Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the best way to go if you want a solid, cost-effective digital marketing strategy. While paid advertising may be more eye-catching, exciting, and timely, SEO strategies provide longevity that can’t quite match it. Search tools from Google compile lists of keywords for content prospects that are long-lasting and better performing. A good SEO strategy can help you get more traffic, but it isn’t about trying to outrank the big fish right away. The most important thing is to know your audience and provide them with relevant information they need – not just what’s popular on Google at the moment. Here are some critical tips for effective SEO:
Write content from the audiences’ perspective.
Google’s algorithm is getting smarter every day by using constant human input to better align with our thinking. There’s no way you can outwit a search engine so, think about writing for viewers first and search engines second. Provide information that your audience is looking for. This means natural content that will solve their problems and keep them engaged. Forcing keywords in your text is simply redundant, so use them where it all makes sense.
Use targeted keywords where required.
You can’t just throw keywords around without doing any research first. Use SEO tools like Google Ads, Ahrefs, and on-site search bars to identify broad search intent and your “seed” keywords. Then dig deeper to find more long-tail variants. Study competitors to find keyword gaps and add them in metadata and anchor text for links too. Moreover, make sure not to go overboard by inserting stuffy or disruptive words into the copy. It disrupts the content readability altogether.
Emphasize user experience (UX).
Google’s crawlers help rank higher on SERPS by scanning your content and determining rankings. A user must have an easy, seamless experience that can be achieved with headings and readable content. To reduce bounce rates for users, tidy up sub-folders and make your website mobile-friendly, so the viewers can find what they are looking for. This also helps Google’s crawlers scan more pages per visit, increasing ranking chances.
Build relevant links.
Outbound links are the key to building a site’s reputation and authority. With outbound links, you provide more information for your users, and other sites will link back to yours in return. Links are even ranked as one of Google’s ranking factors. So don’t be afraid when linking internally on your site either- it can help boost rank while providing utility for visitors too.
Format content for Featured Snippets.
Featured snippets are a new way for companies to market their products with 19% of SERPs on Google alone. They allow potential customers the chance to get information directly at their fingertips without having to click away from what they were viewing. Make sure you utilize bullet points, numbered lists, infographics, and answering questions based searches first hand.
Remove stuff that slows down your site.
Increasing your site speed and optimizing the overall user experience will help you to get noticed for all of the right reasons. To do this, you must delete old or defunct plugins from your website’s dashboard (e.g., WordPress). Clean up any messy code on a page-by-page basis and optimize images by minimizing their file size using an online tool such as TinyPNG. Moreover, test pages to determine what features are slowing them down using Google’s Pagespeed Insights tool.
Revamp existing content & insert missing subtopics.
There’s never really a finish line to tips when making your site more SEO-friendly. New and old competitors try to get ahead on search engine rankings with you. Constant updates will ensure that you stay relevant in today’s market and improve upon what has already been done beforehand too. You can take care of this by going back through all content for keywords, better readability, and high-quality links, so they rank higher than ever before.
Final thoughts
If you want to rank higher in Google and other search engines, one of the key tips is ensuring your site has all of the necessary SEO elements. Out Origin can help you with the best SEO strategies. Request a free quote from us for improvements or boosting up those rankings. Our experts would be more than happy to point out areas that need improvement to not waste time and money on things that won’t work.