'Tis the Season for SEO Miracles
Leaving things to the last minute doesn't always pan out well; not with homework, not with gift shopping, and certainly not with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In order to be fully successful, an SEO strategy requires careful consideration and planning over a long period of time.
That’s probably not what you wanted to hear if you’re an online retailer looking to make a last minute SEO miracle occur.
Alas, we aren’t here to be a Grinch, but to help you in a pinch! Tis’ the season for miracles, after all! Below are some tactics you can implement in the short-term that can bring almost instant SEO benefits.
Complete (and Optimize) Your Title Tags
Window titles are one of the first content related items Google looks at when parsing a website. Additionally, in search results, they serve as the link title for each search result returned. Incorporating relevant keywords, while using a title that hooks users in, can have an almost instant impact on click-through rates from organic search results. So show your title tags some TLC this holiday season to increase traffic!
Google My Business
Most of you are probably already taking advantage of this item, but if you’re not, here’s a quick way to improve your SEO: claim and verify your Google My Business listing!
Doing so adds value and credibility to your business because it means it has been verified at a physical location. Additionally, when your brand name is searched, verified listings are more likely to feed information to the knowledge graph which enables optimized listing information (photos, reviews, etc.) to display nicely in the top right of search results.
Leverage Existing Listings That Already Rank On Page 1
If you are still in the early phases of ranking a brand new website, it’s possible that it does not yet even display on the first page of Google for your desired search phrase. But if you have a listing on Yelp or FourSquare that is already taking up first page real estate, you can use this to your advantage! Claiming and verifying any business listings that already rank well will allow you to optimize them to contain all relevant business information as well as a link to your website.
Compress and Resize Your Images
Page load time can make or break your website’s ability to sell. Nothing kills a potential conversion like a page that won’t load. How can you, as a website manager, reduce this? Compress and resize your images! Making sure your image files are no bigger than they need to be can save bytes upon bytes of data, which can really improve your page's load time and save you a few bucks from hosting overage charges.
