According to Conductor, some industries see upwards of 40% of their website traffic coming from organic search.

And for some industries, like retail, the value of that traffic is estimated to be $21.8 million.

By implementing the right SEO strategy, you have the chance to nab your share of this profitable organic search traffic.

But how? I’ll outline nine ways to start and more:

1. Understand What Matters for Ranking on Google

Google’s algorithm is complex, and Google constantly refines it to ensure users get the most relevant and high-quality results.

If you want to learn how to rank higher on Google, know that Google’s algorithm looks at factors such as relevance, authority and user experience to decide which pages rise to the top.

Relevance starts with understanding what the target audience is looking for when they use Google Search — the keywords they use — and creating content around those keywords that hits the mark.

It’s not just about sprinkling these words throughout your site; it’s also making sure they align with what people actually need.

Authority comes next: Google measures this in many different ways, including the content on your site and links back to your site.

User experience is another critical piece of the puzzle — think about how easily someone can navigate your site on their phone or if they have to wait for a page to load.

Finally, understand that it’s not about beating the Google algorithm. It’s about beating your competition in the search results.

So follow the principles outlined in this section, and then keep your eye on what your competition is up to — and do better.

2. Invest in Reputable SEO Training

Ever tried to assemble a complex piece of furniture without a manual? You might get close, but chances are you’ll miss out on key details.

The same goes for learning how to rank higher on Google. Without proper training, it’s easy to overlook critical elements that can boost your website’s visibility.

So finding a solid SEO course makes all the difference. Here are some tips:

• Start by looking at who’s teaching; seasoned pros with proven track records will give insights you won’t find anywhere else. For instance, our SEO training membership site is a great place to start.
• In SEO, stale information spoils good strategy. Make sure what you’re learning reflects today’s trends, and that means checking when the course material was last updated.
• Diving into reviews and testimonials also sheds light on whether a course walks its talk or simply talks big.
• Make sure the course curriculum is strong and covers everything from strategy to technical SEO, on-page optimization, content, local search and more.
• Dive into the format of the course — will it work for your needs? Do you like to watch static videos, or do you prefer to interact with a community? Maybe in-person training is more your style. These are factors to consider when choosing a course.

For more, see my article on Search Engine Land: 5 Questions to Evaluate Any SEO Training Course.

3. Conduct Thorough Keyword Research

Finding the right keywords is critical. It all starts with understanding what potential customers are searching for and how they phrase their queries.

Using the Right Keyword Research Tools

You’ll want to use tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner as a launching pad, but don’t stop there.

Dig deeper with tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer or our own SEOToolSet®, which can give you insights into search volume, keyword difficulty and even what’s working for your competitors.
Analyzing competitors’ pages can help, too. Fortunately, there are all sorts of tools that can give you insights into what your competitors are up to, so you can learn how to improve your SEO strategy.

For more, see:

• SEO Guide: Keyword Research
• 7 Keyword Suggestion and Research Tools
• How to Do Competitor Research for SEO

Choosing the Right Keywords

The goal isn’t just to find high-volume keywords; it’s about finding the right mix of terms that signal intent and align closely with your offerings.

User intent is crucial when selecting keywords because if you miss this piece of the puzzle, you could end up driving traffic that never converts.

Long-tail keywords might have lower search volumes, but they’re often more specific and carry higher conversion potentials because users who type them in are usually further along in their decision-making process.

Incorporating both broad terms that attract larger audiences and niche-specific terms targeting segments creates a balanced strategy to maximize reach and still capture qualified leads.

via GIPHY

For example, you might draw in big crowds talking about “digital marketing,” but including “small business digital marketing strategies” can direct more focused visitors towards your site.

Here are a few more tips as you choose your keywords:

• A balance between head terms (shorter) and long-tail phrases ensures you target different stages of the customer journey.
• Diversifying helps reduce risks associated with algorithm changes.
• Prioritizing relevancy over volume aids in attracting an audience likely interested in what you offer.

4. Boost the User Experience Through Technical SEO

Technical SEO can be an overlooked component of a brand’s SEO strategy, but that is a mistake. Here are three areas you want to get right …

Mobile-Friendliness

More searches happen on mobile than desktops, making mobile-friendliness non-negotiable for high rankings. Sites optimized for mobile devices and those loading swiftly often find favor in Google’s eyes because they offer better experiences for visitors.

Using Google’s Lighthouse tool lets you see if pages meet the mark for smartphone users.

If you don’t pass with flying colors, look into responsive design solutions, because this factors into how well you rank in search results.

For more, see: The Mobile-Friendly Site and tips from developers at Google.

Site Structure

A well-organized website makes it easier for both humans and search engine bots to find their way around.

SEO siloing is a technique we invented many, many years ago. Siloing structures a website’s content by grouping related webpages in hierarchical categories based on how people search.

The goal? Make a site relevant for a search query so that it has a better chance of ranking.

One benefit of siloing is making your site a subject matter expert, which can help with E-E-A-T (part of Google’s quality guidelines from its Search Quality Rater Guidelines manual).

There’s a lot that goes into this step, so I recommend reading the following articles for more:

• SEO SIloing: What, Why, How
• 5 Times When SEO Siloing Can Make or Break Your Rankings

Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals use metrics to mirror real-world user experiences, covering everything from stability during loading to interactivity.

One important piece of this is site load time. Google reports that when a site meets core web vitals thresholds, users are 24% less likely to abandon page load.

And there are all sorts of other stats about how optimizing the performance of a website helps businesses.

Core web vitals optimization can be an intensive process, so prioritize this when you feel it’s a necessity. You can see Google’s Page Experience Update: A Complete Guide for more.

5. Create Authoritative, High-Quality Content

Creating high-quality content requires more than just peppering pages with keywords — it demands substance.

That means diving deep into topics with original research or presenting familiar concepts through fresh perspectives.

via GIPHY

And, aligning content with search intent not only boosts engagement but also sends positive user experience signals back upstream to Google. Check out Ahrefs’ guide on Search Intent.

The truth is quality content requires a mix of many things, including mastery over your subject matter.

I could write many articles on this subject alone (and I have!), so I suggest you read the following for more information:

• Mastering Content Quality: The Ultimate Guide (my article on Search Engine Land)
• The Complete Guide to the Basics of E-E-A-T
• What Makes a Webpage Quality?

6. Dive Into On-Page SEO Best Practices

Simple things like meta tags, heading tags and other, seemingly small, SEO tasks can have a big impact.

For example, title tags are one of the first bits of information that the search engines encounter on a webpage to learn what it’s about. They also serve as the headline for your organic search listing, so they are the first thing searchers see as well.

In addition, the meta descriptions serve as an “elevator pitch” for your page — almost like a movie trailer, but for web pages. Then we have header tags, which bring structure and clarity to your webpage content.

But these are just a tiny sampling of all the ways you can optimize a webpage, and you can learn more on our Always Up-to-Date SEO Checklist.

7. Earn a Strong Backlink Profile

Although backlinks don’t have as much weight as they used to, you can still invest time and effort into content that is so valuable and trustworthy that other authoritative sites want to link to you.

