Optimising web pages (enhancing web pages to improve performance within search engines) for search engines is simple, if you focus on a number of key elements and address these you can easily impact a site\’s ranking within search engines. This article outlines essential SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) practices for optimising your websites page elements.
Think about your customers
Search engines have users at the core of their algorithm*, so should website owners. While optimising for search engines, it is equally important to think about your customers. Make sure that your content is engaging and relevant to your audience and do not over optimise it for SEO as this will not only damage your SEO performance but also damage your user experience. For more insights on increasing customer engagement on your product page, please see this article.
URL optimisation
URLs are the first element that search engines crawl when they hit your site, as such it is really important to set the scene straight away.
Consider the following for effective URL optimisation:
- Length: Keep URLs concise; excessively long URLs can be problematic.
- Spaces and Characters: Avoid spaces and special characters (e.g., ‘?’ or ‘&’). Use hyphens to separate words.
- Case Sensitivity: Use lowercase characters to avoid confusion and errors.
Page title optimisation
Page titles appear in search results and browser tabs. They do not appear on the actual page but within the html (the coding language used to create and design web pages and applications).
Effective page title practices include:
- Length: Titles should be between 30 and 60 characters
- Content: Include the product name, customer-facing terminology, and brand name
Meta description optimisation
Meta descriptions do not directly impact rankings but can influence click-through rates which is a positive signal to search engines.
Best practices for meta descriptions are:
- Length: Between 70 and 160 characters
- Content: Include the product / page title and a call to action. Descriptions should be compelling to encourage clicks
Image optimisation
Images play a significant role in SEO, but as search engines can’t view the image itself, we have to give them all of the information they need in other ways.
Consider the following for optimising images:
- File Name: Use descriptive file names with text separated by hyphens. Include the what’s in the image, this may be a product or representing service. Ensure that you include your target keyword for a page
- Alt Text (a descriptive attribute added to HTML images to provide a text alternative for users who cannot see the image): Describe the image content, varying it from the file name. Include the product name or strategically important search terms
- Size and Compression: Ensure images are the correct size and compressed to improve load times
Text on page
High-quality content is essential for SEO. Key points include:
- Length: Text should be a minimum of 400 words. Less than this is considered thin content. You also have to take into consideration your competitors’ websites. If on average their word count is 600 words you will need to have comparable length of copy
- Keyword Usage: Include the target search term 1-2 times
- Headers: Use one H1 tag and multiple H2 tags as necessary. Lower H tags can be used but may devalue title content (H tags are heading tags)
- Lists: Use list functions for better readability and SEO
Linking strategies
Links are crucial for SEO as they help search engines determine the importance of a page.
Effective linking strategies include:
- Internal Links: Aim to create at least one link to a priority page on your site
- External Links: Where appropriate for example a piece of ever green content, link to appropriate third party sites that enhance your content piece. When linking to external sites, set links to open in a new tab
These rules do not apply for a product pages. The user experience is more important in this instance and should be focused on the buying journey.
Downloadable SEO Checklist
I hope that you have found the information useful, why not download our SEO checklist, to review when creating or updating a page on your website.
*a set of rules or processes used to perform tasks and make decisions within web applications or search engine