5 Best SEO Practices for Higher Website Rankings

seo website rankings

It’s right to say that SEO is an ever-evolving field. What used to work a decade ago may not apply to modern SEO practices or may just be a piece of cake. From the increasing competition on the world wide web, and search engine updates, to top-level SEO tools, there is certainly a lot that defines the SEO realm annually.

So, if you run a website or you’re a website manager, it’s essential to keep yourself up-to-date with the SEO best practices. Over 69% of marketers invest in SEO and the number is expected to increase because of the benefits it offers. In this piece, we’ll explore some of the incredible SEO practices that can help a website rank higher on SERPs.  

Effective Keyword Research 

Almost every SEO professional knows how vital keyword research is, but very few know how to conduct it. The main goal of keyword research is to identify search terms that internet users enter into search engines. Understanding the most used keywords can help an SEO team to purposefully create content that meets search intent. 

Search intent is the goal of a search on the internet. Search intents are commonly categorized under commercial, informational, navigational, and transactional. An informational search is when an individual is looking for information whereas a commercial search is when one wants to learn about something before making a purchase.

On the other hand, navigational searches are those that target a specific product, service, or website while a transactional search is where an internet user makes a final decision i.e. buy a product or contact a business. Understanding search intents enables SEO teams to identify keywords that can help their sites rank higher on SERPs.  

Competitor Analysis 

Ranking higher on SERPs can’t occur when SEO professionals downplay the power of their competitors. A SWOT Analysis is key to improving search engine rankings. Websites that rank on the first page of Google should give you a pinch to understand why your website isn’t reaching that far and that’s where competitive research comes in. Put time aside to analyze your competitors’ websites with the goal of ascertaining why they rank higher. Competitor analysis is key to attaining marketing trend insights and developing an effective SEO strategy. 

It will help you utilize better content marketing tricks, relevant topics, and website growth tactics that maintain your website’s relevance. 

Website Optimization 

The term website optimization refers to the process of leveraging advanced analytics, tools, and strategies to increase traffic to a website. For website optimization to occur, an SEO professional must have conducted a website audit. It is generally the process of gaining insights into the performance of a website.

It generally shows where the site visitors come from or what they do on a site. This allows an SEO team to identify performing pages and underperforming content. Website optimization comprises facets such as technical SEO, and on-page SEO. Technical SEO involves backend site modifications to help it rank higher on SERPs. Similarly, on-page SEO tactics involve practices that allow a site’s content and pages to rank higher on SERPs. 

Create Amazing Content

Many website pages consist of 70% content. Apart from other technicalities, content quality plays a vital role in website rankings. However, helping a website rank higher goes beyond embedding relevant keywords to things like title tags, meta descriptions, and image optimization. 

Title tags and meta descriptions allow website users to easily understand what your content is about. Attractive title tags increase enthusiasm in internet users which drives them to click on your website. On the other hand, meta descriptions are displayed below the URL and are usually 150-160 characters.  

Additionally, ensure to optimize your images. Search engines can’t identify images  which means that you will have to optimize your images for higher ranking. Embed relevant information on your images to drive website traffic. Also, ensure to compress images or large files on your website.  

Optimize the Website’s Speed 

More than 60% of online searches are made on mobile phones and the figures are expected to increase. However, to receive the best traffic, a website must be optimized with a good loading speed. A slow website or that which takes longer than 3 seconds to load irritates internet users. 

In fact, Google prefers sites that load faster. Websites that load fast offer a superior user experience and attain a competitive edge over others. We have looked at several ways how to optimize website speed and they will surely help your site rank higher.

Besides that, it will help you attain a number of business objectives including leads, sales, and revenue. Therefore, leverage the best website speed optimization tips like image optimization, limiting the number of redirects, and HTTP requests to optimize website speed. 

Other tactics that can help a website rank higher on search engines include interlinking and attracting authoritative backlinks. 

Bottom Line

There are many SEO practices that can be leveraged to rank higher on SERPs. However, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends. It should also be noted that what helped another website rank may not help yours. Therefore, it’s recommended to try out a number of tactics to identify those that work for your site. However, largely consider the practices detailed here because they are fundamental ranking tactics.