It is well known that Google’s algorithm is updated from time to time. With each new update, there are changes in what every website must do to improve its ranking in search engine results. This article will show you how to rank your website after the newest Google updates.
Before you start improving your website’s ranking, it is recommended that you check your current Google ranking. This will assist you in setting a target for yourself and tracking your efforts. Notably, you don’t have to do this manually, as tons of tools have been created for this task. Ubersuggest is one of the best tools you can count on for assessing your current Google ranking.
1. Concentrate on on-page SEO
Based on the newest Google updates, on-page SEO has become more important than ever. Therefore, you must concentrate on boosting your on-page optimization. Simply put, on-page SEO refers to the type of optimization that you can do on your website itself. Unlike off-page SEO, on-page optimization is usually within your control and is undoubtedly one of the easiest methods for improving the ranking of your website. In addition, on-page optimization often shows results quickly.
The best practices for improving on-page SEO include:
- Sharing long-form content (this point will be explained later)
- Using relevant keywords in the content
- Adding meta titles and tags
Related: Why Meta Tags Are Still Relevant to SEO – and the Best Way to Use Them
2. Use technical SEO
Technical SEO is about designing your website to ensure that search engines can crawl and index it quickly and easily. When technical SEO is done correctly, search engines can easily assess your web content. As a consequence of this, your website will rank higher in the search results.
3. Improve security
Websites with HTTPS are often ranked higher in search results. So, it is crucial to have HTTPS on your site. Apart from improving your ranking, this will also make people more confident to use your website as they will feel it is secure.
4. Make your site mobile-friendly
Nowadays, the majority of people access the internet via their mobile devices. Given this, Google usually prioritizes mobile-friendly websites. The text size, font, etc., of your site should be optimized to make it easy for people to visit it on their phones.
Related: How Mobile-Friendly Is Your Website? If You Don’t Know, You’re Missing Out on Sales.
5. Increase loading speed
Internet users don’t want to wait several minutes for a webpage to load. So, it is vital to ensure that your website loads within a few seconds. With increased loading speed, Google will rank your site higher, and your site’s bounce rate will reduce.
6. Improve user experience (UX)
Users shouldn’t struggle to navigate your website; hence, you need to improve user experience (UX). Also, ensure your website looks clean, appealing and professional.
Related: Why User Experience Is Vital for Quality SEO
7. Create long-form content
Perhaps you have been creating short-form content on your website. It is time to change your content to long-form blog posts and landing pages. Typically, your long-form content should have about 2,000 words or more. Such long-form content will keep readers longer on your website and also assist you in sharing more vital information.
8. Upload only high-quality content
While trying to create long-form content, you should not overlook its quality. Your content should be:
- Original
- Informative and resourceful to the audience
- Well-written and formatted without grammatical blunders, punctuation errors, etc.
Related: 27 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website
9. Ensure your content can be skimmed
Although your goal is to make the readers stay longer on your website to digest the information, this won’t happen in many situations. Therefore, you need to make your website easy for readers to skim. To make it easy to skim, your content must:
- Have a table of content that highlights the primary information in the post
- Have multiple subheadings with heading tags
- Contain various bullet points
10. Optimize your Meta titles
The title that shows in the actual Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) is known as the Meta title. Although Google limits the word count for the Meta title, you can still use it to grab readers’ attention. Otherwise called the SEO title, the Meta title should be easy to understand and informative. Also, it should have your main keyword.
11. Add relevant and eye-catching visuals
In the past, people used to upload blog posts, landing pages, etc., with one or two low-quality images. However, things have changed quickly as the newest Google updates favor webpages with multiple high-quality images. So, avoid using empty graphics and stock images. You should rather create or get images that describe some concepts and improve the value of your content. Ensure the images are attractive and relevant to the information on the page.
12. Use videos
As the attention span of many regular internet users becomes shorter, they struggle to read written content. Nonetheless, most of these users still spend several minutes watching videos. So, it would be best if you took advantage of this knowledge by adding videos to your web pages. The latest Google updates allow people to watch videos whenever they need certain information. Therefore, uploading videos can improve your ranking in the search results.
The video should:
- Be short
- Have interesting soundtracks
- Have timestamps
- Have an attractive thumbnail
13. Invest in off-page SEO
While off-page SEO can be difficult to get right, it can make a big difference in the ranking of your website in Google’s search results. According to the latest Google updates, off-page SEO can come in handy to draw more traffic to your content and increase your website’s authority. Over time, Google will rank your website higher in the search results. Given this, you need to invest in off-page SEO.
Related: Simple Ways to Dramatically Improve Your SEO
14. Keep track of your SEO metrics
As you are taking the steps above to rank your website higher in Google’s results, you need to monitor what you are doing. Therefore, you should dedicate some time to tracking the SEO metrics.
- Evaluate where you are getting the majority of your organic traffic
- Check the performance of your keyword.
In a nutshell, you need to use the tips above and take advantage of the latest Google updates to rank your website higher in the search results.
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