Nearly every company today has a website. That is because most people turn to the internet to find a service or product that they need. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is thus more important than ever.
After all, your potential clients do not have time to scroll through pages of search results. They will likely click on one of the first websites they find during their internet search. If you take certain search engine optimization risks, your business’ site should be one of the top Google results. Other risks, however, could just end up hurting your company. You thus need to understand which risks are and are not worth taking.
Risk To Consider: Changing Your Website or URL Structure
If your customers are already used to your URL and/or your website’s design, you may be afraid to change the status quo. However, even small alterations can pay huge dividends.
For starters, make sure your homepage URL simply states your company’s name. Additional web pages should include keywords that specify the content on that page. Keep in mind that most search engines cut off URLs after a certain point, so you cannot make them too long.
Your website may eventually need a change, as well. Consider redesigning the site if it is not user-friendly or appears outdated.
Altering your URL structure or overhauling your website could temporarily affect your Google ranking. Eventually, however, your ranking could increase.
Risk To Consider: Adding Backlinks
Including backlinks on your website is an important SEO strategy. On the surface, it seems risky to give potential customers an easy way to click off your website. However, doing so can increase your Google ranking. That is because Google sees backlinks as evidence of authority.
Risk To Avoid: Deleting Pages or Content
If you are no longer offering a product or service, do not just delete the page of your website that mentions this item. This will also eliminate the ranking for any keywords on the page or the URL itself. Instead, keep the page active and simply direct visitors to a similar product or service that you offer.
Risk To Avoid: Disallowing Neutral Backlinks
Google has started punishing websites for spammy backlinks. However, it is worth keeping neutral backlinks that do not obviously boost your website’s ranking. Even backlinks that appear neutral may actually be helping your ranking.
Implementing SEO strategies for the first time can be risky. However, ignoring search engine optimization entirely is an even bigger risk. The above suggestions should help you determine how to best use optimization techniques to help your business.