When most people launch a new website, they’re keen to see it attract traffic and climb search engine rankings. But in reality, that isn’t the case.

It can be difficult to see any result in Google when you are just starting out. You have to learn the intricate things that make a site rank on google. If you depend on people to find you through a Google search, search engine optimization (SEO) needs to be at the top of your priority list.

You won’t be able to generate leads for your business if nobody can find you. Did you know 93% of experiences on the Internet start with a search engine? And the top result on Google has a 33% chance of getting clicked. What’s even more astonishing is that 80% of people won’t even click on the second page of the search results. They rather rearrange their search to see what comes out than click on the second page.

That means if you’re not number one on the page, you just missed out on a third of potential traffic.

Fortunately, it’s not too late for you to get started.

There are certain things you can do to increase your chances of getting ranked higher on Google searches.

If you’re working to improve your website’s SEO, there are ten SEO tips to increase your website rankings on google.

1. Conduct keyword research
2. Post useful, relevant content
3. Update your content
4. Boost your website’s speed
5. Use header tags
6. Use images and videos
7. Improve your web design and layout
8. Optimize for mobile
9. Install social sharing buttons
10. Maintain internal links and backlinks

You can use these tips to grow your website, appear in search results, and attract more traffic.

Tip #1: Conduct Keyword Research

Proper keyword research is key to the success of an SEO campaign. It sets the base to help you make your website rank better on the search engine results page.

Keywords are phrases that people enter into search engines, also called “search queries.” Keyword phrases are phrases that contain keywords; they should sound conversational and be specific to your business.

To help you find targeted keywords for every page on your website, think about how your audience might look for that particular page or how they would ask a friend for more information on a topic related to your business.

You can also use Keyword Planner, which is a free Google AdWords tool. It helps business owners find targeted, relevant keywords to improve website rankings.

You can use Keyword Planner to discover new keyword ideas, plus the average search volume for keywords, competition, and more.

Once you identify a relevant keyword phrase, repeat it several times on a web page, especially in the headers, body text, and URL. This one tip will help your website rank higher on the google page.

Tip #2: Post Useful, Relevant Content

Content is king. According to Michigan Tech, nothing drives web traffic and improves the authority of your website as well as posting quality content.

You need to create content that answers the needs of your target audience.

Once you determine what your audience needs, write about it, and most importantly, be sure to include keywords in your content as naturally as possible. Lately, more and more bloggers and content creators are going back to the old method of SEO, where keywords meant to drive search results surpassed the real qualities of engaging, valuable content. If this is you, it’s time to change your mindset.

Don’t prioritize search engines over the actual people reading your work. Instead, write content for the user, people who have eyes to read, brains to understand what you wrote, and credit cards to purchase your product.

Search spiders are just scripts — they don’t purchase products, they don’t engage with you on social media, and they won’t become a loyal customer.

So, what does it mean to write for people first, before search engines?

Well, it’s simple.

Forget that Google and other search engines exist when you’re writing. Instead, create content that will help someone, content that can be of value to someone in need. This is known as SEO copywriting.

And the crazy thing is, when you put people first, you’ll actually write helpful content that search engines reward because search engines follow users. It’s not the other way round. At the same time, you’ll be improving the user experience and building trust with your audience.

Tip #3: Update Your Content

Search engines prefer recent content because it tends to be more relevant.

There is no limit to the number of updates you can make, and generally, the more frequent updates, the better. For blogging, you should post at least once a week to grow traffic.

In addition to publishing new content, you should update old content and fix any spelling or grammar errors. Although spelling and grammar aren’t ranking factors of Google, these mishaps may still affect user experience.

Tip #4: Boost Your Website’s Speed

Search engines rate site speed when ranking websites. If your website loads too slowly, then visitors are more likely to leave. Visitors are most likely to leave if your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load. The attention span of users nowadays is very short. You have to catch them fast and early.

A slow page frustrates users and eventually discourages them from buying your product. Data from Strange Loop shows that a mere one-second delay in page load time can produce a whopping 7% loss in conversions.

In the mind of potential buyers, a slow site is an untrustworthy site. Period.

As businesses become more conscious of the opportunities to produce targeted leads and increase revenue through search engine optimization, there is a huge demand for speed.

Eleven years ago, on April 9, 2010, Google added site speed as an all-important ranking factor.

This means that if your pages are slow, you’re fighting a losing battle for top organic listings, notwithstanding the quality of your content or your professional website design. 

To improve site speed, you should:

• Reduce the number of plug-ins on your site
• Use caching plug-ins
• Get rid of non-essential elements that slow down your site
• declutter your sidebar and put only essential widgets there
• Optimize images by reducing the file size

By updating your website, you can decrease the time it takes to load and improve your ranking. Page speed is a critical factor in SEO.

