22 Jan 10 tips for optimising your website
Read time: 5 minutes
We continue our ’10 tips’ blog series with 10 tips for optimising your website! To make sure your website is both user and Google friendly, we recommend implementing these website optimisation tips.
10 tips for optimising your website
1. Set a keyword or keyphrase for each page
We’ll kick of our tips for optimising your website with the most important thing to focus on when trying to get your website ranking on google: keywords! Whenever you make a new page, choose a keyword to focus on. Use that keyword throughout your text on the page so Google knows what you’re talking about and therefore shows your website to people searching for that keyword. You should only focus on that keyword on one page – keep it unique – don’t have multiple pages trying to rank for the same keyword, it’s counterproductive!
2. Keep your images small
Make sure none of your images are too big. The larger the image file, the slower it will load on your website. It can be frustrating for the end user to navigate around a slow website, especially if they have a slow internet connection. If your website is loading slowly, Google are less likely to show it in search results. For most applications, we recommend sizing your images at less than 200kb and to a web-appropriate size (600px X 400px for featured images for example).
To resize images, we recommend free tools like Canva and Pixlr – both also have mobile apps.
3. Give your images alt text
When you upload an image to your website, always remember to assign alt text. This is what visually impaired visitors will hear in place of the image when assistance devices read web pages. Google also look for alt text on images, so using your keywords in the alt text is always a good idea.
4. Use heading and subheadings
Google love headings and subheadings and so do your readers! Not only does it break up your text and make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for, it also tells search engines that certain information is more important than other info on the page. It creates a hierarchy in your text which can help you rank higher on Google.
Try using <h1> and <h2> tags in your page. H1 is ‘Heading One’ so assign this tag to the most important words and information on your page. We recommend only having one H1 tag (main heading / heading one) in each page so Google and other search engines can understand the main idea of that page.
5. Write plenty of content
We recommend having at least 300-500 words on each page of your website. This will give you more opportunity to use your keywords and give Google more to read when scanning your site. We understand it can be difficult on pages such as ‘Contact’ where they may only be a contact form and a few lines of text, but for pages you want to show up on Google search results, the more words the better. Only include high quality and relevant information for your end users though, as while it’s helpful to appease search engines, if our end users don’t want to or can’t read our content it defeats the purpose of having it there in the first place.
6. Set meta descriptions
Always set a meta description when you create a new page or post on your website. A meta description is what people will see as the small summary underneath your website listing or listed page in the Google search results. A meta description should include the keyword for that page and a brief overview of the information readers will find on that page. Use this as the quick summary to tell people what they will find or read about on the page if they click on the link.
7. Keep your sentences short
To ensure your copy is easy to read, keep most of your sentences under 20 words. Google recognises short sentences as easy to read and then reward you for it by showing your website on more search result pages.
8. Add internal & external links
Give credit where it is due and link to other websites. These are called ‘external links’. Google look for external links to determine how relevant your website is to a search query. Try linking to your Facebook page, a supplier or a business partner’s website throughout your site. Internal links are great too – they help people navigate through your website more easily. Always include links to other relevant pages on your website. These links can help to build your trust score across your website too, so linking to important and relevant sites can help your own site to look more trustworthy.
9. Check for broken links
From time to time, it’s good to check the links on your website. As we create new pages, delete old content and edit pages, it’s easy for links to break. It can be very frustrating for a website visitor to click on a link that goes to the wrong page or worse, a 404 page not found error! Make sure all your links go to the right place.
We recommend having your website set up with Google Search Console which tracks the health of your site and web pages and tells you where you’ve got broken links on your site.
10. Clean up your database
To keep your website running smoothly and loading quickly, keep your database clean – it’s just like cleaning out your wardrobe, garage or pantry! Delete old files and images that are no longer being used. Remove old plugins that are not in use. Get rid of duplicate content and draft pages that you don’t plan on publishing. Things build up over time and it’s great to do regular checks and clean outs to keep your site running smoothly. Once you’ve done this, always do a quick check over your site to make sure you haven’t accidentally deleted an image or file that was being used, now leaving a blank space on your website.
We hope you loved these tips for optimising your website. If you want help optimising your website, contact us today to find out about our SEO packages. We offer search engine optimisation services to businesses throughout Australia.
Redsteps turned 10 in mid-2019, so we’ve been celebrating with a series of ’10 tips’ blogs to help you with your business’ marketing. Follow us on LinkedIn to be the first to know when we upload our next blog!