You can do countless things to improve your Google rankings. However, it's crucial to master the fundamentals first.
With those words:
Make sure your website adheres to the most recent SEO best practises. The starting point is that.
Best SEO practises involve actions intended to raise a website's rankings.
On-site optimization, keyword research, and link building are some typical best practises for search engine optimization.
In actuality, only 63% of people who use Google to search ever click on a result from the second page of results. Which is why having a high Google ranking is so important.
The best way to present yourself is to adhere to SEO best practises.
Following that, here are the nine most crucial ones you should be aware of.
Search intent (also known as "user intent") is the goal of every search query.
Google's top priority is to understand and satisfy search intent. Pages that appear on the first page have all passed Google's search intent test.
Take a look at the search results for "SEO Company in chennai," for example.
Blog posts and videos are the top search results. Not online service pages.
Google recognises that people who search for this keyword want to learn. Not to purchase.
Product ads and service pages, on the other hand, are the results for a query like "SEO Company in chennai"
That is to say:
If you want to rank on Google's first page, you must first understand search intent and then create content writing that matches it.
Informational: when attempting to learn more about something
Navigational: when a person is looking for a specific page or website
Commercial: when a person wishes to learn more before making a purchase
Transactional: when someone intends to complete an action or make a purchase
Two of the most important meta tags on your page are the page title and meta description.
Title Tags
Title tags are clickable headlines that appear in search engine results pages (search engine results pages).
They inform Google about the topic of your page. And they're critical from an SEO standpoint.
This is how a title tag appears in Google search results:
Title tags are essential for providing users with a quick overview of the content of a result. And why it is pertinent to their query.
It is frequently the primary piece of information used by searchers to determine which result to click on.
As a result, it is critical to use compelling titles for your web pages.
In general, title tags should be between 50 and 60 characters long. This prevents words from being cut off in desktop or mobile SERPs.
Here are some more title tag best practises to remember:
Meta Descriptions
A meta description is a meta tag that describes a page's content. It is frequently displayed in the SERP below the title and URL of your page.
They're similar to a sales pitch that persuades a searcher that the page is exactly what they're looking for.
Meta descriptions are typically truncated by Google to 155-160 characters.
As a result, make sure your summary is accurate and concise.
Here are a few meta description best practices to follow:
Images are extremely important in improving a visitor's user experience.
Images, when used correctly, can help your site's overall SEO and increase organic traffic.
A. Choose the Best File Format
Images are frequently the most significant contributors to overall page size and loading time. Furthermore, page speed is an important ranking factor.
The first step is to select the most appropriate file format.
JPEG and PNG are the most commonly used image formats on the web.
Both formats employ distinct compression methods. As a result, the file sizes between these two can vary greatly.
Given the differences in file sizes, it would be easy to declare JPEG the winner. However, this would be a mistake.
While JPEGs are ideal for photographs, PNGs are better suited for images that include text, line drawings, and so on.
Another popular format is WebP. It's a modern image format for web images that offers superior lossless and lossy compression.
WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size than PNGs and 34% smaller than comparable JPEGs, according to Google.
B. Compress Your Images
Image compression is a technique used to reduce the size of images without sacrificing quality.
The larger the size of your image file, the longer it takes for your page to load.
As a result, it's critical to compress your images before uploading them to your website.
C. Provide Alt Text for Images
Alternative text (alt text) is text that is included in HTML code to describe an image on a webpage.
It provides context for both search engine crawlers and those using a screen reader to view a page.
Adding alt text to images is still necessary, despite advances in Google's ability to understand images.
D. Lazy-Load You’re Images
Lazy loading is a web and app development technique that delays the loading of non-critical resources (images, videos, etc.) at page load time.
Images and videos are only loaded when users require them.
Google explains the relationship between lazy loading and site performance as follows:
"We reduce initial page load time, initial page weight, and system resource usage when we lazy load images and video, all of which have a positive impact on performance."
Google prioritises site loading speed as a ranking factor. Particularly on mobile.
Use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to assess your site's current loading speed.
Internal links are important because they help your website establish an information hierarchy. And assist Google in comprehending the content on your page.
Internal links, when used correctly, have the potential to improve your rankings.
Internal links from top-ranking pages on your site to pages that need a boost are an SEO best practise.
In general, this entails linking old (highly performing) pages to new ones. Older pages have more authority.
It's a convenient way to use internal links without having to analyse every page on your website.
Having said that, you should still keep an eye out for internal linking errors. They can be harmful to your SEO.
Use the internal linking report in our Site Audit tool to quickly identify and correct these errors.
Google monitors how users interact with pages. As a result, user experience (UX) is an important factor in improving search rankings.
Page speed is an important factor in improving UX. However, it is only a starting point.
Here are a few more SEO tips to help users have a positive experience when they visit your site:
Use headers & subheadings: The proper use of headers and subheadings (H1, H2, H3) assists Google in better understanding your content and makes your text more accessible to readers.
Make your content visually appealing: Visuals aid readers in understanding your content. Use relevant images, videos, and screenshots to help convey your message.
Avoid using annoying pop-ups: Pop-ups irritate your visitors. Google has penalised sites that use intrusive pop-ups since 2017, so use them sparingly.
Use white space: White space is critical for good design. White space, according to the Interaction Design Foundation, improves legibility, branding, and focus.
Make your site mobile-friendly: Because Google uses mobile-first indexing, mobile-friendliness is critical for UX. To see how your site performs on mobile, use Google's mobile-friendly test.
A good URL structure informs users and search engines about the content of the destination page.
Consider organising your content in such a way that URLs are built logically. And in the most human-friendly way possible.
With that in mind, here's how to start making well-structured URLs:
Use short URLs: According to a Backlinko study, short URLs outperform long URLs in SERPs.
Include your target keyword: To improve your chances of ranking higher in search results, always include your target keyword in the URL.
If necessary, include categories or subfolders: If you sell goods, for example, you might have a "shop" subcategory. This assists both users and search engines in navigating your website.
Backlinks from other websites to yours are considered "votes of confidence" by Google.
Your web pages are more likely to rank well in the SERPs if they have a large number of authoritative backlinks.
Not all backlinks, however, are created equal.
Some backlinks can exponentially boost your ranking for specific search queries, while others may be considered "toxic."
You should concentrate your efforts on generating high-quality backlinks that will help you rank higher for your target keywords.
Replicating your competitors' link building strategies is one of the most effective ways to obtain authoritative backlinks.
Creating unique, useful content can help you rank higher on Google.
This isn't about the length of the content. That is unimportant.
Instead, strive to solve difficult problems, share data-driven insights, and dispel myths.
Finding topics that are already trending in your industry is a great strategy. Then, create content with fresh perspectives, data, and angles.
It's out pleasure to have a chance to cooperate.