someone announces a new Google update.

A stronger long-term approach is to maintain a website that:

• Provides useful information.
• Demonstrates real experience.
• Is technically accessible.
• Works well for visitors.
• Has a logical structure.
• Earns legitimate authority.
• Is regularly maintained and improved.

Specific tactics will continue to evolve, but those principles are much more durable.

Avoid SEO Shortcuts

Be skeptical of anyone promising guaranteed rankings or immediate organic search results.

SEO shortcuts can include:

• Keyword stuffing.
• Hidden text or links.
• Buying large quantities of low-quality backlinks.
• Copying competitors’ content.
• Creating hundreds of thin pages.
• Publishing large amounts of low-value automated content.
• Creating fake locations.
• Misleading redirects.

Sustainable SEO usually requires considerably more work than manipulating a single ranking factor.

Focus on building a website that deserves to be found.

Give SEO Time

SEO improvements don’t take effect immediately.

Search engines need time to discover changes, crawl updated pages, process redirects, reconsider website relationships and reevaluate where pages should appear in search results.

Competitive searches can also require time to build the content, authority and reputation necessary to improve visibility.

That doesn’t mean you should simply make changes and wait indefinitely. Monitor performance, determine whether search engines are discovering the changes and continue improving areas where the data indicates opportunities.

SEO is best approached as an ongoing process rather than a one-time project.

Need Help Improving Your Website’s SEO?

The tips above provide a strong foundation, but every website has different challenges and opportunities.

IDP has more than two decades of experience combining search engine optimization with professional web design and web development. Our team can evaluate your website, identify opportunities for improvement and develop an SEO strategy around your business, customers and competitive market.

Our SEO services include keyword research, content optimization, technical SEO, local search optimization, website architecture, internal linking and ongoing analysis.

Search Engine Visualizer: How A Robot Sees Your Web Page

We have built a free tool to show you how search engines view a web page. Check out our Search Engine Visualizer tool. It is a simple tool showing you how a web page looks without any images or formatting. The way a search engine robot would crawl your page and read it. We use the search engine visualizer to show a client how their website looks to a search engine robot so that they understand the concept of a page with no images and layout. A huge part of SEO is organizing your web page content in a text hierarchy that is search engine friendly.