Winning SEO Strategies from 2024
We are almost in the last quarter of 2024, it’s the perfect time to refresh your SEO strategies to stay ahead of the curve. SEO isn’t just about getting to the top of search results; it’s about connecting with your audience in a meaningful way and driving organic growth. Let’s get into these simple yet powerful SEO tactics that will help you out this year!
Quick Refresher! What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing your website to improve its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in search engines like Google. Simply put, it’s the process of making your website super attractive to search engines. The goal is to get higher rankings on the search results page, which can lead to more traffic to your site. You do this by using the right keywords, meta tags, and images, making your site easy to navigate, and ensuring it loads quickly on all devices so that search engines can better understand and index your pages.
Let’s start with the strategies you may already know…
1. SEO Titles and Descriptions
SEO titles and descriptions are essential for drawing users from the search results page to your website. Write compelling, concise, and informative titles and descriptions that accurately reflect the content of your pages. You want to make sure you are using your ‘keywords’ related to that page, in the title and the description.
SEO Titles: Aim for about 50-60 characters. Titles longer than 60 characters may be shortened in the search results, which could lead to important information being cut off.
Ex. Financial Coach Business: "Increase Your Business Finances With A Financial Coach"
SEO Descriptions: These should be approximately 150-160 characters long. While Google can display up to around 160 characters, longer descriptions might be shortened as well, so you should try to include key information early in the description.
Ex: “Let us help you upgrade your finances. We'll give you coaching that boosts your financial literacy, helps you manage debt, and grows your investments.”
This title is concise at 54 characters and effectively communicates the core offering. The description, at 150 characters, clearly highlights the benefits and services provided by the financial business, appealing to potential clients searching for financial improvement and education.
2. Alt Tags for Images
Alt tags are a necessity for improving the accessibility and SEO of your website’s images. Describe your images accurately using alt tags to help search engines index them properly and bring more traffic via image search. Include keywords related to the image and content, but ensure they are used naturally and appropriately.
Adding an alt tag on a Squarespace image
3. Optimizing Images
Image optimization helps enhance page load speeds and improve user experience. Compress images and use the correct formats to ensure your pages load quickly, which is vital for SEO. I like to use the website Tiny PNG.
Now for the SEO strategies, you may not have known…
1. Embrace AI and Machine Learning
I know, not everyone likes to hear it but 2024 is all about smarter SEO, and nothing says smart like AI. Search engines are getting better at understanding user intent, so your SEO efforts should focus on answering your audience’s real questions. For example, AI tools can analyze large sets of data from search trends, user behaviors, and interactions to identify what topics are most appealing to your audience. You could use AI-driven keyword research tools to find keywords that are highly specific but less competitive, which might be overlooked using traditional methods.
2. Voice Search Optimization
With the rise of digital assistants, optimizing for voice search is more popular than ever. Focus on long-tail keywords that match the conversational tone people use in spoken search queries. It’s about thinking how someone would ask a question out loud and tailoring your content to fit.
Ex. A person might use voice search to find a local coffee shop by saying, "Where's the closest coffee shop that's open now?" To optimize for this type of search, your content should include conversational phrases and answers to common questions.
You could create a FAQ page on your coffee shop's website that answers questions like, "What are your opening hours?" or "Do you have free Wi-Fi?" Additionally, structuring your location information, hours, and services in an easily accessible format, to help search engines understand the content of your page, can enhance your visibility in voice search results.
Something to think about implementing right!?
3. Mobile-First Indexing
Prioritize Mobile Optimization!
Google has FULLY embraced mobile-first indexing, meaning it predominantly uses the mobile version of your website content for indexing and ranking. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly with responsive design, fast loading times, and accessible navigation. It’s soooo important.
For more on this check out our blog: “4 Key Practices to Enhance Website Layout and User Experience”
4. Video Content for Better Engagement
Videos can dramatically boost user engagement and time spent on a website, which are both important SEO factors. Embed relevant, high-quality videos on your site, and optimized video titles and descriptions with keywords to improve visibility.
5. EAT Your Way to the Top
Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
Google loves content that exhibits expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EAT). For your new SEO strategy, focus on creating well-researched and accurate content that establishes your authority in your niche, and make sure your site’s metadata and backlink profile(also known as inbound links or incoming links) reflect this quality.
There you have it!
Fresh SEO strategies to help you dominate in rankings. I know they may seem confusing or a lot to deal with but remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time, patience, and persistence, but with these strategies, you’re well on your way to top-tier rankings. So why wait? Start implementing these strategies today!
If you’re eager to learn more or need advice tailored to your business, don’t hesitate to reach out or check out our blog for more insights, there’s more to come! And if you’re looking to give your website an extra edge, why not browse our template shop for SEO-optimized designs?
