First-timers are often attracted to website building because it seems easy but, most importantly, saves cash. And let’s be honest, the likes of Wix, GoDaddy and Squarespace all tell us how simple setting up a CMS website will be, and rather naively, we believe them. Sadly for the novice, it can be a steep learning curve (a bloody nightmare). And one that requires more time than there are days in the week. But don’t fret, this article will help improve your DIY website. How? By making it visible and usable.
Here are the 5 SEO truisms:
1. Website providers lie about SEO.
Website building platforms often promise “SEO already built in”, which implies you don’t need to do anything to be found on Google. That’s a crock. And if you’re in the dark about SEO, I suggest you start with content SEO. Technical SEO is a must but it might push you over the edge so I’d recommend you hire a specialist to help improve your DIY website.
5 types of SEO to know for your business.
2. User experience is God.
User experience (UX) is God for SEO because it’s God for people googling. If your website is like a significant portion of the UK’s inland waterways (unnavigable), it won’t matter how pretty your branding is. Your site structure should be easy to use.
Ideally, the first impression of your website will be one packed full of positive vibes. Its message should be quickly obvious to the user. Does the homepage ‘above the fold’ section immediately express your website’s purpose? That is to say, do visitors get the picture before they scroll? The ‘above the fold’ portion will display differently on various devices so concentrate on conveying your message as soon as possible.
Try not to bombard the visitor. Autoplay rolling header images can be distracting (and they can take an age to load). Word up: you don’t have to fill every inch of white space. Your cookie pop-up doesn’t actually have to pop up (and dominate the entire page, this happens on mobile view a lot). Your GDPR notice can be a nice quiet banner allowing visitors to continue to see the webpage. And while we’re on the subject, you don’t need twenty-seven popups. No one does.
Web design which marries beauty with functionality will outperform busy and complex websites. Throwing money at a sexy design won’t necessarily generate more traffic——which is what you want. UX wins every time and usability helps to cultivate something else: dwell time. That’s the time visitors spend exploring your website.
Side note: dwell time isn’t a priority if users have been directed to a landing page/sales page. Those pages have one purpose: to convert. However, dwell time is very much a thing for blog pages coz we want visitors to read all our other articles.
Your content should also be UX-smart. Can users find what they need? Or does it take ages? Are they like Lucy, blindly walking through the wardrobe only to find another land, a fawn and the start of a holy war (when all she wanted was a downloadable PDF)?
3. You still need keywords.
These are the broad terms and phrases you want your website to be found for. Each page and blog post must target a different keyword/phrase.
4 different keyword types for SEO.
Don’t go keyword crazy, that won’t work but decent keyword research is vital to your website’s online visibility.
Find long-tail keywords and unlock your traffic potential.
4. Content always counts.
The only thing worse than a shitty-looking website is a badly written one. Content is a huge deal for SEO and if you only have one option to improve your DIY website, make content the choice because, without it, you don’t have a business let alone a website.
Content writing: the ONLY reason to get hot for it.
One of the major ways to improve your DIY website would be to start blogging. Regular content increases web traffic (both organic/search and direct traffic). To ram home: content SEO is the bollocks when it comes to attracting your people. It has massive benefits for your website AND your business.
Blogging: the long game of client attraction.
5. SEO doesn’t impact quality.
SEO, specifically on-page SEO optimises your superbly written content. No, not by making it great for bots/terrible for humans (STOP BELIEVING THAT, it’s exhausting), but by doing things that don’t impact the quality of the content. On-page SEO has nothing to do with fucking up quality but EVERYTHING to do with formatting, linking, improving page snippets and URL configurations… etc etc.
What’s SEO content writing? 6 things to know.
Side note: your website provider may gatekeep SEO tools. If you’re on a basic plan, you won’t be able to access additional elements that improve optimisation. I’d recommend upgrading if you’re serious about improving your DIY website.
To summarise…
Accessibility is your friend. Don’t make visiting your website hard work. Be easy on the eye——and I don’t just mean a good-looking design, avoid colours that induce a migraine or eye strain. SEO is never an afterthought. And yes, you should’ve considered all this BEFORE you began building your site, but here we are, thankfully you can retrospectively make amends.
Article updated, 30th June 2024.
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