Tip #5: Use Header Tags

Search engines, including Google, also put more weight on keyword-laden header tags. Include relevant terms in the header tags to increase the SEO ranking of your website.

You can use header tags to break your content into different sections. Be sure to format them correctly, using:

• H1 to including the targeted keywords.
• H2s for keeping your page concise.
• H3s for useful link groups to other relevant sources.
• H4s for targeted, niche subsections associated with your topic.

Nobody likes reading a long block of text, and header tags help users easily browse through to locate the information they need.

Header tags help readers navigate your content while boosting SEO.

Tip #6: Use Images and Videos

 There is a quote that says, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” 

Images and videos both improve user experience by delivering a message while grasping your target audience’s attention. This is why apps like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, and so much more are successful.

Images grab the user’s attention, urging them to browse the website and return in the future.

Videos also increase conversion and engagement rates. Websites that use videos achieve a higher conversion rate.

Pictures and other images are excellent for your website. But you need to make sure they are optimized properly if you want these images to improve your SEO ranking.

Huge images can slow your page speed, which, as we’ve said, hurts your ranking. Instead, resize or compress your images to optimize them.

You can also use your images to sneak in keywords. For example, let’s say you have a website that sells foods or eatable products. Instead of naming an image something like “doughnut1,” you could name it “best gluten-free doughnuts.”

You can also strategically use keywords in the title of your image and the caption or description.

Tip #7: Improve Your Website’s Design and Layout

To increase the time users spend on your website, make sure your website’s design is user-friendly.

Proper formatting includes:

• Using a font size and typography that are clear to read
• Using bold type to highlight essential information
• Presenting lists in a scannable numbered or bulleted format

If your website is poorly designed, it will discourage and send users away from the site, and the more people leave your site, the easier it is for Google to put you in a “no go area” list. In other words, you will be lucky if you are found on the second page.

It’s especially crucial to consider design as you test your website’s mobility. Visitors should be able to access and read your website on any mobile device.

A great web design delivers a better experience for users while helping your website rank in search results.

Tip #8: Optimize for Mobile

Last year, Google rolled out its mobile-first indexing, which penalizes sites that are not optimized for mobile.

This makes sense since more than half of web traffic (52%) came from smartphones in 2019. And 2020 pandemic only boosted that number to a significant sum. So if you don’t optimize for mobile, your site won’t be viewed clearly on these devices, hurting your Google ranking.

There are three methods to go mobile:

Responsive Web Design: This serves the same HTML code on the same URL regardless of the users’ device

Different URLs: This serves different code to each device, and on separate URLs

Dynamic Serving: This uses the same URL regardless of the device but creates a different HTML version for different device types.

You can use tools such as Google mobile-friendly test, google page speed insights, and much more to test your website’s mobility or if it is mobile-friendly.

Without optimizing for mobile, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to rank highly on the google page.

Tip #9: Install Social Sharing Buttons

Do you know the number of times your content is shared on social media sites can affect your SEO ranking?

The power of social media shouldn’t be underestimated.

Social media also drives buying behaviour. Nearly 45% of social media users have bought an item after seeing others share it on social media.

Placing social sharing buttons on your site makes it easy for users to share your content. In return, your site ranks better on search engine results, and your website/business is now exposed to a wider range of audiences than before.

Tip #10: Maintain Internal Links and Backlinks

Both external and internal links are major factors for your website ranking.

To manage your website’s links, run a crawl on your website to find any broken links. If you have any broken links, fix them, or else you’ll end with a user experience problem.

Additionally, use tools like Ahrefs and Google Analytics to keep track of any mentions of your site. If any mentions aren’t linked yet, reach out to the webmasters and ask them to transform the mention into a link.

When linking keywords, don’t abuse exact match anchor text. If a link or anchor text phrase is relevant, use it sparingly. Otherwise, Google and other search engines will think that your website content is too spammy, thereby hurting your overall ranking.

When adding internal and external links to your website, pay attention to each article’s length. Though there is no link limitation on a page, having 50 links for a 200-300 word post doesn’t benefit the user and will create a negative impression. Instead, use targeted links that are devised to connect the user with helpful information.

Link building is also all about quality, not quantity. You’ll build more trust in your niche if you have a few authentic links rather than a dozen poor-quality links.

Final Thought

SEO can feel like a terrifying and constantly changing to-do list, but starting with these ten tips will put you on the pathway to attaining top SEO rankings.

Updating your website content, including headers and multimedia, produces value for users while keeping your website constantly stocked with fresh material for search engines to index.

In the backend, you should optimize your website for mobile and make changes that boost site speed. Placing social sharing buttons and maintaining links will also help search engines recognize that your content is valuable and relevant.

With these ten tips in mind, you’re ready to update your website and optimize it for SEO.