Every marketer’s aim is to be ranked first for their targeted keywords and to remain at the top of the search engine result page (SERPs). While some people hunt for shortcuts to boost their SEO position, the hard truth is that search engine optimization (SEO) is a marathon that demands ongoing progress. Before you continue reading, if you are new to or inexperienced with SEO, make sure to check out our easy SEO guide.
SEO is most likely a marketer’s most powerful digital marketing instrument. It is not only cost-effective, but the long-term benefits surpass the short-term costs. In short, after you’ve been rated high on the SERPs, it’s rare that you’ll see a significant reduction in your ranking.
Companies compete intensely for search ranking because the benefits are enormous. According to Databox, Google receives around 75,000 queries each second, with the top five organic results receiving 67 percent of all clicks. As a result, showing on the first page of search engines is critical for increasing website traffic – think of it like having a shop located right at a major crossroads; it just equals more consumers!
There may be numerous tactics and methods for improving SEO ranking. However, we have narrowed it down to five techniques to help you enhance your SEO rating.
#1: Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Most digital marketers make the mistake of stuffing their articles and websites with the keywords they’ve picked. This may have worked in the past, but it does not function currently.
Keyword stuffing has a negative impact on reader engagement since it affects readability. In fact, it indicates to Google that you are attempting to deceive their algorithms. This strategy will backfire, and you will not appear in Google’s search results.
Instead, use keyword research tools like Moz to proactively prepare for the terms you want your website to rank for. For example, after completing keyword research, you decided to rank “IT Services.” The optimum technique for keyword optimization is to utilise the term once in the title, description paragraph, introduction, and a few times in the body content – and that is enough. Just remember not to stuff your post with keywords; quality trumps quantity in this case!
#2: Avoid Low-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the ranking variables significantly weighted by Google. Backlinks are incoming links from other websites. This could be as a result of other websites referencing you or republishing your content.
Quality trumps quantity when it comes to backlink building. Multiple low-quality backlinks are worthless in comparison to a few high-quality connections. Google considers websites with a high number of high-quality connections to be reputable and authoritative.
As a result, avoid constructing backlinks with Google-penalized websites – those with a low domain authority (less than 20) or spam websites. The domain authority of a website can be easily determined using tools such as Moz.
Tip: A good domain authority (DA) is greater than 30, and you should preferably aim for a DA of 70. A page authority (PA) of at least 10 is generally regarded as satisfactory.
#3: Optimize Your Website For Speed
It is critical to ensure that your website loads as quickly as possible, whether on mobile or desktop. This is especially true for mobile, as Google has a mobile-first policy that indexes and ranks the mobile version. Google provides the following tools to help you test the speed of your website:
- Mobile-Friendly Evaluation
- Insights into PageSpeed
While the optimal speed varies by industry, every webmaster should strive to improve the performance of their website’s pages. After all, a slow-loading website not only harms your SEO rating but also annoys your visitors.
The acceptable time for an eCommerce website is 2 seconds. Google strives for less than a half-second response time.
Google’s Maile Ohye
There are other techniques to enhance loading speed, and covering them all is another issue for discussion. Here are some areas where you should look for ways to improve:
- Image size: Before uploading any photographs, be sure to optimise and compress them.
- Server Response Time: Check to see if your hosting package is suitable; it may be time to upgrade or switch hosting providers.
- CSS codes: When employing gimmicks such as third-party software, pop-ups, or advertisements, eliminate any unused CSS (code comments, formatting) to improve loading time.
- Redirects: Reducing redirects reduces the number of HTTP request-response cycles required.
- Pop-ups: Avoid utilising unneeded pop-ups, as certain pop-ups will lower your score.
In addition, there are numerous other technical factors that influence ideal website speed. To boost the speed of your website, you should speak with your web administrator.
#4: Fix Your Broken Links!
A broken link is a dead hyperlink on your website that leads to a 404 error page. This could occur as a result of both internal and external influences. Internally, your developer may have deleted a connected page, changed the URL address but neglected to update the right URL, or simply typed the wrong URL into the text link. Externally, the same problem could occur on other websites to which you have linked, which is beyond your control.
Broken links are inconvenient for everyone. They have an impact on your website visitor’s access to information. It presents a difficulty for marketers because having too many broken links means that Google bots are less inclined to crawl the site because they signal to Google that the site has a bad user experience. As a result, Google is unimpressed and regards you as untrustworthy.
Take note: Google is all about providing a user-friendly experience.
Regular maintenance is required to ensure that your website does not have several broken links. Fortunately, there are a number of tools accessible to perform broken link tests. For larger websites, once a month is preferable, and any broken links should be fixed right away.
#5: Go Big On Originality
Blogs are used by some websites as part of their SEO strategy. You’d be shocked at how many individuals believe that repeating content from other websites has the capacity to produce miracles. In fact, if you index a replicated article, Google will begin to perceive your website as a “copycat” and will lower your search rating.
Creating high-quality original material may necessitate a significant amount of effort. However, there are a few approaches you may take to find engaging original material to captivate your audience:
- Google Trends: Depending on your industry, you may be able to find a trending topic for fresh material.
- You may have a vast archive of old content; sometimes a simple update of previous articles is all that is required.
- Existing Content: Examine your existing content to see whether it can be expanded. For example, by developing our Digital Marketing Strategy article, we may write a new post on “Target Audience Persona.”
- Keywords: Based on the keywords you wish to rank for, you can create subjects based on them.
Finally, do not try to duplicate other people’s content on any area of your website. It is most emphatically not useful to your website. When consumers discover that you are a ‘copycat,’ your branding will only worsen – in a bad way.
A Final Note
The road to attaining an excellent SEO score is a long one. There are no quick fixes to increase your SEO ranking. The only method to increase your SEO ranking is to commit to putting in regular time and effort to stay on top of industry best practices. The results will display in due time, so please be patient!
If you want to increase your SEO rating, working with a professional SEO agency may be beneficial. Not only do they have the essential experience and expertise, but you also save time attempting to figure out the SEO ranking techniques.
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.