Improving Your SEO (7/26/2018)
Picture this: you have a 12-year-old son and you want him to get out more and make some new friends. It’d be nice if he learned some valuable life skills while he’s at it, too. You grab a computer and start searching online for some local clubs, youth organizations, or activities. What do you think you find when you do a search online? Do you find anything about your local DeMolay chapter? Probably not. So, why do those other websites pop up but your Jurisdiction or chapter website doesn’t? Search engine optimization will help make sure your website pops up higher in those searches.
Search engine optimization (SEO) ensures that search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are showing your website to people as much as possible. A good SEO score can help make your website show up in local searches, increasing the odds that members of your community will find out about DeMolay. It can also help improve DeMolay’s online presence as a whole. We live in the 21st century, and to be found or read about you need a strong online presence.
Here are some quick, easy tips for improving your chapter or jurisdiction’s SEO:
1.) Use a Content Management System. Systems like WordPress, Wix, or Weebly make developing a website much easier by decreasing the technical skills necessary to develop and maintain your website.
2.) Have a Responsive Website. Make sure your site works on all platforms including tablet and phone. Google has huge penalties on your SEO score if your site can not be viewed well on a mobile device. CMSs will automatically help make your website mobile-friendly.
3.) Keep your URL simple. Keeping your page’s URLs simple and consistent will help people find information more readily, and it’s something that search engines take into account when determining your SEO score. For example, if you have information about your Conclave on your site, make the URL: “YourJurisdiction.org/Conclave2018”.
4.) Post often. Search engines reward sites that are updated regularly, so your site needs to be updated often enough that Google and other search engines can tell that it’s relevant.
With these simple and easy tips, you can improve your SEO score drastically, and hopefully, your site will show up increasingly often in searches. These steps are just the beginning. With some technical skills, you can do even more with your SEO score. If you would like to discuss SEO further, please email DeMolay International's Director of IT & Media, Dad TJ Lange at tjlange@demolay.org. If we generate enough interest, we will provide some more tips about SEO in another article. Let’s work on this together, and really help the brotherhood of DeMolay reach more people.