Previously, I discussed All About SEO. Now, we will talk about why your website needs SEO. When you are running a website for a first time, you can’t expect to gain a desirable amount of traffic right away. This is where SEO comes in. By optimizing your website on search engines, SEO will allow you to gain more traffic for your website. You might be wondering “What other things can SEO do for my website?“, here are some reasons why your website needs SEO:

1. Your website will rank higher on search engine results.

When you practice sustainable SEO on your website, you are enabling your site to rank higher in search engine results. SEO will really help your site, especially in visibility. Users will immediately see your website if you rank high in search engine results. If you are running a business-oriented website and you don’t do SEO, nobody will see your website and you won’t have any sales at all.

2. You are building your website’s trust and credibility.

When you website starts to gain more traffic, this means that people see it as credible and trustworthy. When your website becomes credible and trustworthy, you are increasing its discoverability. It is really important to pay attention to your website’s credibility to gain users’ trust. Factors that will increase your site’s credibility are: good on-site SEO, quality backlinks, and social profiles.

3. Your website will have organic traffic.

In order to complete a conversion or engagement, you should have organic traffic on your website. Organic traffic pertains to the number of naturally generated visits of internet users on a website. When we say naturally generated, it means no money was involved so it wasn’t paid in any way. When you search something, the top results are usually paid ads. However, if you click the results below those paid adds, that is organic traffic. When there are more clicks, your website traffic and ranking increases. Through SEO, you are encouraging organic traffic.

4. Your website can offer better user experience.

Since people are busy, they need to find the things they want quickly. By having SEO, you are also improving user experience. When someone visits your website, the user experience is crucial in converting visits to sales. If your web page takes a long time to load, there is a high possibility that the user will leave your site. Since you don’t want that to happen, you should improve your website layout and page speed. When you have good SEO, you will have a positive impact on the user’s experience which will benefit your brand.

READ: Tips on Improving User Experience and Increasing Conversions

5. SEO Is Relatively Cheap

When you use SEO for your website, it will be relatively cheaper than going for paid ads. Having good SEO is an investment and it will benefit you in the long run. SEO is also currently one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies.

Now that we’ve established the reasons why your website needs SEO, you just have to remember that your main goal is to reach your target audience as much as you can. These reasons will put you at an advantage so make sure you apply it to your website. Next, I will talk more reasons why you should have SEO on your website. If you are wondering what investments you can make for your websites, read HERE.

If you want your blog posts to be seen and read by many people, then apply the Things to Do Before You Publish a Blog Post. Below, I have curated the third and final part of the series. Read and follow them carefully if you want your posts to be noticed.

7. ADD LINKS TO OLD POSTS

You are telling people to check out website in order for people to see what you have to offer. How can these people explore your website if you don’t link relevant pages together? This is the purpose of adding links! Of course, you would want them to stay longer on your website. You would want them to explore your blog posts.

Adding links will give them just that; they will have further reading about a topic they are interested about. Provide additional information about your point by redirecting them to another post. This may be a tutorial or simply just an additional information about a topic.

So, take time to add links to your old posts and refer them to newer ones. Same goes for the new posts, redirect people to the previous related post. Linking related articles together will help increase your page views. Visiting more pages would mean more time spent on your site!

8. OPTIMIZE YOUR POST FOR BETTER SEO RANKINGS

Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) is important part of websites today. If you want to get noticed by search engines, especially the tech giant Google, you need to follow their rules. Refer to the Google Webmaster Guidelines to know more on how you are going to optimize your website.

Stay updated on the latest news posted on Google Webmaster Central Blog to know the changes in crawling and indexing websites. Search engines, like Google, will bring traffic to your site, and it will only happen if you SEO optimize your blog posts and web pages.

9. DON’T FORGET TO ADD TAGS AND CATEGORIES TO YOUR POST

So, what are categories? Think of it this way: categories are like the chapters of your blog. In order to bring order and structure to all your posts, you will categorize them into different sections. Categories will be about the general gist of your post.

