It is essential today to have a basic knowledge of natural referencing, also called SEO (Search Engine Optimization), to optimize a website. SEO is a discipline that aims to improve the visibility of a website on search engines.

In this article, we share ten tips to boost the performance of your website through SEO: 

• Enable SSL Certificate
• Configure a robots.txt file
• Specify a canonical version for each URL
• Make your site mobile friendly
• Define a URL structure
• Reduce site loading time 
• Fill in the metadata
• Think search intent
• Optimize internal meshing
• Configure reporting tools (Google Search Console and Google Analytics)

1. Activate SSL certificate

The HTTPS protocol , defined by the activation of an SSL certificate on your website, allows you to secure exchanges between the server and the Internet user . This is an important recommendation, because Google favors secure sites, particularly for transactions and personal data. In addition, it influences the e-reputation of your site, by reassuring users about the security of their navigation.

2. Configure a robots.txt file

The robots.txt file instructs search engine robots on which pages of your site to index or ignore. It optimizes crawling and indexing, preventing robots from wasting time and energy on irrelevant, non-existent, or duplicate pages.

3. Specify a canonical version for each URL

The canonical tag is used to tell search engines which is the “official” version of a page when multiple URLs lead to the same content. This avoids the problem of duplicate content, which can harm your SEO.

4. Make your site mobile friendly

Having a responsive design site , that is to say one that adapts to different screen sizes (computer, tablet, smartphone) has become a necessity, both for the user experience and for SEO. Indeed, Google now gives priority to mobile-friendly sites, in particular thanks to its mobile-first indexing.

5. Define a URL structure

A clear and well-structured URL helps search engines understand a page and makes it easier for users to navigate. It is therefore recommended to include relevant keywords in URLs to improve their readability and indexing.

6. Reduce site loading time

The loading speed of a site directly influences its bounce rate and, therefore, its SEO. 75% of users consider loading speed as the most important criterion when browsing the web. It is advisable to optimize the weight of images, simplify the HTML code and use caching to improve the performance of your site.

7. Fill in the metadata

Title and meta description tags are key points for SEO. They give a concise description of the content of your page to robots and Internet users. These tags should not be neglected, because they directly influence the click rate in search results.

8. Think search intent

The key to good SEO lies in understanding the needs and expectations of your users . It is therefore essential to create content according to good SEO practices to improve its positioning on search engine results pages. Use keyword research tools to identify popular queries in your field and carry out an analysis to define the search intent and thus propose a type of page (blog article, e-commerce listing page, etc.) and quality content (text, image, etc.) that meets the user’s query.

9. Optimize internal meshing

A good internal linking strategy , that is, the way in which the pages of your site are linked together, helps improve crawling, increase visit time and distribute the popularity of the pages between them. The links made from one page to another on the same site are very important and help channel the juice transmitted and received by the pages. 

10. Configure reporting tools (Google Search Console and Google Analytics)

These two free tools from Google: Google Search Console and Google Analytics provide essential data on the performance of your site , such as visibility in search results, the number of visitors (traffic), their behavior on your site, etc. This information will help you optimize your SEO strategy.

SEO is a long and constantly evolving process that requires constant monitoring. It is imperative to master certain basic elements. These SEO recommendations will allow you to effectively optimize your site and improve your visibility on search engines. The implementation of SEO recommendations requires the allocation of human resources and time as well as great agility. You can also use a tool like EdgeSEO to quickly and efficiently deploy your SEO recommendations.