Securing a prime spot on SERPs is crucial if you aim to gain increased online visibility and success in platforms like Google. A highly effective strategy for achieving this is by implementing a strong SEO strategy, which can drive organic traffic and provide a sustainable long-term solution.
However, achieving and maintaining top SEO rankings requires a strategic approach and a deep understanding of the factors that can influence search algorithms.
But worry not, as here we will delve deep into the essential elements that you can do to enhance your website SEO rankings.
What is SEO Ranking?
SEO rankings refer to the position of a website in SERP for specific keywords or phrases. Search engines use algorithms to evaluate and rank websites based on various factors below:
- Content Quality: Algorithms favor high-quality, informative, and engaging content that is specially tailored to meet user needs.
- Relevance: Search engines prioritize content that directly addresses users’ queries, and will make it rank higher in the SERPs.
- Backlinks: Getting links from authoritative and relevant websites will signal that your site is trustworthy to search engines.
- Website Performance: Fast loading speeds, mobile-friendliness, and overall smooth site function will improve SEO.
- On-Page Optimization: Proper use of keywords, meta tags, headers, and internal links will help enhance search engine visibility.
- User Engagement Metrics: High dwell time, low bounce rates, and good click-through rates indicate valuable content, and it will positively impact site rankings.
How to See SEO Rankings?
Check Google SERPs
You can utilize Google to check your site's SEO rankings. You can conduct a manual search using your target keywords, and seek where your website ranks in the SERPs for those specific terms.
The best tip to utilize Google to check for your site ranking is through an incognito window to avoid personal search results that could skew your ranking. It is also important to keep in mind that the search results will be based on location and other factors. So, this method might not be able to give you precise data.
Google Search Console
A Google tool that you can utilize to check your site ranking is Google Search Console. You can utilize this to track your site's performance, including keyword rankings.
Through Google Search Console, you can get detailed information including which queries bring users to your site, the average position of your pages in search results, click-through rates, and impressions. This Google tool is comprehensive and useful as it can provide insight directly from Google, making it highly reliable.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Next, you can utilize Ahrefs Webmaster Tools to monitor your website’s SEO performance. Ahrefs can also help track keyword rankings and do backlink analysis. Although Ahrefs provides a free and paid version of its tool, the free version is sufficient enough to help monitor your site ranking and see selections of keywords that can increase traffic.
Semrush Position Tracking Tool
Another tool that you can utilize to track your site ranking and overall SEO performance is Semrush. Similar to Ahrefs, to utilize Semrush, you should create an account first to set up a project. Semrush can help to provide you with daily updates regarding your site position in SERP for selected keywords. Additionally, Semrush can also help you to track your competitor's site position.
Moz Rank Checker
You can access Moz's Rank Checker to track your website's keyword rankings, through the Moz Pro dashboard. Aside from keyword ranking, Moz can also provide insight related to domain authority, page authority, and other SEO metrics.
SEOptimer
Last but not least, you can also use SEOptimer to conduct a comprehensive SEO audit, including checking specific keyword rankings positions. You can just go to SEOptimer’s website and enter your URL. The tool will generate a detailed report that covers various SEO aspects of your site, including keyword ranking. This audit helps identify areas for improvement and track your progress over time.
Why Is Search Ranking Important?
- User Perception: People tend to click the link on the first organic search result because they perceive it as the most credible and relevant to their search query.
- Increased Traffic: Due to the reason above, naturally high-ranking pages will attract more clicks, leading to increased traffic.
- Better Sales: More traffic can translate into more leads and better sales opportunities.
- Cost-Effective: Higher search rankings allow you to acquire more customers at a lower cost compared to lower-ranking positions. Thus, investing in organic search rankings is beneficial because organic traffic is free.
How to Improve SEO Rankings?
1. Conduct Comprehensive Keyword Research
Keywords are a crucial part of SEO strategy. Utilizing the right keyword can do wonders in helping you gain traffic and rank higher in SERPs. Thus, you need to conduct thorough keyword research before creating any content. From this, you can identify relevant terms and phrases your target audience is using and incorporate these keywords strategically into your content, headings, and metadata.
2. Create High-Quality and Optimized Content
To ensure that users are willing to spend time on your site, it is important to create compelling, informative, and engaging content that can address users' needs and provide value. Content that is well-researched, authoritative, and up-to-date tends to perform better in search rankings.
To create high-quality and optimized content, you should also focus on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT). This is crucial for creating high-quality content. By prioritizing EEAT, you not only provide valuable information to users but also establish a strong reputation for your site. This will lead you to better SEO rankings and increased user engagement.
3. Get Quality Backlinks
Quality backlinks are essential for establishing authority and credibility in the eyes of Google. These backlinks serve as endorsements of your website's relevance and value. However, it's crucial to prioritize quality over quantity.
Thus, you should only focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites within your industry. It would be best if you avoided spammy or low-quality backlinks, as they can harm your SEO.
4. Optimize Site for Mobile
Google initially introduced the concept of mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor in 2015. This decision is driven because more and more people are utilizing their mobile phones to do some searches. Some things that you can apply to optimize your website for the mobile version are assessing your site's mobile-friendliness using Google's dedicated tool. Make sure to design your mobile version of the website with touch in mind, considering the various sizes of fingers to minimize incorrect taps.
5. Regularly Monitor and Analyze Performance
Conduct regular SEO audits to identify areas for improvement and ensure your website adheres to the latest SEO best practices and algorithm updates.
It is also important to know that one of the crucial factors influencing Google's rankings is the freshness of your content. The more current your pages remain, the greater likelihood they have of ascending to the top of the SERP. Thus, to maintain favorable rankings, it's essential to monitor the decay of your older content, particularly blog posts with visible dates. To make your life easier, you can utilize tools like Google Search Console to help identify pages experiencing a decline in clicks, impressions, or rankings.
Cardinal Digital for a Better SEO Ranking!
Focusing on SEO can help attract more organic traffic, and climb the ranks on search engine results pages. Hopefully, by implementing these actionable tips above, you can enhance your website's visibility and attract more organic traffic!
Not sure where to start to boost your site’s SEO? Why not leave it to the professional team? At Cardinal Digital, we’re experts at working our magic to organically improve your site’s ranking on search engine results pages. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our service.
