A sure roadmap to stay ahead on the web for content developers

A roadmap or web strategy provides guidance for the design and development of a website or platform. By understanding what the owner(s) hopes to achieve, designers and developers can create a project that meets those requirements, is optimized for search engines, and provides a good user experience. This journey requires a plan an this article hopes to lay it down for you.

1- Unique Domain Name

You should pick a unique domain name that is easy to remember and easy-to-pronounce. You might be tempted to pick an exact match domain (EMD). But you should not go for it. A partial match domain (PMD) is not only a safe bet but also provides some SEO benefits.

2- Use Country TLD Extension

If you want your website to rank higher for any particular country, you should opt for a country code top-level domain (.in, .ca, .pt .com.gh, .ng, .ug, .tz .com.cn). However, doing so limits your site’s ability to rank globally.

3- Use Keyword in Title Tags

After content, a title tag is the second most important element of a webpage. It tells search engines what the page is about. You should always use keywords in the Title Tags of your web pages.

4- Front Load Title Tags with Keyword

According to Moz data, web pages having Title Tags starting with keywords perform better than those with keywords at the end of Title Tags. My friend, make sure that you front-load Title tags with important keywords.

5- Use Keywords in Meta Descriptions

Make sure you use important keywords in Meta descriptions. Doing so will help Google know what the pages are about. Also, you should not forget to add a call-to-action (CTA) to the Meta descriptions of your website.

<meta name="keywords" content="file sharing, music upload">

6- Use Keyword h1 Tag

After a Title tag, h1 tag plays an important role in sending relevancy signals to search engines. According to a study, using a keyword in h1 tag offers some SEO benefit. So never forget to use a keyword in h1 tag.

7- Keyword Density Still Matters

No matter what people say, keyword density still matters. But not as much as it used to be. You should include the main keyword and other key phrases in a natural manner in your content.

8- Use LSI Keywords in Content

According to a study, long tail keywords not only increased website traffic but also converted 2.5 times better than head terms. So, my friend, start using LSI keywords in your content. Check my post- How to Find Long Tail Keywords (Step-By-Step Guide) for more details about long tail keywords.

9- Remove Duplicate Content

If your website pages have similar content, this is not good for ranking. You should remove duplicate content. Google has explained the issue of duplicate content at length.

10- Create SEO-friendly URL structures

According to Search Engine Journal, excessively long URLs may affect search engine visibility. URL path also matters – a page close to a homepage may get some boost in search engine ranking. So make sure your website has SEO-friendly URL structures.

11- Optimize Images

On site SEO checklist cannot be completed without image optimization. Not only should you optimize the size of your images but also optimize Metadata. Make sure file name, alt text, title, description, and caption all are optimized to maximize SEO benefit.

12- Update Content Frequently

Google always looks for fresh content that meets searchers’ queries. By updating content frequently, you will add a freshness factor to it, improving the chance to rank higher. Therefore, make a habit to update frequently the content on your website.

13- Use Keyword in the First Paragraph

Having the main keyword in the first 100 words is a strong relevancy signal. So you should try to make sure that you use the main keyword in the first paragraph.

14- Do Proper Internal Linking

According to Yoast, “By adding the right internal links you make sure Google understands the relevancey of pages, the relationship between pages and the value of pages.”