Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can seem like a long and daunting task, mostly because it is; but not everything about SEO has to be that difficult or take that long. There are quick and simple things you can do right now that can have a big impact on how much traffic your website is getting.
So, here are 5 SEO action steps you can take today:
1. Setup unique title tags.
The title tag is the most important on-page SEO signal. Unfortunately most sites just use the title their web builder software generates automatically, which is usually useless. Edit your pages and add title tags that can catch people’s attention and uses an important keyword. Limit the title tag to about 65 characters or less. If you are using the NE1 Web Builder, you can edit the title tag of a page under the SEO Features tab.
2. Setup compelling description tags.
Description tags can help rankings a little, but their real value is in getting people to click through to your site. Add description tags to your pages that both describe your page in a compelling way and give a call to action. Try to limit yourself to 160 characters or less. If you are using the NE1 Web Builder, you can edit the title tag of a page under the SEO Features tab.
3. Add social buttons to your pages.
Do you want people to share what’s on your website? Whether it’s an interesting article, a funny video, or an announcement for an upcoming event, make it easy for people to share the page on their favorite social network by adding social buttons to your page. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ all offer code for adding the buttons and there are widgets like Sharethis which add a bunch of social buttons all at once.
4. Add your location.
If you are a local organization or business, location is very important for your search rankings. Be sure to add your address and phone number to every page of your site. The easiest way to do this is to just add the info to the footer of your site. In the NE1 Web Builder, you can do this in the under the Config tab.
5. Use the H1 tag.
The H1 tag is a formatting tag for text that is typically used for the heading of a page. It also happens to be one of the strongest on-page SEO signals other than the title tag. If possible, try to use an important keyword in the heading for your page and put it in the H1 tag. Keep it short, just a couple of words and make sure there is only 1 H1 tag on the page. If you are using the NE1 Web Builder, enter the text in the text editor. Then select the text and Format option to select Heading 1.
These are 5 things you can do today that can improve your rankings and bring more traffic to your site.
Bonus: #6
A sixth thing you can do is to create an SEO plan. Admittedly, this is a little deceptive. While you can create the plan today, it will require you to do more later, but it’s an important step to take. While there are things, like those above, that you can do pretty quickly and easily, if you want to compete for the really great keywords and get ton of traffic, there are things you need to do that take time and an ongoing effort. By creating a plan, you are more likely to start doing what you need to do to start winning the SEO race. This may include doing keyword research, fully optimizing a few pages a week, starting a blog, or finding an SEO company that can do these things for you. Whatever it is, take a few minutes to create a plan…and then start doing it.
Share Your Thoughts
- What are some other quick and easy SEO things you would suggest?
- Will you take the time to do these?
OurChurch.Com Director of Marketing Services
Kurt serves as OurChurch.Com’s Director of Marketing Services, bringing over 20 years of expertise in search marketing, and has developed numerous marketing services and served hundreds of churches, schools, ministries, and businesses.
He has authored more than 500 articles on the subject, contributing to platforms like the Christian SEO Guys blog and Church Marketing University, and is an active participant on LocalSearchForum.com.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Kurt is an ordained minister, serving as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL, demonstrating his commitment to both faith and community. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree from Georgia Southern University. He also holds a Specific Ministry Pastor Certificate and a General Pastor Certificate from Concordia Seminary.
18 Comments
Some great tips here for SEO. I couldn't agree more with letting people know where you are for local businesses. Definitely add your information to every page because people may not necessarily go to your home page, but also include a contact us page so people can get in touch with you that way too.
I am happy to read that you describe in 5 steps what should an optimized website have for getting top ranking in search engines. One more thing which is very important for the ranking of website images is to post "alt" attributes in the images tags as well as named the images with keywords. This will not only optimize images but also show your images for that keywords at the top of search engines. Above all, your tips are pretty helpful for website optimization.
These all points are really very important for boosting our website ranking. In my suggestion H1,H2 tags are also very important and after Google update, the main focus is on quality work not on quantity.
5 simple techniques for increasing a website's search engine visibility. This list is not complete but it's a great start to beginning your SEO journey.
Getting a good ranking on Google is a huge part of attracting more visitors to your website. You must have tactics or list of great and effective strategies to magnet audiences. Your tips are excellent! Thanks for the share!
Yes Kurt, these 5 steps are helpful but some more steps that are important from SEO point of view like keywords research, image tag, alt tag and anchor tag, they all are also essential for good SEO strategy.
Nice post Kurt, now everyone must focus on the social media and on the good quality content. Because good quality content is the key to get success. Well planned SEO strategy is very useful to get the better results. And always try to post on the higher authority sites, it helps you in increasing the visibility of your site.
Every step has an important place in today SEO and even we can forget the importance of social media if we want to get high ranking in search engine. I am very happy that you are sharing such quality stuff with us and I hope in future you will keep update us.
Using unique title tags is important and not only that, your titles should be hold various call-to-actions so that it can get the best from search pages.
Hi Kurt, thought i would get you back! These are great tips, but don't forget that good SEO is also about fast websites.