It’s what every brand with an online presence dreams of: that when someone looks up something within their industry, their webpage or blog will be the first thing that comes up. But with over 50 billion webpages indexed by Google, the task can feel almost impossible. The truth is that, today, most businesses are no longer simply competing with their local neighbors, but with millions of businesses all over the world.
With so much saturation, how can your website climb the ranks? Here are a few of our tips:
Use Long-Tail Keywords
If you have any experience with SEO, you know about using keywords. Keywords are the phrases that users are likely to enter into a Google search that could turn up your website. The more relevant your webpage is to a certain keyword, the better it ranks. However, you can overdo it. Keyword stuffing — using as many keywords as possible at the expense of quality content — is actually penalized by Google.
So how do you strike the right balance? One way is to use long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer keyword phrases, rather than one or two words. Think about how you approach Google searches. Most of the time, you’re not going to type just one word. You might type a full phrase or even ask a question. This is a long-tail keyword. You can research keywords relevant to your industry and select some of those longer options. If you can work them into your webpage in a natural way, you’re more likely to come up as a relevant search.
Create High Quality Content
They say content is king, and it proves itself true over and over. At the end of the day, what’s going to stand out is not the amount of keywords you use but the quality of your content. Google looks for long-form content — ideally between 1,000 and 2,000 words — that is highly informative, authoritative, and shows off expertise in your industry.
More importantly, Google search users look for exactly the same kind of content. So not only will high quality content boost your page in Google’s algorithm, but you’re likely to get more clicks, which will boost it yet further.
Mix Up Your Content Mediums
Written content is great and a must for a successful webpage. But written content isn’t your only option. Try to vary your webpage eye-catching images or even short videos. This will keep the page from appearing as one long, daunting wall of text, and it will look good to the algorithm. You can also add alt text to visual content, for screen reader accessibility, which is a great way to naturally work in some of those long-tail keywords.
Even as far as written content goes, try to vary things up. Use bullet points, numbers, various headings, or block quotes to keep the format attractive and engaging.
Take Advantage of SERP Features
Search engine results pages (SERP) have come a long way. Rather than just serving as a simple database of links, search pages now offer blocks of further information (leading to a Wikipedia page or a Google business profile, for instance), incorporation of Google Images and Maps results, and the “people also ask” section which shows users similar searches.
You can use this to your advantage when trying to boost your page’s SERP ranking. Consider adding keywords based on those related searches to your webpages. Set up your Google My Business profile so that the block pops up when people look for your business. Incorporate local SEO into your page to increase the chances of your Google My Business or Maps listing showing up in the search.
Boost Your Visibility
Google’s algorithm can be complicated, but one thing is relatively simple: the more clicks your webpage gets, the higher it will rank on searches. So if you want to get to Google’s first page, you may need to boost your visibility. The more exposure you can get, the better you’ll be able to climb the ranks of Google’s first page.
This can feel like a catch-22. How do you get onto Google’s first page so you can boost your visibility? Well, boost your visibility. But how do you boost your visibility? Get onto Google’s first page. Fortunately, there are other methods of doing so. Share your webpages on social media. If you have a newsletter, link to a new webpage in your newsletter. Ask your friends, family, and business contacts to share your website. List your website in directories or write a guest post on another website that can link back to your website.
