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Google is the most visited website in the world. They own over 92% of the search engine market and see around 99,000 inquiries per second. That means that if you want your business to stand out over your competitors, you need your site needs to be optimized for search engines. Here’s how to rank higher on Google and boost your website SEO in the 2020s.
Rank Higher on Google and Boost Your Website SEO
Organic traffic is the best kind of traffic. It means that someone is searching for a keyword on Google, i.e., “graphic designer for logo,” and they happen to see and click on your site from the results list. But, to bring in that type of traffic, you need your website to be as close to the first page of results for that keyword as possible. Scaling your way up the search results is a slow and stealthy art, but if you can pull it off, it will be well worth it in the long run.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, means developing a content strategy that results in more organic traffic coming to your website from places like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. SEO is a process that is designed to attract and engage both search engines and humans that are looking for what it is you have to offer.
How to Improve Your SEO
There are plenty of things you can do to boost your website SEO and rank higher on Google. It all begins with your content, so make sure you keep it in mind when you’re creating your next page or post, or when you’re going through your site to tighten up your existing works.
Use the Right Keywords
Whatever keywords your ideal customers are using on Google to search for the types of services or products you have to offer are the words you should be trying to rank for. If you’re a traveling nail tech, you’ll want to use something like, “manicurists who will come to your home in Seattle,” or wherever you’re located. Remember to think from your future client’s perspective and use terms that they may search for rather than using industry jargon.
That’s why it’s so important to use the phrase repeatedly throughout. But you also want to make sure it sounds natural and you aren’t just randomly slapping it on the end or anything. You need to optimize your content for both search engines and your readers.
Use Pinterest
Pinterest is an incredible tool when it comes to boosting SEO and driving traffic to your site. It operates a lot like Google, only instead of all-text search results pages, they combine eye-catching visuals with backlinks instead. The only problem with using Pinterest for marketing is that you need to post several times per day to see an increase in traffic, but if you do it correctly, it’ll be worth it.
Use Keywords in Headings
Your headings play a crucial role for both your readers and the search engines. Readers may want to skim through your content and see what you have to offer before they fully commit to reading every word of the post. And, when search engines crawl your posts, the words you use in your headings alert the crawler to what your site is all about. Treat your headings and subheadings like a directory, and use your keywords whenever possible, placing an emphasis on your h2 heading at the top of each post.
Use a Plugin
Free WordPress plugins like Yoast and Rank Math are great for those who are just starting out. They’ll show you the parts of each post and/or page that you need to adjust for the best optimization.
But if you’re looking for more of a one-stop-shop when it comes to SEO for your business, SEMrush has a lot more it can offer you than just on-page SEO (though it does do that, too.) They’ll audit your entire site and give you detailed instructions that explain how to boost your rankings. Plus, they’ll monitor your position on Google, and your brand name so you can get notified anytime there’s a mention of your business anywhere else on the web. You can try it free for a week, which means you can go audit your site on SEMrush for free right now!
Use Lengthier Content
Blog posts used to be a lot shorter, as in, a couple of hundred words to five hundred words were the golden standard, but search engines are starting to favor longer pieces as time goes by. To rank higher on Google and boost your website SEO, each post on your site should contain at least 700-1,000 words.
Build up Backlinks
Backlinks are the links to your website originating from other web addresses. You can build up authentic backlinks by sharing your content on social media, along with sites like Medium and Tumblr. Another way to create backlinks to your site is by leaving comments on other sites and blogs that lead back to your page. The more backlinks you have to your site from other places around the web, the more important Google thinks your content is and the higher you’ll rank in search results.
Use Keywords in Alt Descriptions
An alt image description is the words used to describe the way an image looks, and what its role on the page is, just in case a visitor is unable to see it for some reason. They’re also a great tool to improve SEO if you use them correctly. Try and work your keywords into the description, but do so naturally, and be sure you’re accurately describing what can be seen in the image when you do.
Start Blogging
If your website doesn’t already have a blog page, you’re missing out on a golden content marketing opportunity. Blogging is an excellent way to keep your present and future customers engaged with your business. If you already are a blogger, then start blogging on other people’s blogs. Why? Because it’s an easy way to build relationships with others in your niche and create valuable backlinks.
Optimize Your Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are the little blurbs that show up beneath a site’s link on the results pages on search engines. They’re crucial in determining whether your link gets clicked over the one directly above or below yours. And, the more clickthroughs you receive, the higher you’ll rank in the future. Make sure you use an optimized summary of your website or post in the meta description, along with the main keyword(s) you’re trying to rank for. These summaries should be between 60-160 characters.
Use an SEO Spider Crawler
Spider crawlers ‘crawl’ through your content to find links and report back to search engines like Google for indexing to improve your ranking. There are both free and paid options available, but the free ones out there can do some pretty cool stuff!
Offer Value
One of the best ways to rank higher on Google and boost your website SEO is to offer value to your readers. Google appreciates unique content that answers the questions of those who are typing them into its search bar. If you’ve got the answers, and you can word them correctly, you can easily improve your search engine optimization and connect with more of your target market.
Boost Your Website SEO and Rank Higher on Google
SEO is an ongoing process and one that you should always keep in mind as you’re adding new content to your website. It’s multifaceted and includes a variety of aspects, including images, URLs, keywords, meta descriptions, and more. It’s also more of a marathon than a race, so don’t expect to see overnight results when it comes to rising up through the ranks. But as long as you continue to optimize your website’s content, you will see results, so stick with it!
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Erika Sellmer is a digital content specialist with a passion for remote work and empathic design.
