Successive Google algorithm updates have seen the nature of SEO change radically. Where once processes such as keyword stuffing – cramming words that are popular in Google searches into your website’s copy, whether they make sense or not – may have worked, now they can actually work against you. Limit each paragraph to 2-3 sentences at most. It’s even okay to use one-sentence paragraphs if necessary, but use them sparingly or your post will look like a bullet-pointed blog without the bullets. For sites “with just a few things to mark up,” Google also offers a tool within Search Console that allows a site owner to quickly click-and-drag to apply structured data. As an owner or stakeholder in a website, you must take the time to discover content, evaluate that content, and implement a link to it on a webpage.

Use outbound link strategies

Excessive repetition of keywords, and using keywords that are irrelevant to the rest of your content, are likely to earn you a penalty Sitelinks have the benefit of distributing organic search traffic that would normally be concentrated on your homepage across other areas of your site. Content marketing has always been crucial but it is no longer enough to research several industry keywords, place them on your blog and rely on affiliate network to post links back to your site. Analysing a competitor’s recurring backlinks will quickly give you a feel for their regular content promotion strategy, and an invaluable insight into their ‘inner circle’ of sharers/linkers.

Make frequent link audits

In the earlier days of SEO, the organic search engine optimization discipline was more of a technical skill, of making sites crawlable. Then the focus switched to creating quality content where keywords were used in a natural way. Like most SEO professionals, nothing wrecks my digestive system more than an organic traffic drop with no apparent reason. Know where and how to use keywords in your content for maximum searchability. To offer the best possible results, search engines must attempt to discover all the public pages on the World Wide Web and then present the ones that best match up with the user’s search query.

Google loves fast sites, and so do your customers

Research other business websites and encourage them to link to your site. Joint ventures are a good way to exchange links and benefit each other’s business as well. Building backlinks is not enough. You also have to monitor every link your website is earning. Not knowing who links to you or when links are being removed can cost you a lot of traffic. While the worldwide average is two words per search phrase, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia all show that searchers prefer the use of three- or four-word terms. We asked an SEO Specialist, Gaz Hall, for his thoughts on the matter: "How SEO works for a big brand with an established reputation and a massive marketing team, PR agency and all of that stuff is very different to how SEO works for some local tradesmen with a low-end budget that has to catch up with the big boys."

Learn more about your audience

Link Building is arguably one of the easiest steps to Search Engine Optimization, since links don’t really need to be written or phrased in a certain way. The Internet, or World Wide Web as it was once known, really is a kind of web. Websites feature links that lead to other websites, featuring yet more links leading to still more websites, and so on. Becoming a memorable part of that web will take lots of work and involve creating many links to other parts of the web, just like other websites do. Find out who your customers are and what words they use to describe your product, because people will use the same terms to find your website. Using these terms, often made into long-tail keywords, can really help you optimize your local business SEO. HTTPS secures the connection to the website you are visiting. I’m sure you have seen this in action; look at the address bar in the browser and find the lock icon on the left-hand side. Is the lock closed? Then the connection is secure.