Institutional Marketing, Web Team
Dept. 3226, 1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071-2000
Email: webhelp@uwyo.edu
-----------------------------------
Web Strategist, Shelbey Gunter
Email: sprusia@uwyo.edu
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making websites and webpages more visible and accessible on search engines such as Google. It involves using techniques that help websites appear higher in search results, leading to increased online visibility and potential visitors.
There are a lot of factors that go into SEO, and while it can seem daunting, there are ways you can implement better SEO practices across your pages and site(s).
Always Keep Search Intent in Mind
Before you even get started on creating an SEO strategy, it's important to keep search intent top of mind. Search intent refers to a user's purpose or goal behind an online search query. When you go to Google, you always have in mind what you're about to search. With this in mind, when you're building a page or a site's SEO strategy, think about what your users would be searching for on your particular site.
There are four types of search intent:
Informational
User is seeking information or answers to a question.
"What type of degree do I need to be a computer game programmer?"
Commercial
User is furthering investigation and gathering more information.
"Best affordable colleges"
Transactional
User intends to complete a transaction online.
"Download Navigate"
Navigational
User know what they want but needs help getting there.
"WyoCourses login"
Keyword Research
At Institutional Marketing, this is the main SEO factor we use across all the sites we manage. And when you think about it, keywords are how you search for websites and products, so why not implement that understanding on your pages?
Step 1: Answer "What is the point of this page?" Based on your answer, keep the focus of that page tight.
Step 2: Conduct keyword research
Use free tools like Ubersuggest or Semrush
Google what you would Google to find your page and see what words those top pages are using frequently in their headings, descriptions and content on the page
Contact Web Strategist, Shelbey Gunter (sprusia@uwyo.edu) to conduct keyword research on your page or site
Step 3: Make a list of primary keywords (3-5 words)
Step 4: Use those primary keywords in your H1, descriptions and throughout the page
Step 5: Use supplementary/secondary keywords throughout the content that complement your primary keywords
Example: Supplementary/secondary keywords for the primary keyword "philosophy degree" would be "stoicism," "existentialism" and "Greek"
Other Keyword Research Tips:
Avoid using words in your page that people don't normally search for.
Example: Use "college" NOT "institution"
Spell out "University of Wyoming" at least once.
Use UW and Wyoming specific keywords.
Avoid oversaturation of keywords.
Make sure when you're using keywords, it sounds natural. Search engines will flag your page if it doesn't.
Content & Web Design
Content and web design are the two main factors that influence user experience on a webpage. As a web user yourself, when you land on a page with clustered web design, huge paragraphs of text or unhelpful content, you close out of that page and find another. Keep this in mind when creating your own pages. Write for your audience, use keywords and display your content in a format that makes sense for the user.
Content Tips:
Headline is 5-10 words, between 50-60 characters and contains exact keywords
Meta description between 50-60 characters, has keywords and sufficiently descriptive
300-700 words (or more) per page
Determine purpose
Pages that have long lists are BAD for SEO
Here are just a few examples of webpages on UW's website that use great content and web design:
Linking
Linking is vital for SEO because it plays a role in establishing a website's credibility, authority and visibility on search engines. When reputable websites link to your content (such at UW's website and beyond), search engines interpret these links as endorsements, indicating your page is relevant and valuable.
Linking, both internally within the uwyo.edu site and externally, enhances the overall user experience and navigation on your site. It assists search engines discovering and indexing your content, thus leading to organic traffic.
Sitemap Optimization & Website Optimization
When organizing your site, it's important that the flow/map of it makes sense not only for users, but for search engines. Using a visual sitemap tool like GlooMaps can help you see the big picture of your site and help you organize it in a way that makes sense. For example, if you want different pages for your emeritus faculty, staff and graduate students, it would make sense to put those pages under the /faculty folder on your site.
Website optimization is about making your website faster, like compressing your images, making it mobile-responsive and fixing errors across your site. Ensure users are getting an optimal experience by checking your websites not only on your screen, but screens with varying sizes, tablets and on your mobile device. This will show you if there are any errors. Checking for broken links and other errors once a month is a great practice to get into.
Social Network
If you have social media accounts that are associated with your webpages, be sure to link them and give them a shout out when necessary. Not only will this get more people to your social media, it will be another link on the page (which we know is another factor of SEO).
If you are interested in discussing whether or not your program, initiative, group and/or department qualify for social media accounts, please contact Social Media Strategist, Hannah Ellis (hellis4@uwyo.edu).
Traffic & Ranking
After all that hard work you've done to optimize your page(s) for search engines, you want to be sure to track the progress of those pages. Looking at digital analytics such as users, average time on page, views and more will give you a good idea of how well your site is doing. There are a lot of great tools to see what kind of traffic your site is bringing in. To be added to the University of Wyoming's Google Analytics, please email webhelp@uwyo.edu.
If you'd like a basic analytics report on your site and/or pages or want to see how your page is ranking for certain keywords, please email Web Strategist, Shelbey Gunter (sprusia@uwyo.edu).
Strategy
All these different factors that go into SEO, encompass your whole SEO strategy. While every aspect is important, to get started, try implementing a few aspects into your website plan and build your way up. Creating a strong SEO strategy is like planning a game where you figure out the best ways to make your website show up higher in search results. All these things work together to make your website popular and easier to discover online!
Interested in learning more about SEO? Check out these resources:
If you're interested in working with someone from the Institutional Marketing Web Team to implement an SEO strategy, please email Web Strategist, Shelbey Gunter (sprusia@uwyo.edu).
Institutional Marketing, Web Team
Dept. 3226, 1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071-2000
Email: webhelp@uwyo.edu
-----------------------------------
Web Strategist, Shelbey Gunter
Email: sprusia@uwyo.edu