Last week, we introduced you to the SEO Holiday Gift Guide, or, basically, what you can do for Google this Holiday season. We covered the basic gifts your site can present to Google to make the search engine happy.
Fresh content, title tags & meta descriptions, a sitemap, robots file… All of these, when implemented correctly on your site will be among the best gifts Google could possibly get this year. However, Google, just like your eclectic aunt, is always changing and finding new things to love/hate. With that in mind, we have a few more suggestions as to how to make Google one happy search engine this holiday season.
The SEO Holiday Gift Guide, or Google’s Wishlist (Part 2)
(As a reminder: Giving Google any of the gifts on this wishlist also helps your business, as these are the very same things which can improve your website’s visibility and get you higher up on Google’s search results.)
A Healthy Link Profile
Good health isn’t restricted to New Year’s resolutions. Google likes to see websites that don’t have a bunch of irrelevant, unrelated links going to it. Remember: The best gift you can give to Google is a website which makes an effort to be the most readable, relevant resource for its users. Give Google a picture-perfect link profile to increase your trust flow and let Google know you are an industry authority.
Even if your website has a manual penalty from Google, it’s not the end of the world. You can mend your ways and get those bad links removed. Doing so will get you back in Google’s good graces—just in time for the holidays.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Considering Google’s recent focus on mobile-friendliness, this gift is sure to be a knockout. Google likes when users can easily find what they’re looking for, no matter the device they search from.
All selfless intentions aside, optimizing your site for mobile use only helps your business in the long run. Think about it: Would you waste your time on a site which you can’t look at any time you want? Making your site mobile-friendly can be arduous, but Google will reward you with a nifty “Mobile-Friendly” label for your efforts.
Responsive Web Design
We’ve said before how much Google appreciates when you make things easier for users, and nowhere is this more apparent than in web design. A website that’s easy on the eyes and easy to use will let Google know you’ve thought of others’ needs first before your own.
A responsive website can lead to users staying on your pages for longer periods of time. A lower bounce rate will catch Google’s eye and reward you with higher rankings. This flashy gift may be for Google, but who says you can’t enjoy it, too?
Schema Data Markup
Here’s a practical gift Google will love: Schema Data Markup gives your site an information makeover. With schema data markup, Google will be able to understand what’s on your pages and provide better search results for its users—which Google is, like, really into.
Schema Data Markup can take a while to implement, especially if you have a large site. But you don’t need to add it to every page; however many pages you do mark up, Google will appreciate (and reward!) the effort.
Give the Gift of Everything You Got to Google This Year
That, in a nutshell, is the SEO Gift Guide for this year. Again, these are the basics and intermediate-level steps you should take to get in Google’s good graces.
Happy holidays!
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