To make your brand stand out online, simply focusing on creating more quality products or services isn’t typically enough to get noticed. You also need to make sure you’re able to be easily found when potential customers use search engines to find the solutions they’re looking for.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is where most people start when trying to improve their website traffic. But whether you’re just exploring SEO techniques or have been applying best digital marketing practices for some time, it can sometimes be an intimidating exercise when trying to move the needle on your search visibility.
To simplify things, we’ve created a quick cheat sheet you can use to help you prioritize your SEO focus based on how your website pages are currently ranking on search engines like Google.
When None of Your Keywords Are Ranking
The first steps to take when creating a new website or publishing new content are often the most intimidating. But if it’s taking a while to see any ranking activity for your new web content, don’t panic – this is a normal part of the indexing process.
Still, if it’s been a few months and you’re still not seeing any traction regarding your website rankings, here are a few things you should focus on.
Conduct New Keyword Research
Sometimes, a refresh in your keyword choices is what you need to start improving your ranking and indexability. Targeting the “right” keywords is essential when looking to boost your rankings. This means you’ll want to make sure you’re focusing on the right terms or phrases and being careful to steer clear of overly broad or highly competitive keywords.
You can always use free online tools like Google Trends and Analytics or paid options like SEMrush and Ahrefs to help you better balance the mix of keywords you choose while getting better insights into their difficulty ratings.
Check and Improve Your On-Page Elements
It’s a good practice to regularly check your on-page elements to ensure they’re aligned with your ranking targets. Once you’ve selected the relevant keywords you are trying to rank for, you’ll want to optimize your title tags, meta descriptions, and site structure to ensure they support these goals.
Ensure you’re using keywords on your site wherever applicable, and include them in your content’s header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Create Higher Quality Content
Of course, the quality of your content can make a considerable difference in whether or not search engines determine if your website is worth ranking. Be sure you’re prioritizing creating original, high-quality content that is beneficial for users to read.
Search engines have become more picky over the years as they prioritize unique and informative content over mass-produced, AI-generated information.
When You’re Showing Up On Pages 2 and 3
Seeing your web pages starting to rank on the first few pages of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) can be incredibly encouraging. However, to start seeing positive movements in your rankings, you’ll want to start taking some strategic steps:
Focus on Establishing Quality Backlinks
Earning high-quality backlinks from reputable sites is a powerful, although time-consuming, strategy for moving your web pages up the rankings. When you’re able to attract these valuable links from high-authority websites, it signals to search engines that your content is actually valuable and may be worth passing more web traffic to them.
Take the time to create an outreach campaign to help you connect with other authoritative sites in your niche. This will give you the opportunity to request guest posting opportunities, allowing you to provide them with insightful content they can use in exchange for a reference back to your website.
Look For Ways to Promote Your Content
You should look for more opportunities to share and distribute the content you’ve created. Start exploring different online communities and offer to share your expertise with others.
Think about engaging with relevant organizations through email and leveraging social media platforms to help redistribute posts you’ve already created and create additional authority links back to your website.
Think About Ways to Improve User Experience
The user experience you provide on your website can make a significant impact on the amount of time visitors spend interacting with your content. This can signal to search engines that your content is helpful and you’re providing real value to your visitors.
As your pages start to rank better, your user experience will continue to play an important factor in helping you maintain those gains.
When You’ve Made It To 1st Page Results
Being able to reach the top of search results is a major achievement for anyone, but it’s only half the battle. The real challenge is in maintaining that position over time, especially as more individuals and businesses try to compete for ranking priority.
To help make sure your site keeps its status, here are a couple of things to focus on:
Stay Consistent In Your Approach
Obviously, whatever you have been doing up to this point is working, and it’s important to stay the course. Make sure you’re consistently providing fresh and relevant content for your audience while always looking for opportunities to keep your site updated.
Build and Grow Your Brand
Having a strong brand presence can help to gradually improve your overall SEO performance. Don’t be afraid to take a step back from specific SEO initiatives and focus on building your brand and reputation through social media engagements or other activities.
All of this sends positive signals to search engines, especially when you’re able to gain positive brand reviews or mentions for other organizations or influencers in your niche.
Monitor Your Rankings and Adjust as Needed
It’s critical to regularly monitor and analyze your SEO performance over time. This will help you to identify what strategies are most effective and any areas you may want to improve on.
By continuing to stay vigilant and adaptable to search engine algorithm changes, you’ll be able to maintain your top ranking for longer and attract the valuable organic traffic to your site that comes with it.
Get More Out of Your SEO Efforts
SEO is an essential element for improving your search visibility. However, it’s critical for you to prioritize the most impactful strategies you can use based on where your website currently sits on SERPs.
By following the cheat sheet provided, you’ll be able to maximize your efforts and ensure your rankings gradually improve over time.
Author Bio Below:
Jason Khoo started freelancing in SEO in college, sold his first agency, and now is the founder of Zupo, an Orange County-based SEO consulting agency helping construct powerful long-term SEO strategies for our clients. Jason also enjoys multiple cups of tea daily, hiding away on weekends, catching up on reading, and rewatching The Simpsons for the 20th time.
