Are you trying to get your website to show up on the first page of Google’s search results page but are having trouble? Here are some of the key factors that will affect your search rankings and some strategies on how to improve your search visibility:
Content
Google’s Panda algorithm filters out websites with thin, duplicate, or bad content by penalizing them with lower rankings. This is why it is so important for websites to regularly update content through blogs, new service pages, frequently asked questions pages, service areas pages, and more. Writing relevant, quality content will not only benefit the users coming to your website but will also result in your website ranking higher on a search engine. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that the content you create is unique, informative, has relevant htags, and has over 400 words.
User Experience
Google has multiple algorithms in place that are built around improving users’ experience. Many of the different topics discussed in this blog are connected to enhancing users’ experiences, such as mobile-friendliness, page speed, and long-form content. However, another aspect of a website that significantly affects user experience is website design. Websites may only focus on creating rich content to follow Google’s Panda algorithm, but they fail to design their website well for the users. Users do not want to go on a website filled with long paragraphs of information, which is why it is so important to remember to add images, videos, and other graphics to make the site more visually appealing. Users will also be more likely to stay on a site that is easy to navigate and find what they are looking for, so keep this in mind while designing your website.
Mobile Friendly
In today’s world, more and more people are making searches from their mobile phones and tablets, which is why Google rewards mobile-friendly websites with higher SERP rankings. Many sites may only be designed for desktop searches and can become hard to navigate and slow loading when visited on mobile devices. Make sure that your website is easily usable on mobile devices to ensure that your site ranks high.
Page Speed
Another important factor determining a website’s ranking on Google is page speed. Slower sites typically have higher bounce rates, lower visitors, and lower conversion rates. Users that come across a slow-loading site often get annoyed and aggravated waiting and will just resort to another site that has faster page speed. If you are unsure whether your site is loading quickly, there are many tools out there that will test your website’s speed.
On-Page Optimization
Many aspects of on-page search engine optimization can drastically improve your Google rankings and ultimately increase traffic to your website. The following are two important on-page areas that you should definitely be optimizing:
- Metadata: Metadata includes both the title tag and meta description of the page. These two fields show up on a search engine results page, so it is important that you provide accurate information about the content on that site page. To fully optimize your metadata for each of your site pages, you should be using keywords and relevant locations in the description. The title tag should be around 60 characters, and the meta description should be 160 characters.
- Schema Markup: Schema markup is a type of code that goes on the backend of a website. This code is used to tell search engines such as Google what content is on the page. Some frequently used schema used is local business and frequently asked questions.
Contact Boston Web Marketing
If you need professional help to improve your website’s ranking on Google, please contact Boston Web Marketing. Our experts will develop a plan with different SEO strategies to ensure that your website ranks higher, increases traffic and overall business. Learn more about all our services today!