Even when you own a wonderful website and posting amazing content on it, there are high chances for your content to still be left unseen. This leaves everyone asking the same question: how can I improve my SEO and search engine rankings in the results?
Search engines, like Google, use their special algorithm to rank pages for their search results. Page Rank is based on how important and valuable search engines view your website.
There are many factors on which a search engine ranks your web page. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the way you can appear and rank in search results.
For instance, suppose you have done SEO. Google recognizes your webpage. It appears somewhere when a person searches for the relevant term.
But, you still aren’t getting traffic. No visitors mean no views hence no potential customers. Wondering why?
According to statistics, 75% of searchers do not go farther than the first page of search results. Exactly why you need to appear on the first page to get more eyes on your website. And for that, you need to improve your SEO.
Here are my 9 tips to help you rank higher in search results.
1. Keywords are the key
The first and most important step in improving your SEO is choosing the right keywords.
The search terms people put in the search bar of Google or any other search engine are keywords. The results are shown based on the keyword they input. Keywords can be of many types like Short tail, Longtail, and LSIs.
With said that the question arises, how to find the right keyword? For that you have to:
- Think like your target audience can think. Which means; you have to think of the relevant words people can put in a. search bar to lead them to your page.
- Use the help of tools, like answerthepublic.com or google keyword planner and tools alike.
- Find keywords with high search volume and low competition
Make sure your website content is written around relevant primary and secondary keywords.
2. Fast loading speed of web page
The most important among the factors which make your site valuable in the eyes of search engines is the loading speed of your page.
You might have noticed that the pages at the start of the search result load faster than the last. This is why it is important for your page to loading fast.
A high-performing and fast loading page ensures your site visitors stay on your page hence reduce bounce rate.
To make your site’s pages load faster you can take the following steps:
- Compress the images on your site
- Reduce the file sizes of your web pages
- Find a better hosting service
- Remove unwanted third-party scripts
- Use specialized tools like Google’s page speed insight to have a look at how fast or slow your page is loading.
3. Plenty of Backlinks
Backlinks are another very important factor to help boost your SEO. The more backlinks you have the more Google gives credit to your site.
When other sites mention yours in their content, it shows the search engines that your site is more relevant to search queries.
But the key secret is to have quality backlinks with high authority. In this case, always prefer Quality over Quantity.
Now as you are wondering that how to earn high-quality backlinks, here is what you can do.
- Create high-quality authentic content so other people naturally mention it in their content
- Reach out to some relevant high-quality sites to ask them to grant you a backlink by offering them a backlink in return.
- Offer guest posts to sites related to your niche
- Make a comment under posts relevant to your niche, it earns you an easy backlink. (It is a cheat way though!)
4. Carefully write headlines and metadata
Carefully write your headline, description, and keyword metadata. Use your target focus keywords and place them carefully in your Headlines, titles, and description.
5. Keep updating old content
Keep updating the previously published content and keep refreshing it. Make it more optimized for user intent with passing time to improve your SEO.
6. Use feature snippet
Feature snippet is a small portion of the web content that Google shows in a result of a query on the search page itself. In simple words, the partial or sometimes full answer you read on the Google page when you type some keyword is a featured snippet.
According to a study by Ahrefs.com, “featured snippets get ~8.6% of clicks on average, while the page that ranks below (aka position #1) will get ~19.6% of clicks. If there are no featured snippets, the #1 ranking result will get 26% of all clicks”.
7. Use of concept visuals
Another smart way of improving your SEO is to create visuals that explain some important information or concept.
What you have to do is, simplify a hard as a walnut concept and post it in form of visual aid. Try to make visuals on topics with low competition. So that you will be one of the few selling that delicacy.
Other people will use that image or visual in their content. And guess what? You will get a backlink. Ta-Da!
8. Try partnerships in content creation
This is the most useful strategy. Make partners in your niche and create content with their collaboration. Just like some YouTubers do nowadays.
That way their traffic will be lead to your site and the same will go for them. You both will get to have the benefit.
9. Try to be mobile-friendly
At present, over 60% of Google searches come from mobile web. It is needless to explain how it is important to get you more traffic and boost your SEO.
Google value the users. If your site is not easy to use for over 60% of them, you will not be ranked high for sure. So, put a special emphasis on making your web pages mobile-friendly.
10. BONUS Tip
All these super tips are potent to boost your website’s SEO. But remember it is not an overnight process. Only 5.7% of all newly published pages reach the first page of Google within a year according to a study by Ahrefs.com. It is a very low count. So, you have to be patient. But with time and by using these tactics you will rank no.1 on the first page of SERPs very soon.