Billions of internet searches are done every single day – you probably did one to find this article! And with each search comes thousands, if not millions, of results.
That said, how often do you leave the first page to find what you’re looking for? In all likelihood, the answer is virtually never. Most people don’t even look past the first three results that appear on the page!
With that in mind, it’s essential to learn how to improve search engine ranking if your goal is to have a successful website. The higher you appear in search results, the more traffic you’ll get and the more successful your site will be.
SEO can feel complex and overwhelming, but improving your search engine ranking isn’t as daunting a task as it seems. To learn how to push your website higher in the search results, just keep reading!
Prioritize User Experience
The most important thing to keep in mind when your goal is a higher search engine ranking is user experience. The whole purpose of a search engine is to provide its users with the highest quality search results available.
If your website doesn’t provide a good user experience, search engines won’t advertise it by putting it at the top of their results.
Don’t worry, creating a positive user experience is easier than it sounds. Start with ease of navigation. Ask a friend to find a certain page on your website – if they can’t do it in 3 clicks or less, your navigation is too complex.
Write Quality Content
Another must when it comes to user experience is the quality of your content. Search engines will not recommend your page if you don’t provide valuable information to your users.
Every page on your website should be free of mistakes, mobile-friendly, include both internal and external links, and be written with the needs of your target audience in mind.
If your website doesn’t have a blog, it’s time to create one! A blog filled with quality, informative content is one of the best ways to increase traffic and improve your search engine ranking.
Use the Right Keywords
Let’s dive deeper into the concept of keywords. Each page of your site should have a clear message focused on a single topic – i.e., centered around a specific keyword.
To ensure that you’re getting the most out of these keywords, it’s important to do keyword research beforehand. There are a variety of tools (both free and paid) that you can use to help in your keyword search.
The trick is to find phrases with a high search volume and keyword ranking but with minimal competition. This means many people are searching for a specific phrase and aren’t having much luck with results. All you have to do is fill this opening and watch the visitors roll in!
Title Your Pages Well
The titles of your pages might not seem all that important, but they can make or break your search engine optimization. Your page titles are what tell search engines (and users) what the page is about, and therefore should include the keyword the page is centered around.
Now, when you’re creating pages and blog posts, you’ll have the option of creating a meta title in addition to your regular title. This is the one you want to pay close attention to, as it’s what creates the blue link that appears in search engine results. Your regular title is simply what appears at the top of the page on your website.
Use Header Tags
Speaking of your page titles, let’s talk about header tags. There are a variety of header styles available to you, but only two that you really need to worry about: H1 and H2.
The first heading (H1) is the most important on each page. This is the first thing a visitor will read on your webpage and is used for both styling and content organization.
H1 headings should only be used for the title of a page, not within the page itself. When you want to use subheadings to break up the content and make skimming pages easier (and you should!), use the H2 header.
Links are Crucial
Although each page of your site has its own topic, there should be an overarching topic for the entire site. Because of this, you’ll likely find yourself referencing content you’ve already published when writing copy for new pages.
This is the perfect time to include internal links! Internal links are a fantastic SEO tool, as they help to boost the amount of time each visitor spends on your site and make your site come across more cohesive to search engines.
Don’t be afraid to include high-quality external links as well, especially in your blog posts. It might feel counterproductive to send users away from your site, but including external links to valuable content makes your site appear more trustworthy to your users and is good for your SEO – trust us, it works!
Once you have your own linking strategy under control, it’s time to shift your focus to other websites. Specifically, getting links to your website on other high-quality sites.
This is easier than it sounds if you have quality content, but it can still be intimidating at first. If you need help crafting a message to send to other site owners, you can use this one.
Keep Up With the Times
It once was enough to simply have a website. With the steady improvements in technology and increase in competition, however, it’s now necessary to ensure that you’re keeping up with the latest developments.
Your two main priorities should be mobile friendliness and page speed. The vast majority of Americans own and use a smartphone, and many of them rely on their phones for the entirety of their internet browsings. Without a mobile-friendly website, you’ll be missing out on a huge portion of your potential market.
As for page speed, your website should load within a second or two of clicking on it from the search engine results. Any longer than this, and most users will go back to the results and choose a different website.
Learn How to Improve Search Engine Ranking to Boost Your Business
Now that you know how to improve search engine ranking, you can get started making the necessary adjustments to your website.
As you can see, once you get past the technical terminology, it’s not as difficult as it sounds. It’s all about creating valuable, easy-to-use content for your users. Put your users first and you’ll be amazed by how far you’ll go!
If you need any help crafting quality content or designing an attractive website, check out our blog! We have all the tips and tricks you need to create a stellar site.
