5 SEO Basics to Improve Your Website’s Google Rank

March 3rd 2024

When WomensNet surveyed its community in late 2023 about the biggest business challenges, we learned that search engine optimization (SEO) was a topic many women business owners wanted help with.

That made sense to us because 53.3% of all website traffic comes from online searches, and 93% of that traffic is through Google, reports Arefs. 

Investing time and energy in SEO can yield substantial results. Although there have been books written on the topic, we picked the top 5 things you can do to quickly improve the results you’re achieving from SEO. 

Even a few tweaks to your website can dramatically improve the results you’re obtaining.

And given that SEO drives 1,000+% more traffic than social media, investing time in boosting your placement on search engine results pages (SERPs) will be worth it.

RELATED: This month, WomensNet is hosting a webinar on SEO. We’ll cover the best practices you need to know for 2024, as well as the top three things you can do to improve your SEO.

Register today

Research which keywords are attracting traffic

To understand how your prospects and customers get to your website, start by finding out what keywords and phrases they’re using. Meaning, what words are your prospects typing into the Google search bar that led them to your site?

You can probably guess some basic words, such as if you run a food truck, odds are good that “food truck” would be a phrase that people are using. 

But what else? Are they using words related to the type of food you sell, such as “meatballs” or “Italian?” Or are they searching more based on location, such as “Boston” or “Back Bay?” Or is their need more specific, such as “organic Italian,” “gluten-free,” or “wedding catering?”

Research what terms are already bringing you traffic, so you can attract more like it.

Add keywords to your site

Once you know what keywords are bringing you traffic, you can strategically begin to place those keywords on your website.

Some of the best places to feature the keywords you’ve uncovered are:

• In the URL for your website
• In the title page for your website
• In your site’s meta description
• In your blog post titles (a.k.a. H1 codes)
• Within the text of your blog posts

Using the keywords that your prospects are looking for as part of your website helps Google confirm that your business is what your prospects are looking for. The more places your website includes mention of relevant keywords, Google assumes there is a greater likelihood that you have what searchers are looking for.

Blog on topics your customers ask about

Adding articles to your blog regularly helps improve your search rank because Google will see that you’re consistently adding new information to your site, which it likes to see.

However, blog posts are another opportunity to infuse some keywords and attract even more attention.

At a minimum, within your blog posts you’ll want to include a relevant keyword in the following places:

• In the title of your post, ideally at the beginning. For example, if the keyword you’re trying to get found for or rank is “dry cleaning,” you’ll want to start the title with those words. Put them up front, followed by qualifying details, such as “Dry cleaning: How to save money.”
• In the first sentence. Use your same keyword again in the first few words of your post. For example, you might start it with, “Dry cleaning bills may be a regular expense if you work in a corporate office.”
• In the first 100 words. After you lead your blog post off with your keyword, use it at least once more, if not twice, in the first 100 words of your article.
• In a photo caption. Below any images or graphics, include a caption that repeats your chosen keyword.

In addition to making use of your keyword multiple times in your blog post, also try to include at least one link to another page on your website, called an internal link. Find a word or phrase in your new article that references a topic you’re previously written about and link to that URL.

Register with Google My Business

Since SEO involves trying to gain favor with Google to some extent, it makes sense that Google will reward companies that set up a business profile with the Google My Business program.

It’s essentially a free way for local businesses to get found. By registering and setting up your company’s profile you can also add details such as your location, hours, phone number, policies, forms of payment accepted, and other features to help answer your buyers’ anticipated questions. You can also add product photos.

Improve page speed

Although the speed at which your website loads has nothing to do with keywords, it does significantly impact the user experience. Having to wait seconds for photos on your site to load can frustrate users, and Google doesn’t appreciate that. It will effectively slap your hand for providing a bad user experience.

Conversely, websites that load seemingly instantaneously provide a positive impression. Google wants to reward that.

Use a tool like page speed evaluators to gauge how well your site is performing. You want a rating between 90-100. Anything below that indicates you have an opportunity for improvement.

By incorporating even one of these practices into your routine, you can improve the performance of your website and your Google rank.