Is Your Website Ready for SEO?

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), some websites are just not ready to be optimized. You may take one look at your website and think that it’s ready to go. But it may be missing one or more elements that can make optimizing your site nearly impossible. We’re going to take a look at what these are so that you can save time and make sure your website is ready for SEO.

1. Loads Quickly

If your site doesn’t load quickly, it may not be ready for SEO. It won’t rank high in search engines if people can’t get their information fast enough. If you’re not sure if your website loads quickly, you can check it with Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool. This will not only test your site’s speed but will also let you know what issues could be slowing it down so you can fix them.

2. SEO-Friendly Platform

You would think that all platforms would be SEO-friendly, but they’re not. Some platforms were not built with SEO in mind. To see if your site passes the test, look for things like title tags, meta descriptions, and meta tags. Without these, your site is not SEO friendly. You need to be able to add content and information about your content to drive organic traffic.

3. Site Set-Up

The behind-the-scenes set-up of your site is going to determine whether it’s SEO-ready or not. Notice how it’s coded and how the content is organized. You want to look for things like clean code, JavaScript, and external CSS files. This will ensure that when your site is crawled, the search spider can find what’s important.

4. Multiple Page Website

You may think that having a one-page website is sufficient. Yes, it is easier, but it’s pretty difficult to optimize this type of site. Finding a variety of keywords is nearly impossible when you only have one page to work with. You’ll never get to Google’s first page with a one-page website.

5. Being Mobile-Friendly

These days if your site is not mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a large part of the action. Statistics show that more than 66% of people around the world own a mobile device. More than half of all web traffic is done on a mobile device, and that’s only expected to grow. If your website is not user-friendly, it’s going to impact your search rankings and your user experience.

6. Good Conversion Rate

You also want to make sure that your site has a good conversion rate. How many people who look at your website are actually taking action? Your site needs to be user-friendly and contain vital and interesting information. This will engage people and make them want to explore your site. If your site just looks good from the outside but has no meat inside, it’s not going to lead to a good conversion rate.

7. Have Interesting Content

For your site to be optimized, there needs to be content there that can include keywords that will be picked up by search engines. If your content is not interesting and relevant, it’s not going to do well in the SEO department. You want your site to include information that people will search for when looking for your business or service. If it’s lacking this, it’s not ready for SEO and it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

8. Includes Images that Can be Optimized

Use HTML image elements to embed images in your content. Once these images are there, they can also be optimized. Once your site is ready for SEO, image filenames and alt texts can be optimized to make it easier for Google Images to better understand what you have.

The Bottom Line

Preparing your site for SEO can help everyone involved. It will make the job easier for whoever is in charge of optimizing your page. Once your site is optimized, it’s only going to help you get more traffic and more business. If you send your site out without it being ready, you’re only wasting time and hurting yourself in the long run.