When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), there is a lot to know, but when it’s done correctly, it really does make a difference. It brings you to the top of a person’s search results, meaning that the likelihood of that person clicking on your website instead of others improves exponentially. This can lead to sales, new customers, and more.

Three are two different techniques for SEO: black hat SEO and white hat SEO. White hat SEO is the strategy that follows the principles, guidelines, and ethics provided by search engines. 

On the opposite side, black hat SEO is those that skirt the principles, guidelines, and ethics of search engines. Instead, black hat SEO consists of tricks and shortcuts to help hack a higher ranking. That is a high-level look at the difference, but here is a more detailed look if you are still unclear.

The gist of it all? Stick to white hat SEO techniques. Here’s what white hat SEO services looked like in 2021 to help you form a better picture in your head. To help you this year and beyond, here are five white hat SEO services to give your business a boost that a company like InnoVision can provide.

1. Think in Terms of Mobile

When it came to designing a website or figuring out if something looked good digitally, most people in the past focused on whether it looked good on a wired computer or laptop, and mobile visualization and design took a back seat. Those days are over. With more and more people using their phones or tablets to look things up on the web, mobile needs to come first.

Making sure that your website meets the criteria for being mobile-friendly will help give your SEO a nice boost. For instance, Google uses whether or not a website is mobile-friendly as a factor in their rankings.

2. Research Your Keywords

When it comes to SEO, it’s all about the keywords. You need to use keywords on your website and within your content, so search engines can correctly and frequently match you with whatever search a person is doing. Because of this, keyword research is a very important white hat SEO service.

To research your keyword effectively, you need to understand your target market. You also need to learn how they are looking for whatever it is you’re promoting or selling on your website and the terms they use to run their searches. 

Some tools to help you figure out which keywords you should be using are Google AdWords Keyword Planner, AHREFs, and SEMrush.

3. Link Building

Optimizing links and link building will help you drive more traffic to your site. Connect with other website owners relevant to your site and form a partnership where include some of their links in your content and they, in turn, link back to pages on your website. This is one of the top white hat SEO services to help you increase your website traffic.

You are broadcasting your content to another business’s audience. Think of it like the “word of mouth” of digital marketing. One thing to note is that you will need to be careful not to excessively link build, as this could come off as spammy and slide quickly into a black hat SEO tactic. Be strategic in the links you choose and don’t overdo it.

4. Don’t Forget the Image Search

When people search on search engines, they don’t always search using just plain text. Sometimes, they use the “search by image” feature, which can be a top way to drive traffic to your site. However, if you’re not adding ALT text or tags to your photos, you are missing out on that traffic opportunity. Make sure that all images on your website have ALT tags attached to them, as this is how you will appear when someone is searching utilizing the image search function. 

It also will improve the user experience of your website. If your website is slow to load or doesn’t load at all, the ALT tags will appear in the place of the image, so users still know what they are supposed to be looking at.

5. Make Sure the User Experience Is Great

User experience plays a big role in your SEO ranking. If a user is having a bad experience on a site, they are more likely to get frustrated and leave the site. To prevent this, make sure that users don’t face any issues on your site, such as unnecessary pop-ups that can block the view or functionality of the site. Additionally, if your site is easy to use and has a good user experience, people are more likely to recommend it to others they know.

As you can see, when it comes to white hat SEO services, there are several you can implement to help give your business a boost. It can be intimidating at first, especially if you are new to the world of digital marketing. But an online presence is crucial with today’s technology to attract new customers and ramp up business.

If you’re not confident in successfully implementing a digital marketing plan for your business, there are many digital marketing agencies that are pros at all this, like InnoVision Marketing Group. These agencies speak SEO as a second language and have vast experience when it comes to white hat SEO services that work. They also know the black hat SEO services to avoid, ensuring that your website stays on the good side of search engines and continues to rank as high as can be.

If you would like some guidance with your digital marketing strategy or if you would like for it to be off your plate completely and handled by professionals, reach out to a company like InnoVision about your needs. They can make it happen.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].