Let me tell you a secret why you should do SEO the right way and what happens when you don't.
Google updates its algorithms from time-to-time to keep up with user behaviour.
For example, in December 2017, there was a massive change in organic search traffic and this was due to Google update of which Google somewhat confirmed it.
SEO's community nicknamed this algorithm, the Maccabees Updates that seemed to target keyword permutation and even hit some Celebrity site.
Irrespective, Google becomes accurate as the days go by. Which forces people to use various SEO strategies to get on the good side of Google. But, some of the SEO techniques might not be the best choice.
Related Post: SEO Guide for Law Firm
So due to Google's algorithm update, it is necessary to do SEO well. In this guide, you'll find some important SEO practices you should DO along with Don't for the rest of 2018.
1. DO - Target Long tail keywords and Lengthy Content
Many research industries like MOZ.com once stated that long tail keywords covers nearly 70 percent of all search queries that people put into Google. Which means long tail keywords drive quality traffic to your website unlike those simple short keywords you might use.
Remember i said, Lengthy Content. Why then long-form content?
Brian Dean from Backlinko did a research and found out that content with 3000 words above tend to have higher ranking than others, mostly on the first page of Google.
Why this?
Long form content is more informative and creative. Which allows you to apply images, videos, GIF etc in it.
It attracts people who would share your content and increases the time spent on your website. Furthermore, long form content helps you target long tail keywords more efficiently, which is one the best practices to follow.
2. DO - In-Depth Keyword Research Before Writing Your Content.
Its important to have an in-depth keyword research to use on your website. But while doing such keyword research there are some basic metrics you must follow to know if a particular keyword is the right fit for your site. Tools like Ahref can be used to determine this.
The metrics are as follows:
Search Volume
Clicks
Return Rate
Keyword Difficulty
3. DO - Memorable URLs
Your website's overall quality depends on the URL that each page has. As Google ranks websites with memorable URLs. There are basically two types of URLs
Static URLs (Memorable URLs)
Dynamic URLs
Static URLs performs far better than Dynamic URLs. Apart from using static URLs for search engine purpose, it is also important for users as it can be memorised.
4. DO - Build Relevant Backlinks
Linking is the most effective SEO practice. But you must be careful about how you do so. It is essential you link to other websites and content. On the other hand, thoughtlessly placed link might cause readers to think your site is full of spam.
Rather than linking to several websites that could lead to your website dead trap. I recommend you focus on authoritative web resources as they have high Domain Rating and Visibility or you could reach out to an SEO company that can help build quality backlinks.
5. DO - Image Size Optimisation
Remember, the overall score for your website is user's experience. If a visitor notice your website downloads too slow because of the images, he or she will leave without thinking twice. Try to optimise your image to small or medium size, but they should have high quality.
Here are things you should consider when optimising your images:
Filename: A descriptive file name should be used
ALT Tag: This is the most important image attributes. Keep ALT Tags short, as they are what tells search engine about the topic your image.
Image Size: This is a crucial role in the process of optimisation. Compress images you want to use on your website to avoid slow load time.
Image Relevancy: Post images relevant to what you describing.
6. DO -Mobile Optimisation
There is a recent update from Google that they would be using more of mobile optimized site on the search query. With this kind of development, it is necessary to optimize your site to be mobile-friendly as more users are searching through their mobile devices.
You could create a mobile website separate from your desktop view website, if that would help you perfectly optimize your website on mobile and for SEO sake.
Recommendations:
Optimize for mobile-friendliness
Optimize for PageSpeed
Optimize for mobile User's experience
7. DO - Local SEO
Local SEO has proved to be one of the biggest trends throughout 2016 and 2017, and is expected to continue doing so throughout 2018. It optimizes your website to rank better for a local audience.
Local SEO is an excellent strategy to help you attract and satisfy lot of people especially if your website offers services that can be delivered across your location.
This is considered as one of the best SEO practices
Tips for local SEO
Add yourself to Google My Business
Stick to local keywords
Display contacts that are related to your business
Prepare high quality content on your blog
Create a localised domain name
8. DO - Blogging
Blogging is key from an SEO perspective and best SEO practice. It is powerful tool that can meet your business needs. You should know how to set up a blog for any kind of business you're planning to manage.
Things to consider when blogging, as these are rules to follow.
First of all, nobody wants to read outdated content. That means you should produce high quality content as often as possible.
Second, don't restrict yourself to writing formal, text only articles. Mix your content up with images, infographics and video material. Make your blog look impressive and eye - catching.
Third, to every extent possible, try to be social. Create engaging blog post as this would make your audience come back for more engaging post.
I mentioned earlier that high quality content is shareable on social media channels; it will bring more traffic to your website.
9. DO - Create a Solid Social Media Presence
From my best opinion social media marketing is one of the best free ways to advance your website. A social media presence is not just about creating accounts throughout modern platforms. Its more about how frequently you post news on content and the level of engagement you get.
If you are producing content or constantly contributing, share them on social media. If you read other publications within your industry, go ahead and share them as well.
There are a lot of content you can cover within social media to create an engaging social channel, so there should be no excuse on why not to participate.
Lets consider some of the things to avoid in 2018
1. DON'T - Duplicate Content / Titles
Duplicating content is something practised by many website owners, which is not a good strategy.
When you use the same title/content on different pages of your website, it makes it more difficult for search engines to recognise the diversity of content your website contains.
2. DON'T - Practice Keyword Stuffing
Keyword Stuffing refers to the practice of loading a web page with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site's ranking in Google search results. That means repeating keywords in a content.
This kind of practice is bad as Google penalises such website and can lead to all your efforts futile.
3. DON'T - Pay for Links
Linking to reputable site or through guest blogging is right. However, buying links from low authority or even high authority web resources would get you in trouble. Google penalises for such backlinks.
Things to note:
Don't use link farm website
Don't pay for links
Get links naturally.
4. DON'T - Chase for Backlinks Only
But backlink is key to SEO, you might say - Yes it is! It is important to build links to relative websites. But there are some things to consider when doing this.
Quality over quantity - Get backlinks from site with domain authority 40+
Don't get lot of link at once. This will flag search engine as you may be link baiting
Do not just settle for easy links like social bookmarking, directories etc. The harder it is to get a link, usually it is better quality.
Rather than chasing lots of backlinks, create good content that enables people to link back to.
5. DON'T - Use External Linking Too Often
External linking is also something Google dislikes. When Google finds lots of external links on your site, it might consider those links as spam or you are just one of those directory website.
Lots of external linking would lead to been penalised by Google, so don't overuse it, try to be moderate.
Conclusion
So i have discussed 9 Do's and 5 Don't of SEO practices. These are the SEO checklist you need for your website, for better ranking. If you have other SEO practices, you can share it in the comment below and questions are accepted too.