Everyone optimizes their site when they first create their webpage, but how often do you optimize after that? When is the right time to re-optimize? To find the right answer to this question, you must first comprehend that SEO is not a one time thing, but a continuous process. So, how do you know when it’s time to optimize?
When Doing a Redesign
You are redesigning for a reason, which means that whatever the cause of that may be will have an effect on your optimization. It is like starting back at square one sometimes, specially if pages get added or changed. It is similar to when you move, sure you have the same furniture, but it’s going to fit differently in the new space. This is the same for your content, so search engines will need to look for your content differently as well.
When Adding New Content
When you add new content to a site, hopefully you are keeping in mind the right titles and attributes that will help them rank in the search engines. However, a common side effect of adding new content is that it will affect the old content as well. You will want to have some of your old pages linking to your new content in order to make the transition and navigation around the site smoother. If you put a lot of new content in one place without adding to old content in other places or linking them together, it could have a negative effect in the search engine. Adding new content is a good thing, just as long as you provide several ways for people to access that new content.
When Circumstances Change
Most people have heard the famous saying: “adapt or die”, this speaks volumes for search engine optimization. When factors on your page, site or Google’s SEO algorithm change, then the way you optimize should as well. If something on your page goes viral through social media, it may be wise to look into other opportunities to strive for further success. If a under-performing page all of a sudden is ranking, then look into reasons that might have caused this in order to continue that upward momentum. Case and point is new elements usually mean rethinking old decisions and changing accordingly.
When it’s been awhile
If the word “optimizing” is a forgotten word to you, then it may be time to get back on track. You should be tracking your optimization on each page, and know which ones are performing well and which are not. If a page isn’t performing well and it’s been awhile since you have touched that content, you may need to spend some time on it. There are some questions you can ask yourself that will help guide you when taking the next step in optimizing.
- Has the page performance changed?
- Is it ranking more now?
- Is it ranking higher than other things now?
- How are people reacting to the changes?
- How long are people staying on a page, and are they looking at more pages on the site?
- Have the number of clicks or impressions on this page changed?
The key take away from this is to always be optimizing! Search engine optimization isn’t a one and done type thing, you need to constantly optimize your website to stay on top.