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Start applying these SEO tips to rank higher on search engines in the long run
Just like Instagram, search engines also have an algorithm. If you want to grow your online presence, it is good to start working on your website’s search ranking with SEO. And it starts with understanding the algorithm. How many factors do you think does Google take into account when it comes to ranking websites? Over 200 factors! Yes, this is not a joke. Google uses over 200 factors in their algorithm for ranking websites (Source: Backlinkio). And it means there is a lot to do if you want your website to rank higher on search engine results.
But why should we try and rank higher on search engine results? The answer is simple. A well-optimised website that appears on the first pages of Google gets more website traffic. And more website visitors means more clients and leads. If you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner who want to grow your online existence, you should start investing in SEO today. Because SEO rankings don’t happen overnight. We will explain more about the time you need to invest in SEO at the end of the blog post.
Now let’s have a look at some of the essential SEO ranking factors:
- Security of the website
- Speed of the website
- Mobile-friendliness or responsiveness
- Domain age
- Technical SEO (titles, meta descriptions, the structure of the website etc.)
- Online user experience
- Content quality and fresh content
- Inbound and outbound links
As you can see, SEO is more than technical work, and you cannot achieve a good ranking with only building a website. It is a sort of art and all website owners should focus on SEO to make their websites rank higher on search engines.
Do you already have a website? If you haven’t done any SEO work, don’t expect Google to automatically index your website. In this blog post, we will be sharing some basic tips on ranking higher on search engine results.
1- Use Keywords about your Niche
Let’s start with the keywords. Keywords are the words that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for. They are the foundations of SEO.
You might already have an idea about what people might be searching for to find your website. But there are always more words than you can imagine. This is why keyword research tools play an important role. You need to find the right keywords and include them in your website copy. Use it once or twice in the first and last paragraph, and a few more times throughout the remaining content.
Including the keyword in the title, URL of the page and headings is very important. But stuffing a website with keywords may not be good for your search engine rankings. You need to do it in a smart way so that it’s not too obvious.
Here are some of the good keyword research tools: SEMRush, Answer The Public, Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Sheeter
Grab your free guide to improve your website’s rankings on search results here >
2- Search Engines Love Fresh Content
Search engines love fresh content. If you don’t run a newspaper website, what is the best way to create fresh content for search engines to rank? By creating blog articles of course! Having a blog section on a business website doesn’t only help with SEO. It also keeps your visitors engaged.
Take a look at our previous blog post about why you should include a blog section on your website for more details.
There is technically no limit to how many characters you should write on a page or post. But, one of the most used SEO plugin tools Yoast advises writing at least 300 words per page or a blog post. As Google tends to rank longer articles higher, you can aim to write longer posts as well. Here, you shouldn’t write articles for the sake of making them longer as the quality of content also matters. The information you provide with a blog post should be relevant and valuable for the reader.
If you don’t have a blog, you still need to update your website content to be visible in search engines. It is a vital aspect of search engine optimisation and is viewed as a great indicator of a site’s relevancy.
3- Make sure to make your website link-worthy
Inbound and outbound links tell a lot about your website’s value and quality.
When you write copy for your website, make sure to give references to other trusted websites, your previous blog posts or pages. Also, instead of using ‘click here’ which has no search value, make sure to link searchable keywords.
If you are out of ideas, use affiliate programs. These programs can help you both in generating links and earning money.
Guest blogging or commenting on other blogs can also drive traffic to your website. Have a look at our “Different Types of Website Traffic” post to read about various ideas to create referral links to your business website.
4- Use Alt Text for media and add Meta Descriptions
What does an Alt Text mean?
Alt text means alternative text. When you add alt texts to your images and videos, you are providing a text alternative for search engines. For instance, if you are using an image as a button to buy product A, the alt text should say: “a red button to buy product A.”
When writing alt texts, you should be as specific as possible. They need to be short and descriptive. The best case is to create alt texts that both describe the image and a keyword you’re targeting. Here are some examples of right and wrong usage of alt texts:
Wrong – “image of a woman in a shopping mall” (never use terms like the image of.., photo of.. etc.)
Wrong – “woman, shopping mall, bags, dress, sunny” (never use the terms of an image with commas)
Right – “a woman in a blue short dress with shopping bags in her hand is walking in a shopping mall”
What are meta descriptions?
The meta description provides a brief summary of a web page. It is the text you see below the website titles on Google search results. Meta descriptions don’t directly affect SEO. Yet, including meta descriptions in web pages can increase your click-through rate. As a result, Google thinks that your website is valuable.
There is a character limit to meta descriptions. It’s best to keep them compelling and between 50-160 characters.
What are page titles?
In addition to alt texts and meta descriptions, each page on a website should have a unique page title. Your page titles should not exceed 60 characters.
In conclusion, SEO rankings don’t happen overnight. Therefore, you need to make sure to start investing in your website today. It is impossible to optimise a website and make it appear on the first page of Google in one day. It takes at least 6 months of constant SEO efforts to start seeing organic traffic to your website. This is why you shouldn’t fall into the trap of web developers who guarantee search engine rankings. None of the reputable SEO companies or web developers can guarantee a good ranking on search engines. Start investing in your website today to get ahead of the competition. And contact us if you have any questions about growing your online presence. Looking for great SEO tools? Have a look at our Tools for Entrepreneurs page!
