Eight SEO strategies to work on [Infographic]

Good SEO is rarely a trick. It is the basics, done on every page, in the right order.

This short guide is for a business owner who wants their site found on Google without paying for every visit.

The checklist below sums up eight strategies. Red Website Design put them together from research on ranking factors by Search Engine Journal. Here is what each one means in practice.

The eight strategies

1. Useful content. Write pages that answer what your customer searches for, in their words. Give each page one clear topic, and do not write two pages on the same one: they compete for the same search.
2. Pages built for phones. Google reads the phone version of your site first. Check every key page on a phone: text size, buttons and forms.
3. On-page basics. Give each page its own title and meta description, with the main search term near the start.
4. Fast pages. Compress images, remove the plugins and scripts you do not use, and test the page again after each change. Start with the pages that get the most visits.
5. On-page structure. Use headings in order and alt text that says what each image shows. Add structured data that tells Google whether a page is a product, an article or a business.
6. Internal links. Link related pages to each other, with link words that describe the target page. Visitors and search engines then reach your important pages faster.
7. Link building. Earn links from sites in your field: suppliers, partners, local directories, the press. One link from a relevant site counts for more than many from unrelated ones.
8. Local search. If customers visit you or you serve one city, complete your Google Business Profile with hours, photos, location and phone. Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere online.

Where to start

Start with what sits on your own site: content, phones, page basics, speed and structure. Links and local listings come after, because they send people to pages that must already be ready. Then check Google Search Console each month to see which pages show up in search and which do not.

Search basics came first at Legend AIM, a gaming store in Saudi Arabia. I picked the keywords people type when they are ready to buy. Then I rewrote the meta titles and descriptions of every product page and added alt text to the product images.

I also improved speed, structured data and the mobile view. Rankings and organic clicks went up, but I did not record a figure for them.

Checklist

• Every important page has its own title and description.
• Every page works on a phone.
• Images are compressed and have alt text.
• Related pages link to each other.
• Your Google Business Profile is complete.

If your site gets visits but no calls or orders, send me its address and the page that matters most to you. I will tell you which of these eight I would fix first.