What does it mean to optimise your website

Read time: 9 minutes

It is important to have an optimised website to increase your chances of being found online by your customers. But what does it mean to optimise your website? In this blog post, we will outline what website optimisation means and give you some simple tips that will help you improve your website!

What does it mean to optimise your website?

Having a website is a great start for any business. It is important to have a website so that your customers can find your business online, research your products/services and get in touch with your customer service team. But having a website doesn’t mean that your customers will be able to find it. We need to optimise our websites to ensure customers can always find it when they search with Google or other search engines.

So, what does optimising your website involve? Website optimisation can involve lots of different things which should all contribute to making the site functional, user-friendly and search engine optimised (Google friendly). The goal is to make Google like your website so that your customers can easily find your business when they search for your products/services.

Website optimisation can be achieved through making regular updates, creating easy to read content, adding links throughout your website, making sure your images aren’t too big and using tailored keywords throughout your content.

How to optimise your website

Now that we know what it means to optimise your website, we can start looking at how to optimise your website! There are a few basic strategies you can begin with which we’ve included below:  

1. Write content that is easy to read

It is important that your content is easy to read for both customers and Google. Here are some good rules of thumb to follow –

Include subheadings: Customers often skim through the web looking for information that is most relevant to them. Subheadings help map out information, giving customers an overall picture of what the piece of writing is about. If the reader decides that the subheadings match what they are looking for, they will then read the information underneath each relevant heading. Google like to see subheadings too! They recognise content with subheadings as easy to read and are more likely to show websites that include headings in their search results.

Write short sentences: Short, simple and direct sentences are easier to read. A general guide is to keep most sentences under 20 words. Your readers will prefer this, and Google will reward you for it! Writing shorter sentences may seem difficult at first as it is hard to explain complex concepts. We recommend expressing one main point per sentence to keep your sentences short and crisp.

Write small paragraphs: Small paragraphs are also easier to read for customers. We recommend keeping your paragraphs to under 150 words so that customers don’t feel overwhelmed by large chunks of text.  

2. Setting different keywords across your website

It is important you use keywords throughout your website. But what is a keyword you ask? A keyword, or phrase, is one specific term you focus on throughout a page of your website.

Keywords/phrases are what you want your website to rank for on the search results page of Google. Think about the words or phrases your customers might search on Google to find your products or services. Using words that your customers use to search in the text on your website helps your website get found more easily! We recommend focusing on one keyword or phrase per page on your website.

There are two main types of keywords that you should be aware of: fat-head keywords (AKA short-tail keywords) and long-tail keywords. The type of keywords you use on your website will depend on the nature of your business.

Fat-head keywords: These keywords are one-word or two-word terms like “earrings” or “diamond earrings”. As they are short and broad terms, more people are searching them and therefore using them in your website has the potential to generate more visits to your website. However, as many big businesses try to rank for these keywords they also have a lot of competition and it can be difficult to maintain a high rank. Fat-head keywords also might not be the most relevant to your business. These keywords are useful for brands who sell internationally. They are also alright to use if you sell a broad range of products/services.

Long-tail keywords: These keywords are longer phrases like “diamond earrings for sale in Melbourne” or “dangly diamond earrings with a flower design”. As these search terms are more specific there are less people searching them on Google. However, it is much more likely that your website will rank on the first page of search results when you use long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are great for local businesses and businesses who sell niche products and services.

3. Adding relevant links across your website

Including links throughout your website will make it easier for your customers to navigate through all the information about your business. Links will also help Google recognise your website as legitimate and relevant to consumers. There are two different types of links that you should use throughout your website: external links and internal links.

External links: External links are links to other websites. These links can be to your social media pages, supplier’s websites, business partners, industry bodies you are a member of, and resources that could help your customers learn about a topic related to your business.

Internal links: Internal links link a page on your website to other page(s) across your website. They help your users navigate through your website more easily. It is important that these links are relevant to ensure that you are giving customers the information they are looking for.

It is also important to regularly check the links on your site to ensure that they are not broken. A broken link is one that takes users to the wrong page or gives them a 404 not found error. Having broken links across your site can greatly upset user experience and will also worsen your ranking on Google.

We hope this blog helped you understand what it means to optimise your website and gave you some insights into how website optimisation works! At Redsteps Web, we offer search engine optimisation services to businesses throughout Australia. Contact us today to find out how our SEO services can help optimise your website.

If you would like more tips on website hosting, website optimisation and digital marketing, follow us on Facebook!