Hundreds of websites jockey and compete for Google’s coveted first search ranking. Being the first organic search result gives a website authority and clout, and it earns them more traffic. According to research from Chitika, the top ranked search results receive a whopping 33% of traffic, while the second gets 18%, and the statistics continue to rapidly decline after.
So how does a site get Google’s most coveted rankings? Through the careful and diligent implementation of search engine optimization (SEO) tactics, of course. Although Google’s PageRank algorithm is kept a secret, many SEO experts have deduced some of its more crucial factors.
To help you get a better rank, here’s a few tips that you can use!
1. Don’t Split Your Votes Up.
Did you know that Google will look at www.yourwebsite.com and https://yourwebsite.com as separate sites? It’s the equivalent of a political party fragmenting into two parties, and then splitting up the votes that the original party had received between the two of them. That means that any vote www.yourwebsite.com gets won’t be shared by http://yourwebsite.com, resulting in a lower rank. You can easily remedy this problem by using a permanent redirect, which is also known as a 301 direct, from one page to the other.
2. Find References to Your Site That Are Currently Without Links.
External links aren’t only a huge driver of web traffic. Every time a blog or article features a link to your site, it improves its search engine ranking, as well. However, sometimes these articles might mention your site without actually linking to it, which deprives you of all the benefits that an external link might entail. One way to improve your site’s search engine ranking is to find these articles, is to find these articles through tools like “Google Alert,” and politely ask them if they could link, as well!
3. Target the Correct Keywords.
The biggest factor that Google uses to determine pages’ ranks are the keywords in the sites’ content. These help Google determine the page’s purpose, and its quality. One of the biggest mistakes that a website can make is to target the wrong keywords. It’s important to take the time to analyze the keywords that produce high conversion rates with software such as Google Analytics.
If you follow these tips, you’ll be sure to have an improved ranking on Google’s search results! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!