Remember, today it’s not about quantity of links, it’s about quality. We have seen sites with fewer quality links rank higher than sites with a bunch of links that aren’t as quality.

The bottom line is that we no longer focus on link building, rather link earning. For more, see The New Link Building Manifesto: A Complete Guide to Earning Links That Count.

8. Continuously Monitor Performance

SEO is not a one-and-done initiative. SEO strategy demands flexibility and adjustment.

By keeping an eye on your site analytics, you can pinpoint what works and what doesn’t. This process isn’t just about numbers; it’s understanding the story they tell about user behavior and search engine reception.

So let’s break down which metrics should be top of mind. Start with organic traffic — it’s the lifeblood of SEO success, indicating how often users find your site via search engines. A sudden drop or spike here could signal major shifts in ranking or user interest that demand attention.

For more on this, be sure to read: 5 Things to Know When Your Site Loses Rankings.

Bounce Rate and Session Insights

Next up is bounce rate, the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page. While not inherently bad (sometimes people find exactly what they need quickly), high rates might suggest content mismatching user intent or poor navigation design, leading to frustration.

Diving deeper into bounce rate gives us clues for improvement: Is it specific pages driving people away? Maybe those pages need better content alignment with targeted keywords or clearer calls to action. Or perhaps load times are dragging.

Finding patterns in session durations helps gauge if you’re hitting the mark on relevance—a long read time paired with high-quality backlinks might show Google that others value your insights too because good things get shared more often than not.

Conversions

You might be great at driving organic search traffic, but not so great at converting visitors. While the goal of SEO is to drive targeted traffic, it’s the goal of the website to convert those visitors.

Set goals for your pages, and test, test, test. With a little more effort, you can make the most of the organic traffic flowing to your site and turn that into more revenue.

For more, read: SEO and Conversions: Two Halves of a Pie.

9. Keep Abreast of the Latest SEO Trends

Staying on top of SEO trends is like trying to hit a moving target while riding a roller coaster. To truly excel in search marketing optimization, you must embrace change with open arms and an eager mind.

The first step? Make reading industry publications part of your daily routine. With Google’s algorithm updates coming faster than ever before, resources such as Search Engine Land offer invaluable insights into the latest shifts in ranking factors and user behavior patterns.

And if you haven’t already, I highly recommend subscribing to the Bruce Clay Blog.

But don’t stop there. Monthly or quarterly webinars ensure you hone in on a particular aspect of SEO, while annual conferences like SMX are goldmines for up-leveling your search engine optimization and networking with peers.

Your learning should mirror how SEO evolves: dynamically. A mix of self-education through articles, hands-on experience by testing new strategies on your site (hello trial-and-error) and professional development via online courses will all fortify your expertise so you can adapt quickly to market changes.

To thrive in this fast-paced world requires more than just keeping pace; it demands foresight and agility, too, because today’s best practices could be tomorrow’s old news.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to rank higher on Google takes time and effort.

But remember: The job of SEO is not to beat the algorithm, it is to beat your competition. To rank higher on Google, focus first on what users need. Then, look at what your competition is up to, and do as good or better than them.

To sum up:

• Remember the core principles: Relevance, authority and user experience.
• Dive into SEO training — it sharpens your strategy to push your content up the ranks.
• Invest time in technical SEO to boost performance. Quick loading times and mobile friendliness aren’t just nice to have, they’re essential.
• Create content with purpose; authoritative content wins every time. When you do this right, backlinks follow naturally — quality always trumps quantity here.
• Track your success closely because numbers don’t lie. Stay ahead of trends to keep climbing.

We’ve helped companies rank higher on Google for over 28 years — and we can help your business, too. Schedule a free 1:1 consultation today.

FAQ: How can I improve my website’s visibility on Google and increase organic traffic?

A strong online presence is essential for businesses to thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. One of the key factors in achieving this is improving your website’s visibility on Google and increasing organic traffic.

Let’s explore various strategies and techniques that will help you accomplish just that.

Optimize Your Website: Optimizing your website is the first step to boost your visibility on Google. Start by conducting keyword research to identify relevant terms and include them strategically in your website’s content, meta tags and URLs.

Create Engaging and High-Quality Content: Producing content that is both informative and engaging is vital for attracting organic traffic. Focus on creating well-researched articles, blog posts and videos that offer value to your target audience.

Leverage On-Page SEO Elements: Maximize your website’s visibility by optimizing on-page factors such as title tags, meta descriptions, header tags and alt tags. Ensure that these elements accurately reflect the content on your pages and incorporate relevant keywords.

Harness the Power of Backlinks: Building a strong backlink profile plays an important role in achieving better visibility on Google. Seek opportunities to collaborate with industry influencers and fellow websites to earn valuable backlinks.

Enhance User Experience (UX): Google values websites that provide a positive user experience. Focus on improving your site’s speed, mobile responsiveness and accessibility. This will not only satisfy search engines but also captivate your visitors.

Utilize Local SEO Strategies: If your business has a physical location, optimizing for local SEO can significantly boost your website’s visibility. Claim your business on Google My Business, optimize your listings and encourage customers to leave reviews.

Engage with Social Media: Social media platforms are powerful tools for increasing organic traffic. Share your content on relevant social channels, engage with your audience and encourage them to share your content with their networks.

Monitor and Analyze Your Performance: Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console. This will help you identify areas for improvement and track the success of your efforts.

Implementing these strategies will effectively improve your website’s visibility on Google and increase organic traffic. Remember, search engine optimization is an ongoing process, so stay up to date with the latest trends and make necessary adjustments to continue reaping the benefits.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1. Perform keyword research to identify relevant terms for your website.
2. Optimize your website’s content, meta tags and URLs with targeted keywords.
3. Create high-quality and engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
4. Optimize your website’s on-page elements such as title tags, header tags and alt tags.
5. Build a strong backlink profile by collaborating with influencers and relevant websites.
6. Focus on enhancing user experience by improving site speed, mobile responsiveness and accessibility.
7. Utilize local SEO strategies to boost visibility for businesses with physical locations.
8. Share your content on social media platforms and engage with your audience.
9. Continuously monitor and analyze your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console.
10. Stay up to date with the latest SEO trends and make constant adjustments to improve visibility and organic traffic.

The post How to Rank Higher on Google in 9 Steps appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

In this article, I’ll share what I believe to be some of the most important on-page factors that you need to check off your SEO checklist for every single webpage on your site:

1. 1. 1. Experience, expertise, authority, and trust
      2. Quality content
      3. Content freshness
      4. Readability
      5. Page experience
      6. Meta tags
      7. Heading tags
      8. Keyword optimization
      9. Image optimization
      10. Video
      11. Alt Text
      12. Schema
      13. Other structured data
      14. Links
      15. SEO insights

   FAQ: If you could only choose 15 on-page SEO tactics, which would you choose?

1. Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust

If we’re paying attention to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines (SQRG), we know that experience, expertise, authority and trust are essential to a quality website.

Here are some things to consider:

Trustworthiness: Google wants to be sure that the webpage is accurate, honest, safe and reliable. That may look different for different types of websites (ecommerce versus informational) and different types of topics (like “your money or your life” topics).

