Eco-friendly SEO. Optimizing site for a sustainable future

While many website owners understand the importance of Search Engine Optimization when it comes to improving their site’s ranking on search engines, not all of them realize how important it is to apply eco-friendly practices to this task as well. If you want your site to truly be sustainable over the long term, you have to take care of the environment around you as much as possible – and that includes keeping an eye on your SEO practices too. How to be kinder to our (online) planet?

How have online business models changed?

In the past, businesses could get away with practices that were harmful to the environment. But now, thanks to the rise of eco-conscious consumers and the growth of sustainable business practices, companies are being held accountable for their impact on the planet.  It’s no longer enough to offer products and services without considering how they might affect our natural resources. If you want your company to succeed in this new market, you need to adopt an eco-friendly attitude from the ground up. The first step is making sure your website is optimized for sustainability. 

* sustainability – meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In other words, sustainability is about meeting our current needs without damaging or depleting the resources that future generations will need.

What is eco SEO?

Eco SEO is the practice of optimizing your website for both people and the planet. This means creating content that is not only keyword-rich and search engine friendly, but also informative and helpful to your readers. By taking steps to improve your site’s eco-friendliness, you can help reduce your carbon footprint while still driving traffic and generating leads. 

How does it help your business?

As the world becomes more digitized, businesses must adapt their practices to be more sustainable. An eco-friendly website is one that has been designed and built with the environment in mind. The benefits of creating an eco-friendly website include reducing your carbon footprint, using less energy, and saving money. Plus, an eco-friendly website can help you attract more customers and stand out from the competition.  

This is especially important for e-commerce sites. More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of sustainability, and that includes their online shopping habits. Here, the 7R rule governs, i.e.:

• rethink (modern customers are trying to make more thoughtful purchasing choices, according to research, 42% of customers have changed their habits due to greater awareness of the environment), 
• recycle (here we are talking primarily about shipping, which should be environmentally friendly – pack orders so that the customer can still use them), 
• reduce (green delivery, i.e. parcel lockers and collection points – by resigning from the courier you reduce CO2 by up to 75%), 
• recover (give back and profit, i.e. let customers get rid of unused items and offer them your innovative offer), 
• reuse (choose products that can fulfill more than one function), 
• repurpose (make your customers aware of them through published materials or join social campaigns aimed at increasing shopping awareness), 
• refuse (convince customers that it is not always worth buying everything they like at first glance – put on awareness).

As e-commerce websites continue to grow in popularity, it’s important to consider the environmental impact of our online activities. 

Know-how. Easy steps 

• Create evergreen content that does not age and struggles with the overproduction of poor-quality content on the web.
• Make sure your site is optimized for speed. A fast-loading website uses less energy and is better for the environment.
• When optimizing your site’s code, choose HTML5 over Flash because it uses less bandwidth and requires fewer server resources to display. This is particularly important when loading images, which are among the most bandwidth-heavy elements of web design.
• Create a natural link profile. Search engines favor websites that use natural links over those that pay to get their link profile built. Make your website discoverable by encouraging your existing community of customers, clients and partners to link to you by providing valuable content they can use on their own sites.
• Use green web hosting. There are many companies that offer green or environmentally friendly web hosting solutions. You may want to do some research on what types of benefits they provide as well as their prices before deciding which host to go with.
• Be aware of how much traffic your site gets so you can choose an appropriate server size. Remember, if it gets too big, it will use up even more energy than necessary.
• Make your site mobile-friendly. Mobile search makes up more than half of all searches, so you can’t afford to ignore how your site looks on smartphones and tablets.
• Utilize social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube all have features that let users share sustainable content easily. Finally, make sure your content is relevant to sustainable living; after all, this should be the goal of any eco-friendly website!

Tip: Work with a Cork SEO company, but perhaps the most important is that they can help you optimize your site for a sustainable future. With their help, you can make sure your site is as eco-friendly as possible, which is essential in today’s world. Plus, they can also help you save money on your energy bills and make your site more efficient.

Wrapping up

SEO is constantly evolving, and as we become more aware of the impact our choices have on the environment, it’s important to consider eco-friendly options. Optimizing your site for sustainability not only benefits the planet, but can also improve your bottom line. 

Choosing sustainable hosting, using green marketing strategies, using renewable energy sources like wind power – these are all things you can do today to make your site eco-friendly. In addition, optimizing content for mobile devices has proven to be an effective way to engage with users and keep them coming back. If you’re in need of advice on how to get started down this path or want some specific tips on making your website green, just ask SEO Dublin agency.

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