SEO is a fundamental part of marketing that helps in improving the site's visibility for relevant searches. Suppose your site doesn't show up on the first page of the Search Engine Result Page, you are not doing something right. And this article has a solution to your problems.
If you want to make your website the benchmark for search engines & users, have a look at our top 10 SEO tips which can be helpful for your website to rank at #1
We recommend that you take a look at our Complete Guide to Search Engine Optimization.
So, let's get started and look into our first tip.
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Tip #1 Voice Search Optimization
Over the years, the way users search for information online has transformed significantly. It is time for you to know what the current state of google voice search optimization is, if you have not done so already.
Voice search will affect search queries in 2021. According to dailogtech.com, in the United States of America, 55 percent of households will have their smart speaker by 2022. In that case, if you are planning to optimize for voice search, follow the below steps:
- Consider choosing wise keywords
- Always remember to create persona-based content
- Create web pages that answer FAQs because when searchers ask a question, they begin their question with words like "When", "What", and "Who"
According to Forbes, voice search drastically improves user experience. As we use it extensively, search engines such as Google are focusing on voice search optimization.
Google voice search shows websites on top that load quickly. In that case, you must always ensure that:
- Your website has a responsive design
- Website images are optimized
- Always choose long-tail keywords
- Site loads in a minimum amount of time
- Your server's response time is low
Tip #2 Mobile Optimization
A good user experience on your website confirms that your audience can find it with ease. Knowing these 8 mobile friendly optimisation tricks is essential for marketers to understand how important it is to make their site mobile friendly. A mobile-friendly website surely helps with ranking.
SEMRush confirms that by "2025, approximately 73% of internet users will access the internet through mobile devices".
Mobile-friendly updates by Google resulted in a significant change in website rankings.
Have a look at how effective your mobile website is by using Google's free mobile-friendly test. Also, take a peek at the "mobile usability" report in the Google Search Console.
Tip #3 Google's EAT Principles
Google has confirmed, "content quality is an essential factor for ranking on search engine result pages".
But what does "quality" mean to Google?
In simple terms, content that fulfills the Google EAT principle will rank higher, whereas EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These elements help determine if a web page has high-quality content.
Google uses its algorithms to deliver the best results to the users.
For example, Google Panda is one of the famous algorithms which ranks a website based on content quality. It eliminates web pages from the index that have low-quality and duplicate content.
Another example is the RankBrain algorithm. RankBrain uses AI to interpret search queries that the audience search on Google.
For example, when you search for chocolate cake recipes, you will also get results for chocolate truffle cake recipes on the search engine results page.
Google panda and RankBrain send spiders to crawl websites and, as a result, they show the most relevant and high-quality search results content on the top of the result page of search engines.
Tip #4 Featured Snippet
It features these results in the top part of the page. Google programmatically chooses the best answer from a third-party website and displays it in the featured snippet.
Want to understand how featured snippets works, and how significant they are.
Here's how a featured snippet looks.
According to Ahrefs, "for a specific search query, almost 99% of web pages shown in the featured snippet already rank on SERPs' first page."
Some of the key ways to optimize featured snippets are:
- Organize your content in a structured way
- Make sure one article answers many similar questions
- Opt for eye-catchy images
- Choose to create answers with tables
- Write dedicated headings to answer featured snippets, like "Is red meat healthy?"
Note: Suppose you want to create snippets, plan on creating question-based questions along with the relevant keywords. For ideas, you can also look at the Google search option, "people also ask."
Tip #5 Image Optimization
According to SEMRush, "image optimization will play a prominent role in the search." This means if the images on your website aren't optimized, make sure to optimize them.
Remember to use high-quality images, relevant images, and a suitable label for your image file.
Include images to your site map as it becomes easier for spiders to crawl. Also, using alt tags will help crawlers to classify images easily.
Note: When an image cannot load on a user screen, alt-text is displayed on the webpage.
Google uses alt-text to understand the context from images.
A well-optimized image enhances your web page rank and user engagement. Also, image optimization can help your webpage show up in the image carousels on search engines.
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With Purdue Digital Marketing PG ProgramExplore CourseTip #6 Semantically Related Keywords
Semantically related keywords are the interpretation of a word.
For example, for a keyword like "chocolate cake," some semantically related keywords could be chocolate recipes and chocolate truffle recipes.
Let's learn how to research keywords for your SEO strategy from scratch.
Semantic keywords have a higher impact on website ranking. We link them to the primary keywords and help in gaining relevant traffic on the Search Engine Results Page.
Also, you can have a look at Google SERP for LSI keywords.
Want to know how to select the right Semantic keywords?
- Do not target keywords alone; instead, optimize content using topic clusters
- Opt for structured data and choose your semantic keywords.
As an alternative, the process can also be done with the help of a comprehensive keyword tool.
Tip #7 Building Quality Links
Suppose a marketer aims to focus on a successful long-term SEO strategy, building quality links cannot be neglected.
In 2016, Google declared that building quality links are one of their top 3 ranking signals.
Always choose quality over quantity when building links to your content. Follow these steps for building high quality links to your product and category pages to improve your search engine rankings.
Let me share a few effective strategies as it will increase the number of links pointing to your website dramatically:
- Gain backlinks from relevant and authoritative web pages
- Promote your content regularly on social media
- Opt for guest blogging and influencer marketing
- Leverage social media platforms
- Reach out to your target audience through online forums
- Attract your target audience by offering them valuable content
Tip #8 is Local Search Listings
Local SEO focuses on optimizing websites that appear on SERPs in a specific location. Optimizing local SEO drives more website traffic and conversions since the strategy is more relevant to local audiences.
This strategy is the best way of marketing your products to specific location-based customers. Take a look at these local listing SEO tips to help your business stand out.
According to Google, "Local results are based on relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors help Google find the best match for your search". Because of this reason, it is essential to have your NAP details correct and consistent.
SEMRush confirms that "Local Search Listings Will Play a Larger Role in SEO Strategies." Suppose you are planning to get your business into that local pack, go to Google My Business page and create your own.
Note: Google My Business requires a strong backlink profile.
Tip #9 Improved User Experience
"Simplify navigation" is another word for "improve the user experience." Site navigation is a key factor for your search engine ranking.
For the past few years, UX has become an important ranking factor for Google.
To understand the concept in an easier way, consider the partnership of Search Engine Optimization and User Experience this way: SEO emphasizes search engines, whereas UX focuses on website visitors. Therefore, both share a common goal of giving users the best result.
This is what the content king app says about user experience:
Let us share a few practices on how to effectively leverage UX design to improve a site's SEO performance:
- Simplify your site's navigation
- Improve UX Design for SEO-friendly layouts (such as making content easy to digest, Infuse images and videos wherever possible, use CTA's wisely)
- Optimize for Site Load Speed, opt for mobile-responsive design, as over 50% of all traffic is now driven by mobile search. In case your site isn't mobile-responsive, you will notice poor user engagement.
Tip #10 Using Schema Markup
According to Searchmetrics, "36.6% of search keywords bring up at least one featured snippet that's derived from schema markup."
Many marketers believe schema markup is a significant opportunity to rank your web page on the first page of SERP.
Schema markup is microdata added to the website to help Google return relevant results to searchers. Suppose you've used rich snippets, you'll know what schema markup is all about.
In simple words, schema markup is extensively used to define website content. Adding structured data gives your website visibility on SERP and also increases site ranking.
Some of the schema markup examples are
- Rating and reviews
- Image thumbnail
- Product availability
- Site links
That was all about the SEO tips one needs to know, to rank higher on Google.
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Conclusion
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