Experience: This has to do with the first-hand experience about the page topic from the content creator. Google recognizes that experience is valuable to nearly any type of topic (think social media posts, forums discussions) but especially important for things like product reviews.

Expertise: Do you have the right level of skill or knowledge to speak intelligently on a topic? This is yet another key element in how Google assesses the quality of a webpage.

Authoritativeness: The authority factor takes into account the brand or the person’s reputation as a go-to resource. Often, this isn’t as serious as it sounds; in the SQRG, Google gives a couple examples such as “a local business profile page on social media may be the authoritative and trusted source for what is on sale now,” or “the official government page for getting a passport.”

This all boils down to the following questions:

Was your content created with the necessary experience and expertise needed for the topic? Is your website and brand an authority on the topic? Can people trust you?

For more, read:

• The Complete Guide to the Basics of E-E-A-T

2. Quality Content

Writing is an art and science, so there isn’t a definitive guide to what quality content is. But here are a few tips to consider. Do you:

1. Answer the query better than your competition?
2. Consider data from the search results like “People Also Ask” and “Searches related to” in addition to addressing common FAQs?
3. Include original research, data, opinions and images?
4. Fact-check and cite quality, relevant resources?
5. Write with a high degree of accuracy when discussing “Your Money or Your Life” topics?

3. Content Freshness

Not all topics need to have fresh content to be quality (think a page on the American Civil War), but some queries deserve freshness and others need to be maintained to be relevant.

And remember that Google says in its SQRG that unmaintained sites are low quality:

… unmaintained/abandoned “old” websites or unmaintained and inaccurate/misleading content is a reason for a low Page Quality rating.

Everyone wants to create new content, but I recommend spending 50% of the time refreshing old content, too.

For more, read:

• Creating New Content vs. Optimizing Old Webpages: Which Is Better for SEO? [Search Engine Land]
• Steps for Updating Your Website Content

4. Readability

Would the target audience easily understand and relate to your content?

The grade level with which you write your content can make a difference. For example, a scientific topic may be written at a higher grade level than a topic about a hobby.

If you examine the search results, you will begin to see that certain queries create results that are written at a similar grade level.

If you have the right SEO tools (like our WordPress SEO plugin), you can easily see what the average grade level is among the top-ranked websites for a query.

For more, read:

• Want Custom SEO Advice per Keyword? There’s a Plugin for That!

5. Page Experience

Google’s “core web vitals” are elements of a webpage that provide a good user experience.

Core web vitals measure things like how fast the page renders, how responsive it is and ensures things like buttons and links don’t unexpectedly shift, causing someone to click on something they didn’t intend to.

Here’s an overview of the three core web vitals:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how fast the largest image or text block renders on a webpage. Google recommends that it happens within the first 2.5 seconds of when the page first starts loading.

First Input Delay (FID) measures interactivity – how quickly a webpage loads and executes so that the user can interact with the page. Google wants pages to have an FID of 100 milliseconds or less.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures visual stability on a webpage, and pages need to maintain a CLS of 0.1. or less.

Each of these core web vitals has specific thresholds that your webpages must meet at least 75% of the time.

Core web vitals are signals in Google’s page experience algorithm update. To stay competitive, website owners need to work on these technical factors.

For more, see:

• Core Web Vitals for SEO: An Overview
• 3 Expert Tips to Improve Core Web Vitals [On-demand Webinar]

6. Meta Tags

Meta tags may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme of SEO, but they serve an important role.

When done right, meta tags help:

• Search engines determine the topic of your webpage
• Drive clicks and organic search traffic
• Avoid duplicate content issues

So what do you need to consider when it comes to these tags?

• Always include an original title tag and meta description tag for every page.
• Make sure the tags are properly configured in the head section of the page (it’s less likely this would be an issue when using a CMS).
• Write compelling copy that informs a search engine user and entices them to click from the search results to your webpage.
• Include the most important keyword(s) in the right order – but do not keyword stuff or make it sound unnatural.
• Consider the length, taking into account best practices and also research that suggests title tags between 40 to 60 characters have the highest CTR.
• Know that Google can and will rewrite titles and meta descriptions to make them more relevant, according to Google. This can be frustrating but remember that is only a rendering issue (what the user sees). The actual tag remains the same. Here is a possible solution to that if you want more control.

For more, read:

• What Are Meta Tags? Why Are They Important to SEO? How Do You Create Them?

7. Heading Tags

The heading tags make up the “table of contents” for a webpage.

Heading tags help search engines and website visitors easily distinguish between a main section and the subsections on the page, and how those sections relate to one another.

Heading tags are categorized as H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, etc. H1 represents the title of the topic, and subsequent headings represent subsections.

Here are some tips:

• The sequence of heading tags (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6) should be used in a hierarchy (think of it as an outline of a research paper).
• An H1 heading tag always correlates to the main topic of the page.
• I don’t recommend having more than one H1 tag on a page in most cases (definitely not on informational webpages, but maybe OK on main navigational pages in some cases).
• Subsequent sections after the H1 default to an H2 tag.
• You can have more than one H2 tag.
• If an H2 section has subsections underneath that, they would start with H3 tag, and so on.
• You can create subsections all the way to H6.

For more, see:

• What Are Heading Tags and Why Are They Important to SEO?

8. Keyword Optimization

Keyword optimization is one of those touchy subjects in SEO.

People either believe you should intentionally optimize a webpage or do nothing and let the content speak for itself.

I am a firm believer that the content is naturally optimized when you write it well, but that you can always tweak it with keywords to make improvements to relevancy.

Consider this scenario: A person searches on Google for a topic that you have written about on your website. Next, Google determines which webpages to serve in the search results.

Let’s also say that all else was equal between your webpage and your next competitor (meaning you both did all the right things well from an SEO perspective, and you both had quality content).

But you made sure the exact queries/keywords that the person used to search showed up on your page – and all the relevant related words as well – and your competition didn’t.

Do you think you might have a better chance of ranking on top than the competition?

I think so.

For more, read:

• How a WordPress SEO Plugin Can Help You Optimize Your Content with Keywords

9. Image Optimization

Google wants to rank pages that have not only great text, but also great images. This represents more opportunities for more traffic.

Through the images on your webpage, people can find your site in a Google Images search, the traditional Google Search results, or Google Discover.

I recommend you read “How to Improve Google Image Search Ranking” for more details on 17 ways you can use images in your SEO, including:

1. Track your image-based traffic
2. Create high-quality, original content
3. Use relevant images
4. Have a proper file format
5. Optimize your images
6. Aways create alt text
7. Make use of the image title
8. Create an image caption
9. Use a descriptive file name
10. Implement structured data
11. Consider image placement on the page
12. Analyze the content around the image
13. Be careful with embedded text
14. Create page metadata
15. Ensure fast load time
16. Make sure images are accessible
17. Create an image sitemap

10. Video

A large percentage of Google searches produce YouTube videos in the search results.

Searches for information that fall under the categories of how-to, tutorials, and reviews often trigger YouTube video results in Google.

In addition, YouTube is a search engine itself, and represents another way for people to find your content and your business.

