There’s a lot you can do to influence how Google sees your website and where you land in search rankings as a result.
There are two primary parts of search engine optimization (SEO) – on-page and off-page. Off-page SEO focuses on elements that boost your reputation online but aren’t on your specific website. These include reviews, Google My Business, incoming links, and other external signals.
On-page SEO, on the other hand, focuses on what you can do on your specific website to boost your relevance and user experience while gaining trust in Google’s eyes. Because these are directly under your control, on-page strategies are a great place to start.
Here are five on-page SEO techniques you can implement to boost your rankings this year.
Capture Local & Long-Tail Keywords
When many companies start to focus their SEO strategy, they make the mistake of looking at broad, industry-focused keywords. Of course, the competition is very stiff and targeting those keywords is very expensive. It’s not surprising that broad keywords are dominated by large national companies with big pocketbooks.
That doesn’t mean a small business can’t compete – far from it! You just need to focus on keywords that are more relevant to your specific audience. Are you a veterinarian in Ontario? Be sure you rank for keywords like “vet in Ontario” and “local Ontario vet.”
You can also provide useful information for long keywords that match your potential customers’ needs. Consider writing articles about “How to Leash Train a Dog in Ontario” or “Ontario Pet Licensing Requirements.”
With content focused on local and long-tail keywords, you’ll rank highly for exactly the people you want to target.
Optimize Your Title and Meta Tags
Search engines like Google don’t look only at on-site content to determine the purpose of a page. Crawlers also look at the tags on your pages to determine what content is relevant to what users.
That means that optimizing the title and meta tags are just as important as having the proper keywords in your content. You want to make sure the keyword is as close to the beginning of the tag as possible in order to carry maximum weight with search engines.
When Google determines that your website is relevant for a specific topic using these tags, it’s more likely to rank your page highly for those types of searches.
Sound complex? Don’t worry. You can work with the best SEO company in Canada to get the help you need.
Use Mobile-First Web Design
Google already rewards sites that are mobile-friendly. What you might not know is that Google uses only the mobile version of your website in search results. That means that all optimization needs to be present in the mobile version, not just the desktop site.
To match this focus, you should use a mobile-first web design. This means you develop the small-screen version first, making sure it has all of the elements you need to do well. Keywords, navigation, and excellent user experience are all essential.
From there you can develop additional features that boost the user experience for those using a desktop with a larger screen. But start with making sure your mobile site has every detail correct!
Use Outbound and Internal Links to Boost Relevance
When you link to related content, search engine crawlers are able to use that information to help pinpoint the focus of your content. This helps them rank it as more relevant for the keywords you’re targeting.
Pages with outbound links will do better in search engine results than those with no links. However, you want to make sure you’re liking to authoritative, high-quality sites that are relevant to what you’re saying.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to link to your own internal pages as well. Whether you link to related blog posts or your own service pages, these internal links help those pages gain visibility. You also show that the pages are related and help Google understand the structure of your site.
Create an Excellent User Experience
One of the major signals that search engines use to determine if your site is high quality is how long users spend on your website. You want to create an excellent user experience so that people get the information they’re looking for and are encouraged to spend more time there.
When you’re considering mobile design, some of the most important elements are readability and ease of navigation. The text should not be too big or too small. Buttons should be easy to tap, and nothing should extend from the sidebar into the main content field.
The same rules apply for your desktop version. Also, take advantage of fast-loading multimedia content to capture attention and drive engagement. Diagrams, videos, and engaging images can help visitors stay longer, which makes a big difference in your search rankings.
There’s a lot you can do just on your own website to boost your standing in search results. These five techniques are essential if you want 2019 to be your best year so far.
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