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The Planning Phase: SEO Strategies for a Sticky Website

Everyone knows that SEO is essential when launching a website and that you need to start thinking about your tactics as soon as you hire a designer. One thing that will help your SEO is a website that is ‘sticky’. This means a website that visitors want to spend time on and visit regularly.

A sticky website is good for SEO because the length of time that visitors spend on your website is important for your rankings. If the majority of visitors find your website in the search engine, click on the link and then return immediately, this suggests the site does not offer sufficient value.

So how can you get a sticker website by incorporating SEO strategies? Here are a few things to consider.

Web Design that Gets People to Hang Around

Web design is key for SEO, and it pays from an SEO point of view to spend a little extra to get your web design right from the start. A website that is unattractive, slow to load and confusing is only going to see your bounce rate shoot up, and good design is therefore essential for both SEO and to make your website stickier.

A professional designer will make sure your site is attractive, stylish, interesting, fast and has clear navigation, all of which are crucial to make your website sticky.

A Website that Is Optimised for Mobile

If your website looks terrible on a smartphone screen, you’re not going to be doing yourself any favours. Many people use mobile devices to visit websites these days, and for SEO purposes, you need to make sure your site is optimised otherwise visitors will leave quickly, increasing your bounce rate, and hurting your SEO.

A responsive website design is a great option. This will make sure your website can be viewed easily on any screen size, and it is well worth considering one if you are concerned about having a sticky site that does not send visitors away because they cannot read the content.

Content that Engages

Content should be keyword optimised, and you should plan from the beginning which keywords you will optimise your site for. But remember that keyword-focused content is just the basic necessity for SEO, and you need to make that content sticky.

Engaging content is the best way to get people to stay on your site rather than returning to the search engines. A blog is a great place to write new, engaging content and encourage debate by getting people to comment on the posts. Ask your designer to include a blog in your website and consider adding videos and graphics as well as text. Plan your content publishing schedule even before you have started your website and you will have a greater chance of making it sticky.

Make It a Social Experience

Plan to incorporate social media into your website from the start. Social marketing is a big area for SEO. The more people share your content, the more links will point back to your website and the better it is going to be for your SEO. If you incorporate social media into your website from the start, you will also make it more sticky by increasing user engagement. So place social media buttons with your content to allow people to share your content with greater ease.

Launch Your Sticky Website

A sticky website needs to be engaging and easy to use. Think about the ways you can use SEO strategies make your website more sticky and encourage visitors to stay for longer. Plan stickiness into your website strategy from the beginning, and enjoy the benefits this will have for your business.

Sorcha Mullis is an Online Marketing Specialist with White Chalk Road, a leading search engine optimisation (SEO) and online marketing firm in Perth, Western Australia. White Chalk Road provides SEO, SEM, PPC and online reputation management services to clients based in Perth and wider Australia. Connect with Sorcha on Google+.