So including video in your SEO program in most cases means you will create and optimize videos in YouTube.

Here’s a few things to know:

• If you are targeting queries/keywords that often produce video results, make sure you have video for those queries as well.
• Employ various YouTube SEO tactics to rank well in YouTube and the Google Search results.

But you should also put video content on key webpages of your own site, and this can be an embedded video that you created somewhere else, for example, from YouTube.

This is because videos on your webpages can help:

• Further explain a concept to people who would rather watch than read
• Keep people engaged on a page longer
• Influence buying decisions

For more, read:

• A CMO’s Guide to YouTube SEO in Less Than 5 Minutes
• How to Optimize Images, Videos and Other Media Content for SEO

11. Alt Text

Alt text is a best practice, but it’s often overlooked and misunderstood. Google highlights the importance of alt text for the vision impaired, but it goes further than that.

The American with Disabilities Act says your site should be compliant for the visually impaired. And if you don’t have an accessible site, you could find yourself in court.

In 2021, a judge found Domino’s Pizza violated ADA, Title III, by having a website that was not usable by the plaintiff – a blind man.

Other organizations are pushing for web accessibility, too. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is working to develop guidelines and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

Does alt text influence rankings? This has been a debatable point. But regardless of what side you are on, being a good web citizen means making your site accessible – at least doing the bare minimum.

12. Schema

Structured data markup using Schema.org guidelines clarifies to the search engine what a page is about, and also enhances listings in the search results, which can lead to more clicks.

This can be a bit technical, so many website publishers opt out. However, for the less techy bunch, Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can be of assistance.

For more, read:

• How to Use Schema Markup to Improve Your Website Visibility in Search

13. Other Structured Data

This category of on-page optimization is all about how you format the information on a page.

Content formatting can enhance the user experience and help search engines better understand the content. This includes things like:

• Table of contents at the top (especially with anchor links)
• TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) summary near the top of your article
• Headings that contain a key term or question, followed by the answer in body text
• Breadcrumb navigation
• HTML tables
• Bulleted lists
• Ordered lists

14. Links

When it comes to page links, you want to consider the following:

Make sure they are fully qualified. An absolute link is a link that contains the whole URL of the file you are linking to. A relative link is only part of a full URL. There are arguments for and against both. While absolute links may take more work upfront, they are easier to maintain in the long run.

Make sure they are optimized. Make sure URLs on the page are descriptive and contain keywords.

Make sure you are virtual siloing. SEO siloing is a way to organize your website content through links based on the way people search for your site’s topics and can make your content more relevant for a search. For more, check out: SEO Siloing: What, Why, How.

Make sure you mind your outbound links. Your outbound links impact user experience and SEO. On the user experience side, the sites you link to can provide value to your website visitors. On the SEO front, if you link to quality sites in your field, then search engines may deem your site higher quality by association (and the opposite can be true when linking to low-quality or spammy sites). For more, see: What Are Outbound Links? Why Are They Important? And How Do They Work?

15. SEO Insights

OK, so this one is technically not an on-page “factor.”

But without the right SEO tools to help you uncover how to optimize your pages to meet or exceed what the competition is doing, you’re largely shooting in the dark.

One tool I must recommend is our Single Page Analyzer from the SEOToolSet®. This tool allows you to analyze a webpage (your competitor’s or your own) to uncover key SEO data.

People use the tool to:

• Better the meta tags on a page
• Adjust the reading level of the content
• Improve keyword density
• Find optimization opportunities
• Further research the competition

For more, read:

• Free SEO Tool Alert! On-Page Content Analyzer

So there you have it: My list of 15 of the most impactful SEO factors when optimizing webpages. Do these right and you have a better chance of ranking on page one of the search results out of millions of results.

Our SEO experts can help you implement these on-page SEO factors to improve your website performance and win more traffic. Reach out to us for a free consultation.

FAQ: If you could only choose 15 on-page SEO tactics, which would you choose?

1. Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T): Align your content with your expertise and showcase authority in your industry. Building trust with users and search engines is paramount for ranking success.
2. Quality Content: Create valuable, engaging, and original content that addresses users’ needs and queries better than your competitors. Incorporate relevant data and research to support your claims.
3. Content Freshness: While not all topics require constant updates, regularly refreshing your content shows search engines that your website is up-to-date and relevant.
4. Readability: Write in a clear and concise manner, catering to your target audience’s reading level. A user-friendly, easily digestible format enhances the user experience.
5. Page Experience: Prioritize user experience by focusing on Core Web Vitals, ensuring your pages load fast, and avoiding unexpected layout shifts.
6. Meta Tags: Craft compelling and accurate meta titles and descriptions that entice users to click through to your website from search results.
7. Heading Tags: Organize your content using proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to create a logical structure that search engines can understand.
8. Keyword Optimization: Integrate relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve relevancy for search queries.
9. Image Optimization: Optimize images with descriptive alt text and proper file names to improve accessibility and enhance the user experience.
10. Video: Utilize video content to engage users, provide valuable information, and potentially rank in both traditional search results and YouTube searches.
11. Schema: Implement structured data markup using Schema.org guidelines to provide context to search engines and enhance your listings in search results.
12. Other Structured Data: Use content formatting techniques like tables, TL;DR summaries, and breadcrumb navigation to improve user experience and content understanding.
13. Links: Optimize internal and external links for relevancy and descriptive anchor text. Virtual siloing can improve content organization and boost relevance for specific searches.
14. Alt Text: Provide informative alt text for images, not only for visually impaired users but also to enhance search engine understanding of your content.
15. SEO Insights: Use reliable SEO tools to gain valuable insights into your webpage’s performance and identify optimization opportunities for better search rankings.

Mastering these 15 on-page SEO tactics will empower you to create a strong foundation for your website’s search engine visibility. By combining technical expertise with user-focused content, you can significantly improve your chances of ranking higher in search results and attracting valuable organic traffic.

The post 15 of the Most Important On-Page SEO Tactics appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

But how often do you need to update a website? First, let’s get clear on the types of website updates – each of which has different guidelines when it comes to how often to do them:

1. Website updates that impact the design and functionality of the site
2. Website updates that impact the content on the site
3. FAQ: How can I ensure my website stays optimized for search engines and offers an excellent user experience through regular updates?

Let’s look closer at those two types of website updates in more detail.

Design and Functionality Updates

If you want to win the SEO game, you need to make sure your website is easily crawlable and creates a good user experience.

This is accomplished by the design and the performance of the website.

For example, is there code bloat that stops the search engines from crawling efficiently? Does the site run fast or slow? Are there annoying pop-ups? Is it easy to navigate? Are people getting error messages?

Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing a website so it performs for both search engines and the people who visit it.

And when it comes to how often you should make updates here, the answer is: always.

At no point should you ever stop monitoring and fixing issues that hinder site performance? Any good SEO program will ensure technical SEO is just as important as on-page SEO.

Related: Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO: The Differences

The other thing to consider is how often to update the look and feel of a website – its design. Generally, you want to review your design every three to five years.

