Probably the most difficult part about SEO is that it’s forever changing. Google for example, is constantly pushing out new algorithms. You can expect in excess of 500 updates per day. This can make it quite difficult, when trying to figure out what exactly the search engines are looking for, at any one time.
There are so many updates and changes to the search engines, that it’s pointless trying to keep track of all of it. For you, the best thing you can do is try to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, year by year, as that should be enough to put you above your competitors. Research tells us that less than 25% of searchers go past the first page of the search results. For this reason, it’s so important that we know enough about the search engines to get posts and articles on the first page.
So, that brings us to this article. Which is put together just as a refresher for what still works on the major search engines.
1. Utilise Long-Tail Keywords
Google is always trying to improve its search engine, to make it more advanced, with every update. Google has now announced that their search engine is able to differentiate between subtopics within keywords. As an example, if you were to search on “home exercise equipment”, Google would know that “premium choices”, “cost-effective equipment” and “small space ideas” are all subtopics that are relevant to that initial query.
So, what does that mean for those in the SEO space? This means, shorter tail keywords should expect much fiercer competition in the future. For this reason you should consider focusing more on longer tail keywords. Keywords that have at least three words or more, in them. As this will increase the chances of your pages featuring on the first page of the results page.
For example, if you were trying to rank for a keyword such as “custom designed apparel”, you could consider entering into your Meta description, title and URL, other terms such as “custom jackets for businesses”, “top branded shirts” and “best sweater brands” as well as the content itself. This will help the content rank on a variety of search terms. It also gives the search engine a much broader idea of the specific terms you’re trying to rank for.
2. Title and Meta Tags
Every page that you create should have its own structure and metadata. When looking at HTML in its most basic form, we find the header, main body, and footer. In addition to any navigation systems.
Any title that you go with, should be based around a chosen keyword – you want it to be descriptive, so that it makes sense with the search query.
When you go with a well-structured website, it lets the search engines know that your site is well-organised, which means, easy to navigate through and to read. Don’t forget to use your header (H1/2/3) tags, and list tags (if needed).
3. Update Your Old Content
Despite the amount of time you may be spending on creating new content, it’s important that you put aside at least some time to update your much older content. This is even more important today. If you’re only focussing on the new articles your pushing out, it increases the chances of your much older stuff falling out of the search engines entirely. Since, you probably spent a considerable amount of time making all of this content, it makes sense that you take the time to maintain them.
One quick and easy method you can use to refresh your old content is to carry out a link audit. This means, going through your old articles and fixing any outdated or broken external links. This in turn, should improve the user experience for your site, and prevent you from potentially being penalised in the future, due to broken links.
You should also consider updating your internal links. As you create new content, you should never forget to go back to some of your older content, and link to your newer posts in them. This helps the search engines understand the relationships between the different articles on your site. This also makes it easier for the search engines to locate and index your pages. Which leads to faster rankings.
4. Optimise Site Speed
All of the major search engines prefer pages that load fast. If you’ve never taken any time to find out how fast your site is, this might be a good time to search. Google has the PageSpeed Insights tool which you can use, free of charge. There’s also the core web vitals that you should want to learn about after.
If you’re able to improve the speed of your site, then it should provide a boost to your SEO. There are numerous guides on what to do to make your site faster, so I suggest you look them up.
There are plugins that you can use, that come with a wide range of performance and optimisation features. But you also want to think about hosting, as not all of them are created equally.
You can go a little bit further in your quest to optimise your site by finding a plugin that is capable of optimising your site’s database. However, these plugins and themes have their limitations – as they can only do so much. The most effective way of boosting the speed of your site is to go with the best hosting company.
5. Avoid Popups
Google has since released updates that penalise sites that use intrusive popups. Many of these popup makers will tell you their tools do not negatively affect your rankings, but it’s in your best interest to do your own research and to not use more than one popup on your site. If you can avoid them totally, then you should.
You also want to consider how the popup appears. Make sure the one you go with, is easy for the user to close, in the event that they are not interested.
6. Create New Original Content
Of all the techniques, this is definitely the most obvious, but the reality is, a lot of marketers tend to get too wrapped up in the on and off page SEO of their site, that they neglect to make new interesting and original content for their visitors. Bearing in mind that millions of blog posts are published every single day. You don’t want to be left behind, which is why you too should be creating new content.
Another benefit to creating new content is that, when creating it, you’re given the opportunity to implement the new best practices into it. Whether it’s in the page titles, subheadings, alt tags, keywords etc.
Users also place a premium on newer content over your much older counterpart. When users search for an answer to a query, typically they’ll prioritise the most recent post. If your articles all have old dates on them, and contain outdated information, then users will gladly skip over it for your competitors.
Freshness is one of several search engine ranking factors. The more content you’re adding to your site, the more Google will index, and over time, the quicker that content will rank.
–AUTHOR INFO—
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk.