How to optimize your website to rank higher on Google

For every website owner, the dream is to have a website that ranks higher in Google, whether it was set up for business or simply to put personal thoughts out there.

What does it mean to rank higher in Google? It means that people can easily find your website through Google search. That is to say, the moment someone searches for a particular topic, Google includes your site as one of the top results. This earns you more visitors on your website. 

Sounds good, yeah? I know, but you might wonder, how can I pull this off? The solution is simple – Optimize your website.

Website optimization simply means the process of improving the performance of your website so that visitors can easily satisfy their desires, i.e., what leads them to the site in the first place. It could be that they were looking for an answer to a question, seeking a solution for their problem, or simply to complete a task.

Optimizing your website makes your site more effective for your business which in the long run leads to increased revenue either through new sales or leads. When your website is optimized, it ranks higher on Google.

Now, what are the ways you can optimize your website?

Generate high quality and relevant content

Content, they say is king and it can either make or break your website. While poor content has the tendency of bringing down your website, high quality and relevant content would increase your site’s Google rankings. It isn’t just about creating these contents; it also depends on how frequent you do. If you want to drive more traffic to your website, you need to put out more content that is fresh, exciting, engaging, and informative. That way, you are giving your visitors more reasons to come back to your site.

There is a possibility that you might run out of content ideas. One way you can handle such a problem is by creating a content calendar. Perhaps, you can just fix a day and plan the kind of content you would want to post. Write down all the topics and set aside a date to write and publish them. You could also hire freelance writers to write for you or accept guest posts, whichever works for you.

Use the appropriate keywords

Keywords are important words or phrases that people would likely be searching for when they are looking for the content you published. Before you publish any content, you should always ask yourself, “What would people search for that will lead them to this post?” That way, you would be able to sieve out the relevant keywords to use. You can also use some keyword generators like Semrush, keyword sheeter, Google trends, word tracker, etc.

Make sure that these keywords fit naturally into sentences; include them also in your titles and image captions. Do not saturate your website with keywords. Google will detect it, and it would have a negative effect on your ranking.

Also read:- SEO rules to increase website traffic for free

Add internal links

Adding internal links is also another way to improve your website’s optimization to rank higher in Google. Internal links are simply links point from one page of your website to a different page. To put it differently, they link pages on the same website. In addition to writing high-quality content, also add links to your previously published content in the form of anchor text. Doing this would improve your site’s Google ranking and make it more user-friendly as visitors can easily navigate, find other relevant information and spend more time on your site. 

Your content should match user intent

User intent simply means the main reason or goal a user has when typing an inquiry into the Google search engine. For example, let’s say someone from “Bangalore” want to rank his website and looking for SEO Expert, but have no idea how to find best SEO Expert. Now, the person goes to Google and searches for, “Best SEO expert in Bangalore” who can rank website. Here, Google would only list websites that the content matches that intent.

This is an important way you can improve your Google ranking. When your content is a perfect fit for what someone is searching for, Google would want to push your website to more people. 

Work on your website’s bounce rate

When people land on websites and bounce back immediately to search results, Google gets the impression that the content is not essential, and this would lead to a lower ranking. One way you can improve on your website’s bounce rate is by writing high-quality content and matching it with search or user intent.

Your website should be mobile-friendly

A website that is mobile-friendly would improve your Google rankings. This is because these days, most people access the internet with their mobile devices. So, Google prioritizes websites that have fast mobile page loading speed when considering the ones to rank high.

Here is how you can make your website mobile-friendly:-

1. Install and use responsive themes on Content Management System (CMS)
2. Install and use a few but essential plug-ins.
3. Make use of standard fonts.
4. Use a simple design for your website.
5. Use smaller images.

Conclusion;

It is one thing to have a website; it is another to optimize it and have it rank higher in Google. One of the important reasons why you need this optimization is because it is the key to driving traffic to your website. That way, it is visible to everyone who might need your product or services.

If you are just created a website, and you just finished reading this, there is no need to get overwhelmed. Improving your website optimization is one step at a time. It is important to stay consistent and remember that your website needs all the attention it can get.

And if your website is already ranking higher in Google, kudos to you, but do not rest on your laurels. You still have so much to do. The key is to stay consistent no matter what.