That is because things change in the world of design. There may be new trends in conversion optimization, new layouts (like mobile vs. desktop), and new HTML standards for developing websites. It’s important to make sure that the aesthetic is modern and the UX is user-friendly.

Related: See our SEO Guide for more on mobile and UX optimization

Content Updates

Relevant content is one of the most important factors when it comes to how search engines decide which webpage should rank for a query.

So you want to make sure you are updating the content on your website appropriately. But how often is that?

Two things influence how often you should update the content on your website:

1. If you have YMYL topics on your website. Google describes “Your money or your life” (YMYL) topics in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines as “types of pages or topics that could potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.” In this case, you want to make sure that the information is well maintained on a regular basis to stay competitive in the search results. That is because Google states there is a high standard for accuracy among YMYL content.
2. If you have content that would fall under the “query deserves freshness” category. When a search requires the most up-to-date information on that topic, only the web pages that have up-to-date content should be able to rank. Think: The value of a stock, the current score in a sporting event, or some social or political current event. You can get a better idea of how “query deserves freshness” applies in this Google blog article.

Related: What Are Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) Webpages?

Remember: According to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, website maintenance is a quality indicator. But, maintenance is relative.

Freshness is generally less of a concern for Page Quality rating. “Stale” pages can have high Page Quality ratings. For example, some highly reputable news websites maintain “archival” content. However, unmaintained/abandoned “old” websites or unmaintained and inaccurate/misleading content is a reason for a low Page Quality rating.

-Search Quality Rater Guidelines

In other words, if you have a “stale” page that has not been updated for years on the American Civil War, it can still be considered a relevant and quality page because information about historical events rarely changes.

However, information on search engine optimization changes often, so you’d want to review the accuracy of it monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Related: See my article “Creating new content vs. optimizing old webpages: Which is better for SEO?” on Search Engine Land.

Set a Schedule for Website Updates

Set a schedule for how often you will update your website based on the best practices outlined in this article. Even though it can take time and resources, the payoff is worth it. Your website and brand remain relevant and often, you can see a boost in search visibility after.

Curious about how you can update your website with the latest SEO techniques and best practices to maximize its visibility and drive organic traffic? Join SEOTraining.com to gain access to exclusive training opportunities and improve your sales online.

FAQ: How can I ensure my website stays optimized for search engines and offers an excellent user experience through regular updates?

As part of your website optimization strategy, regular website updates are crucial in order to meet both SEO and user experience objectives. They help keep you ahead of the competition and engage your target audience — this whitepaper offers tips and insights that can assist with this goal.

To start, prioritize technical SEO. Regularly audit your website to identify and fix any crawlability or performance issues that might hinder search engines from indexing your content efficiently. Ensuring a fast-loading website, eliminating broken links, and improving mobile responsiveness are crucial factors that contribute to a positive user experience and higher search engine rankings.

Next, focus on content updates. Valuable and relevant content is the backbone of any successful website. To maintain SEO performance, review your content periodically, and refresh it when necessary. Updating evergreen content and staying abreast of the latest developments in your niche can demonstrate your expertise to both users and search engines.

Consider adopting a proactive approach to update your website’s design and functionality. Staying current with design trends and implementing user-friendly navigation enhances UX and keeps visitors coming back. Regularly reviewing your website’s aesthetics and usability every three to five years is a good practice to maintain a modern and engaging user interface.

Set a schedule for website updates that aligns with your business goals and content strategy. Whether it’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly, consistency is key to establishing trust with both users and search engines. Keep a record of your updates to monitor their impact on SEO performance and user engagement.

Lastly, leverage user feedback and analytics. User behavior and preferences evolve over time, so continuously gather feedback from your audience and analyze website analytics.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1. Perform a technical SEO Audit to identify any potential problems which could impede the crawlability and performance of your site.
2. Optimize your website’s loading speed by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and utilizing a content delivery network (CDN).
3. Ensure all internal and external links are functional and lead to relevant pages.
4. Create an XML sitemap and submit it to search engines to aid in indexing your content.
5. Regularly review and update your website’s meta tags, titles, and descriptions to align with your target keywords.
6. Develop a content strategy that includes updating existing content and creating fresh, valuable material on a consistent basis.
7. Monitor industry trends and incorporate relevant topics into your content to showcase your expertise.
8. Use data from user behavior and search analytics to identify high-performing content and areas for improvement.
9. Conduct keyword research to identify new opportunities and refine your content strategy.
10. Implement user-friendly navigation and intuitive site architecture to enhance the user experience.
11. Adopt a responsive design that ensures your website displays optimally on various devices.
12. Regularly review the design of your website and update it to align with current trends and user preferences.
13. Test your website’s functionality and user interface regularly to identify and address any issues promptly.
14. Establish a content update schedule that aligns with your business goals and audience needs.
15. Monitor the impact of your updates on SEO performance and user engagement through analytics.
16. Encourage user feedback through surveys, reviews, and contact forms to understand their needs better.
17. Utilize A/B testing to compare the effectiveness of different design and content elements.
18. Stay informed about algorithm updates and search engine best practices to adapt your strategy accordingly.
19. Engage with your audience through social media and other platforms to build trust and credibility.
20. Continuously analyze the results of your website updates and make data-driven decisions to achieve sustained SEO success and exceptional user experiences.

The post How Often Should You Update a Website for SEO? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

It is often said that two are better than one. But in SEO, two webpages that appear too similar can cause double the trouble. This is what we call duplicate content.

• A quick primer on meta info and duplicate content issues
• How to Get Rid of Duplicate Meta Data with a WordPress Plugin
• FAQ: How can I effectively manage duplicate content issues on my website?

What exactly is duplicate content? Google defines it in the following way:

Duplicate content generally refers to substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar.

There are things that can cause duplicate content on your website. For example, you could have:

1. Meta information duplicates
2. Similar content across pages
3. Boilerplate content on all pages
4. Two different site versions
5. A separate mobile site
6. Trailing slashes on URLs
7. CMS problems
8. Parameterized pages
9. Product description issues

These are all common issues for websites, and you can fix them. For a deeper dive (especially on what types of duplicate content cause problems for SEO), I recommend you read our guide on duplicate content.

Today, I’m going to dive into how to deal with the issue on a WordPress site specifically. But to start, this video overviews how to get rid of duplicate content on a website:

Now let’s focus on how to avoid duplicate content issues that fall into the category of duplicate meta information. And you’ll be able to do this easily with a WordPress SEO plugin.

A Quick Primer on Meta Info and Duplicate Content Issues

If you’re already well-versed on meta info and duplicate content issues, you can skip to the next section to learn about how you can fix it with a WordPress SEO plugin.

If you’re still here, let’s talk about the duplicate content issue.

Meta tags are on the code side of a webpage. They are meta information (or meta data) about a page, including the title and description. Meta data is one of the first pieces of code that a search engine encounters when it crawls a page.

Page source view on a BruceClay.com article

The meta tags tell the search engine what the page is about. That’s why it’s so important that the titles and meta descriptions be accurate and unique within your website.

As smart as Google’s ranking algorithm is at figuring out the topic of a webpage, it still needs help with context. Because it can’t read like you or I can.

