There is a common misconception among business owners that if your website isn’t performing to your expectations, you need to hire a professional. There is some truth in this. After all, if you don’t have a clue about websites and you have no idea how to add content to your site, the time it would take to figure this out is probably cost prohibitive. But, if you do have a website login and you know how to use it, there is an awful lot you can do to help boost your website that doesn’t involve paying a hefty SEO agency invoice.
Pick the Right Theme
Does your website have a theme? By theme, I mean the theme you use to create the right “look” for your site. Many business owners stick to free themes. There are thousands to choose from if you build a website on a CMS such as WordPress or Magento. Free is good for your pocket, but free themes can look a bit generic.
Often, it is better to pay for a premium theme or pay a developer to build you a custom site. For example, if you run a cleaning business, you probably have stiff competition with dozens of rival businesses competing for the same market space. Websites designed for cleaning businesses are fully optimized from the start, which gives you an advantage from day one. Once you achieve a good position in the search engines, you can work on a few DIY strategies to ensure you stay there.
Add Extra Content
Look at your website objectively. How much content is there? If all you have is a few sentences and some contact details, there is no real incentive for people to stick around. This is fine if your website is little more than an online brochure or place marker, but adding extra content is a quick and easy way to boost search engine visibility.
You need professionally written text containing keywords. Search engines use keywords to help them figure out what the page is all about. The right keywords ensure your website shows up when someone searches for content that matches your keywords.
Fill out your pages with useful, well-written text and add a blog so you can keep the site updated regularly. This shouldn’t take up too much of your time, but if it does, you can always outsource the writing to a freelancer.
ALT Text for Images
Is your website image heavy? This is quite common with e-commerce sites, as images are used to promote goods. Images are perfect for human visitors, but search engines can’t read images unless you add an ALT tag to each image.
The ALT attribute is a description of the image. For example, if you have an image of a bed on your site, you might describe it as French Rococo-style bed 1850. This would help Google to decide whether the image was a good match in searches for French-style beds.
Try some quick fixes before you hire an SEO agency – they might just do the trick!
