admin If you do a Google search for website design Dallas, what do you see? The first thing you might notice is that there is a lot of competition for those keywords. What that means is that the ones that made it to the top of those search results did a little bit of work to get there.
It’s not easy to reach the top of the search engines. If you think about it, there are at least 100 different agencies that offer web design in that area. Only 10 of those 100 will make it to organic search results on the first page. This means that every little bit of strategy counts.
Organic Search Results
The real search results that come from hard work and strategic maneuvering are deemed organic search results. The reason they are called this is that they appear organically in search results without having to pay for them, or without having to be within a certain geological distance. The exact way that these results are formulated is still a heavily guarded secret and continually changes, but people who know their stuff can get results.
For Google, the search results fall in this order:
- Paid advertisements
- Local businesses
- Organic results
Whenever you do a Google search the top 4 or 5 results will be paid results. If you look closely you will see the word “Ad” to the left of the URL of the results.
The section underneath the ads is the local business results. These results will show up primarily based on the location of the person doing the search. All of the businesses that appear in the results within this section have a Google My Business account and the results that you see are because of that account.
Directly under the business section are the organic search results. This is where the money is. You don’t have to pay for the ads, but if you manage to get there you can do it based on keywords and skill.
Think Ahead of the Game
If you are building a website and want it to show up for search results one of the greatest ways to get a head start is to use pillar keywords in the URL within the domain name. What this means is that when you go to register a domain name, instead of using your business name, incorporate a pillar keyword into the address.
For example, if the name of the business is Horse Man and the company paints houses it would be challenging for search results to show house painters if the URL only says, horseman. It would be beneficial if the keywords “house painter” and the city of the main service area were in the URL as well.
Some pros would argue that this would make a cumbersome URL, however, do a little research on your own and see. The domain name can have a powerful advantage over other competitors because it automatically states what the website is about. If there is content on the site that matches those keywords it really helps to achieve top-ranking results.
On-Page SEO Design for Success
In addition to phenomenal graphics and a great user experience, the way that the website is built will seriously help to improve web result possibilities in the future. If the website is for a business that has a lot of competitive keywords it is important to strategically construct the site for the best possible outcome.
As we mentioned above, if the domain name has a pillar keyword in it you are off to a great start. In addition to the domain name, the pages must have keywords in them as well, however, you can’t stuff them all over the pages, you have to use a bit of finesse.
Landing Pages
For websites that have multiple keywords the best way to get results is to build a landing page for each pillar keyword and focus the attention of the keyword on each page. For example, if the website offers a selection of services or items each service or item should have its own landing page.
Each landing page will be structured to accommodate its own pillar keyword and get results in the search engines. If the website is for a company that offers both printing services and office administration services the way to get results for both keywords is to build a landing page for each service.
Page Titles
Sometimes people confuse the main heading of a website with the title of the website. The difference between the title and the heading is that the title of the page shows up in the tab of the website in the browser, and the heading of the page shows up at the top of the page.
Page titles and headings can be the same, but it is more effective to try and get the most out of both of them.
The page title should always have the pillar keyword for that page in it. When the search engines look for the best results to present to a user they look for content that best matches the query within the URL, the title, the heading, the text, and the subheadings.
Each landing page will have its own title, headings, and so on. For every landing page, the keyword for that page should be within the title and the main heading.
Website Content
In addition to good-looking graphics and interesting infographics, the words on each page have to establish authority on the keywords that they are presenting. If the keyword you are trying to get results for is jewelry, for example, the structure of each page should have content about jewelry.
It is not good practice to simply insert the word “jewelry” into every space that you can fit it. Mention it in the title, in the headings, in the first paragraph of the content on the page, then later on in the subheadings.
Be sure to add at least 700 words of quality content on the landing pages that you want to show up. The content must be unique and interesting. The better the content, the higher the odds of your pages showing up in the top search results.
Technical Website Structure
In addition to the website looking great and having the proper keywords in it, there is the factor of technical SEO. Behind the scenes, in the code, Google likes to make sure that there is proper schema markup. This information allows Google to see more about the website and why it exists.
In addition to the technical markup, there is also the element of alt text for images. If all of the images on the website have adequate alternate text that has keywords in them, the possibility of higher search results becomes great.
At the very top of the page, there is what’s known as the meta description. Although many web designers make the mistake of overlooking this element, it is important to include a short, but descriptive line of text so that when people find the page in search results, they see a professional, informational blurb that will cause them to click on the page and see more.
Conclusion
Powerful SEO and great web development go hand in hand. It is much more than the looks that determine the success of a website. In many cases, nobody would ever find the site if it wasn’t visible in the search engines. With a little bit of planning and a lot of strategic work, it is possible to create a great website that dominates the search engines and generates conversions.
