1. Understand the Google Ranking Algorithm
Like other top search engines, Google employs a proprietary algorithm to stress relevancy and equality in all its results. This algorithm determines if your website will top the list of returned results or if it will land on the second, third, or fourth page of results. Because it is constantly changing, you must stay abreast of all updates in this all-important algorithm. Essential policy changes over the years have included ranking preference for mobile-friendly websites.
2. Conduct a Competitor Analysis
The path forward in SEO strategy is not always clear. Take keywords, for example. What words and phrases should you stress in your website content to trigger the Google algorithm and improve your ranking results? You can go a long way toward answering this question by examining your most successful and least successful competitors. What terminology do they employ, and what topics do they cover on their websites? A comprehensive competitor analysis can often tell you exactly what to do and, perhaps more importantly, what NOT to do.
3. Build a Strong Backlink Profile
The various websites that feature clickable links to your company website play an integral role in the search engine ranking process. Known as “”backlinks,”” these links are a handy way for internet users to get more information or find desired goods or services. In Google’s estimation, your website is only as good as the backlinks attached to it. While having a significant number of backlinks is certainly desirable, Google stresses quality over quantity in its backline profile analysis. Remove toxic backlinks that do not add any value to your site as they can damage your efforts on increasing organic search traffic.
4. Update Your Website Blog Regularly
Although it is always looking for a select number of specific keywords, Google also favors active websites with fresh, relevant, ever-changing content. The best way to provide this dynamic content is through the development of a regularly updated website blog. By integrating SEO strategy into your blog, you can dramatically improve your search engine rankings and reach potential customers when they are most motivated to make a purchase. Blogs also serve existing customers by answering key questions related to your business. Update old blog posts with relevant information. This will help you cover any gaps you might have missed when you first created it.
5. Create an internal linking strategy
Internal links allow you to build a structure around your website. They help search engines understand how pages are related and how they can benefit users looking for answers through specific target keywords. Also, internal links allow you to pass authority and SEO value across every single one of your pages, meaning that if page A had great rankings and performance, some of that juice will be transferred to page B if interlinked through the content. However, make sure you redirect users to valuable pages that can help them in their buying journey. You don’t want to redirect someone to a page talking about a different and irrelevant topic. Take time creating effective link building strategies for your site that complement the users’ searches.
6. Optimize On-Page SEO elements
Another actionable SEO tip is making sure you are optimizing on-page elements for your target keywords. It will help users understand the content on the page and search engines, which can directly influence your rankings. Include your target keyword in the title tag, URL, headers, and meta description. Also, consider including keywords in images’ alt text, as Google can’t read images. By including alt texts to your visual elements, you increase the chances that they appear in the images section of Google.
7. Target relevant keywords
Before creating content for your website, perform in-depth keyword research about the topic you will be covering. You can use keyword research tools, Google’s related searches, and the people also ask section. Make sure that the search intent matches the type of content you’ll be producing. For example, informational intent keywords are perfect for a blog post, while commercial intent keywords perform better on service pages.
You also want to identify if the keywords you’ll be targeting bring any valuable organic traffic by looking at the search volume and how hard it will be to rank for them. We recommend targeting long tail keywords in your content. Long tail keywords have been proven to have a higher conversion rate than broad terms, meaning that users who perform these queries are closer to purchase than others. Even though they have a low search volume, they are an excellent way to build awareness around your brand.
8. Post relevant content
Posting relevant content will portray your business as an authoritative source, which will help rank your website higher. Apart from including relevant keywords, make sure to include latent semantic indexing (LSI keywords). In simple words, LSI keywords are variations of your target keyword, which help search engines understand the content on the page better. Google is becoming more intelligent over time and can understand the context of a page by including related keywords. Analyze what content performs well for your competition and replicate it. Create blog posts, social media content, downloadable material, emails, infographics, and everything else that would give your target audience some value.
9. Improve site speed
Improving website speed has been demonstrated to generate more traffic and increase search rankings. How fast a website load is considered a direct ranking factor. If your website takes too much time to load, users may abandon the page without looking at the content. This increases considerably your bounce rate, which damages your website’s SEO. Work alongside a web developer and develop ways to improve your site’s user experience while reducing loading speed. Tools such as Google search console or Page Speed Insights provide valuable information on your website’s current core web vitals and how to improve them. Additionally, ensure to compress images, videos, or visual elements if planning to use them. If they are too heavy, they will slow down your site.
10. Make your website is mobile friendly
Studies show that 59.6% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, meaning your website must be optimized to offer an excellent user experience on mobile. Ensure images, elements, text sizes, and buttons are visually optimized to fit into a phone or tablet screen. A bad mobile experience can result in users leaving your site and increasing your bounce rate.
11. Create external links
Linking to relevant content outside your website helps you build credibility and supports your content. It not only helps users in their search for information but also indicates to Google your relevancy. Try linking to statistics, guest blogs, or authoritative sources in your industry.
12. Link back to your website in your social media platforms
Including a link to your website in your social media posts will help you redirect traffic and improve your SEO efforts. Use a call-to-action (CTA) in your posts, inviting users to visit your website, sign up for a consultation, or to read valuable content.Effective SEO Campaigns with RealTop
