7 Tips to Improve Your Search Ranking
Everybody knows, a business that shows up on the first page in a search on either Google or Bing, is more likely to get noticed than on page 5 or 6.
But how do you get higher up in the search ranking without paying for advertising?
In this context, you often hear the term SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization.
This mysteriously sounding acronym refers to the steps you can take to make your website more attractive to search engines and improve your ranking.
Although the inner workings of Google's or Bing's search algorithms are secret, there are some factors, which can influence your search ranking positively.
Set Page Titles and Descriptions
Every page has a title that is displayed in your browser tab. Since the description is hidden in the code, it may be easily overlooked. However, it plays a crucial role, because it lets Google or Bing know what your page is about.
Structure Your Texts Hierarchically
When writing your copy, use different header types. A header-type 1 has more weight than a header-type 2 giving search engines some indication of the structure of your text.
▶︎ How to Write Copy for the Web
Use Keywords
Search is all about keywords, and using them in your writings, titles, descriptions, and URLs can be very beneficial. However, don't overdo it. A text stuffed with keywords may annoy visitors more than entice search engines. And in the end, you want to impress visitors with a well written, content-rich text without artificially skewing it to give you a potential advantage with search engines.
Mention Your Physical Location
If your business is a store or an office with a physical location, think about listing the address. Include it in your narrative, on a map, and in the footer. This helps to narrow searches to a geographical area.
Make It Enjoyable for Users to Visit Your Site
Your site should be well laid out and easy to navigate on any device from a smartphone to a desktop computer. If your site looks good on a smartphone, this is a significant benefit, as mobile-friendly websites rank higher in search results.
Turn on Your SSL-Certificate
Websites whose traffic to and from the host server is encrypted, are favored by search engines.
Submit Your Website to Google Search and Bing
After you verify with Google and Bing that you own the domain name, you can submit your domain and the sitemap. The sitemap tells search engines which pages and images belong to the domain.
If you are pondering whether you should upgrade your existing site or create a new one, following these 7 tips can improve your site's ranking in search results over time, without costing you any advertising dollars.
How to Write Copy for the Web: Make it easier for visitors to scan your webpage. These 5 principles increase your chances that visitors will find your content engaging and decide to read the full text.
