6 Ways to Improve your Google Search Ranking
By Lily Whorl
A company’s Google search ranking has the chance to either make you or break you. According to Search Engine Watch, 36.4% of clicks are spent on the first website ranked on Google for each search. That means the lower your ranking, the less traffic your website and business will have. Learning how to improve your Google search ranking is a crucial part of your success.
Listed below are 6 ways to improve your Google Search Ranking.
Make Your Content Relevant:
The first step to improvement is making sure the content you’re sharing is relevant to you and your company.
Michigan Tech notes that there is no substitute for great content. In fact, quality content created specifically for your target audience increases web traffic, which improves your overall authority and relevance on search engines.
You want to determine a keyword phrase for each page. Once you’ve done that the next step is repeating this phrase multiple times throughout the page. A key step to this is putting yourself in the reader’s perspective. Think about times you were searching for something specific. For example, when searching for somewhere to get lunch, it’s likely you’ll type into Google “lunch near me.” Restaurants that have websites need to take this into consideration and try and use this phrase throughout their site.
Though repeating a key phrase is extremely helpful, you don’t want to get carried away with it. Make sure your articles and pages are reader–friendly and read smoothly. It’s not worth it to sacrifice your writing.
Regularly Update Your Content:
Google determines a site’s relevancy in many different ways. One huge deciding factor is content. It’s more than important to regularly update your content. You always want to make sure you’re staying up-to-date and continually putting yourself out there to be seen. According to Granite5, “Fresh and unique website content is a very important factor in encouraging people to revisit your site more often.”
A simple step you can take help you stand out from your competition is incorporating unique yet relevant content on your website. A particular example of this is Skittle’s website. Though this example surely will not work for everyone it is an interesting take on their part. They fill their website with relevant content to their brand while keeping it interesting in fun.
Appropriately Title Content:
Another simple thing you can do is to make sure each website page title is named appropriately for the content it holds. You want to provide your site visitors with easy navigation. Website navigation is the base of your user experience; it holds everything together. When visiting a website, people value their clicks.
This process also helps tell search engines where to find certain pieces of information on your website and whether or not each page is relevant to a person’s search.
Propecta states “An effective site menu structure can increase leads, conversions, and search rankings. An ineffective structure can increase bounce rates, poor brand impressions, and buyer frustration.”
Utilize Google Business Page:
Having a Google Business Page set up correctly and optimized is incredibly helpful. This can be done by including photos relevant to you and a detailed description of your business and the services you offer. Be as clear as you can be; the more people have to read through the description to understand your business the less interested they are.
In addition, clearly post the areas you service along with your company’s hours of operation. Nothing is more frustrating than having to search the pits of the internet to find the hours of a business.
An effective way to boost your ranking and have a positive user experience is by embedding a google map onto your website. People rely on Google Maps more so now than ever before. Make their lives easy by simply having a Google Map with your location embedded on your site. Beautiful Themes created a step by step guide on how to embed a Google Maps in your WordPress website. Check it out here: How to Embed Google Maps in WordPress Website: Beginner’s Guide.
Use Alt Text:
The use of alt text is an important tool to boost your Google ranking and sneak some SEO helpers into your website. Alt text is brief descriptions that you can assign to any picture posted on your website.
DirectTom.com compares Google’s use of alt texts to the way a visually impaired person would use them. The Google algorithm cannot see nor understand images. The alt text you put in place helps Google to comprehend the photo allowing Google to correctly place the image in image results.
In simpler terms, images that have alt text are more likely to be seen in image searches and are a great way to implement your keywords and boost your SEO.
Stay Up To Date:
A key part of how to improve your Google search ranking is continually staying up to date on Google’s algorithm.
“Luckily for all of us, there are plenty of online tools you can use to test your overall SEO scores. You can also test your local ranking by doing a simple Google search or using a site like MOZ.com. This will show you where you may have room for improvements and the like.
While it may seem daunting, it is possible with hard work and consistency (emphasis on both) to increase your position on search engines. If you’re still lost on how to improve your Google search ranking, feel free to reach out to us anytime or schedule a free consultation today.
Liked this article? You might also be interested in reading: How Google Analytics Can Help You Improve Your Website.
