In Part 1, we discussed the first 5 key factors, a straightforward SEO detail on how you can rank higher, what Google looks for in Search Engine Optimization and how it works, a short yet sweet fact about on-page, off-page SEO and other related and helpful information.
As we continue to know more in-depth information, you will soon realize that it is indeed important to get a good ranking in search engines most particularly in Google since it has the biggest market share compared to Yahoo, Bing and others.
Add on: Monitoring Your Rankings in Search Engines
Yes, you are excited to improve the current status of your ranking, but you should first be able to pinpoint where you need to begin. There are different ways on how you can do this.
Try searching in Google the words that you think your clients are going to use. Utilize a browser that’s in incognito mode so that Google’s personalization won’t be able to skew the results, and look at the position of your content as it appears.
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6. Technical Search Engine Optimization
As mentioned in part 1, having a right code is considered one of the aspects to improve search engine ranking. There are some other aspects that you need to keep in mind:
- Keyword phrases are highly recommended to be used in page titles since Google looks at the page title to identify what is relevant to the search. Whenever a query is made, the page title is the first line of every result.
- To show content hierarchy, header tags should be used. You need to use the htags appropriately and preferably in syntactic order.
- Meta description is another essential factor. This can entice your readers to click on your URL, and it’s advised that you include the keyword phrase here as well. It should be short, direct to the point and attention-grabber. Maximum of 160 characters, use this as an opportunity to convince users that you are the answer to what they are looking for.
- Image alt tags should also contain keyword phrases since this can help in making these images significant to your main content. Since Google has an image search, this is a great way for other users to find your content easily.
- Schema markup can tell Google the type of content that you are generating. Your content may be shown in rich card entries.
7. RankBrain (User Experience)
We all know that Google uses AI or artificial intelligence so that web pages can rank better, and that signal is called RankBrain. This includes other signals that have an impact to your ranking:
- Bounce Rate – The number of users who bounce away from your site
- Click Through Rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who visit your website after clicking your entry in the search results.
- Dwell Time – How long they stay in your site.
If you have a high bounce rate, it shows that your website is not relevant to what the users are looking for and this can affect your ranking.
On the other hand, if the users click through to your website and stick around for a bit, it will tell Google that your website is relevant to their search.
8. Links
We all know that the Internet is built with billions of links. Therefore this is one is an obvious SEO ranking factors. There are three types of links:
- Inbound
- Outbound
- Internal
Links are an excellent way to know the extent of authority and relevance of a website. It is extremely valuable if an authoritative website is linking to your page (inbound linking).
Another note to remember is to link to your own content as this can tie up your pages together for your site visitors and Google (internal linking). If your authoritative page is linked to another page that’s also in your site, some of the authority will be passed on whenever the visitors are able to find the other page. The other page will also get a boost in its ranking in the search engines.
9. Social Signals
Another ranking factor is when someone shared your content on the social networks. Although according to Google, social shares are not considered as a direct factor in ranking, we can see that the highest ranking page in Google have a huge number of shares. This is probably because the more your content is shared, the amount of exposure you gain increases, and more people will see and click or link to it. That means that getting more social shares does indirectly help in your search engine rankings.
10. Accurate Business Information
This factor is crucial, especially if you are also targeting your local area. Here are the things that you need to keep an eye on:
- NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
- Business listings, particularly in Facebook and Google My Business
- Reviews from your clients on Facebook, Google My Business, Yelp and other relevant directories
- The appropriate terms used for local search
Bonus: Utilizing Videos To Boost Your SEO Ranking
According to Cisco, video content will be representing 80% online traffic in 2021. A video marketing stat showed that:
- People are watch videos across all age groups
- About 79% of Internet users would choose to watch a video rather than reading a blog post
- In transactional searches, potential buyers will want to watch a video before deciding on making a purchase
With this data, you should begin having videos as part of your content strategy. A video can get read, linked to and shared, and this can give you plenty of signals that can intensify your ranking in search engine.
That’s a wrap! You are now equipped with knowledge on the 10 Key Factors in SEO Ranking.
