Six Website Optimization Tips To Help Increase Your Search Engine Rankings

As we’re now in the second half of 2021, we’ve seen many events occur that affect consumers and brands alike. That’s especially the case when it comes to the Digital Marketing industry. This makes improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts that much important going forward.

Today, we’ll discuss a few website optimization tips that will help increase your search engine rankings. In the end, you’ll gain a better idea of how your brand can compete in a fast-evolving online world.

Improve Your Site Speed

Site speed is a key factor that determines the success of brands online. With every second it takes for your page to load, the number of people bouncing from your page increases too. This will cause your overall page ranking to suffer a drastic drop.

For this reason, you’ll want to make addressing your page speed a top priority. To test your site speed, there are free online services that can help you optimize your page. Below are some great examples of these types of services.

• Google Page Speed Insights
• GT Metrix
• Pingdom Tools
• WebPage Tests

With a faster website speed, you’ll stand to gain more visitors and increase your overall page rankings.

Make Sure Your Site Is Readable And To The Point

Always keep your audience in mind when writing website content. Strive to write it in a way most people understand. To attract their interest, make your key points right at the beginning. Use headings and subheadings to explain the topic without having to read further. This helps guide readers into reading information that’s most essential to their research.

Another writing tactic you should use is what’s called the Inverted Pyramid Method for best SEO results. To attract the interest of readers, make your key points right at the beginning. This helps entice the readers to read more about what you have to offer. If they can find value by scanning the text, they’ll be more likely to consider your brand. 

It’s also best to use transition words like “less than” to compare and “thus” to conclude. This will help you make your points while bringing clarity to your audience.

Utilize Top Quality Outbound Links

Outbound links are another crucial SEO factor to keep in mind. When making claims, it’s always a great idea to back them up. For that reason, make sure that you link your claims to trustworthy sites. Here are two great tips to follow when using outbound links.

• Make sure the target site is of high authority.
• Use facts that have been published within the past 12 months.

By taking these steps, you’ll be able to gain credibility with your audience.

Use The Right Keywords For Your Website

Gone are the days where you could pick any random keyword, write a 500-word article, and rank for that keyword the next day. SEO has since gone through so many changes due to many algorithm updates by search engines.

That’s why researching the intent of your target audience has become a crucial need. This will help you determine which long-tail keywords work best at bringing those people to your website. Here are some examples of keyword research tools that can help assist you in your keyword research. 

• Ubersuggest
• Moz
• SEMRush
• Ahrefs

The key here is to think about how your audience would search for a keyword. Also, think about what kinds of content they seek to find on a page. When using these tools, start by typing in a broad keyword. They’ll provide you with a list of keyword suggestions you can use to attract a specific audience.

Repeat this step over again as you create more website content. Aim to write top-quality articles that provide others with as much information on the topic as possible.

Use The E-A-T Method

Another great way to ensure you’re developing high-quality content is to use the E-A-T method. This stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Expertise

Expertise refers to the high knowledge and skills a content creator has in a particular field. For YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics, formal expertise is a must. An example of this type of topic is providing medical advice to others.

As for Non-YMYL topics, it all comes down to one’s everyday expertise. For example, someone on a support page sharing their experience of recovering from an injury counts as that. Expertise is a crucial part of developing content that provides value to others.

Authoritativeness

This refers to the reputation of the content creator. When others see a website or an individual as their go-to source for information, that is authority. A great example of this is people searching for symptoms on WebMD. Due to WebMD’s credibility over time, people see them as their primary source for medical information.

Raters check authority through independent sources like reviews, expert recommendations, and references. As you create content, you always want to make authoritativeness a key part of your plans.

Trustworthiness

What this talks about is the legitimacy and transparency of the content creator. Raters look at three main things as they evaluate trustworthiness.

• Content accuracy
• Content information
• Proper citation of trustworthy sources

These three pieces are crucial as you create content for your website. After all, trust is a major factor in helping you attract your ideal audience.

The E-A-T method goes a long way in helping build your online presence and growing your search engine rankings. It also helps you avoid any surprises that may come from any Google Core Updates.

Show Users And Search Engines Your Website Is Secure And Consistent

Website security and consistency are both major page ranking factors you’ll need to take note of. That’s why it’s crucial to follow these steps to ensure the best results.

Maintain Consistent Contact Data

Ensuring consistent contact data across local directory sites helps build trust with your audience. When using Google My Business (GMB), always include your name, address, and phone number (NAP). You should also check to make sure your business listings are consistent with your GMB listings. This helps go a long way in helping you rank high in the maps section of the search results.

Stay Up To Date With Security Updates

You always want to stay up to date with security updates. This fixes loopholes in systems to ensure secure site data. It also keeps your site from being exploited.

If you must delay any updates, make sure to set up a time that works best for you. Just be sure to perform the updates as soon as possible.

Use HTTPS

Utilizing HTTPS can also help keep your website secure. It uses the SSL/TLS protocol to protect data so that attackers can’t compromise it. This helps make HTTPS-protected sites more trustworthy in the eyes of a user.

When you demonstrate consistency and solid security practices, search engines will reward you for it.

People Focused Website Practices Lead You To The Best Results

Website optimization strategies that focus on giving your audience a top-tier experience will drive the best SEO results. It’s also important to make your information quick and easy for them to find. That way, you’ll be able to advance your cause positively and increase your search engine rankings ten-fold.

What else do you feel is key to helping increase search engine rankings over time? How do you feel these tips will help translate towards growth for brands? Questions? Comments? Please feel free to share this blog post and share your thoughts below.