With the world turning to all things digital because of the pandemic, it is tough to enter the SEO world with zero knowledge on how to get ahead the competition. Lucky for you, you can read tons of blog posts and case studies on how to boost your SEO ranking and this is one of them. For those who are clueless on how to climb up Google’s ranks, this brief guide is for you. Here are the areas you should focus on to get the coveted #1 spot.
On Point Keyword Research
Your SEO would all just be for naught if you don’t have the keywords that you want to rank for. Optimizing your site means that you have to do thorough research for the terms that will help you stay in front of your chosen audience. What’s great with SEO is that you can customize the way that you make your website visible. Keywords should be relevant to your industry and it should target your most valuable services.
Keyword research is an initial part of your strategy simply because it will determine the foundation of your efforts to optimize the site. You will build your content around it, optimize meta elements according to its terms and build links using anchor texts that are relevant to the keyword you want to rank for. Simply put, keywords are vital for your strategy because this will illustrate your position in the search engine results page.
Search Intent
Now that you have a full set of keywords, you have to factor in search intent for your SEO strategy. Search intent is the motivation behind a user’s search behavior. You must ask yourself the question, “What are they searching for to land on my site?” or “What are they looking to get from my site?”. Search intent can be organized into 4 categories: navigational, transactional, directional, and informational.
Search intent is very important as many Google Algorithmic updates have tackled this type of subject in SEO. For one, it is a great way to combat SPAM since users will be assured that the queries they are searching for will be highly relevant to what they need. By having search intent in mind you can set yourself up for higher search engine ranking. Optimizing for search intent will go a long way especially if you plan on ranking on the first page in the long term.
Technical SEO Fixes
Aside from search terms and intent, you should also think about the technical aspect of your website. Site speed is a well-known ranking factor so you should make sure that you are optimizing for it. It is not only a technical element but it can also benefit a positive user experience on the site. If you have a slow site, users will probably bounce off with engaging with your business. Another thing that you should look at is your technical audit of the pages. Are they being indexed properly by Google and if not, what can you do about it?
For this, you should look at Google Search Console reports on what you can fix for your pages. With this tool, you can see mobile usability fixes, coverage issues, and even search terms that you can optimize for. If you have a new site, you should look into installing a search console code so it would be easy for you to spot these issues.
Solid Content Strategy
Content is king for SEO. Experts and rookies alike know this, which is why everyone is clamoring for a great content writer nowadays. It is not enough that your content is well-done, it has to be gripping enough for the user to turn into a lead then eventually convert into a client. SEO for business is tricky but if you have a solid content strategy, you can be assured that the spot that you secure on the first page will be yours for many years to come.
Create content that will make users stay on your site and you must do this by offering value to them. Put yourself on the position of the user and think if you will like the content that you publish on the site. If personally you are having problems with it, you cannot expect people to be receptive with it either.
Key Takeaway
SEO ranking is one of the best options you can have to stay visible online. Some businesses choose to go the easy route and just pay for ads but at the end of the day, that type of visibility does not contribute much in terms of longevity. If you want to stay on the first page for a long time, then you should resort to organic efforts such as SEO.