So the meta information, especially the meta title, is critical for communicating the topic of the page. This, in turn, helps Google understand that the webpage is a good match for a search query.

It’s a common SEO issue: meta tags on a site have duplicate or similar text. This can be especially true on large websites with hundreds or thousands of webpages.

And it can happen for a variety of reasons. Meta tags may not be a priority; automation software may be used due to too many webpages, and so on.

Regardless of the reason, the same or similar meta tags can cause duplicate content issues within a site. Again, this type of duplicate content is especially important to fix because meta tags are the first chance at communicating to the search engine what the page is about.

Will you suffer a Google penalty because of it? No. Google does not have a duplicate content penalty unless the duplicate content is deceptive.

From Google:

Duplicate content on a site is not grounds for action on that site unless it appears that the intent of the duplicate content is to be deceptive and manipulate search engine results.

This usually occurs when sites copy content from other sites and claim it as their own.

For duplicate content within a website, though, you can suffer some consequences. And that consequence is your webpages being filtered from the search results.

When faced with two pages whose contents appear too similar, Google picks the page that it believes to be the best for the query. And it leaves the other page out of the results.

But this may or may not be the page you want to show up in the search results &mdash, so you want to avoid filtering.

How to Get Rid of Duplicate Meta Data with a WordPress Plugin

Until now, it has not been easy for WordPress users to identify duplicate content issues right in WordPress. But with our WordPress SEO plugin, it’s simple to get this data.

1. Install the Bruce Clay SEO WP Plugin

If you’re not already a user of our WordPress SEO plugin, here’s how you can get started:

Get a free trial here. We offer an affordable monthly plan at $24.95 thereafter with access to all WordPress SEO functionality plus our SEOToolSet® if you want more analytics and reports.

Installation is quick and easy, and you have two options. One way is to download the Bruce Clay SEO plugin from the WordPress repository here.

Another way is to  install the plugin from within your WordPress site by going to WP admin > Plugins > Add New and searching for “Bruce Clay.”

2. Set Up and Sync the Plugin

This step will sync all published content on your website with the toolset. You’ll synchronize your content when you first set up the plugin, from the Settings tab.

3. Review the Activity Tab for Duplicate Titles and Descriptions

See which pages on your site pose duplicate content issues at the metadata level. Our WordPress SEO plugin runs a check when pages are published or synched.

(A sync happens when the page is published, the “analyze content” button is pressed, or when a sync is manually run from the Settings screen.)

It then reports on any potential duplicate content issues from the same meta information.

4. Click on the Page or Post

Select a page or post and automatically bring it up in the WordPress editor so you can adjust the title or description.

5. Make Changes to the Meta Info

If you are using Yoast SEO, you would adjust the title and description there. If you are using our title and description feature, you can adjust it there. (Note: If Yoast is active on your site, the Bruce Clay SEO plugin automatically hides these fields to prevent any confusion.)

Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin’s title and description editor

Yoast SEO plugin’s title and description editor

6. Mark as Done

Mark the alert as “done” in the Activity tab. The alert will go away immediately.

You can read more on how the Bruce Clay SEO plugin helps you with:

• Keyword optimization
• Real-time and customized data
• Custom SEO advice per keyword
• Tracking your content performance

Get rid of the duplicate content in your WordPress site starting today. Get your free trial of our WordPress SEO plugin now.

FAQ: How can I effectively manage duplicate content issues on my website?

Duplicate content issues can significantly impact your website’s search engine ranking and user experience. Effectively managing these issues requires a combination of technical expertise and strategic planning. This article offers valuable insights to help you tackle duplicate content and optimize your website for better performance.

Identifying Duplicate Content

Identifying duplicate content is the first step in managing the issue. Utilize tools such as website crawlers to analyze your site’s content and identify instances of duplication. Look for similar content across different pages, repetitive meta information, and boilerplate text that may negatively affect your SEO efforts.

Addressing Duplicate Content

Once identified, it’s crucial to address duplicate content promptly. Begin by creating unique and compelling meta titles and descriptions for each page. Update or rewrite repetitive content to provide valuable insights and engage your audience. Ensuring that each page offers distinct and valuable information enhances your site’s relevance and credibility.

Preventing Duplicate Content

Prevention is key to maintaining a website free of duplicate content. Implement best practices such as canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page to search engines. Regularly audit your site for redundant content and use redirects to consolidate similar pages. You enhance your site’s overall SEO performance by proactively preventing duplicate content.

User-Friendly Navigation

A well-structured website with intuitive navigation can also help prevent duplicate content issues. Ensure that your site’s URLs are clear and descriptive, making it easier for both users and search engines to understand the hierarchy of your content. Utilize breadcrumb navigation and internal linking to guide users through your site while maintaining a coherent content structure.

Regular Monitoring and Optimization

Managing duplicate content is an ongoing process. Regularly monitor your website for any new instances of duplication that may arise. Stay updated with the latest SEO guidelines and best practices to optimize your content strategy continuously. By staying vigilant and proactive, you can maintain a high-quality website that delivers value to both users and search engines.

Step-by-Step Procedure: How to Effectively Manage Duplicate Content Issues on Your Website

1. Identify duplicate content using website crawling tools.
2. Analyze similarities across pages and examine meta-information.
3. Determine the scope and extent of the duplicate content issue.
4. Prioritize pages with the highest impact on SEO and user experience.
5. Create unique and informative meta titles and descriptions.
6. Rewrite or update redundant content to offer distinct value.
7. Utilize canonical tags to guide search engines to the preferred page.
8. Implement 301 redirects to consolidate similar content.
9. Audit your website’s navigation and URL structure.
10. Optimize breadcrumb navigation for easy user navigation.
11. Use internal linking to guide users through your content.
12. Regularly monitor your website for new instances of duplication.
13. Stay updated with evolving SEO guidelines and best practices.
14. Continuously optimize your content strategy to prevent future issues.

The post How to Get Rid of Duplicate Content in WordPress appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

To be fair, it’s usually not their fault; many don’t realize the risks involved. Something as seemingly harmless as a site redesign, for example, can hurt the performance of the website and the business. (Cases in point: check out this client case study where we helped turn around a failed redesign.)

So I’ve created a handy reference guide for website migrations to ensure you are following best practices for SEO during this long journey.

In this article:

• What is a website migration?
• Why is SEO important in a website migration?
• Types of website migrations
• SEO checklist for a website migration
• FAQ: How can I ensure a smooth website migration while maintaining SEO performance?

What is a Website Migration?

Website migration is a term used to describe when a website undergoes major changes, such as URL updates, redesigns, or content management system or hosting provider changes. Google defines site moves as either those with a URL change or those without.

Why Is SEO Important in a Website Migration?

A website migration is a major change to a website that can impact rankings and traffic. It is important to have an SEO professional oversee the many details that go into a website migration so that there is as little impact on the performance of the site as possible and so that the “new” site can outperform the old one.

Types of Website Migrations

Website migrations tend to fall into one of three categories: URL changes, design changes, or platform changes.

