Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial part of every business and marketing campaign. The way a page ranks, how it ranks, where it ranks, how to optimize keywords, on-page optimization, and much more form a part of a growing SEO ecosystem. While it seems straightforward on its face, it has a lot of work going on the back-end.
SEO is the energy that brings online content to life, and hence it pays to learn SEO from scratch to implement it better.
Without wasting any more time, let us understand the Ten most important factors for SEO ranking and how they affect website performance.
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1. No Keyword stuffing
When Google introduced SEO more than a decade ago, there was a rush of using keywords of any type in the text, paragraph, or entire document.
10 years ago, a document could look like this-
Why should you learn content writing? There are many ways to learn content writing and we have the right solution for you. If you want to learn content writing, you have come to the right place.
Today, to rank on Google, you need to create content that ‘hooks’ the reader and addresses their problems and solutions first. Remember, it is never about ‘You’, but about ‘Them.’
Adding the keywords in the ‘Title Tag’, ‘H1 tag’, including keyword in the first 100 words, and using keywords judiciously, will help you with SEO ranking.
2. Focus on videos and visuals
Visuals pique the audience interest and strike a chord. It adds more value to a reader than only replicating words, sentences, and numbers on paper.
Imagine this: You see an ad, and the only thing you notice is visual. The content appears later. Check out the food delivery app- Zomato. They successfully engage the audience attention with their excellent visuals and taglines.
Almost all of us fall in the category of ‘visual learners’. Incorporating videos or memes in your content or marketing campaign can go a long way in finding that ‘preferential sweet spot’ in your consumers’ mind.
Adding an Alt Text to images helps screen-reading tools describe images to visually-impaired readers, allowing them to better rank your content.
3. High-quality backlinks
The number of referring domains is considered one of the most vital SEO ranking factors today. Having a high number of domain links to your site correlates directly to a higher ranking position in SERPs. Obtaining high-quality backlinks will greatly influence Google to think that your content has authority on that keyword.
Beware of poor quality backlinks as the search engines will consider them spammy and damage your reputation.
4. Mobile-friendly Websites
People are constantly using their devices and smartphones to browse through different websites and answer their query. As per a Statista report, the first quarter of 2021 witnessed more than 54% of global website traffic coming from mobile devices.
You can check your URLs mobile-friendliness with one of Google’s free SEO tools- Mobile-friendly Test. The tool also suggests ways to improve a website’s efficacy if it is not mobile-friendly.
Hence, it is imperative to design websites that have a responsive interface and a dynamic design.
5. Site Speed
You may not realise this, but page speed is one of the top-ranking factors on Google. The web crawlers take account of each sites page load time and based on the HTML code. A fast loading page keeps the user hooked to your website, thus, reducing the bounce rate.
You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool to check your site speed.
6. Great UI/UX
When a visitor comes to your site, you want to render them a positive user experience. Poor design, non-intuitive layout and unresponsive pages will kill the experience right there.
It is estimated that nearly 40% of users will stop engaging with your website if it is unappealing. As a marketer, you must learn digital marketing online to understand the different techniques of making your website appealing to the users and improve your Google ranking. Any website covered with too many pop-up ads will lose its threshold on SERPs.
7. Check Domain Authority
You may not know this, but domain names older than 2+ years are considered more authentic than those created recently. The older the domain age, the better it is for SEO ranking.
You can check your domain authority by using Moz Link Explorer. Ones with target keywords in the URL tend to perform far better than those without it. The next time you revamp your website and check your SEO ranking, make sure you have authority over your domain name.
8. Relevant Content
Gone are the days when shabbily written content on your website could still expect to rank. Today, there are far more people choosing content writing as a career than a decade ago.
Content plays an integral part in SEO ranking, and instead of creating SEO content, you should focus on creating valuable and in-depth content. Googles’ algorithms are constantly getting updated. It uses its’ machine learning AI-powered algorithm “RankBrain” to decide the placement of any webpage.
9. Local SEO Strategy
Local SEO is not only for your small corner shops or ‘retail stores’, but it addresses the needs of a far wider audience. Local searches encompass those natty search terms that scream local keywords, such as –
- Digital marketing agency near me
- Digital marketing firm Delhi
- Marketing agencies Mumbai
- Digital marketers in Bengaluru
A great way to optimize your local SEO is by optimizing Google My Business to scale your small business and address the needs of your local audience. It is not only meant for brick-and-mortar shops but small firms and start-ups as well. According to Statista, local SEO has grown by more than 50% in the pandemic and will continue to grow in the future.
10. Description
You must have noticed a short description of the article while searching for a specific query on Google, right? The meta description has become an integral part of a conducive SEO strategy. The first three sentences displayed right at the top have the power to compel your user to visit your website or not.
Using keywords in the meta description will further increase your chances of gaining visibility. Including featured snippets in that space will add more weightage to your website and give your searchers a better experience.
Conclusion
SEO is constantly evolving, and it is essential to stay updated with the latest trends to help your website rank better on SERPs. The way the users interact with the search pages is changing drastically; hence, it is vital to keep all the above factors in mind while optimizing your website in 2023.
Author Bio:
I am Shiva Kumar, an enthusiastic professional. Expertise in Web Designing, Web Development, and digital marketing & research. Writing, educating people is my hobby.