In today’s world, how important and profitable is search engine optimization (SEO)? Take a look at these startling figures: Google (News – Alert) currently handles 81,000 searches per second, and the global SEO industry is expected to grow to $79 billion by the end of 2020, up from $65 billion in 2016.
“While other digital marketing strategies are gaining traction, particularly pay-per-click advertising such as Google Ads and Facebook (News – Alert) Ads, SEO remains the most profitable long-term way to generate quality leads,” a seasoned entrepreneur and business owner from Las Vegas, Nevada, with a strong background in digital marketing. “As more consumers in both the B2C and B2B spaces use search engines to find companies and vendors, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of SEO.”
With the foregoing in mind, it is also true that some businesses outperform others in the SEO game. Here are five SEO ranking tips to help businesses reap the benefits while avoiding the pitfalls:
1. Perform a Backlink Audit
Back links aren’t all created equal. For an SEO engine, those that come from credible and authoritative sources are like jet fuel, while those that come from low-quality or possibly manipulative (e.g. link farms) sources are like sand.
Who owns several vehicle history websites that allow consumers to check out the history of used cars and determine whether they have been in an accident, have any recalls, and are reliable according to other drivers, said, “There are two things that a business should do when it comes across bad links.” “First, they should take it down from their website. The second step is to create a bad link disavow report and send it to Google via the Google Disavow Links tool. This tool allows publishers to ask Google to stop evaluating a site based on specific low-quality links.”
2. Conduct In-Depth Keyword Analysis
Many businesses waste time and money chasing after keywords that fall into one of two categories: there aren’t enough potential customers searching for them, or there are too many competitors, making it nearly impossible to make it to page one, let alone the top three results. Both of these pitfalls are avoided by the best keywords. There are enough potential customers looking for them, and they aren’t overly popular or taken over by large corporations with multimillion-dollar SEO budgets.
“There are a variety of tools available, such as Google’s Keyword Planner, that can assist businesses in identifying and developing a list of viable and profitable keywords,” explained. “However, working with a proven and reputable SEO consultant or digital marketing agency will benefit most businesses.”
3. Create Great On-Page and Off-Page Content
Content, content, and more content are the most important factors in SEO. Why? Because content is how search engines recognise and determine what a website (or, more specifically, a web page) is about. Web copy, blog posts, articles, and properly tagged images and videos are all examples of on-page content. Guest post articles, social media content, infographics, and other forms of off-page content are examples.
“One of the best and easiest ways for businesses to decide what their content should focus on is to simply ask their existing customers.” “Insights and ideas about what customers find topical and relevant can also be found on platforms like LinkedIn (News – Alert) and Quora.”
Search engines strive to provide the best and most convenient experience to searchers (i.e. potential customers). As a result, businesses can benefit their customers — and themselves — by improving their website navigation. Many SEO and UX experts, for example, believe that a web page should never be more than three clicks away from the user, and that the navigational menu should be clear, consistent, and labelled in a logical and intuitive manner — especially for mobile searches. In 2019, mobile searches on Google surpassed desktop searches for the first time.
“Imagine going into a grocery store and finding that instead of organised aisles, various food items are strewn about the place — cookies next to fruits and vegetables, cooking oils next to dairy products, condiments next to breakfast cereals, and so on,” explained. “Obviously, shopping will be a tedious and chaotic experience, and customers will rush for the exits and never return. Even though the internet has been around in some form or another for over 30 years, there are still a large number of websites that lack clear, linear, and intuitive navigation and usability. The good news is that resolving this issue is simple and inexpensive. Re-designing a website, unlike renovating a brick-and-mortar grocery store, does not entail tearing down walls and rewriting circuits.”
5. Increase Site Loading Speed
When it comes to discussing how its search engine algorithm works, Google is notoriously secretive. However, Google revealed something monumentally important a couple of years ago: the loading speed of a website (and its various web pages) is a leading factor in SEO ranking.
“A business can improve site loading speed in a variety of ways,” “Using a content delivery network, which uses a geographically dispersed network of servers to reduce the physical distance between where content resides and the individuals trying to access it, is one of the most effective methods. If all other factors are equal, the shorter the distance, the faster the delivery and loading speed. Businesses should also check to see if their host has a bandwidth limit on their site. If that’s the case, they’ll need to either buy more bandwidth or switch hosts. Optimizing images, compressing files, reducing redirects, using browser caching, and minifying CSS (News – Alert), JavaScript, and HTML can all help to speed up loading.”
The Bottom Line
There is no magic wand (or, alas, cutting-edge app) that allows businesses to win the SEO game instantly. Businesses that advice, on the other hand, will undoubtedly gain an advantage over their less capable competitors, resulting in more clicks, customers, sales, and success in the long run.
Need help with getting your business found online? Stridec is a top SEO agency in Singapore that can help you achieve your objectives with a structured and effective SEO programme that will get your more customers and sales. Contact us for a discussion now.