You’ve got a website, but the problem is it doesn’t appear on the first page of Google. How will your potential clients know you even exist?

Sure, you’ve probably applied every single search engine optimization (SEO) tactic in the book, but you’re still not in the position you desire to be in. The problem may lie in the way you executed these strategies.

What you need to do is take a long hard look at the things you are doing ON your page and assess what you are doing wrong. To give you an idea of the SEO strategies you need to be focusing on, check the following points:

Providing a great website design and structure

organised website structure

 

Visuals matter, and so does the overall architecture of your site. Creating a page that is   aesthetically appealing helps catch the attention of visitors. Providing one that is both pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate does wonders for your ranking efforts.

Having a great looking and organised website makes people stay longer; therefore, reducing your site’s bounce rate. This refers to the amount of time a user stays on a particular page before leaving, and not clicking on any other link of the site. Google looks into this to determine whether people are engaging with your website.

A simple way to check your bounce rate is through Google Analytics. Seeing numbers that are really high should concern you as this shows that people are not satisfied with your site.

Here are a couple things you can do to make users stay longer:

Displaying page content in the shortest time possible

40% of users wouldn’t hesitate to leave a site if it takes over 3 seconds to load. Since Google looks into this as well, it pays to check the amount of time your page takes to display its contents.

Here are a few things you need to avoid:

on page seo

 

Apart from putting the right words into your content, it helps to have them in headings and title tags. These are elements that Google takes into account when judging the quality of your website.

Apart from that, you need to make sure that the words you put into these tags are relevant to the page topic. It wouldn’t make sense to call your post “3 Great Destinations in London” when its content talks about something else entirely.

Linking within and out of your site

You should know by now that getting linked to by authority websites matters. This helps Google acknowledge your site as a trusted source. If this happens, the chances of getting a good placement in search results are highly likely.

Instead of waiting to get a link from BBC, CNN, or Huffington Post, you can also help your site rank by linking to the aforementioned websites. Also make sure that you use the right keywords when pointing to any of the pages of those sites. Google counts this as a plus point when determining where to put your website in their results pages.

Apart from that, linking to pages within your site is also vital because it keeps users engaged. When they are in that state, they stay on your website longer. When that happens, the chances of getting a high bounce rate are greatly reduced. In short, keeping them interested in your content boosts the likelihood of ranking high on Google.

Publishing content that users want to read

As stressed previously, providing posts that pique the interest of readers makes them want more. If they are hooked, they stay longer or become returning visitors who eagerly anticipate the next article you publish.

Having users who regularly check what you have to offer and actually stay to read your content contributes in getting a good position on Google search results. Hence, it is crucial to publish articles that are informative, relevant, and fresh constantly.

Apart from that, vary your content by posting other media forms, such as videos, pictures, and audio files, to help keep users interested. Plus, don’t forget to optimise these mediums for better chances at ranking well on Google.

Conclusion

What you do on your website determines how well you do on results pages. This is why it is important to always consider what makes readers happy and keeps them engaged. Follow the tips presented here and you will find your website’s ranking rise over time.

About the Author- Richard Eaves is a Digital Marketing Specialist who oversees 300+ campaigns for Smart Traffic, a dedicated SEO specialist company in the UK that helps clients in various sectors rank well in search engine results.