Right now, SEO is how you strengthen your web presence to reach customers. A strong web presence means you won’t have to always pay for ads. You can gain a lot of traffic to your website if the pages rank higher on Google.
Here are seven SEO truths that can improve Google search ranking.
1. You Need to Target Two Audiences with Content
Link building is an important part of SEO and among the top three search engine ranking factors. The other two are content and AI.
Backlinks are necessary if you want to rank higher on Google. And content marketing is a great approach to external link acquisition. But the mistake many make is targeting one audience.
You need to target two audiences. These are a) your ideal customers and b) the people that can link to your site.
Most of your target customers won’t have a website and that means they cannot link to you. So you need to target another audience that can. For example, a mechanic shop can produce content in the following areas.
- Create content pieces that focus on statistical data about the automotive industry. This can attract links from bloggers and news websites.
- Publish articles or videos about solving simple automobile problems consumers face. This can attract prospects that will become customers.
2. Website Encryption Will Improve Your Rankings
An SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption will improve rankings for most websites. Google has confirmed SSL as a ranking signal for its search engine. So it’s very possible that other search engines like Bing are following suit.
That is why Implementing SSL is one of the first things we do for a website if it doesn’t already have one. SSL is a win-win because it keeps customer data safe and boosts ranking positions for your web pages.
If you don’t have SSL encryption yet, check out our SSL solutions here.
3. Don’t Over Think, Prioritize UX (user experience)
It’s easy to overthink SEO but experienced veterans know that often hinders success.
SEO is a marketing discipline and you have to look at it in that way. You need to understand your target audience and decide how to reach them with content. You also need a professional and user-friendly website. These are the main things you need for SEO.
All the other things like backlinks follow after you nail strategy, UX, and content. Think about the following questions to make SEO easier.
- Who is the target customer? Think of your ideal customers. Consider creating buyer personas – fictional representations of your target audience.
- What problems can we solve for the target customer? For example, a webinar platform can create content to help improve workflow and productivity.
- Who will link to us and why? Is it bloggers, news publications, or other websites? Think about why people should link to your site and create content around that.
- What does our website need? If you already have a site, think about what you can improve. For instance, you can improve the user experience (UX) or revamp the website design.
SEO is complex but you can simplify it by looking at the process through a different lens.
4. Server Location Can Boost Rankings
The location of your web hosting server matters. Google gives preference to domains hosted in the region where the search originated. That means if your business resides in Canada, the server should be in North America.
5. User Intent Trumps All
The way to attract traffic from search engines is by satisfying searcher intent. Ranking #1 on the SERP (search engine results pages) alone won’t bring visitors if the page isn’t relevant.
The intentions of the searcher should match your page’s purpose. Otherwise, you risk pogo-sticking. This is when a user returns to the SERP with haste after landing on your web page.
This behavior signals that a result is unsatisfactory to the search term. Thus, your page may drop from its ranking position.
6. The Content Quality Standard is Higher for YMYL Sites
YMYL stands for Your Money or Your Life. These are websites that can impact your well-being. Google has higher standards of quality for the content on these sites. Industries in the category include healthcare, government, finance, legal, investments, and others.
Maintain top-notch content quality if your website falls into the YMYL category. Make sure you’re working with professional copywriters or creating quality content yourself. Create outstanding content that adds value to the lives of your target audience.
7. Adding Diacritics to Keywords Can Increase/Reduce SERP Competition
Diacritics refer to signs such as an accent or mark that you write below or above a letter. For example, Trois-Rivieres (a city in Quebec) can also be Trois-Rivières.
The number of web pages you have competing for a keyword can increase or decrease if you use a diacritic. Here’s an example.
The query, Trois-Rivieres, with a diacritic returned 28+ million competing web pages.
The same query without a diacritic returned 7+ million pages.
As you’ve noticed, the SERP is a bit unalike. The position of web pages is different.
But I’m not sure if diacritics can help your SEO. The plausible use case is for optimizing foreign-language content. But not everyone has their keyboards set to include diacritics. Thus, most people will likely type their keywords without a diacritic.
I’d recommend using Diacritics when your entire website is in a foreign language. But don’t use them if only specific references on your site are in a foreign language.
SEO is Crucial for Ranking Higher on Google, Bing, etc.
People rely on the Internet daily to find information, products, and services. Search engines serve as a portal to information on the web. As a result, SEO is important if you want to rank higher on search engines.
In fact, a recent study by Microsoft identified SEO as the most important marketing skill. While that doesn’t mean everyone needs to be a marketer, it illustrates the importance of SEO. The SEO tips I’ve shared here can give you quick-wins that help your pages rank higher on Google. But they’re no substitute for ongoing SEO work by an expert.
I’m a freelance copywriter and SEO specialist. I aim to empower individuals and businesses with impactful marketing solutions and insights. In my downtime, I recharge by embracing the beauty of nature or cherishing moments with my loved ones. If you found value in this post, please consider sharing it.
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