Meanwhile, tags are very specific identifiers of your posts. For instance, if you added a category of desserts, and tags your tags will be cookie recipes, cake recipes, pie recipes, and so on. The same is true if you add a category of wardrobe, you would have specific tags about tank tops, maxi dresses, formal dresses, sweaters, and etc.

Basically, tags and categories are there to help your readers narrow their search. With these things added, the readers can easily find the specific content they want. First, they can click on the broad categories provided, and then, they can proceed to clicking the specific tags.

Conclusion

Now, I am done discussing what to do BEFORE you publish a post. For my next post, I will be discussing what to do AFTER you publish your blog post. Don’t miss out on this new series of tips!

Blogging is essential for your website. In fact, I have already discussed this on Why Is Having a Blog Important for Your Website? You would not want your blog posts to be unnoticed. It would be a waste of your time and effort if no one ever bothers to read your blog post.

In this article, I will help you create blog posts that will be noticed and read by a lot of people. These are the tips to follow in order for your blog post to be exposed to as many readers as possible.

What to do before you hit the publish button?

1. WORK ON YOUR POST TITLE

What does the readers see first? It’s your blog post title. Thus, you have to make sure your title grabs their attention. Through your title, you are selling content to the people on the internet.

It can make or break your post. That’s why it is important to think about an effective title. Ideally, the title should pique the interest of the readers; it should be intriguing and interesting for them to click.

Blog post titles should be short but concise. Get to the point and summarize your article in one short phrase. Strive to be descriptive in your titles. If you need help in writing the catchy blog post titles, check the list of title tips here.

2. DIVIDE YOUR POST INTO DIFFERENT SECTIONS

After readers see the title, they decide to click it. Upon reading the post, they will scan if there is, indeed, something interesting to read in this blog post. Readers don’t usually start analyzing from top to bottom. Instead, they will scan the blog posts for interesting points or they will go directly to the information they need.

So, having said this, it is best to divide your post into different sections. No one wants to read a post with just one huge chunk of texts. Write in a way that people can easily digest and read your paragraphs. Additional tips are shared on  Important Tips to Make Your Blogs Easier to Read.

You can use the different heading tags (H1 to H6), list you points using bullets and numbers, add quotes and images. Adding these things will bring order and clarity to your post.  Moreover, add your focus keyword into the headings, and it will make your blog post SEO-friendly.

3. DON’T FORGET TO INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION

Adding a call to action encourages your readers to act. By the end of your post, you should add something to motivate them to do something. It does not have to be grandiose. In fact, it can be as simple as encouraging them to leave a comment or share their personal opinion on the topic.

Perhaps, you can also redirect them to another blog post. Entice them to read a related article on the topic. Another option is promote your email list, and encourage them to sign up. Inform them about a freebie, and it might just help you gain a new subscriber.

When readers act on your blog post, they will definitely remember your website. For sure, they will be back for more blog posts so always encourage them to share their personal thoughts and ideas.

Want to proceed to the next? Things to Do Before You Publish a Blog Post (Part 2)

When it comes to a business website, high-quality visual content is extremely important. This will help your brand stand out among others. Aside from that, you are also creating a credible and professional image for your business. Whether you are collaborating with a designer or doing it yourself, you need to have high-quality photos for your website. Today, I will talk about how you can obtain high-quality visual content for your business website.

Do I Have to Hire a Professional Photographer to Take Photos for My Website?

The answer is no. You don’t really have to hire a professional photographer. However, if you have a budget for a professional photographer, you can consider hiring one. When you have a professional photographer, you are assured with high-quality pictures for your website. Remember, professional photographers can get extremely expensive. If you don’t want to spend a lot on a professional photographer, you can try to post a job listing to hire someone for a more reasonable rate.

On the other hand, there isn’t enough budget (or no budget at all) to hire a photographer. When you are just starting your business, you tend to have lots of other expenses. But fear not! You can still get high-quality photos for your website without having to spend at all.

