There are many elements to consider when approaching your site’s SEO. With so much to take into account across the whole site, it’s easy to forget that search engine optimisation is built up page by page. Like any great task, SEO can be broken down into smaller steps that are easier to take in.

Let’s start with what the user starts with: the page title. This appears in the search engine results and is generally the first thing a user knows of your site. It’s also thought that titles are the first thing search engine spiders see when they come to a page. The title of a page, therefore, needs to push forward a couple of keywords, but also describe the page in a way that will be attractive to human users. When writing title tags, it’s a good idea to write five words that describe the page, and then see how keywords can be worked in.

Another element both users and search engines consider is the page’s URL. Page addresses are an underused resource that any good SEO consultant will optimise immediately. When approaching the optimisation of your site, it’s good to work out a naming convention to help when creating URLs. A file naming convention makes the creation of search engine-friendly URLs a lot easier.

Next, your user will see your meta description tag. Most search engines handily display this below your page title in the SERPs, allowing you to directly advertise the page to the user. ‘Advertise’ here doesn’t mean to exaggerate the page in order to draw the user in. Like every element of SEO, the description tag must accurately reflect the page’s content or it could draw search engine penalties. This doesn’t mean that your meta description tag can’t be written with finesse in order to present the page in its best light.

The metaphorical user, having appreciated your well-crafted title, description and URL, then clicks through to your page. The next thing they will note is your design. An SEO expert will try to minimise the size of your pages so that they load swiftly. They will also employ techniques to cover the use of any content that search engine spiders can’t crawl easily, such as Flash content or images. If all works well, your site’s users should experience smooth communication with your site and the search engines should as well.

Content is one of the most important areas of your site’s search engine optimisation because it provides the broadest area in which to catch the search engines’ attention. It is for this reason many businesses approach their SEO company for professionally written content, and you can discuss your content options with us at SEO Consult.

These are the first few steps a user takes into your site. Search engine optimisation is, of course, about much more than the basic elements of a page, but it’s important to keep the user experience in mind when designing an SEO strategy.

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