23 pro SEO tips for improving your websites position in Google
Latest advice for optimising a dental website
During quarter one of 2012, Google made significant changes to the way that it ranks websites. Many of the traditional ways used for optimising sites, particularly certain types of back-linking, were invalidated and some methods were penalised. This resulted in dramatic ranking drops for many dental websites where SEO campaigns had been performed too aggressively. For example, too many links with identical anchor text were deemed to be unnatural resulting in demotion in the rankings. So what dental SEO techniques are safe and will yield results after the Google updates?
On site optimisation
- text must be natural – absolutely no keyword stuffing
- add fresh content regularly
- progressively increase the overall foot-print of the site – a dental blog is becoming essential
- make sure the website coding is to the latest standards
- check that your page titles and heading tag configuration is correct
- use internal links, particularly to the headline pages
- don’t over use footer navigation
- avoid “exact matches” in page titles, urls and h1 tags
- make sure your text reads professionally and is free from errors
- make sure your text provides good contextual support for your keywords
- no duplicate content – ensure your text is unique
- differentiate your content – use a unique page for key treatments
- check your page load speed – slow loading sites are penalised by Google
- understand the use of the “no follow” tag for outbound links
Off-site optimisation
- links need to be good quality, themed and relevant
- do not build poor quality links – e.g. irrelevant directory submissions, blog-roll links etc
- mix up the link anchor text – don’t just use your target phrases
- vary the quantity of links placed per month
- take an active role in social media – social signals (Tweets, Likes, Facebook, Google+ posts etc) are becoming increasingly important
- seek links from suppliers sites or other dental websites
- seek links from “authoritative” sites like local media companies
- submit to local, high quality directories – this will assist your Google Local ranking (Places page)
- encourage positive patient reviews in Google and other review sites
There are a number of additional factors to take into consideration when search engine optimising a dental website but the list above will give you a great start.
Please call us on 01332 672548 for no-obligation advice about SEO for your website.