Moving on, you don’t have to hire a professional photographer as you can actually take the photos yourself. This will help you save money and you have complete control over your content. Here are some tips you can follow to have high-quality photos for your website:

1. Rule of Thirds

The “rule of thirds” is a basic composition rule in taking professional looking photos. To follow this rule, you must imagine breaking an image down into thirds both horizontally and vertically. As a result, you will have 9 parts like in a tic-tac-toe board. You should place the most interesting or eye-catching part of your subject on the intersection of those lines. In this way, your photo becomes more balanced.

2. Focus on the Subject

Professional looking images require the subject to be in focus. Make sure you are close enough but not too close to the point where the photo cannot be cropped later on. When you are using a smartphone, you should be able to tap on the screen to lock focus. By focusing on the subject, your photos will look more appealing.

3. Have the Proper Resolution

The resolution of your images should be high enough so that it will look good regardless if it’s viewed on a large or small screen.  A good standard to follow is 72dpi. If you are using a smartphone, don’t crop or resize the original image because the standard size of a smartphone image is usually fine. On the other hand, if you are using a professional camera, there might be a need to resize it.

4. Use Editing Tools

If you are not satisfied with the photos you’ve taken, you can always edit them. Keep in mind that when you edit your images, it’s best to make minor adjustments only. You can adjust the light and exposure without having to add filters. Speaking of filters, try not to use filters at all. If you are using a smartphone, you can try out editing applications such as Picsart, Snapseed, and/or VSCO.

Hopefully these tips will help you in having high-quality photos for your website. If you are interested, I also wrote about DIY Product Photography Tips. Next, I will discuss about what to put on a website.

When you are on a trip with poorly-given directions, your entire experience could possibly be ruined. However, it doesn’t always have to end in a disaster. This is just like when a user visits a website and ends up on a 404 page. In your 404 page, you can actually do more than simply informing your user that something went wrong.

There are several reasons why a website visitors ends up on a 404 page. It could either be because they clicked on a broken link or typed in a wrong URL. Most of the time, when users stumble upon a 404 error page, they exit right away. This is why it’s very important to craft a 404 page that is informative so that you can guide your users back on the right track.

Back in the day, the usual set-up of a 404 page is bland messaging with little to no visual elements. However, as years pass by, there are sites that go over and beyond when it comes to their 404 pages. Your website should have an interesting and interactive 404 page to encourage your visitors to engage more. If you are able to create a wonderful 404 page, you can avoid your web visitors from being lost and confused. When it comes to crafting 404 pages, the main goal is to successfully redirect your users through clear navigation and support.

Now that we’ve established what a 404 page is, I will share some tips in crafting great 404 pages.

1. Be artistic

You have a lot of empty space at your disposal, so make the most out of it. Creating a whole page with interesting elements can ease the user’s frustrations. Just make sure that it’s related to what your business offers and suits your overall brand image.

2. Make it interactive

Inserting interactive elements on your 404 page can be eye-catching. It could be a simple as adding animated elements that respond to cursor movements to something grand like the now-famous dinosaur game by Google. By making an interactive 404 error page, you are briefly distracting your web visitor. It’s entirely up to you how to make your 404 page interactive.

3. Incorporate navigation tools

Your web visitor might have been briefly distracted by the interactive elements of your 404 pages, they still have to find what they were looking for in the first place. You can help them achieve this by incorporating navigation tools on your 404 page. By doing so, you are creating a 404 page that is easy to navigate. This will also result in reducing the user’s frustration. Your web visitors will appreciate it if you add a search function or even  links that will redirect them to the working parts of your website.

“Do not rule out the possibility that a visitor may have arrived from a different website. Since they might have little to no knowledge about your website, it’s best to redirect them to your homepage. This will encourage your web visitors to engage with your website more.”

Those are some of the many tips in crafting great 404 pages. Keep in mind that a 404 page is also an opportunity for you to improve user experience, showcase your brand’s personality, and eventually convert a lost visitor into becoming an engaged customer. Next time, I will give more tips on crafting 404 pages. If you are interested about microcopy, read Microcopy And Why It Matters.