SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to your website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. The rules for great SEO and accessibility are closely related because, ultimately, the ways in which a screen reader and a search engine read your website are very similar. Even without hiring an SEO expert, there are five simple actions you can take with your website’s content now to improve your search ranking.
- Use a mobile-friendly framework. If your site is using Responsive Framework, you’re already doing this!
- Follow our content best practices guide. Following our content best practices guide is the easiest and most straightforward way to improve your SEO. By simply making sure your content is up to date, relevant, well-written, and accessible, you’ll already be well on your way to improving your search rankings.
- Understand how users search. At the heart of SEO is intent—what are your users looking for on your site, and what words do they use to do so? If you have a limited budget or resources, doing some brainstorming with your team is better than no action at all. However, the best ways of understanding this are through user research.
- Write for humans, optimize for search engines. First and foremost, make sure your writing is clear, concise, and easy for your visitors to understand. Break up large chunks of text into smaller, scannable chunks with headings and collapsibles so it’s easy to see what information the page contains at a glance. Then, look at your page with an editor’s eyes. Is the terminology you are using relevant and clear, or are you finding a lot of internal jargon that a new student may not know to search for? Write and edit with your audience in mind, and consider referencing data-based user personas to keep you on track. A user researcher can help you put one together.
- Analyze your existing search traffic. If you’re unsure of where to start, Google Analytics is one place you can look to see what is working and what isn’t. If you’re new to Google Analytics or haven’t had training in data analysis, a data analyst can help interpret this data and turn it into actionable insights to improve your website’s performance in many areas long term.
Source: Search Engine Watch