5 SEO Strategies to Implement in 2021

SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic rather than direct traffic or paid traffic.

SEO may be the most important technique for a business in reaching new customers. With user-experience being such a significant customer retention factor, improving your SEO may be a great way to give your small business a competitive advantage over your competitors. 

Here are a few SEO strategies that can ensure your small business will prosper this coming year! 

1. Increase the speed of your website 

In July 2018, Google released a statement that mobile page speed is the number one factor used to determine web page rankings. With the increasing use of technology, page speed is more important than ever. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool is a simple way to test out the current speed of your webpages. 

One simple way you can improve your website speed is by decreasing the size of the images on your website: 

• By compressing the size of images, the browser will take less time to appear without compromising the quality of the image. 

2. Create a “Google+ Local” & “Google Places” Page 

The strongest way for any business to grow is through the support of its community. According to Zero Zen Data, 70% of customers trust reviews from unknown users on platforms such as Google Places, Local, Yahoo, and Yelp. The impact that external reviews have upon a business’s ability to grow is immense and one positive review could bring an influx of loyal customers to your brand. Creating a Google+ Local or Places page is particularly beneficial for improving SEO, because it will also help you to make sure the correct business information is being shared with the web/your community. Learn more about Google+ Local and Google Places, here.

Example of a Google Places page for a business: includes business information + reviews section

3. Drive new clients through Long-tail search 

Identifying search keywords is a popular technique businesses use to increase SEO, but there is a more effective strategy that is lesser known and more strategic: Long-tail search. Long-tail search queries have been stated to be twice as effective at attracting customers when compared to keywords. The difference between search queries and keywords may be confusing at first, but can be easily understood through the definitions below: 

Query: A statement searched up by a user, that derives a relevant and helpful result. The query loses relevance as an applicable search appears. 

Example: (A user searches) Best Socks under $25 

Keyword: A phrase that a user types that businesses try to rank high for, in order to appear in the top ten displayed results. 

Example: (A user searches) Best socks 

Neil Patel: 11 Reasons to Focus on Long-Tail Keywords for SEO (Neil Patel is a NYT best-selling author + top web influencer)

The specificity of long-term search queries is what Google’s SEO analytics determine as a ranking factor. 

Still not convinced? 

Long-tail queries are stated to send 70% more traffic to websites and blogs. 

If you are a small business owner without a big budget, this serves as a great opportunity! 

4. Increase the use of internal links 

Increasing the number of internal links on your site can have a direct effect on Google's ranking. Internal links are defined as links that connect one page on a domain to another page on the same domain — in other words, including links on your site pages that link to other pages on your site.

So, what pages should have more internal links? 

Using google analytics, find the pages on your site that are in the 2nd-4th ranking. These pages are powerful because they already drive a significant amount of traffic. Therefore, including more internal links on these pages may increase your chances of improving your site’s PageRank (Google’s way of measuring the importance of website pages). 

5. Fix broken links and pages that are not working 

Broken links can be one reason why website traffic tapers off. Broken backlinks can occur when a linking site has bugs, or when a page that has backlinks is deleted or moved. 

An example of what a page might look like to a viewer on the internet if you have a broken link on your site.

Here are a few techniques to fix a broken link: 

• Redirect the broken link to a new location: If a new URL is forgotten to be redirected, implement a 301 direct (code used to show that a page within your website has been permanently moved to a new location) after finding a new page location. 

• Redirect the broken link to a pre-existing, relevant page: Redirect the 404 page (code for stating that the server could not find the requested page) to a similar, pre-existing webpage within your domain (on your site). 

• Restore the page: If the page is killed, this will be the fastest way to fix a broken link. Only restore the page if the content is considered relevant. 

• Recreate the broken page: Create a new page and direct the broken link to it. 

These 5 SEO strategies will help you to drive significantly more traffic to your website and ensure your business thrives in 2021!