The majority of web journeys these days start with a search – typically on the world’s biggest and most popular search engine, Google. As a result, getting your site to the top of the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) has now become a vital part of web marketing to help generate traffic and drive more site visits.
The importance of high search rankings
Whether you’re running a corporate website or just a personal blog, site admins all hunger after the same thing – high visitor numbers – and one of the best ways to drive traffic is by optimizing your pages to be found in search engines. However, getting your site to the top of the listings can seem a daunting prospect for website owners – particularly when you’re just starting out.
Research shows that less than 10% of users go beyond the first SERP on search engines – and more than half fail to scroll past the first three results on page one. Getting to the top of search engines is essential if you’re to attract that much-needed traffic. Here are a few pointers to improve the chances of your site being found under relevant searches made by your target audience.
Optimize your site for users and search engines
Google’s search bot (the way it indexes internet pages) is now vastly more intelligent than it once was and is currently capable of reading and ‘understanding’ site content. Consequently, you should title pages clearly and insert headings as close to the top of your pages as possible. Much like your potential users, if Google has to read reams of text before it can understand your content, it will be far less likely to comprehend the point of your site – and hence less likely to list you accurately.
Also, bear in mind page loading speeds (now even more important with more than 50% of all web traffic being generated on mobile devices). If your pages load slowly, you will inevitably be penalized by Google with lower rankings. Google actually offers an excellent page loading service which you can use to test your site.
Think about what potential clients might type to try to find you
Most users have a pretty clear idea of what they’re looking for when they search, so try to think about what clients might type into a search engine to find a website like yours. Very often these days, people type actual questions into Google looking for answers to specific queries. By including potential questions, keywords, or phrases that might be asked by users in your text, you’re far more likely to place higher in search engines under those terms.
Also, remember the importance of headers in your content. Again, just like your users, Google will tend to prioritize content under the <H> heading tag, so splitting your text into clearly defined sections will help the search engine understand your key content better.
Reach out to Experts
If the above sounds confusing or, like many people, you find the idea of crafting optimized text difficult or daunting, you should consider approaching a digital marketing agency that will help you optimize your site to work better for users and search engines. SEO is an art and, if you want to truly benefit from the considerable benefits of web marketing, you should consider enlisting the help of an expert that will look after all aspects of your online promotion – everything from your social media pages to your content and other tricks of the trade to attain higher listings.
Update your site regularly
Google prides itself on offering its users the best, most relevant, and up-to-date information, and it likes nothing more than regularly updated content. By updating frequently, your site will appear more proactive and more likely to be offering relevant, interesting data. As an added benefit, you’ll also be more likely to attract backlinks to your site – another important signal for Google that your content is worthy of placing higher up its listings.