65: Building Healthy SEO Habits - Part 4: Improving Website Quality

Summary: In this episode, Meredith’s husband discusses how to improve the quality of your website continuously. He explains the importance of regularly reviewing landing pages, user engagement, calls to action (CTAs), and site navigation to maintain and enhance site quality. By analyzing these elements using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console, website owners can make incremental improvements to engage visitors better and optimize their site’s SEO performance.

Blog Post: How to Continuously Improve Your Website’s Quality for Better SEO

Improving the quality of your website isn’t a one-time task. Just like refining any skill, enhancing your website requires consistent effort and regular updates to ensure it continues to perform well for both users and search engines. Whether you're focusing on increasing visitor engagement, optimizing blog content, or making navigation clearer, continuous improvement is key to maintaining a healthy website. In this post, we’ll cover some practical steps you can take to improve the quality of your site over time.

1. Analyze Landing Pages for Engagement

Your landing pages—where users first enter your site—are crucial to your SEO performance. Using Google Analytics, you can see which pages receive the most traffic. Start by checking your top landing pages (Reports > Engagement > Landing Pages) to find which blogs or pages are drawing in visitors. Once you’ve identified these pages, you can make them even better by asking:

• Can I add more relevant content or resources?

• Are there engaging images or videos that could enhance the page?

• Is the layout clear, or could I improve the user experience?

If you improve these high-traffic pages, you’ll likely see an increase in user engagement, which is good for both your visitors and SEO.

2. Improve Your Engagement Rate

A high engagement rate is a positive sign that visitors are interacting with your content, while a low engagement rate means they’re leaving quickly. Engagement is now tracked in Google Analytics (GA4), replacing the older “bounce rate” metric. To improve engagement, consider adding clear CTAs (calls to action) like “Learn More” or “Contact Us” to guide visitors through your site. Make sure these CTAs are relevant and enticing for your target audience. For example, split testing different CTA designs and copy can help you discover which options lead to more clicks.

If split testing isn't practical due to limited traffic, simply ask friends or colleagues to test your site and provide feedback. Is it clear what action users should take? Is the navigation easy to follow? Their input can be valuable for making immediate improvements.

3. Optimize Low-Performing Content

Not all your content will perform well, and that’s okay. Regularly review underperforming blog posts or pages. If a blog has a very low engagement rate, you can:

• Update and improve it with fresh information.

• Combine it with another blog post to make it more comprehensive.

• Remove it and set up a 301 redirect to another relevant page, so visitors don’t end up on a 404 error page.

By consistently optimizing or removing low-performing content, you can ensure your website remains relevant and engaging for your audience.

4. Review Titles and Navigation Regularly

A quick way to assess your site’s quality is by looking at how your page titles appear in Google search results. Type site:yourdomain.com into Google, and it will show you how each page title appears. Make sure your titles aren’t too long, causing them to be cut off. If they are, edit them to be concise and descriptive so users understand what your page offers at a glance.

Another useful exercise is to browse your own site as if you’re a first-time visitor. Can you easily navigate through the site? Do the images, headlines, and buttons make sense without needing to read the detailed text? If the flow is confusing or unclear, make adjustments so your site is user-friendly and intuitive.

Conclusion

Improving your website’s quality is an ongoing process that requires regular attention to detail. By focusing on high-traffic landing pages, optimizing underperforming content, refining CTAs, and regularly reviewing your site’s navigation, you can create a more engaging user experience that also boosts your SEO performance. Incorporating these healthy habits will ensure that your website remains competitive and continues to attract valuable traffic over time.

Resources

For more detailed tutorials on improving your SEO, check out the blog mentioned by Meredith’s husband.