Is your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy feeling a little weathered after a long, cold winter? Not to worry – in this series, we’re exploring all things spring-cleaning as they relate to your SEO and digital marketing strategies. It’s time to vacuum the dust off of your old SEO strategy and start fresh.
Let’s take a look at how to tidy up your SEO and boost your search engine rankings this spring:
1. Review Your SEO Tags
It’s always a good idea to go back and review your SEO tags, especially if you’re seeing a dip in traffic. It’s important to check these frequently, as many mistakes can fly under the radar and end up hurting your rankings. For example, sometimes a company’s name gets added to the end of a tag without an SEO resource recognizing it. When this occurs, you run the risk of exceeding the 70-character limit.
Keep these SEO tag best practices in mind when you’re cleaning up your strategy:
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing – Opt for valuable, well-written tags. Don’t overuse keywords for no reason – make sure they still sound natural when read out loud.
- Create Unique Title Tags – Give each page a unique title and title tag that concisely (but accurately) explains what the page is about.
- Think Like Your Audience – Always keep your audience in mind when optimizing your pages. Write SEO tags that will entice people to click on your links.
2. Give Your Content a Refresh
The next step to your SEO spring-cleaning is to review your existing blogs. Google loves updated content, so instead of deleting outdated blogs, refresh them with relevant information (or write new articles that link to the old ones). This tells search engines that you’re working hard to make sure your content is current and relevant to your audience.
One great way to freshen up existing posts is to add schema markup. Revising articles by way of schema updates enables you to add all sorts of pertinent information, including products and services, upcoming events, and answers to commonly asked questions.
3. Check Your Links
On the internet, things change every day. That’s why it’s important to check your links frequently. If you have broken links or dead URLs, you’re setting yourself up for problems in a few different ways.
First, consumers are going to get frustrated when they find themselves on pages that don’t produce the results they were expecting. Regardless of whether they’re seeing 404 errors or are simply being sent somewhere irrelevant to their search, this is a surefire way to lose customers.
Second, Google severely frowns upon links-to-nowhere. This is because a search engine’s entire purpose is to deliver exactly what people are looking for. If your links aren’t helping them accomplish that, they will push you far down on search engine results pages (SERPs). In some instances, you might find yourself so far from the front page, it’ll be like you don’t even exist to searchers.
Additionally, if your product pages have broken links, you’re losing money. Every time a link fails to work, you’ve lost conversions from people who would have otherwise gone from window-shoppers to bottom-of-the-funnel buyers.
If you come across broken links during your spring cleaning, be sure to fix them by creating URL redirects.
Enlist an Expert Team to Take on Your SEO Spring Cleaning
Zero Gravity Marketing’s team of experts can help you create an effective SEO strategy for the spring and beyond. Our SEO specialists have the know-how to effectively boost your rankings and drive conversions. Contact us today to get started!
