SEO Guidelines
SEO means Search engine optimization. It is a set of rules for optimizing a website so that it can achieve higher rankings in search engines' results page (such as Google or Bing). Good SEO practices improve the usability of a website for users and allow more users to find your content organically, driving better page results and metrics. Use the below guidelines to ensure SEO compliance. For full guidelines with examples, please visit SEO tactics.
URL
Effect: ranking factor
- Must have a clear and concise name of the webpage/document/image - does not have to be the entire headline.
- Must include targeted keywords of the piece.
- Must always use the fully qualified product URL containing the fund name
(ie. https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/products/239726/ishares-core-sp-500-etf). - Must not include numerical values (exceptions: time sensitive pieces - blogs, press releases, archives).
Metadata
Effect: drives rankability and traffic
- Each page must have unique metadata (title and description), with targeted keywords.
- Meta title must be unique (no other webpage can have this same meta title) and should not exceed 60 characters (50-60 characters is ideal).
- Meta data must not exceed 160 characters (ideally be between 70-150 characters).
Headings
Effect: aids readability and improves page rank
- Each page must have a single, unique headline, inclusive of the targeted keyword.
Related component: banners - Use secondary headings to separate content into logical groupings.
Related component: paragraph - section separation
Content
- Lead-in /introduction copy must have 40-50 words, answer the headline (topical question), and must include a link and the targeted keyword.
- Keep content fresh and review pages quarterly to ensure relevancy (ie. is the topic still relevant? Are people still searching for the information the same way?).
- Do not create a new page about the same topic, update the existing page.
Effect: removes redundancies and competition that devalues our content - The page’s main body copy (content between the banner and the footer) should contain more than 300 words for non-hub pages.
Effect: improves rankability - Do not have more than 20 words in a sentence or more than 5 sentences in a paragraph.
Effect: reduces readability - Use bulleted or numbered lists, where possible.
Effect: aids readability
Related components: body tabs, paragraph, accordion, author bio
Keywords
- Keywords are the heart of on-page optimization.
- Do not repeat the targeted keyword more than 3 times within 100 words.
- Use 3-5 keyword variations throughout the page.
- Consider search volume of the keywords used.
Links
- Each page must include 1-7 cross-links, on targeted keywords, within the main body context (not including callout components), to the fully qualified URL (no redirects or short URLs).
Effect: drives engagement and builds the SEO profile - Create copy that allows a cross-link to be added back to the parent page.
Effect: creates the relationship, drives engagement, builds the SEO profile
Learn more about cross-linking
Visual elements
- Include visual elements – images and/or videos.
Effect: provides additional engagement to the page - Images: Each image (not including background images) must have descriptive Alt Text (alternative text) assigned.
Effect: improves understanding for the visually impaired and search engines, and improves rankability
Related component: paragraph - data/images
Related material: brand assets library - Videos: Each video must have an accompanying transcript.
Effect: amplifies its search presence (search engines can’t “watch” the video, it’s more opportunity to include keywords, and provides an additional option for users to consume the content
Related components: video player, video playlist, accordion
Learn more about visual elements
Learn more about alt text
Learn more about video transcripts