You wouldn’t want to open a new bakery in the middle of the forest. We know that location is a key ingredient in the success of a business. And the digital equivalent to the location of your business is our ability to find you via search engines.

Why is this key ingredient being overlooked, particularly by associations & NGOs in Brussels? We are attempting to find out.

Earlier this month we organised a webinar to explain the importance of SEO in the world of EU policy, and to offer some easy-to-apply tips.  

Click here for a more detailed presentation, and keep reading to learn four ways you can improve SEO – starting today!

Keywords
Using the right words in your website content is one thing you have 100% control over:

• Identify the right keywords for your audience by using tools like the free Google Keyword Planner
• Be very specific (‘long tail’ & ‘deep’ keywords). Don’t just write ‘new energy directive’, write ‘Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU’ 
• Keywords should be used in titles, subtitles and URL (at the start, in the text where appropriate, and final 100 words of the text)
• Don’t overuse keywords, as Google will punish you (check out the formula in our presentation).

Images
Small tweaks in how you upload and label images can have a lot of impact on your SEO:

• Make sure images are labeled correctly, using the right keywords (the file name matters!)
• Use meta tags to tell search engines what the image is all about
• Use alt text, which appears in case someone cannot see the image

Backlinks
Links to your website and its content are crucial indicators for Google of how important your website is.

Ask your members to publish a link to your website. Try to get the backlink from your stakeholders, partners or consultants. Send out a PR text with a link to your website. Try to get valuable links from other relevant websites in your niche.

UX
Google pays a lot of attention to what people do once they are on your website. The bounce rate and time spent on site are very relevant. Focus on providing your visitor with a journey that offers them real value: link internally to relevant content, publish more multimedia content (videos, animations, etc.) and always put yourself in the shoes of your target user: how would they want to experience your website?

These four things don’t require you to be a SEO expert or to hire a consultant or an agency – you can start doing them today.

We hope you found this little guide helpful. If you would like a free SEO audit of your website, don’t hesitate to contact us!