Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO, is a marketing buzzword that seems to come up frequently but is still very misunderstood. Clients often come to us, asking for “SEO services in Pune” to make their website rank as the number one site for a particular word or phrase. There are several tactics we can implement on a website to improve the ranking for a specific term, but to make a significant impact, you have to step back and look at SEO with a much wider lens. While SEO used to be pretty straightforward in terms of optimization, it is now much more complicated.

There is more to SEO than merely tinkering with metadata. User experience, content, link quality, and an overall understanding of the customer journey must all be evaluated along with site mechanics, such as title tags and meta descriptions. That’s why we’re changing the name of the game of SEO services in 2016 to “Search Visibility,” which covers all of the bases you need to consider to get your site noticed by search engines.

SITE MECHANICS & SEO TACTICS

Yes, these old-school methods are still worth implementing. There are upwards of 200 different site mechanics and SEO tactics that Google’s algorithm factors into its rankings. A few noteworthy tactics include:
Implement proper title tags and meta descriptions. These tags make a significant impact on your search rankings when they match up to a user’s query. Title tags should include a keyword-friendly phrase that sums up the page content, while meta descriptions can be comprised of one-to-two sentences describing the page’s content.

Implement proper image tags. Each image you upload should include ALT text. This is what appears if the browser cannot display the picture, but it’s also what search engines use to understand what the image is about. Since Google cannot “see” the image, creating a keyword-friendly ALT tag is vital for showing up in image searches. Bonus points for creating an image title tag and naming the image itself, something that best describes the model and is just a bit catchier than “screenshot1243.jpg.”

No broken links on your site. Broken links cause search engines to second-guess showing off your website as a top result. Most of our clients are often surprised by just how many broken relationships they have on their site, so a regular audit of this is necessary.
Purchase a reliable domain name. While not as strong of a factor as it used to be, search engines still look at the strength of the domain name. If it’s possible to include a keyword in your domain name, it’s helpful to do so.
Maintain a fast site speed. Search engines want the top-ranked sites to be the best choice both in relevant content and in usability. Therefore, search engines do analyze site speed when establishing a website. If your site loads in under one second, you’re in good shape.

Install Google Analytics & Google Webmaster Tools. While this won’t necessarily impact your rankings directly, it is a vital tool to understand your audience and ultimately improve search visibility. Learning how users are getting to your site, at what point they drop off, and what search terms they are using to get there is valuable information you should be looking at regularly.