Here are some scenarios that prompt a website migration:

• Moving a website from HTTP to HTTPS (for more on why this is important see: HTTPS for Users and Rankings)
• Renaming URLs (aka URL migration)
• Consolidating webpages and implementing 301 redirects and/or URL changes
• Changing domain names
• Merging with another website
• Rearranging the website structure / navigation (for more, see: SEO Siloing: What, Why, How)
• Redesigning the website and changing the code
• Switching to a new content management system
• Switching to a new hosting provider

SEO Checklist for a Website Migration

There are three phases to a website migration: pre-launch, launch, and post-launch. Each phase should have a defined set of activities. Below are just some of the steps you don’t want to miss in each phase.

Pre-Launch Phase

As you are planning your site migration, steps in the pre-launch phase should include the following.

Create a plan: Here, you are going to assemble all the people who will be involved in the site migration. Each person will have a list of things that need to be accomplished in each of the three phases — the pre-launch, launch and post-launch. Define goals for the website migration so that you can measure success. Pick a launch date, too — try to do it when website traffic levels are at their lowest. Having a tool to help manage all the tasks from a bird’s eye view will be helpful here.

Benchmark the website: Benchmark performance in different areas of the website. Then later, you can compare post-launch performance and quickly identify issues so you can address them right away. This includes running PageSpeed Insights and recording Core Web Vitals scores for your homepage and other important pages on your site.

I recommend you benchmark the following PageSpeed Insights scores:

• Speed Index (SI)
• Time to Interactive (TTI)
• Total Blocking Time (TBT)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
• First Contentful Paint (FCP)
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

And for Core Web Vitals, benchmark the following metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

Crawl the website: Use an SEO crawler to find and document any current issues with the website that you want to address during the site migration process. A few tools I recommend include our SEOToolSetⓇ site crawler, DeepCrawl and Screaming Frog.

Review the content: Do a content review of the site using a tool that can help you understand which pages perform well and which don’t (something simple like an export from Google Analytics can work here). You will want to make sure you know which pages are the top performers so that you preserve any traffic and conversions they provide. And for those that aren’t performing, you can decide if they need a rewrite, need to be folded into another, larger piece of related content, and/or need to be 301 redirected. (Doing a content review is something I talk more about in an unrelated article, here.)

Do a link review: Before the launch is a good time to analyze your inbound link profile. Get rid of any links that may not serve your site well moving forward and identify new link opportunities for the site as well. For more, see our guide to monitoring backlinks and link pruning.

Map 301 redirects: Map out any pages that you will no longer need, and which pages they will redirect to. Make sure you test the redirects in the staging environment before you go live. For more, see: How to Do a 301 Redirect.

Review page speed issues: Page speed issues (like those surfaced in Google Analytics Site Speed reports) can be identified and addressed during the migration process.

Review mobile-friendliness: Make sure you review the mobile-friendliness of your website, including things like website configuration, user experience and content. For more, see: Page Experience Matters: The Mobile-Friendly Site.

Prepare for page experience: Google’s page experience ranking update comprises all sorts of signals that you can optimize for ahead of the launch. For more, see: Google’s Page Experience Update 2021 — A Complete Guide.

Review design changes: Website design can impact SEO in a number of ways, for example, the code used, the way the new webpages will be set up or the navigation. Make sure there is an SEO review of any design changes.

Back up the old site: As insurance, you’ll want to make a backup of your site. Download all the images and any other assets so you have them stored just in case, and make a backup of your database if applicable.

Set up a testing environment: Most web developers know to create a separate environment to make and test changes before they go live on the site. Make sure that is happening and that the search engines can’t access the staging site.

Prepare a new HTML sitemap: This will be for users and will help them navigate the site with ease as needed. For more, see: How to Create a Sitemap.

Change campaign URLs: Even if you do implement 301 redirects, you will want to review any marketing campaigns driving traffic to specific URLs on the site and make sure they will have the new URLs.

Check structured data: If you have structured data on your webpages, test and address issues ahead of the launch. You can use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

Check page titles, meta descriptions and headers. Make sure each page has unique meta information and that page headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are set up properly on the webpages. For more, see our articles on meta tags and heading tags.

Analytics review: Make sure that analytics tracking is set up properly. Here, it can be really useful to hire analytics specialists if none exist on the team. That’s because you want to set up tracking in a way that will help you see that you are reaching the various goals you have set for the website and the business.

Set up Search Console: If it’s not already, make sure Search Console is set up for the website. Google has a handy getting started guide, too.

Robots directives: Double-check to make sure that the robots.txt file is set up properly. See Google’s help files on robots.txt and our Robots Exclusion Protocol Reference Guide for more.

Launch Phase

On launch day, here are some things you can and should do …

Crawl the website and address issues: Do another crawl of the website to surface any errors that may be coming up. As mentioned earlier, here are a few tools I recommend: SEOToolSet’s site crawler, DeepCrawl and/or Screaming Frog.

Run Search Console tests: As soon as the site is live, you can perform different test functions in Search Console. Upload your XML sitemaps, configure URL parameters, upload an updated disavow file (as needed), use the URL inspection tool and so on.

Post-Launch Phase

After the launch, here are some things to consider …

Do pre-launch checks again. Go through your pre-launch list and make sure that everything went off without a hitch.

Rerun all the benchmarks for improvements/declines: Rerun the benchmark reports to determine if there was an improvement or decline on each of the metrics. Compare these with the pre-launch benchmark reports … How did you do?

Check crawl stats. In Search Console, check the crawl stats to make sure Google is crawling new web pages.

Use Search Console. Check out all the useful features in Search Console, and use them in the post-launch phase.

Test and tackle page speed. See how fast your webpages are by using Google Analytics’ Site Speed reports, the PageSpeed Insights tool or Google’s new Page Experience report.

Measure performance: You can begin to track progress right away, but things may be shaky for a while. Depending on the size of the site and the complexity of the migration, you will need to decide when you can start measuring true performance — which could be several months out. Look at things like rankings, traffic, user experience metrics, and conversions. (And, of course, all the goals and reports set up in Google Analytics in the pre-launch phase.)

Create your content strategy. There’s no doubt you will be adding in more content over time. Now is the time to get clear on how you will approach adding new pages to the website, making sure that the SEO professional/team is involved in all of the new content plans. This ensures you keep the site organized, optimized, and driving traffic.

Closing Thoughts

When done poorly, a website migration can cause a loss in traffic and revenue not just in the short term but even in the long run. When done well, however, a website migration can set up your website for better performance for years to come and ultimately set up your business for more success. Want an example? See this SEO case study on a successful site migration that led to a 166% jump in traffic!

We’ve helped hundreds of clients successfully complete a website migration and stay competitive in the search results. If you’d like help with your site move, please reach out to us.

FAQ: How can I ensure a smooth website migration while maintaining SEO performance?

Website migrations are pivotal moments that can either boost your online presence or hinder your search engine rankings. When considering a website migration, keeping SEO at the forefront is essential to ensure a smooth transition and maintain your hard-earned rankings.

Begin by meticulously planning your migration strategy. Evaluate your current website performance and identify areas for improvement. As you assemble a team for the migration, involve SEO professionals who understand the intricacies of preserving rankings. Setting clear goals and a timeline will help guide the process.

