Basic SEO practices every website must implement

In the modern web, optimizing your site for search engines (SEO) and enhancing accessibility are essential steps to ensure better performance and user experience. Here are key elements to focus on for both SEO and accessibility.

1. Title Tags

The <title> tag is one of the most important SEO elements. It tells both search engines and users what your page is about. Make sure each page has a descriptive <title> tag and keep it under 60 characters to prevent it from being cut off in search results. It's not hard limit you can have title with more than 60 chracters.

<title>Your Page Title</title>

2. Meta Tags

Proper use of meta tags ensures your website performs well on social platforms and search engines. Meta tags like OpenGraph (OG) and Twitter Card help enhance social sharing by providing a preview when users share your links on social media.

OpenGraph Tags Example:

<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title (max 60 characters)" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Page description (max 160 characters)" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://sbthemes.com" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://sbthemes.com/images/logo.png" />

Twitter Card Tags Example:

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@sbthemes" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Page Title (max 60 characters)" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Page description (max 160 characters)" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://sbthemes.com/images/logo.png" />

3. Heading Tags

Organize your content with proper heading tag hierarchy to improve both SEO and user experience. Proper structure allows search engines to understand the importance of your content and helps users navigate it more easily.

<h1>: Main Title
<h2>: Subheading
<h3>: Sub-subheading

Here’s an example:

<h1>Main Title</h1>
  <h2>Subheading</h2>
    <h3>Sub-subheading</h3>
  <h2>Another Subheading</h2>

4. Meta and Canonical Tags

Don’t forget to include essential meta tags for viewport settings, language and instructions for search engine bots. Also, add the canonical link to prevent duplicate content issues.

<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://sbthemes.com/" />

5. Social Media Links

To improve user experience, make sure external links, such as social media links, open in a new tab. This keeps users on your site while they explore external pages.

<a href="https://twitter.com/sbthemes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>

6. Alt Attributes for Images

Always provide descriptive, keyword relevant alt attributes for your images. This not only helps with SEO but also improves accessibility for screen readers.

<img src="logo.png" alt="Your Company Logo" />

7. Image Optimization

Optimizing images can significantly improve your site’s load time, making it more user-friendly and boosting SEO.

Use descriptive filenames like portfolio-theme-example.jpg.
Optimize images for appropriate size, ensuring they fit within the design (e.g., 700px width for a 500px card).
Keep file sizes under 500 KB without losing quality.

In addition, implement lazy loading for images to ensure that they only load when visible on the user’s screen. This further enhances page load speed.

<img src="image.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="image description" />

8. Accessible Buttons and Links

For buttons or links that only feature icons or images, make them accessible by using screen-reader-only text. This ensures that visually impaired users using screen readers can still understand the purpose of the buttons or links

<button>
  <img src="icon.jpg" alt="mobile menu icon" />
  <span class="sr-only">Menu</span>
</button>

By implementing these SEO and accessibility best practices, you're not just optimizing your website for search engines. But you're also creating a seamless, user friendly experience for everyone. From well structured headings to optimized images and accessible buttons, each detail plays a crucial role in boosting your site’s visibility and usability. Remember, a well-optimized site is not just about ranking higher; it's about delivering a better experience to your audience.

Start making these changes today and watch your website performance soar—both in search engine rankings and user satisfaction!

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