It’s a cold hard fact that people rarely go past the first page of Google search results for what they’re looking for (a study even cites a whopping 95% of web traffic stops at the first page).
But, let’s play devil’s advocate here. SEO really doesn’t have to be complicated! With a few tips and tricks, you can start attracting more visitors to your website and climb up the ladder in Google search results!
Keeping Up With Google Algorithm Updates
To get in the SEO game, you’ve got to play by a few rules. Unfortunately, there is no perfect manual to refer to due to Google’s ever-changing algorithm. Word on the street is the Google algorithm changes every day, but don’t let that intimidate you. Google announces the big updates that make the most impact on your ranking. By keeping up with these changes, you set yourself up for more SEO success.
For example, in 2015 Google announced that search results would favor mobile-friendly websites. To check to see if your website is mobile-friendly, you can enter it in Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. You’ll get a clear verdict on its responsiveness, as well as a list of any page loading errors it encountered along the way so you can keep your site running as seamlessly as possible.
In another effort by Google to make the web a safer place to make purchases and submit personal information, Google announced websites with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates would receive a boost in search results. You can see secure websites indicated by a padlock icon in the web address bar as well as in the URL itself, “https.”
SAGE Websites are not only mobile-friendly, but they also come with full-site SSL so your clients can feel secure purchasing items from your site, all while boosting your SEO!
Get On the Map With Google My Business
If you’re a business owner, naturally you want to attract as much local business as possible, so get on the map by claiming your business on Google My Business.
This free listing lets you respond to customer reviews, add photos, and make updates to highlight what’s new. By completing your profile, your business can be located on Google Maps and you’ll also have a chance at appearing in the coveted top three businesses that show up at the top of search results pages.
These convenient profiles can be a make-or-break for someone looking for a quick result in your area, so be sure to complete your profile as soon as possible if you haven’t already.
Staying Fresh and Relevant With Content
Sure, coming up with content for your site probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list, but if you want to add major value to your site and boost your SEO, there’s no way around it.
Content is one of the biggest keys to SEO. Not just any ol’ content is going to work — it needs to be posted frequently and be relevant to your audience. The best way to go about this? Make a content marketing schedule and stick to it. Mix it up with blogs and videos — blogs will provide your site with valuable keywords and videos are a surefire way to keep your audience on your site longer and coming back for more. We’ve got a little more on the benefits of content marketing here!
While this is a time-consuming tip, it is undeniably helpful. If you’re not feeling up to handling content yourself, let us do it for you! SAGE Website Professional Plus includes a content package with fresh and frequent blog articles, videos, case studies, and more for your site. You’ll be able to educate your website visitors on promotional products and trends all while landing up further and more often in search results!
What’s the Next Big Trend in SEO?
Perhaps even more important than keeping up with algorithm updates, following trends in consumer behavior will keep you on your toes so you’re keeping your website as user-focused as possible so you don’t lose out to the competition.
Looking ahead to future trends in SEO, search engines are getting more and more refined and ultimately better at delivering relevant results. It is predicted that content will not only be a key to SEO but the user experience of a website.
Google’s algorithm can decipher between an outdated website and a more refreshed one that offers a better user experience. Consumers expect a modern, convenient e-commerce platform that allows them to make purchases easily and quickly. This symbiotic relationship between consumers and search engines forces you to address the needs of both. It’s easy to put your focus elsewhere and not be quite so current on web design trends and capabilities. But if your competitor is offering user-focused features like online bill pay and artwork upload, they’ll outrank you in great customer experience and therefore, SEO.
SAGE Website Professional and Professional Plus offer a slew of these features (including the aforementioned bill pay and artwork upload pages) and modern user-centric designs. Change is scary, we get that, but you don’t have to know anything about website design to use a SAGE Website, our web development team takes care of it for you! Check ‘em out, request a demo, and see where your current site differs, it just might be time for a change!
Sources:
Chitika: The Value of Google Result Positioning
Google Webmaster Central Blog: Rolling Out The Mobile-Friendly Update
Google Webmaster Central Blog: HTTPS as a Ranking Signal
SearchEngineLand.com: UX Is Pivotal to SEO
Thank you for collating such a great information. Yes, Google algorithm update will impact on your keyword ranking. So we have to stay updated and keep changing our seo strategy as per google algorithm updates. Keep sharing information like this.