SEO trends keep changing at an unprecedented rate. This is because search engines, especially Google update their search algorithm from time to time. It’s imperative to take these updates seriously as you prepare your digital marketing plan for the coming year. Enlist the help of experts to integrate them and optimize your site. You can see full details here if you want to achieve better SEO results.
There are around 200 on-page and off-page SEO ranking factors till date. However, Google attaches more importance to some ranking factors than the rest. These factors can have a positive impact on your digital marketing efforts and help your site show on Google’s firstpage.
Mobile first
Nearly all online visitors rely on their mobile devices to search for one information or the other. Webmasters that are yet to take the mobile first approach will keep losing traffic and customers.
Google now index the mobile version of sites first because the percentage of mobile searches surpasses that of desktops. In case you’re about to launch the mobile version of your site, wait until the project is completed.
Content Quality
Content will remain relevant and in high demand for a long time. Start by sharing valuable content with your audience. Add the right keywords and attractive visuals to promote engagement on your site. You can also update existing content as the search engines love fresh content. Increase dwell time and conversion rate with high-quality videos and images. It’s high time to start creating your own visuals if you’re yet to take that step.
Although short-form content is still acceptable, search engines prioritize long-form content. Nevertheless, it’s not every topic that requires depth. Ensure that you strike a balance when creating content. Try as much as possible to avoid duplicate or low-quality content on your site.
User experience
RankBrain is one of Google’s signal that relies on AI to rank web pages. The importance of offering an amazing UX can’t be underscored. In fact, all your digital marketing efforts should revolve around it. Truth be told, your UX can influence your ranking in search engine result pages (SERP). Minimize clutter on your web pages to make your site attractive. This will increase your chances of getting more quality leads and increase dwell time.
Technical SEO
Every site owner should be involved in the technical aspect of SEO. The process of adding keywords in image alt tags and page titles and creating enticing meta descriptions isn’t complicated. Other steps include using organic anchor text for backlinks and header tags on your site.
HTTPs encryption was one of the prominent ranking factors three years ago. Implementing this technology can help you to build trust with your audience. This is because they believe that sites with SSL encryption are trustworthy.
Links From Authority Sites
Links from several authority sites in your niche can help you to increase ranking. On the other hand, multiple low-quality links are useless and will only ruin your SEO efforts. Apart from linking to authoritative sites, interlink your web pages too. Try to produce the content that meets the needs of your audience. They won’t hesitate to link to such content.
This can expose your brand to influencers. The bottom line is to develop a content marketing plan to distribute content and adopt ethical link building practices.
Domain
It’s rare for a site that is less than three years old to be on the first page of search results. If your site has been existing for a while, it can have an edge over new sites in your industry as long as you optimize it. Opt for a URL that reveals your business instead of an exact domain.
Page Loading speed
This factor keeps featuring as one of the important SEO ranking factors over the years. Today users want results instantly. Online visitors will likely move to a site that responds faster if yours takes more than three seconds to load. Once this happens constantly, the site can have a higher bounce rate.
Some of the ways to fix this issue include reducing the image and video size and getting rid of redundant files. Leverage Google’s mobile testing tool to check your page speed regularly.