Being good at search engine optimization doesn’t always have to do with link building and social media, the main focus is still on getting your content to engage and convert users.  Whether this is toward your product, services, or building subscribers, you need users to gain power and influence on the web.  That influence can easily net you thousands upon thousands of new back links, social signals and more benefits if you get the right type of viral attraction and sharing.

Are you writing your content with the end user in mind?

Checklist for User Engagement:

1. Is your content easily readable and understood by your browsers? (mobile? tablets?)
2. Do you have strong headings and titles that quickly identify the subject matter and hook?
3. Enhance your blogs pages with media that is relevant and connects with visitors quickly.
4. Create pages that users can easily navigate and scan upon first arrival.

Design is everything.

The design of your website is crucial to getting better results with your visitors online.  Depending on what type of interaction and potential outcome you are looking for, different e-commerce and corporate sites have specific goals while bloggers generally are looking to build their network and following.  Most bloggers hope to earn passively through advertisements, e-books, affiliate marketing, and similar type commission sales.

• Layout – easy to read, navigate, and visualize various elements upon first arrival
• Font and colors – identify vital areas with different font changes; size, color, bold, italic, underline, etc
• Imagery – ensure that images are related and will entice readers to stay on your blog
• Videos – can you integrate them in a meaningful way, don’t use auto-play and annoy visitors away, know your audience

Some things to think about when looking at your websites or blogs layout is the overall page width and sidebar dimensions.  The hopes would be that your content width is wide enough to fill the majority of the visitors screen, while the sidebar still remains easy to read, navigate, and see.  Visitors understand that websites main purpose and hopefully solution or use to them, exists in the main content area of the screen.  So don’t disappoint them by having major ads and other junk spammed through the primary areas, instead intelligently add these features so that they blend in with your overall theme and style.

Create user friendly links!

Lots of times users do not want to be “told what to do” and demanded that they click a link.  This has often been the style of scam and spam websites of the past, labeling links with text like, “click here”, doesn’t help tell the user where they are headed or what they are getting themselves into.  While this may have worked in the AOL days of 2002, users have wisened up and you’ll see a lot of bounces if you use those tactics. Helping tell your readers and gain interest of those viewers who actually will convert and buy into your marketing is key.  There’s no reason to trick an audience that won’t support your business, look to be honest and market to those consumers who are in need of your offers.

Studies have shown that users are more adverse to links with text like:

• Learn more
• Click here
• Click for more information
• Click now

It is best to gie your readers the keywords and summary for where you’ll be sending them if they click your link. Informing your readers of where they are going, will help gain your the clicks and conversions that will actually matter and create opportunities for your website.  This is important in ensuring that the type of traffic your links are receiving is useful and targeted.