SEO may not be at the top of your checklist, but it is crucial to your online success. Below are some of the questions we ask ourselves when building a web presence for our clients and ourselves. Check it out!

  • Does your content add value to your visitors? Your website content should be something that is of use to others. We’re not saying you need to reinvent the wheel, but we’re certainly not telling you to post content just to have something live. In order to be seen as a thought leader and THE company in your industry you have to add value to your visitors’s online search journey.  
  • Have you done keyword research? Making sure you’re using the right keywords can be everything. It helps search engines (and humans!)  understand what your website is about.
  • Is the website built well? You want to make sure your website is doing all of the things it should and none of the things it shouldn’t. Your website should be free from 404 errors and other technical issues so search engines know that you’re legit. You should regularly monitor your website for new errors so they can be addressed in a timely manner. 
  • Do you have quality external links? When you link out, make sure it’s useful. Similarly to our first point, don’t use links just to say you have links. Search engine bots will analyze this to see if you’re worth putting at the top of the search results.
  • Do people link back to your website? Just like there should be quality links out, there should be quality links in. Developing a web presence outside of your site can help drive organic traffic and quality visits which will boost your SEO.
  • Do you use multimedia? Text content is important, some may even say it’s the most important part of your website. However, adding photos, gifs and video helps get you one step closer to the coveted top spot of the results list.  Just make sure they are formatted correctly and optimized for SEO. 
  • Are you posting Relevant industry topics? Just like the quality of the content itself, it’s important to make sure the topics you’re honing in on are relevant and useful to your audience. If your thing is birds of paradise (plant or animal) then make sure that’s what your focus is!
  • Are you linking between pages? The easier it is to get around your site, the easier it will be for bots to get around your site and see how you’re the best at what you do. It will also encourage users to stay on your site longer and visit more pages if you link to other relevant content on your site within page content. 
  • Does your slug (aka the part of a URL which identifies a particular page) contain keywords? There are many areas of opportunity to up your SEO game that have nothing to do with the content on your web page. One of the best ways to show a search engine bot that you have what they are looking for is in the slug. Use this little tag to show off the most relevant keywords you’ve got to both the content and your site as a whole.
  • Is your website loading quickly? When your site loads slowly, people are more likely to click off. When your bounce rate increases, your SEO goes down. When your SEO goes down, you get less traffic. It’s a vicious cycle.
  • Is it optimized for mobile view? More and more people are viewing websites entirely through their mobile devices. Having a site that’s optimized for mobile lets people know you know how they’re viewing and lets bots know that you’re keeping up.
  • Is your website secure? If you have out of date themes or plugins, or other gaps in your security, a couple of things could happen. One, you could get hacked, and two, bots will notice and your SEO will go down. Both of those feel bad.

While this list isn’t short, it’s certainly not comprehensive or definitive either. The rules of SEO, just like the rest of the digital world, are apt to change. The most important thing to do is to keep up with the news and keep up with your site – show off the awesome work you do! You’re worth it. Download our SEO checklist to have handy when reviewing your website. Unsure of where to even start? That’s why we’re here. Send hello@redthinkingllc.com a note and let’s get to work!