Let’s face it, in the twenty-first century, almost everyone with a business has a website and social media to match. Now more than ever, people recognize the opportunities that an online presence can provide. Regardless of whether you’re a business novice or relatively seasoned in the digital marketing space, you’ll likely be aware of how important exposure and brand building are to your business’ success. The thing is, with so many websites in existence, it’s difficult to get noticed. To make the most out of your digital assets, getting your website a higher search ranking is essential- but what’s the best way to go about it? Though advice will vary from person to person, some basic needs should always be met. Curious as to which tips take the top spots? Here are 6 effective tips from the pros to make your website rank higher.
Try Blogging
Though musing about your day or showcasing pictures of your breakfast might seem like anything but groundbreaking content, for most brands blogging is an excellent way to organically increase website visits. This is because bloggers usually amass a loyal following and have an easier time naturally incorporating internal and external links. The higher the frequency of the posts, the higher the generated traffic. Blogging is a great strategy for building your website because it allows for almost unlimited content potential. All the while, it appeals to current and potential customers, as well as the all-important social amplifiers.
Focus On What Sets You Apart
In an oversaturated online market, going with the herd can be a very bad thing for the success of your website. If you are a mid to small-sized business, you likely won’t have the resources to appear in a top spot in broader searches. The less specific a keyword or offering is, the smaller the chance you will find success while engaging with it. The reason being, if your focus is too vague, the potential for competition skyrockets. By concentrating on what sets your website, product, or service apart, you will increase your rankings tenfold. Let’s say you own a water bottle company; if you focus solely on using keywords and content related to water bottles, your product will be easily buried. By switching the primary focus to your environmental initiatives, health benefits, or another unique feature that only you offer, you’re far more likely to rank high up in a more specific search group.
Use Varied Content
Content marketing is a concept best implemented in a variety of formats—basically, the less formulaic your content, the better. Most digital marketing experts will agree that though keywords and writing-based content are extremely important for optimizing search engine results, using images and videos in new and interesting ways will help keep your content exciting, eye-catching, and fresh. In addition to this, tags and metadata on pictures and videos can help to further boost your website’s rank when used correctly. By using keywords in conjunction with visual aids and things like eye-catching infographics, you’ll be moving your web page up the ranks while capturing more eyes and prolonged website stays.
Build Your Network
Algorithms and other web tools are useful and effective, but technology is not the only way to ensure your website ranks high among others. Though it can be tough work, building your network and attracting links from top-quality sites is one of the best ways to increase your company’s rankings and overall exposure. This is something that takes a little more time and groundwork than normally seen on the internet. However, if you start to build relationships with publishers, webmasters, and bloggers, this sweat equity will be greatly rewarded in the long term. Taking care to reach out personally can help grow your brand and website exponentially and place your content in front of entirely new audiences.
Keep Up the Pace
The world of e-commerce and marketing is a pretty fast-paced environment, and your website needs to be up to the task. You may be doing everything right, but if your website is slow or unresponsive, you can kiss a high website ranking goodbye. To curry favor with search engines and customers alike, keep your website up-to-date and well maintained. The functionality should be flawless across any device and platform to capitalize on any traffic earned. If you’ve spent time and money on great content and even better goods or services, you are doing yourself a major disservice by not optimizing your website for speed and efficiency.
Click-Throughs is Key
So you’ve managed to rank high enough to get noticed on a search page- now what? In order to get high and stay high, any savvy company should be concentrating efforts on increasing their CTR or click-through rate. Unsure of what click-throughs are, exactly? Consider this: every time someone chooses to explore your web page as it appears in their search results, you’ve successfully garnered a click-through. These are important for several reasons. For one thing, the main way a business generates sales is through its website. This means that increasing CTR boosts the potential for sales. Additionally, the more search engine users click on your website whilst in the middle of a particular search, the more relevant your page is deemed, and the higher your website will rank. Make sure that your metadata is relevant and clear and that your titles are short and emotive to really make them pop.
There you have it, some of the most effective tools for leveling up your website’s ranking. While the list may not be exhaustive, these tips are ones that marketing pros will never overlook. From highlighting and celebrating your differences to creating interesting, creative content- there are many things you can do to ensure your website resonates both personally and in the online space. Remember to never take basics like website functionality for granted, and always strive to create authentic, engaging copy. By employing a mix of tried and true strategies and never settling for anything less than the best, your website, brand, and business will thrive and climb up the ranks in no time at all.