Have you ever wondered how a NASCAR pit crew works? It is as critical to the race as the driver and the car on the track.
In fact, some NASCAR enthusiasts also call these three the “Holy Trinity” as the driver, the car on the track, and the pit crew together make the race possible. Without the pit crew, the driver’s safety and the car’s performance might get in jeopardy. Similarly, your website’s performance and visibility are also influenced by a few extraneous elements. If you don’t get them right, you may not be able to get ahead of your online competitors!
In high-stakes racing scenarios, the efficient working of the pit crew at stops ultimately decides the driver’s performance. With a typical 10-second pit stop, the competitor may already be a quarter-mile ahead. So, every split second matters and it may be the difference between first place and fifth at the Daytona 500 or any other global championship. If the pit crew falls apart, the driver’s chances of making a comeback on the track are extremely low.
On that note, Google is similar to a race track, and your website is akin to a racecar. A wide range of factors determines whether your website will land on the top position on Google’s search results. Just like a racecar achieves peak performance as a result of the pit crew’s agility and skills, your website can race to the top spot of Google’s search results with good SEO. It works behind the scenes to ensure that your website brings home the trophy (customers)!
In this blog, we will quickly underline the best strategies to help you on your mission:
Website Speed Is A Critical Factor
Can you win a NASCAR auto race with a 125cc go-kart? No! Similarly, if your website loads at a snail’s pace, it simply won’t be able to compete with similar websites that come up in a blink of an eye.
Google has made it crystal clear that speed is an essential factor when it comes to your website’s search engine ranking.
But that’s not all. More than 47% of people move on if a website takes more than 2 seconds to load. So, if you want to make your mark on the world wide web, do take steps to enhance your website’s speed. Get in touch with the experts at On Your Mark Solutions for expert help and guidance.
SEO Best Practices
Did you know that an average NASCAR pit crew has around eight members, with only five being allowed to go over the walls?
Everyone has a particular focus when the team gets to work! If a member does not do their job properly, it may impact driving performance and even lead to fatal crashes and accidents.
Similarly, paying attention to certain aspects of SEO will get you the results you want from your website and help avoid the devastating consequences that come with poor search engine rankings.
To make it less complicated, we will use the analogy of a pit crew to explain the most important SEO elements that your website simply can’t do without. These elements are the URL structure of your website, relevant keywords, mobile optimization, and backlinks, all of which play a role in getting your website to the first page of search engines.
URL Structure
The senior-most pit crew member is the car controller, who leads the entire team. In addition to ensuring that the team works like a well-oiled machine, their job is to indicate to the driver when to move out of the fast lane in order to reach the pit crew, as well as when to move into the fast lane when adjustments are completed. This is pretty similar to the function of a web page’s URL structure.
Essentially, URL structures inform Google how each website page is linked to another. At the same time, it lets search engines know what your website is all about.
When your URL structures are on point, Google’s search engine bots can quickly crawl through and index it. So, it essentially puts you on the right track, just like a car controller at the Daytona 500!
Keyword Research
NASCAR races often include racing several miles, which is why drivers have to make stops to fill up their 18-gallon gas tanks.
Refueling is a critical part of pit stops. Given that the job is fraught with dangers, the team member who is responsible for refueling is not permitted to attend to anything else during the process!
Refueling is to a racing car what keywords are to your website. These are the words that users key in when they look for your service or product online. At the same time, these few words also provide clarity to search engines about the content of your website.
How do you ensure that you have the right kind of fuel (keywords) to power your website? First, conduct keyword research to know what search terms people use when searching for the services/products you provide.
Use them organically in your website content, blog posts, page titles, meta descriptions, and URL structures to tell Google more about your business. With this, you will be able to zoom past your competitors!
Mobile Optimization
Pit crews are famous for changing car tires within a matter of seconds. Tires wear out quickly during a race, primarily because of hairpin turns. Moreover, race tires are usually softer, which facilitates better traction. Since these deteriorate quickly, changing them at pit stops becomes essential.
Similarly, a considerable chunk of your target audience accesses the internet through mobile devices. To ensure that they have a smooth and seamless user experience, your website must be optimized for mobile viewing.
Without this, your website will not work well on mobile devices, just like a car won’t be able to run smoothly with worn-out tires!
Therefore, consider your website’s responsiveness on different devices when you ramp up your SEO efforts. Make it ready for a more challenging track!
Backlinks
Along with the important team members who go over the wall to refuel and change the tires of a race car, there is also a support crew that rolls out the tires and hands them the gas. As per NASCAR rules, they cannot cross the pit wall. They support the pit crew from behind the scenes, backing up the main members to ensure that the car gets up and running.
Just like the support crew, backlinks quietly help to solidify your website’s authority.
Explained simply, a backlink is a hyperlink that leads to your website. Not only does it bring in referral traffic, but it also lets Google know that other websites approve of your online presence.
The support crew at a pit stop must include highly skilled and focused members. Similarly, you must earn backlinks from relevant, high-quality websites for Google to sit up and take notice!
How do you get your first backlink? Write an informative guest post for an authoritative third-party website and link it back to yours. This will increase the credibility of your website instantly.
Conclusion
Watching a pit crew at work is like watching a ballet. They work together flawlessly and in complete harmony. When they do their assigned jobs with perfection, the driver gets a competitive edge over their opponents.
Similarly, with the right SEO efforts, your website will reign on the first page of Google, and your business will grow as more and more people get to know about you!
