How to Build a Website With SEO in Mind

SEO optimization of a website is an important criterion, as your traffic will directly depend on it. You need to understand the working principles of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other web crawlers. They analyze each platform and index it to then offer users in response to their search queries. Keep in mind that according to BrightEdge research, it is search engines that drive 50% to 70% of traffic to websites. And according to statistics, 53% of user flow to platforms is attracted by organic traffic. That is, thanks to SEO optimization. We will tell you what nuances you should take into account when developing your platform.

Keyword phrases are the main tool of SEO improvement. First, you need to determine the goals of your platform and its audience segment. Based on this data, you will be able to select the most focused keywords and phrases that your potential customers will use to search for the products/services they need. It is these words that need to be written as organically as possible in the headings (H1, H2, H3), meta tags, and the articles/descriptions of goods and services themselves. Such tools will help to simplify this process:

• Google Trends;
• Ahrefs;
• BuzzSumo;
• Google Analytics.

Choose short and clear URLs. This will improve its perception by web crawlers. Sites that use keywords in the address are ranked higher. This makes it immediately clear what services the platform offers and what audience it is targeting. Example, optimized URL: “example.net/seo-studio”. Also, don’t forget about improving navigation and display in page addresses their hierarchy on the site.

HTML tags are not visible to site visitors, but they are important for web crawlers. Info from such meta tags as Title, Description, Open Graph and others will allow search systems to understand the content of pages and index them correctly. Key recommendations:

• The optimal length of the Title meta tag is 40-60 characters. You can add the brand name and relevant keywords;
• The recommended length of Description is 140-160 characters. This part is less important for ranking the site. It is more aimed at increasing the interest of visitors. Therefore, you should not abuse keywords. One phrase is enough;
• The Viewport meta tag will help your site to display correctly on mobile devices.

Before developing a website, think about its architecture to provide seamless navigation and for structuring. Web development services help to create a clear hierarchy: from the main page to categories and subcategories. To visualize the structure you can use such tools:

• Miro;
• MindMeister;
• Lucidchart.

You can also use professional programs to prototype the web architecture. For example, Adobe XD and Figma. You can also study competitors’ sites and see their architecture using Visualping.

The core of your site is the web copy itself. Adding popular keywords is an important step, but it’s not the only thing that will help with SEO optimization. What else to consider:

• Information should be unique and of high quality. Do not copy ready-made articles and descriptions from competitors, this will lower your site in the search engine rankings. Check texts before publishing with the help of services to detect plagiarism. For example, Copywritely;
• Adapt texts to your target audience. Study their requests, fears, and so on. Web crawlers appreciate useful content;
• Template texts that are written with the help of artificial intelligence will also rank worse. It is possible to identify template parts of articles with the help of online services. Example: Copyleaks.

Add links to other sections of your website in your texts. This not only improves navigation for visitors but also affects SEO:

• Search engines better understand how to index your platform;
• The bounce rate decreases. This indicator shows what % of visitors leave the site after opening just one page. The lower the bounce rate, the higher your site will be ranked by web crawlers;
• The longer a customer stays on your web site, the better. You can use hyperlinks to guide users to discover different sections.

All images must be relevant to the content of the articles and the theme of your platform. How else to improve SEO performance:

• Page load speed plays an important role in ranking. Compress files without losing quality. ImageOptim (JPEG, GIF, PNG), JPEG-Optimizer (JPEG), TinyPNG (JPEG and PNG) can help;
• The file name should be meaningful. You can use keywords;
• Add alternative text. Then customers will find your site when using the “image search” function.

Your website must open fast and correctly on smartphones. Many search engines operate on the principle of ‘mobile-first indexing,’ meaning they prioritize the mobile version for ranking. You can:

• Create a separate mobile version of the site;
• Make an adaptive design. This option shows the best results.

Also, pay attention to the speed of loading the platform through smartphones. After all, the convenience of visitors plays a key role for search engines.

From an SEO perspective, it’s important not just to provide visitors with useful information but also to call for specific actions. For example, these can be text links:

• “Write to our managers”;
• “Read in this our article”;
• “Subscribe to our free online newsletter”.

Or CTAs can be in the form of colorful buttons and banners. For example, “Register with us”, “Download the program”, and “Read more about our SEO service“. It is convenient to place them at the beginning and end of the page.

Publish links to your resource on other authoritative sites and social networks. Backlinks will not only increase your ranking among search engines but also affect the size of traffic. It is important to choose only quality sites for advertising, quantity plays a lesser role. How it can be done:

• Post links on other platforms for a fee by contacting their owner.
• Agree on mutual publication of links;
• Write custom articles for reputable resources with the addition of a link. This is called guest blogging;
• Self-publish on thematic forums.

Your site should open quickly. You can use Google PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom Tools, GTmetrix, Lighthouse and other services to test speed. What speeds are considered good:

• Time to Page Load: 1-3 seconds;
• Time to Interactive: 2-5 seconds;
• First Contentful Paint: up to 1 second.

To make it easy indexing & structure your site, the principle of focus will help. Dedicate each page to a narrow topic. For example, if your site is dedicated to gamers, then on 1 page do a review of 1 game. You don’t need to combine several. It is better to add hyperlinks to other pages in the article.

Carefully analyze the traffic and conduct of your users on the site. This can be done with free tools. Top:

• Google Analytics. This is a top traffic analysis program. Use it if you want to learn about the most frequently opened sections. And what content is worth refining;
• Moz Pro. It will help you identify the strong and weak pages of your platform;
• Google Search Console. You will be able to find out the latest information about the ranking of your site, sources of traffic and queries that visitors use to find you.

Without taking SEO into account, it is almost impossible to create a website with stable and large traffic. However, optimization is a multi-stage and time-consuming process. You need to competently use analytics tools, select relevant phrases and ensure a high loading speed. That’s why you can entrust this work to professionals. Our Digital Marketing Agency VOll will help you with this. Write to our managers and we will develop any type of website for your request. How to website seo is our profile of work.