Optimization is key to ensuring your images contribute to your SEO efforts. Use descriptive, keyword-rich alt text to help search engines understand the content of your images. Google evaluates a wide range of factors to determine a page’s quality, relevance, and usefulness. These include keywords, content quality, mobile responsiveness, page load speed, SEO Anomaly backlinks, and engagement metrics like click-through rates and time on page. Additionally, algorithms consider contextual signals such as user location, device type, and search history.

#1: Optimize with Conversational Phrases

improve google ranking

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google’s web analytics platform, designed to offer deeper details into user behavior and performance. Unlike its predecessor, GA4 focuses on event-based tracking, making it ideal for monitoring user actions like clicks, scrolls, and conversions. 75% of consumers judge a company’s credibility by its website design. In other words, an outdated or poorly designed website can push potential customers away, even if you offer great products or services. Your website should be user-friendly and well-structured at all times.

Step #1: Improve Your On-Site SEO

This improves skimmability, making your content more accessible for readers who prefer to scan rather than read every word. So, double-check that all your business details, like contact details, business hours, and address, are correct and complete. According to Google’s help page, relevance and prominence play a key role. All things considered, shorter, yet descriptive URLs, work better.

improve google ranking

To turn heads, your content must be a showstopper and provide elements and angles that haven’t been discussed before. This allows you to edit the info on your business, and all of it is available for free. You also can verify your contact information, ensuring that customers can reach out to you successfully.

Aligning with searchers’ expectations increases the likelihood of your images being featured in search results or snippets. Whether it’s optimizing your on-page SEO, increasing backlinks, or monitoring analytics via Google Search Console and Similarweb, these tactics are meant to give you quantifiable results. Links posted on a third-party website that link back to your website show that users find your content useful. It also helps to show to others that you’re knowledgeable about your niche. What’s more, if you get authoritative websites to link back to your website, it can boost your domain authority (DA) score. All in all, backlinks are critical to help prove to Google your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness which in return will boost your ranking.

In a recent survey conducted by Directive, 78% of marketers analyzed keyword research as a high-impact practice for boosting new traffic. The research method permits you to better understand what your audience is looking for and generating content that directly addresses these search queries. Ranking well on Google Maps can be monumental for local businesses. More and more people are taking to search engines to find local information. In fact, SEO Tribunal reports that 97% of people learn more about a business online than they do anywhere else.

improve google ranking

Lastly, utilize header tags (H1, H2) to structure your content effectively. Start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify relevant and high-ranking keywords for your page, site, reviews, and Google Business profile. There may be publications and websites that mention your brand or business without linking back to you.

improve google ranking

The Google algorithm doesn’t rank just any high-quality content at the top of search results. Think about the words that a user might search for to find a piece of your content. Users who know a lot about the topic might use different keywords in their search queries than someone who is new to the topic. For example, some users might search for „charcuterie”, while others might search for „cheese board”.

They’re an easy way to let your audience know of recent news, offers, deals, products, or simply a recent blog you’ve published. Any time you put out new content, add a new offer/deal, or roll out a new product, you should add a post about it. Google Business Profiles increase your chances of appearing in local search results (so-called Google Local Pack), a coveted spot at the top of SERPs. Website level factors include a sitemap, security, and page speed.

  • This also allows them to establish themselves as experts in their field.
  • Ranking higher on Google combines creating high-quality content, optimizing your site technically, and staying up-to-date with the latest SEO best practices.
  • A good rule of thumb is to aim to use your focus keyword once every 100 words.
  • One way to optimize for local SEO is by using tools like Listing Management to manage your online business listings and monitor your local search performance.

But it needs to be the type of high-quality content that people share on social media and link to. Our analysis of Google’s key ranking factors found that the average Google first page result contains 1,447 words. This free rankings tool can be accessed on this page as well as under the “Tools” menu in your HOTH account. I recommend including only original images, and not all site images, in your sitemap. Listing images from any external source may be a waste of the search engine’s processing budget. Google now supports structured data for an image’s licensing information.