Millions of Americans engage in sailing, cruising, and fishing. In other words, many are looking for your boating products and services. But can they see you online?

Bring your boat company closer to your leads and customers and grow your web traffic with smart search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.

SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results. Marina Turea of Digital Authority Partners has explained web traffic thoroughly. Now, it’s time to talk about SEO and its traffic connection.

Let’s start with search engine algorithms and user searches to understand SEO better.

When someone wants to look for information online, they usually go to search engines like Google or Bing. These platforms index billions of websites or pages that can answer users’ search queries. 

However, search engines do not display the results of a query randomly. They depend on their algorithms, which are complex mathematical formulas that analyze different website features.

Based on this analysis, they determine which pages offer the best answers. Usually, the ones that appear on the first page, especially the first position, acquire the highest leads. Not all prospects lead to sales, but acquiring high web traffic can increase your conversion rate.

To rank well, do SEO.

SEO covers many types, from on-page to off-page, technical, and local. Thus, many marketers and boating companies find it confusing and overwhelming. But SEO strategy to bring more people to your boat or marine website boils down to four specific actions:

Local SEO is one of the most powerful online marketing tactics for any boat company.

To drive web traffic, you should be visible in local searches. Here are some of the best practices:

Prospects and buyers who find your boating products and services cannot experience them immediately. Instead, they must rely on their eyesight to help them decide whether you’re worth patronizing.

Pictures are vital additions to your SEO strategy, especially for high-quality content marketing. But you should also optimize these to appear in the search results, beginning with using alt texts.

Alt texts are words or phrases that describe an image. They are the ones that you see inside image holders when the page does not load properly or at all.

Many veteran SEO experts believe they are among the most important ranking factors for user experience and keyword optimization.

Alt texts promote website accessibility, which is excellent for people with disabilities and search engine bots. Plus, you can incorporate targeted keywords in the description. This way, your photos can appear on image search sites.

Writing alt texts is not complicated, but you should be precise and avoid keyword stuffing. Instead, use keywords relevant to the image and accurately explain it.

Here’s an example of good and bad alt texts:

Good Alt Text: “A couple in their 30s holding hands while sailing in Florida.”

Bad Alt Text: “Couple, yacht, sunset.”

Not everyone who searches for a boat plans to buy it. Some people are curious, while others are still in the research phase.

You cannot simply target keywords without understanding user intent. Decide what kind of audience you want to attract and match the words they use.

Here are the three types of keyword intent:

Nearly all Americans own at least one mobile device, so it is not surprising that mobile search accounted for about 60% of world wide web traffic as of 2022.

Google’s data points toward the heavy use of smartphones and tablets for searching for information. As a result, the search engine shifted to mobile-first indexing in 2016. It crawls and indexes pages using the mobile version as the primary content.

A successful SEO strategy should include mobile optimization, particularly improving above-the-fold content.

What is above-the-fold content?

It is the visible part of a webpage that users see without scrolling. It is not mandatory or a ranking factor. But it indirectly impacts SEO since it helps provide a positive user experience.

Create compelling, SEO-friendly above-the-fold content with these tips:

SEO for boat companies can be challenging, but it is not impossible to do. You can attract prospects and convert them into customers with the right approach and B2C or B2B marketing strategies.

Focus on keyword research, content optimization, and website mobile-friendliness. Also, don’t forget to track your progress using the right tools. Then, fine-tune your efforts along the way.

SEO agencies can also help you with more advanced techniques. They can conduct a website audit and create a comprehensive plan to improve your ranking.