Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is a process that allows you to maximize the number of visitors to your website by optimizing your site content so it appears high in search results.

Front load keywords

Put the most important information at the front of your titles, headings, and paragraphs. Usually the most important information and keywords are the same thing. As you write user-focused content, you’ll simultaneously improve your SEO.

You should aim to use keywords 2-5 times throughout a page. This strengthens the value to keywords that were used in the page title and meta description, and gives your content the additional chance that based on user search query, if the page title and meta description doesn't contain the correct keywords, the page will still appear in search results.

Use:

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Don’t use:

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Title tag

The title tag should be no more than 55 characters and include keywords for the specific page. It often appears in search results as a clickable title.

If not added or poorly optimized, you'll be relying on Google to present a desirable title.

Page titles

Include your keywords in the first 65 characters of your page title, as these are indexed by search engines and appear as linked headings on search results pages.

Meta description

Manually add a meta description before you publish a webpage. This ~160-character snippet should summarize page content, with keywords up front. Google will show the meta description in its search results.

Alt text

Alternative text (alt text) appears on pages while the image is still loading, or when it fails to load.

Alt text allows users with accessibility needs to know what the image is. This text is also accessed for SEO in image searches and is a good place to put keywords in order to improve your rating. Read more on how to write alt text.

Please note that alt text is not the same as a picture caption which displays under the image at all times.

Linking

Pages rank better when they have both internal and external links, as well as when other pages link to them. Include grouped links to related information at the bottom of your section or page.