One of the biggest misconceptions about the internet is that you can just set up a website and leave it alone. Businesses who believe this might have websites that are a decade old, expecting them to function just as well as they function when they were set up, years ago. Anyone who actually finds your website, however, will discover just how poorly it functions. Instead of trying to use it, they will defect to one of your competitors. An old website does nothing for your business but ensure that no one wants to give you their money.

Your website has to evolve, just like your business and the industry is continually evolving. Search engines expect this kind of evolution and give preference to websites that are consistently updated. This goes for the content and your optimization just as much for your design. Here are some of the aspects you need to keep updated if you want your website to remain optimized and functional:

web design in sarasota

Titles

While the most important content on your website is, after all, the content, your titles continue to be extremely important to SEO. The titles of your webpages are not just the big words at the top of the page, they are what shows up on the tab when someone opens your link. It’s also what shows up in search results, so it is what is going to convince someone to either click on your page or to choose a different link. It’s important to keep in mind when you are creating your titles that you are writing for both man and machine. The search algorithm is very concerned with what your titles look like but people are not going to click on them if they are geared only for search engines.

 The key is keywords. If you have the right keywords, you will be able to attract attention from both people and the search algorithm. Look at what keywords are drawing people to the kind of content that you are writing. Google Trends is a good way to find what keywords are popular right now. You can even compare two different keywords to see which one is being searched more often and, therefore, which one you should use. Look at three or four variations of the same keywords in order to find the one with the most searches and you will know what version of the keyword you should use in your title.

Your title in general should be as short as possible. You don’t want someone to be able to lose interest while reading it. The keyword should be as close to the beginning of the title as possible.

Description

Along with your title, another area you need to optimize and revisit regularly is your business’s description. This isn’t your About Us page, it’s the 156 characters that show up underneath your title in the search results. This is your meta description and should be as concise as possible to ensure that they get the point of your page and can make a decision about whether or not it is offering them the information that they want or need. This is a simple tag in the creation of your website.

Other pages

website design in floridaIt’s easy to remember to optimize your home page, but what about all of your pages? If you are only taking the time to optimize one page, you really aren’t going to see the results you want. It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t use the same keywords for every single page on your website. In fact, this can actually be very bad for your search rankings. Instead, spread your keywords out across your website, choosing the most relevant keywords for each page. Remember, your website’s purpose is to generate as much business for you as possible. Keep this in mind will optimizing your pages to make sure that you get the most relevant traffic to the most relevant page.

Home page

Your home page is most people’s first introduction to your business, which means that you need to keep it up to date with the most relevant information about your business. More specifically, the most relevant information about your business needs to be above the fold. This means your logo, a headline that explains your business briefly, and one or two sentences that provide a little clarification to your headline. This should all be topped off with a call to action that is visible and compels the user to take the action you want them to take.

The blog

If you have a blog attached to your website (and you should), you should make an effort to keep that blog updated and optimized. A blog is a great opportunity to draw people to your website with content, but you do not want to go keyword-crazy here. Your first priority should be to engage and inform, not just to attract. A blog is only effective if it is continually updated and if the content posted there is relevant and engaging. Many people make the mistake of slapping just any old content on their blog whenever the fancy strikes them, and that simply does not work.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the internet is that you can just set up a website and leave it alone. Businesses who believe this might have websites that are a decade old, expecting them to function just as well as they function when they were set up, years ago. Anyone who actually finds your website, however, will discover just how poorly it functions. Instead of trying to use it, they will defect to one of your competitors. An old website does nothing for your business but ensure that no one wants to give you their money.

Your website has to evolve, just like your business and the industry is continually evolving. Search engines expect this kind of evolution and give preference to websites that are consistently updated. This goes for the content and your optimization just as much for your design. Here are some of the aspects you need to keep updated if you want your website to remain optimized and functional:

web design in sarasota

Titles

While the most important content on your website is, after all, the content, your titles continue to be extremely important to SEO. The titles of your webpages are not just the big words at the top of the page, they are what shows up on the tab when someone opens your link. It’s also what shows up in search results, so it is what is going to convince someone to either click on your page or to choose a different link. It’s important to keep in mind when you are creating your titles that you are writing for both man and machine. The search algorithm is very concerned with what your titles look like but people are not going to click on them if they are geared only for search engines.

 The key is keywords. If you have the right keywords, you will be able to attract attention from both people and the search algorithm. Look at what keywords are drawing people to the kind of content that you are writing. Google Trends is a good way to find what keywords are popular right now. You can even compare two different keywords to see which one is being searched more often and, therefore, which one you should use. Look at three or four variations of the same keywords in order to find the one with the most searches and you will know what version of the keyword you should use in your title.

Your title in general should be as short as possible. You don’t want someone to be able to lose interest while reading it. The keyword should be as close to the beginning of the title as possible.

Description

Along with your title, another area you need to optimize and revisit regularly is your business’s description. This isn’t your About Us page, it’s the 156 characters that show up underneath your title in the search results. This is your meta description and should be as concise as possible to ensure that they get the point of your page and can make a decision about whether or not it is offering them the information that they want or need. This is a simple tag in the creation of your website.

Other pages

website design in floridaIt’s easy to remember to optimize your home page, but what about all of your pages? If you are only taking the time to optimize one page, you really aren’t going to see the results you want. It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t use the same keywords for every single page on your website. In fact, this can actually be very bad for your search rankings. Instead, spread your keywords out across your website, choosing the most relevant keywords for each page. Remember, your website’s purpose is to generate as much business for you as possible. Keep this in mind will optimizing your pages to make sure that you get the most relevant traffic to the most relevant page.

Home page

Your home page is most people’s first introduction to your business, which means that you need to keep it up to date with the most relevant information about your business. More specifically, the most relevant information about your business needs to be above the fold. This means your logo, a headline that explains your business briefly, and one or two sentences that provide a little clarification to your headline. This should all be topped off with a call to action that is visible and compels the user to take the action you want them to take.

The blog

If you have a blog attached to your website (and you should), you should make an effort to keep that blog updated and optimized. A blog is a great opportunity to draw people to your website with content, but you do not want to go keyword-crazy here. Your first priority should be to engage and inform, not just to attract. A blog is only effective if it is continually updated and if the content posted there is relevant and engaging. Many people make the mistake of slapping just any old content on their blog whenever the fancy strikes them, and that simply does not work.

Published on December 1, 2016

About the Author: Julie Kubalik

Julie is a Senior Web Developer (and coffee enthusiast) at Aginto Solutions. She's the great mind behind many of our fantastic web creations. When she's not working on projects for our clients, you can find her (with a cup of coffee) rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers.