How to rank your website better on Google

There are a staggering 3.5 Billion searches on Google every day. Moreover, the first page accounts for 95% of web traffic. The increased competition in Google ranking for specific keywords makes marketers be on their toes and ensure that their website is within the top 3-4 in organic search if not the topmost. SEO comes free of cost if you have the talent in-house and the dividends that SEO pay is enormous.

While SEO takes time to improve website ranking; it is worth taking the effort. You bear the fruits of your efforts for a long time; only if you use white hat SEO techniques. Let us now delve deeper into some of the white hat SEO techniques.

On page SEO factors

Selection of keywords

You need to optimise the selection of keywords. Based on the content you wish to create; your team needs to finalise the keywords. You can utilise third-party tools like Google Keyword Planner to finalise your keywords. It is a free tool that provides you with an overview of the average monthly search volume and the competition. You need to have a healthy mix of long tail as well as short tail keywords. Google Trends also provides an overview of what your keywords should be. There are paid software like Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, KeywordTool.io and Moz Keyword Explorer.

Title tags and Meta Description

The keywords are finalised. Now, you need to work on the meta titles and description. The title tag should include the keywords and should relate to the content in the specific webpage. The title should be unique and should be of a maximum of 60 characters in length. The meta description is a summary of the web page and should be compelling enough to increase the clickthrough rate (CTR). Keep the length within 155-160 characters and try to include a CTA with hints about the outcome.

Adding keywords at relevant places

You need to put up optimised content on your website to maximise the benefits of SEO. Insert keywords within the first 100 words of the content. Also, add keywords across the webpage at places where they make sense. It is of no use to stuff keywords as search engines may penalise you for it. Maintain keyword density; the best practice is to use 2-3 keywords for every 100 words. If possible, also use the keyword in the URL as it increases the relevance of the webpage for a keyword.

Make optimal use of links

Internal links help you to link the visitor to another webpage of your website if they need further details, which in turn increases link equity for your website. Outbound links also improve SEO value. Links moving out from your website to authentic sources show search engines that the content is both relevant and informative.

Optimising images help

Images help by enhancing the visual appeal of your website. However, large images slow down your website. You need to use tools like ImageOptim to optimise the size of the images. You need to be careful with the image names as well. Search engines can crawl the text in the image names as well. Be descriptive so that the image names gel with the content of the webpage. Similarly, the alt text also needs to be named carefully and should be related to the content of the webpage.

Website loading time

Please ensure that the loading time of your website is within prescribed limits. The best practice is to ensure the website loads within 3-4 seconds. If needed, you must upgrade your hosting plan.

Be mobile friendly

Search engines have modified their algorithms and have started penalising websites that are not optimised, keeping mobile users in mind. You need to undertake an audit to find out whether your website is mobile friendly. There are numerous mobile-friendly test tools for your help.

Off-page SEO factors

Build backlinks continuously

High-quality backlinks help in improving your website ranking. Backlinking from websites with a high Domain Authority ensures better Google page rank because of your high-quality backlinks. However, link building is a continuous exercise. You need to work with your content management team to ensure a smooth supply of content for your social media as well as social bookmarking pages.

Prevent 404 errors

No website owner would like the visitors to go into 404 page. Search engines penalise websites heavily for broken pages. The 404 pages should contain a link that takes the visitors to either the home page or any other accessible page on your website – be it the blog section or the portfolio section.

Blogs - an integral part of SEO

Blogs need to be an integral part of your content strategy. Research helps you know the unique topics that are critical to your industry. Having a close watch on your competitors also help. You can have your in-house team write the blogs, or you may reach out to an influential blogger. Almost all social media websites allow you to post your articles.

Another way of expanding your readership and establishing as a thought leader is by writing guest blogs. The marketing team can enter alliances with third-party blogging sites. Writing on third-party blogs introduces your organisation to the relevant audience and increases awareness about your portfolio.

Skyscraper link building is in

The skyscraper technique requires your marketing team to find popular content. Keyword research can lead you to the URLs that you need to research. Then you analyse the backlinks and find the content with most shares. You now need to revamp the content by plugging any discrepancies reach out to the right contacts and request for links.

Conclusion

While having a slick website helps, it is equally important to make it searchable and ensure a high Google ranking. If you are already working on the SEO website, you still need to ensure you are ticking all the boxes mentioned in this article. Moreover, if you are a late starter, you need to pay heed to the basics. Just working on SEO does not help. Periodic SEO audits help to understand the state your website is in and whether any areas need improvement. Parallelly, you need to use keyword rank checker software to track your website ranking against the finalised keywords continuously. Accordingly, your SEO strategy can be tweaked.