Spring Cleaning: 10 Steps to Refresh Your SEO

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Spring’s here, and it’s a great opportunity for a quick SEO refresh for your website. Take a break from cleaning out your closet and add some water + sunshine to your site’s SEO. By the time summer rolls around, you could be reeling in a fresh new stream of traffic!

Optimize Your Site Settings

When building a new free website with Wix, default text is populated into the site’s SEO settings. If you don’t customize the Title and Description of your website, you miss out on the most effective (and easiest) way to present your website to online visitors and search engines.

From the top menu of the website builder: click Settings > Site Optimization.

1. Site Title

Below is what a website’s title looks like, in a search for “spring dresses”:

> Enter a straightforward title with your name and basic description of what you offer. If you’re a local business, include your city, or “regional” location.

2. Site Description

This text is referred by Google as a “snippet”. It is the text that appears below a site title in a search result:

> Enter in 1-2 sentences that describe your services or product. Use simple, catchy languages that appeals to visitors and makes them want to click.

3. Allow search engines to see your site

There’s an option that allows website owners to block search engines from site. It’s a good tool for sites under construction or website owners experimenting with different versions of a site before selecting the winner.

> Make sure the box “Let search engines find my website” is checked. Be sure to Save!

Optimize Content

The meat of your site is the on-page content. All the text that explains or promotes what you offer is hugely important. The goal is to offer quality and relevant information that provides one thing: value.

4. Refresh your on-page text

Show that a real flesh-and-blood person is behind your website.

> Do a quick sweep over your on-page content.

> Make sure dates are updated to 2011

> Offer updates about about new products or industry-relevant changes

> Fix any grammar or spelling mistakes

5. No spam

It’s easy for search engines (and human visitors) to detect spam content and to leave your site as soon as they enter. Google is getting better and better at spotting spammers.

> Make sure all content is original. Do not “hide” text or links by making them the same color as the background. This is a cheap trick that search engines have been able to detect for years.

6. Use keywords smartly

“Keywords” are words describing your site, that visitors are likely to type into a search.

> Use keywords organically, so it doesn’t seem you’re “packing” them in.

> Check out the free Google AdWords Keyword Tool for new trends or words to consider using.

> Use them in both Site Settings AND on-page text.

Reinvent Your Link-building Campaign

Getting other websites to link back to yours is still the most powerful way to get higher rankings in search engines. However, it’s also one of the toughest parts of SEO since it’s not directly under your control.

7.  Content is king. Add unique, quality content to your site and give people a genuine reason to want to link to you!

8.  Tap into your online community. Find sites, blogs, forums, etc. in your field/industry, and build a name for yourself by offering comments, answering questions.

9.  E-mail or call people. Networking on the web is similar to the real-world model it’s based on. Organize partnerships, joint events, cooperative promotions, etc.

10. Customize your social media profiles. Make it as easy as possible for others to find you by linking your site to Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. Check out this earlier post on top 5 Facebook apps for businesses (Wix’ new free app is # 1!)

Spring is upon us – welcome it with an SEO refresh!