3 SEO Strategies to Boost Search Engine Rankings for Your Business
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Have you been wanting to get started with SEO but haven’t been sure where to begin? I’ve got you covered! This article will help you master the basics of implementing SEO for your blog or business and skyrocket its rankings in search results.
Before we dive in, let’s first talk about what SEO is and why it’s important.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a strategy that optimizes a website to improve its visibility on search engines like Google.
There are many moving parts to an effective SEO strategy, including—but not limited to—creating high-quality content, optimizing content with keywords, and building backlinks.
The whole goal is to improve a site’s rankings in organic (non-paid) search results. The higher a site ranks, the better chance it has of attracting traffic and making conversions.
When indexing a site or webpage, search engines will base their rankings on several factors, including:
On-site optimization: The content, structure, and layout of your site help search engines understand what your site is about and how authoritative it is. This pertains to meta descriptions, URL structure, page titles, keywords, internal linking, etc. It also improves user experience, encourages engagement, and increases conversions.
Consistent, high-quality content: An effective SEO strategy goes hand-in-hand with your content marketing strategy. Google loves sites with a regular flow of content, so publishing new content (such as blog posts) on a consistent basis can give you a boost in search results.
Off-Site Authority Building: Improving your site’s credibility means creating a presence and relationships on external websites and platforms. Building a collection of inbound links from other credible websites helps your site rank higher in the search results.
Why is SEO Important?
A 2019 study by Ahrefs revealed that 90.88% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google. That means of the millions of webpages across the web, nearly 91% of them are totally invisible.
In other words, those sites are getting zero traffic from Google, the most widely-used search engine.
Placing an emphasis on SEO is critical to making it in the 9% of sites that appear in search results. Ranking in search results sends you traffic (aka, potential customers) and helps your site appear more credible.
Consumers ultimately want to buy from sources they trust, which is why they perform online research like reading reviews before making a purchase. Appearing at the top of a Google search gives your business an automatic credibility boost.
In addition to increasing a business’s trustworthiness factor, SEO:
Increases click-through-rates and drives website traffic
Provides a better user experience
Improves user engagement
Generates leads and increase conversions
Creates brand awareness
No matter your industry or niche, implementing SEO strategies is essential to your online success.
How to Get Started With SEO
There are many things to consider when developing an SEO strategy. As mentioned above, SEO is multifaceted, so while keywords are important, they’re not the end-all, be-all of an SEO strategy.
So, where do you start?
Your strategy should focus on the three areas mentioned above: on-site optimization, relevant content, and authority building.
01. Focus On User Experience
You might be wondering what user experience (UX) has to do with SEO, and the answer would be “a lot.”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, SEO is multifaceted. Search engines view user experience as a pretty significant part of where sites rank in search results.
Creating a good user experience should be part of your SEO strategy, not just to help you rank but to make a good impression on site visitors. Combining the two gives you a better chance of appearing higher in search results and can help you generate more leads and conversions.
Here are some ways to help make your page more user-friendly and boost search engine rankings:
Well-organized navigation menu and site structure: Make it easy for users to get around and find what they are looking for.
Scannable content: Format text in a way that’s designed with scanners in mind. Use headers, white space, bolded text, lists, etc.
High-quality images: Break up text and add visual appeal to your content with images. And don’t forget to add alt text!
Proper link structure: Set up internal links to open in the same window and external links to open in a new window.
Mobile responsiveness: Optimize your site for mobile users.
Site speed: Nothing frustrates users quite like a website that takes forever to load. Optimize site speed to prevent users from bouncing off the page before it even has a chance to load.
02. Use Keywords Strategically
As one of the biggest driving elements behind SEO, it’s important to know what keywords to use and where to place them.
It all starts with keyword research. There are two things to consider when finding keywords:
Understanding how your target audience is searching for information related to your business or content topic.
How easy it is to rank for the keyword(s) you want to use.
Let’s explore the first point a little more.
Thinking like your target audience requires putting yourself in their shoes. What do they want to know, and how will they search for it? A really great tool for this is Answer the Public. You can type in a topic and discover what people are asking about it.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say a home builder wants to incorporate blogging into their content marketing strategy. The builder’s main goal is to use keyword-rich articles that help potential clients find their business. They also want to provide value by sharing insight into building a home and answering questions potential clients may have.
So, the builder heads to AnswerThePublic.com and types in “building a home.” Once the results load, the builder will see something like the image below:
This shows questions people have searched for related to building a home. As you scroll down, you’ll also find an alphabetical list of related phrases people search for, such as:
building a home vs. buying
building a home addition
building a home on a budget
This is a great way to find relevant keywords and new content ideas. Some of my other favorite SEO tools for performing keyword research include Moz Keyword Explorer, SEMrush, and Uber Suggest.
Once you know which keywords you want to use in your content, you have to know where to sprinkle them to get the best results.
Where to use Keywords for SEO:
Headlines (title tags)
Headers
Body copy
Image Alt Text
Link Anchor Text
Meta description
URLs
Whatever you do, avoid keyword stuffing at all costs. Unnecessarily repeating keywords or adding them out of context has a negative impact on user experience and can harm your rankings in the long run.
03. Evergreen Website Content
What is evergreen content? Simply put, it’s content that stays relevant long-term, unlike something time-based such as an article about an upcoming event or a landing page for limited-time promotion.
The majority of your website content, including blog posts, should be evergreen.
Implementing an effective SEO strategy is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time for pages to be indexed by search engines, so creating a lot of time-sensitive content isn’t going to have the results you want.
That’s not to say you can’t have short-term landing pages or write blog posts recapping an event. However, your primary focus should be on creating keyword-rich content that is relevant no matter when it is consumed.
There are some really easy ways to make a blog or article evergreen, including:
Providing industry tips, tutorials/how-to content, and advice
Answering frequently asked questions about your business, products, or industry
Explaining standard industry terms or concepts
Incorporating this type of evergreen content is a great way to provide value for your audience.
The more value your content offers, the more likely others will use it as a resource in their own content, which helps build links and improve your site’s authority.
SEO Takes Time
While SEO has many, many advantages, you likely won’t see instant results. SEO is a long game with long-term advantages. If you aren’t seeing the results you want, don’t quit. Be patient and give it time to start working. If you still aren’t seeing results after a few months, you may need to tweak your strategy.
Implementing an effective SEO strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Simply starting with the tips above will help you get decent results.
If you want someone to take your SEO strategy off your hands, feel free to get in touch.
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