Are you looking for your website to generate more qualified leads? Improving your Search Engine Optimization may be a great strategy for you! Josh Miller from Power Marketing covers 7 SEO Tips For Home Builders to help improve where your website ranks in the SERPs (search engine result pages)!
What is SEO?
SEO or search engine optimization, and it’s the process of appearing higher in search results in Google organically vs paying for positions through Google Ads. There are many factors, but every business’s goal should be to rank in the top three positions or at least on the 1st page of Google search results for keywords relevant to your business.
Google My Business
One way to rank higher for free is to have a Google My Business profile created and optimized. Google provides free space to each business that sets up a profile. This profile contains reviews, contact information, business hours, and other relevant information about your business. It’s an effective way to feature and promote your business at no cost. In addition, Google My Business is often the first impression people have of your business before going to your website. Read more about Google My Business here.
Hosting
Hosting is an essential factor in SEO but is often a missed opportunity. Hosting is more than just the server space your website occupies to exist on the internet. Google will weigh the quality of your hosting services to assign an SEO value. Some of the factors Google considers are download times, software updates, and the server’s security. With the right hosting provider, your website is healthy, safe, and running fast.
Optimize Images
Large images can drastically hinder your website’s download times. The more photo galleries and floor plans you have, the slower your website can become. So it’s essential your files aren’t too large and compress all images. Additionally, if you optimize your photos for SEO, you can rank for relevant searches.
Content
One of the most significant impacts on your website affecting SEO is using quality content. Content is a great way to stand out from the competition. Content can take the form of blogs, white papers, E-Books, and press releases, to name a few. Content not only allows you to help tell your story and inform your readers, but it also signals to Google you are providing helpful information to your website visitors.
Mobile Responsive
When’s the last time you left a website on your smartphone because it was too slow or hard to navigate? 74% of mobile users will abandon mobile websites that don’t load within five seconds. More than 54% of users access the web on mobile devices. Developers should build with a mobile-first perspective. One of the critical elements in Google’s SEO scoring is the user experience on mobile.
Link building
Link building can be complex and time-consuming. It’s hard work but is often ignored in most strategies and can help give you a competitive edge. Link building occurs when other websites hyperlink to your website as a source of information. When a website links to you, it signals to Google your website is an authority and a provider of valuable and quality information. The number of quality backlinks will help weigh things in your favor and build trust with your website users and Google.
Reporting & Analytics
Another tip often overlooked is the importance of reporting and analytics. Analyzing your website traffic and reviewing the data is vital to your future success. You will want to focus on elements such as engagement rate/bounce rate, page views, time spent on site, most visited pages, and traffic sources. Making adjustments to create a better user experience will ultimately aid in SEO ranking.
Final Thoughts
SEO is a process and a long-term objective. It doesn’t happen overnight and does require patience, but it can develop into a valuable source of inbound leads. Many liken SEO to going to the gym, you’re not going to see progress overnight, but if you put in the work and give it time, you will see significant results.