SEO has been around since the beginning of the internet, when large conglomerates were the only businesses tackling this exciting new invention. It wasn’t called SEO back then, because optimization wasn’t needed when so few websites existed. The first website ever, for instance, was 11 subheadings with a one-sentence description for each. But, times have changed, and SEO is about more than sales, it’s about reputation. The No.1 means of gaining a strong reputation is through honestly crafted words and transparency leading to inbound link-building, because you have a strong reputation, and improved organic traffic, but what can you do?
Before optimization can begin, learn spelling and grammar
When people search for your information on Google, Yahoo, or Bing, and they come across a title tag or meta description with a spelling error, your reputation flushes down the toilet in seconds. Nothing ruins a reputation faster than misspelled words. Punctuation is secondary if only because many people aren’t looking for proper usage of commas and semicolons, but they are looking at the words that appear on the search engine results pages.
SERP comes before site even in the dictionary
When focusing on your brand’s reputation, the website, content, user experience, and other on-site features are often the first to come to mind, but that’s not where a searcher’s first impression is born. When your website appears on the search engine results page, that’s often the first time a person comes in contact with your website’s content on a given topic.
The majority of searchers choose from the first five search results. According to a look into search engine results by Rand Fishkin, co-founder of Moz, the first page captures more than 70 percent of all click-throughs. In some cases, that number jumps to more than 90 percent. Suffice it to say, the first impression people get from your website is how you look on the SERP, and that means working on your title tags and meta descriptions.
What’s in a title?
Remember, optimizing for search engines means capturing the attention of the reader and persuading them to click on your website. The first words bolded in the results are the title tag. Title tags are easy enough to write, right? If you think all you need to do is copy the title from the article, you’re losing click-throughs every day. Take a look at these two examples:
1. SEO Tips — Link Graph
2. SEO Tips by Link Graph: Boost CTR Starting Today
Of these two title tags, the second is much more appealing. It pulls the reader in by telling them why they should choose your website. A simple change such as this can increase CTR by 35 percent or more – all just because you told the searcher why your site has the best information.
The power of a great meta description and reputation
Following along the same lines as the title tag, the meta description is the description search engines show just below the title. If you’re writing your meta description in two minutes, you’re not spending enough time crafting a convincing argument. However, there’s a catch.
Search engines don’t always use the meta description you’ve spent hours crafting. This is especially true of Google. There is a way to combat this kick in the SEO gut. You can start each section, typically subheadings with an H2 tag, with a sentence that could work as a meta description. So, if the search engine decides the part of your content under the third subheading is more apt to fulfill the need of the searcher, the excerpt has a stronger chance of reading like a meta and improve CTR.
You don’t have to tackle your SEO reputation on your own.
Making changes to hundreds of thousands of pages of content is a daunting task that many companies don’t have the time to undertake. That’s where companies such as Linkgraph.io come into the equation. They’ve developed a team of SEO gurus and expert writers to improve the reputation of your site without your lifting a finger. To find out how to get start growing your reputation today, call an SEO expert at 929-377-1035. Let’s build your reputation together.
