When search engines started to dominate the Internet, it became imperative for websites to attract as much traffic to their sites as possible. Although paid advertising promises to attract viewers, it can become expensive for many organizations.
Attention has shifted to creating content that informs or advises the viewer and is easily found online. This is the basis of search engine optimization (SEO) – content optimization – so it appears in search engine results pages (SERP) when a user types in a set of keywords that match contextually to the keywords found in the content created on your website. Optimizing your content started in the early 2000s and has positively impacted a company’s website and increased organic traffic.
In 2010, Google launched Google Instant, which displays results in seconds and removes irrelevant results while improving the user experience (UX). Bing and Google started linking social media, and in 2015, SEO became an integral part of organizations.
The main objective of SEO is to make the site appear at the top of the SERPs. Whether it’s an eCommerce or a business website, your site needs to collect traffic and grow your online audience. Increasing traffic is an important part of increasing your company’s customer base. Besides, it is cost-effective and saves you much money otherwise spent on notoriously expensive traditional marketing tactics. According to Junta, 57 percent of B2B marketers said that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative.
SEO makes your website visible in SERPs and, if properly implemented, will propel your website to the top of the search engines. SEO is explicitly aimed at gaining user traffic, and if successful, your website will become more visible to users looking for information, services, or products in your niche. The popular search engine platforms you want your website to appear on are Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
SEO is often understood concerning pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search. Although SEO is a constant effort to improve your website ranking organically, paid search means that websites pay search engines a fee every time their ad (displayed at the top of the engine results) searches) is clicked.
Here are some important tips to follow if you want to improve your search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your website:
Top 10 SEO Tips for Better Ranking
The world of SEO is constantly changing. Today’s steps to improve the ranking may work immediately, but tomorrow, there may be an algorithm change, and you will need to change your strategy. Search engines continue to improve their algorithms and have become smarter, only showing results that truly meet users’ search intent. Whenever Google or any other search engine updates its algorithm, the ranking of your website may fluctuate. SEO specialists are responsible for tracking what affects the drop in order or impressions and taking the necessary action.
Here are 10 important SEO tips for increasing website traffic:
1. Minimize obstacles to slow page loading
A few years ago, the slow loading of the site was common. Although most websites have successfully improved load times, this remains an issue with a few spots. Research shows that people don’t trust these websites and never open them again. According to eConsultancy, 40 percent of people abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. Therefore, removing all possible obstacles that slow down your website is important: too many advertisements, unoptimized images, and high-resolution or GIF images.
2. Link to another website with relevant content
Linking important content to your website can increase the number of viewers. However, many believe external links can cause viewers to move traffic to other websites. On the other hand, putting valuable content on your site can motivate viewers to regularly open and read your website. Adding appropriate content to your pages saves the user time by allowing them to answer all their questions via your page.
3. Connect content with people
SEO content creators often write content to meet the needs of search engines. However, there may be too many technical terms that users do not know or understand. The key is to write content for your user who informs and advises. Creating content that easily engages the human user often means including fewer keywords in the strategy. However, using the right keywords, your user will find your content quickly, and it will be the right content.
4. Encourage other relevant sites to link to you
When creating content, SEO must invest its money and time in excellent keyword research and create high-quality content. This is how you capture the attention of other related websites. External websites that recognize your brand as a market authority will be encouraged to link to your site in their aligned content. This markets your content and enables other companies and brands to trust your brand authority. In the long run, it becomes beneficial for similar websites or businesses in complementary fields to build mutually beneficial relationships
5. Use Web Analytics in your decision-making
Web analytics will help you determine if your content marketing strategy is working. This software allows you to follow all the activities of your users in different terms. Google Analytics is a popular web analytics software. It is important in most marketing executives’ decision-making, especially when considering marketing expenses. Thus, SEO must use analytics to ensure that the data is tracked and measured accurately. This will help you know what is working and what has failed.
6. Write unique and relevant meta-descriptions
A meta description is a small part of search engines’ content in search results. This should grab your users’ attention because it’s the first thing they read, and it helps them determine if your content is the answer to their search query. So try to make your meta descriptions more informative and highlight the most important points of your content. Superfluous content in the meta description can also lead to lower rankings in search engine results. SEOs should also create an easy-to-read and understand URL. Complex URLs confuse both your users and the search engines. Remember that search algorithms are built only from the perspective of your user. Some of the strategies for the URL are:
• URLs are case sensitive
• Using dashes instead of underscores makes it easier to understand the URL
• Put your top content in the root folder due to the URL structures that signal the content at the top
• Remove and block links from untrusted sites from your website
7. Divide content using bullets
Use bullets to designate the different parts of the information. It helps your user quickly absorb the main lessons from your article and is the best practice for all copies of websites. This makes the message clearer to understand. If your users cannot immediately derive value from your content, you risk being distracted by your competitors’ websites.
One of the important SEO strategies is to post content on social media. Social sharing on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can grab your target audience’s attention. This is a proven way to improve the ranking of your website in search results. Some important points to consider when sharing on social networks:
• Make your content worthy enough to be shared on social media platforms
• Your website posts should offer the reader a sharing option
• Motivate people to share
• Build a network with social media influencers
9. Use the right keywords in your images
Ensure you always match the correct keyword to your website images by using an optimized copy in your alternative text. Your users and the search engines will find you via your optimized images as quickly as they would via your optimized copy.
10. Create and regularly publish unique content
It is important not only for the quality of the content but also the cons and distance. The key is to engage people with relevant content so that they continue to visit your website. Regular posting of high-quality content is ideal and proves authority and relevance. The reader ultimately becomes a passionate follower and eagerly awaits the next range. Unique content improves ranking in search engine results.
Conclusion
With the help of digital marketing, companies generate more leads than if they only implement traditional marketing strategies. In proportion, SEO has also become a critical tactic for companies with a digital presence. Research indicates that SEO as a career has increased by 9.8 percent from December 2017 to December 2018.
If you feel you can become a top-notch SEO, why not do an Online SEO test and check your skills. If you enjoy writing, learn how to create the best-performing content by taking an SEO course and using your new skill set to place your content at the top of the results pages.
