Keyword-rich page titles and metadata are also mandatory. It’s easy to overlook or underestimate these areas, but optimization is low-hanging fruit for most sites.

Lean code and semantically structured markup language, including the use of keyword-rich heading elements on your pages, aid search engines in finding what they’re looking for when crawling your site.

Authoritative inbound links that are gained organically versus paid links have become one of the most important elements in your SEO efforts. Attaining authoritative inbound links takes time and dedication, but the tremendous impact on how you rank in SERPs and increased overall site traffic make it well worth the effort.

Simple website navigation generally boosts where your site places in organic search rankings. It also helps visitors find what they need without getting frustrated, which is a win for potential conversions.

Fast page loading times is a necessity because, like simple navigation or mobile optimization, responsive sites don’t frustrate visitors or encourage bounce. From an SEO standpoint, site speed is a search engine ranking signal. Sites that are slow in responding to visitor requests for whatever reason (large images, image carousels, etc.) generally rank lower in SERPs because the user experience is jeopardized. Be mindful of functionality and features and how they impact load times.

Being familiar with white hat SEO isn’t enough to keep you from inadvertently crossing into an SEO grey area or, worse, do something that violates search engine guidelines — black hat SEO territory.

Here are some of the top Black Hat SEO tactics to avoid when boosting your website’s visibility:

⦁ Keyword Stuffing

⦁ Meta Keyword Stuffing

⦁ Link Farming

⦁ Cloaking Your Content

⦁ Publishing Bad Content