How to Improve Your
Website's Google Ranking
Google's search engine uses a variety of methods to
determine which pages are displayed first in the results. Their exact formula
is a secret, but there are always a few things you can do to improve
your rank in Google search results. The term for this is Search Engine
Optimization or SEO
There are
no guarantees and no quick schemes. If someone promises you quick results,
it's probably a scam. No matter what you do, make sure you make a site that you
want to visit and written the way humans would want to read
it.
If you're gaming the system, sooner or later Google will figure it out and
change their formula. You'll end up plummeting in the search results and wonder
why.Best SEO Services
Keyword Phrases (aka Give Your Page a Subject)
A keyword phrase is the words you think someone is most likely
to put into a search engine to find your content - basically what you think the
subject of your page would be according to Google. You could put a lot of
energy into keyword phrases aloneand improve your site ranking. Your
keyword phrase should obviously appear somewhere in your content, preferably in
the first paragraph or so. "This is an article about X, Y, or Z."
Don't overdo it, and don't make it look unnatural. If it looks spammy, it
probably is.Again, the point here is to speak like a human and just use the
words that humans are most likely to use when searching for a page about your
topic. Telling people what they're about to read is helpful.
Making a word salad
to cram in keyword phrases is not.
If you
were searching for your own website, what keyword phrase would you type into
Google for each page? Would you look for super fast widgets? Would
you look for cooking with widgets? Try searching
Google for that phrase. Did you get a lot of results?
Was the content what you expected to find? It may be helpful to get a different
perspective. Ask someone else to read your page and suggest what they think
your keyword phrase might be. You can also check Google Trends to see
if one phrase is starting to gain popularity.
Try to
stick to one key subject per page. That
doesn't mean you should write stilted text or use odd phrases to keep your
subject narrow. Your subject can be broad. Just don't put a bunch of random and
unrelated content together. Clear writing is both easier to search and easier
to read. Don't be afraid to be really long and detailed with that subject, so
long as you start with the big ideas first and get into the weeds further down
the page. In journalism, they call this the "inverted pyramid" style.
Name Your Pages
Give your pages a descriptive name with the
attribute.
This is vital. Google often displays search results as a link using the Web
page's title, so write it like you want it to be read. A link called 'untitled'
isn't enticing, and nobody is going to click on it. When appropriate, use the
page's keyword phrase in the title. If your article is about penguins, your
title should have penguins in it, right?
Pay Attention to Links
One of the biggest factors Google looks at is the hyperlink.
Google
looks at both links to and from your website.
Google
looks at the words you use in links to help determine the content of
your page. Use links within web pages as a way to emphasize keywords. Rather
than saying, "click here to learn more about SEO" you should
say: Read more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Links
from other websites to your website are used to determine PageRank.
You can
improve your PageRank by exchanging text links with other relevant websites.
Linking to your own website is fine. Be a good citizen and link to places other
than your own website - but only when relevant. Banner exchanges are not effective,
and pages that want to charge you for this service are often known spammers
that can hurt your rank.
There's
some debate about just how many links you should have per page. This is one of
those rules that's likely to bite you if you abuse it, so the key, again,
should be to be helpful and natural with the rate and quantity of links you
offer. Scripts that link your content to other pages or ads within your site
may end up damaging your site in the long run.
Social Networking
Social networking sites can be a good way to
promote a site, but it is unclear how much it will affect your rank
directly. That said, you may find that a great deal of your traffic comes
from social networks, so be sure to make your content "social
friendly." Add images and give your content engaging titles.
Make Your Graphics Search Friendly
Give your images attributes. Not only does it make your website
more accessible to the visually impaired, it also gives you another chance to
place your relevant keywords where Google can see them. Just don't stuff
keywords that don't belong. Hire SEO Expert
Make Website Mobile Friendly
An increasing number of people are using their phones to search
for content. You want to make your content mobile-friendly for the sake of good
user experience, but you also want to do it for the sake of search. There's no
guessing on this one. Google has indicated that mobile-friendliness is a Google
ranking signal. Follow some tips from Google on setting up your site for
mobile.
Good Design Is Popular Design
In the end, strong,
well-organized pages are pages that Google tends to rank higher. They're also
pages that tend to become more popular, which means Google will rank them even
higher. Keep good design in mind as you go, and much of the SEO will design itself.
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