Visibility is vital for any website, and it can be achieved by taking advantage of  Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Google has implemented this algorithm for many years to identify the original correct content of websites and rank them accordingly on its results pages. If you’re on the top of the first results page, you can expect a massive flow of traffic coming your way. However, it’s not easy to earn a high ranking, so follow the tips in this guide to help you improve your ranking on search results pages.

Quality Content

If you follow every step to rise in search results, your efforts will be fruitless without quality content. Useful and relevant content makes its way towards the top of search results because it attracts more traffic, and users tend to spend more time on the page, which is known as dwell time. It affects your organic ranking considerably as the search engine computes the time visitors stay on a page. To keep visitors coming back, you should create attractive, visual, and high-quality content as every visit improves your rank. Most web browsers use Google Chrome, so bookmarking your website on the visitor’s web browser also improves your web ranking.

Improve Loading Speed

Nobody likes to wait for a page to load, and technology has taught us not to be patient. A slow-loading page hurts your organic reach in two ways. Firstly, Google has declared that websites with faster loading time for pages have a better rank in search results. Secondly, you will not have recurring visitors if visitors have to wait a long time for the page to load, reducing the chance for your content to be highlighted. You can fix your website’s speed by upgrading its speed through better domain hosts or use some applications designed for this purpose.

Optimize Your Site for Mobile Users

Everyone has their smartphones on them all day long, browsing many social media platforms and websites. That’s why Google started mobile-first indexing, which means that page ranking is based on its mobile version. No matter how perfect the page is on a computer, its SEO ranking will suffer if it is slow on mobile. Many applications and plugins can optimize your website for mobile devices; just test it on various mobile devices.

Build Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are an essential tool Google has been using to differentiate between high- and low-quality pages. Whether it is linking to a verified website on your page or another page backlinking to yours, quality backlinks help grow your page’s authority, moving your page up the search results. However, when embedding backlinks into your site, the Denver-based SEO pros at Getfoundfast.com emphasize that you must choose credible sources of information that support your page’s content. You can promote your site for backlinking by creating high-quality and trustworthy content. Additionally, check for any broken links on your pages as they negatively affect your site’s ranking, so make sure to fix them as soon as possible.

Know How to Use Keywords

Picking the right keyword to improve your search result ranking isn’t as easy as it sounds. Keywords are definitely an essential part of SEO, but many people make the mistake of choosing keywords before choosing the topic. Identifying the subject will facilitate how users will search for it, generating the right keyword you want to include in your topic. Short keywords nowadays are harder to achieve. Instead, opt for long-tail keywords, as people tend to use them to search for a specific topic. The competition is less fierce among long-tail keywords giving you a better probability of heading the search results.

Pay Attention to Header Tags and Meta Description

Simply put, header tags are the sections of your content, with H1 being your title, and other headers are used for smaller points. This makes your content easy to read and to scan for your visitors and SEO. Using your keyword in your tags enhances your page’s ranking, so make sure that your header tags are not all in caps, as this can drive visitors away from your website. A meta description is a glimpse of your page’s content when it appears on the search result, so think of it as a first impression. If your meta description is intriguing or attractive, it encourages users to open the page to read more, so investing time in improving your meta description is a good idea.

Focus on Website’s Layout

A good-looking and user-friendly website design can make all the difference in your search result ranking. The clean design of a website makes visitors stay for longer, browsing more, and increasing the dwell time. We all have seen cluttered and messy pages that have made us close them down the moment they loaded, so carefully choose what you put on your website. Choose easy-on-the-eye colors that won’t hurt your visitor’s eyes after a while, use fonts that are easy to read, and keep your paragraphs short with enough spacing. Using headers and bullet points makes your content easier to read and scan, and it promotes professionalism.

Track Important Metrics

You have completed all the previous steps, and now you need to measure their effectiveness. Google Analytics helps you figure out which elements you need to work on to improve your ranking. The essential metrics you should track are:

• Click-through rate (CTR): This shows the percentage of visitors who clicked on your page in the SERPs. If the ratio is unsatisfactory to you, then you should improve your title tag and meta description.
• Time on page: As we discussed before, this is known as dwell time. If you have a low dwell time, consider checking what is causing visitors to close the page quickly; it could be load time, irrelevant information, or lack of interest. Search for ways to keep your visitors engaged.
• Bounce rate: It shows the percentage of visitors who viewed only one page and didn’t engage with the rest of your website. This is a crucial metric as it can show Google that visitors are unsatisfied with your content.

Reaching a high ranking on the first search engine results page requires dedication and constant attention. Once you reach a high ranking, you will reap the fruits of your efforts as you will experience a significant surge in your website’s traffic. The above tips are just a few of the many that you can find online, but they will help point you in the right direction. Always offer quality content with a clean layout, and if you need further help, some professionals can guide you through the process to successfully improve your ranking.

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