SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Your website is a great resource for existing and potential customers.
Unlike a brochure or a slide deck, your website can contain the latest information, is available 24/7, and is easily accessed from anywhere.
- 66% of B2B buyers said it is very important to have a website that speaks directly to industry needs and shows relevant expertise. (Forbes)
- Nine out of ten B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions. (CMO Council)
Most people rely on search engines to guide them through their research process instead of going directly to a site.
Therefore, your website needs to be constructed so search engines can help find your site for your customers.
Here’s a quick guide to creating web pages that your customers and Search Engines will find useful.
Titles
It’s important to remember that people rarely read web pages in full, so it’s important that a page title be descriptive and concise.
Google displays the first 50 to 60 characters of a title tag, which is displayed not only in search results, but also in web browsers and social networks.
In the example below, including the words “from Scratch in” in the title pushed the word “Guide” off the search results page.
Heading Tags
Heading tags (H1, H2, H3 … H6) in a web page markup lay out the hierarchy of the page. They help search engines, screen readers and your readers how blocks of content are connected.
Snippets
A web page “snippet” is automatically created from page content or can be configured using plugin software such as Yoast SEO on WordPress.
Google will sometimes use meta description tags to create snippets if they think it gives a better summary of what a page is about.
NOTE – If your website supports cloning of pages or posts, be sure to update the <meta> description tag when you create your new page – otherwise you’ll have duplicate meta descriptions which will impact search!
For example search engines will see your duplicated pages like this:
- Apples web page > Meta Description = We have Honey Crisp apples!
- Mangos web page (copied from Apples web page) > Meta Description = We have Honey Crisp apples!
Very confusing for a search engine and customers trying to find mangos.