Prioritize content preservation during migration. Map out your existing URLs and create a comprehensive list of redirects to ensure a seamless transition for both users and search engines. This proactive approach prevents broken links and maintains your site’s credibility in the eyes of search engines.

Mitigate risks by benchmarking your website’s performance before the migration. Assess critical metrics such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, and Core Web Vitals. This benchmarking allows you to accurately measure post-migration improvements or setbacks, enabling you to address issues promptly.

During the migration, monitor closely for any unforeseen issues. Use tools like Google Search Console to identify and fix crawl errors promptly. Keep SEO specialists engaged to ensure that the migration process aligns with best practices and that search engines index the new site effectively.

Post-migration, continue monitoring your website’s performance closely. Analyze changes in rankings, traffic, and user engagement. Address any unexpected drops in rankings promptly by identifying and rectifying potential issues.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Ensuring a Smooth Website Migration with SEO Performance

1. Planning Phase:

– Assemble a migration team that includes SEO professionals.

– Define clear goals and establish a timeline.

– Evaluate the current website’s performance and identify areas for improvement.

2. Content Preservation:

– Map out existing URLs and create a comprehensive list of redirects.

– Prioritize content preservation to maintain user experience and SEO value.

3. Benchmarking Performance:

– Evaluate critical metrics such as page speed and mobile-friendliness.

– Benchmark performance to measure post-migration improvements accurately.

4. Migration Process:

– Monitor the migration process closely for any unexpected issues.

– Utilize Google Search Console to identify and rectify crawl errors promptly.

5. Post-Migration Analysis:

– Continuously monitor website performance after migration.

– Analyze changes in rankings, traffic, and user engagement.

– Address any drops in rankings promptly by identifying and resolving potential issues.

Website migrations require careful planning, execution, and ongoing monitoring. By following these expert strategies, you can ensure a smooth migration while maintaining your site’s SEO performance. Remember, a well-executed migration can improve rankings and overall success in the digital landscape.

The post SEO Website Migration Guide appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

There are two forms of “penalties” that SEOs think about when they refer to a Google penalty.

One is a manual action penalty, which is site-specific and intentionally applied. The other type of “penalty” is really more of a consequence. It happens when a site loses rankings as a result of the Google algorithm.

Google reports that manual actions occur less and less frequently as the algorithm gets smarter. For example, Google applied 2.9 million manual actions in 2020, which is far fewer than the 4 million sent in 2018 and the 6 million in 2017.

Since algorithmic hits account for ranking drops more and more, calling them search engine penalties sounds fair to me.

Below I’ll give more details about both types and why penalties exist. Feel free to jump ahead:

• How webmaster guidelines and penalties work
• What is a Google manual action penalty
• What is an algorithmic penalty
• FAQ: How can websites avoid Google penalties and improve their search engine rankings?

How Webmaster Guidelines and Penalties Work

Google’s “Webmaster Guidelines” help website publishers understand what can cause a penalty or poor rankings.

These guidelines are centered on quality. A quality website will provide a good user experience. Websites that offer a good user experience have a better chance of competing in the search results.

Websites that create a bad user experience and violate Google’s guidelines can either receive a manual penalty from Google, or just not rank — or both.

The webmaster guidelines are driven by basic quality principles that include the following:

• Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.
• Don’t deceive your users.
• Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you, or to a Google employee. Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?”
• Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

So how do you avoid deceiving your users and create a high-quality site? Google gives a list of things not to do in its “quality guidelines,” which should be a roadmap for your website. For example, don’t use automated tools to build your webpages. And avoid duplicate content as much as possible.

The guidelines also include some pretty basic lessons on spam.

But even if you consider your website and business to be on the up and up, you can still unknowingly get yourself into trouble.

Why? Perhaps you didn’t study the webmaster guidelines closely enough and accidentally got yourself into a link scheme. Maybe it was the guest posting service you hired that got you a penalty. Or, it could be that you hired a cheap SEO service that put your website on a bad trajectory.

Even the savviest of businesses have been caught up in bad SEO practices. So if you do happen to get a drop in rankings or even a manual penalty, don’t feel bad. Just make sure you hire the right SEO professional to fix it.

What Is a Google Manual Penalty?

A manual penalty is reserved for those sites that are violating Google’s webmaster guidelines. This is a very specific action that an employee of Google applies to your site in particular. (This contrasts with an algorithm, which might impact or “penalize” many sites.)

Google explains why manual actions exist:

Ever since there have been search engines, there have been people dedicated to tricking their way to the top of the results page. This is bad for searchers because more relevant pages get buried under irrelevant results, and it’s bad for legitimate websites because these sites become harder to find. For these reasons, we’ve been working since the earliest days of Google to fight spammers, helping people find the answers they’re looking for, and helping legitimate websites get traffic from search. …

Our algorithms are extremely good at detecting spam, and in most cases we automatically discover it and remove it from our search results. However, to protect the quality of our index, we’re also willing to take manual action to remove spam from our search results.

When Google doles out a manual action against your site, you will receive a message from Google.

Of course, you can check the Manual Actions report at any time in Google Search Console. If you’re in the clear, it looks like this:

And Google gives some helpful information on that here:

Manual actions can be detrimental to your website. Just listen to former Googler Fili Wiese talk about how having one stops the growth of your website:

So it’s important to address these manual action notices right away. You can find more information from Google on how to address those here.

How Google’s Algorithm Updates “Penalize”

Recently, I wrote about why sites lose rankings. Algorithm changes are one of those reasons. Keep in mind that Google makes more than 3,000 improvements to Search each year, including frequent algorithm updates. And the ranking algorithms consider hundreds of different factors.

Changes to the ranking algorithm can include new factors being added, factors being reorganized, or factors being increased or weakened in strength. For example, the Page Experience update takes several preexisting ranking factors and combines them with new “core web vitals” to create a new ranking signal.

Then you throw Google’s AI into the mix — RankBrain, which helps deliver what it believes to be the most relevant results — and your rankings could change in an instant.

As a result, any websites that are not weathering the changes that Google is making may experience lost rankings and traffic. This may feel like a penalty. And, of course, you want to avoid Google penalties of all kinds. However, keep in mind that an algorithmic penalty is just Google trying to serve the highest quality sites on Page 1 of the search results.

If you’ve experienced this, the smart thing to do is to understand how your website can improve so that it’s more like the websites that are now ranking in your place. As I’ve always said: SEO should beat the competition, not the algorithm. So get up, dust yourself off, and start analyzing the top results.

If you need an expert SEO to help you address a Google ranking penalty or otherwise improve your website’s visibility, contact us for a free quote and consultation today.

FAQ: How can websites avoid Google penalties and improve their search engine rankings?

Avoiding Google penalties and optimizing search engine rankings are paramount for website success. As the dominant search engine, Google has established rigorous guidelines and algorithms to assess websites’ quality and relevance. Falling afoul of these guidelines can lead to penalties that drastically hamper visibility and traffic.

Understanding Google’s Algorithms and Guidelines

At the heart of Google’s ranking system lie complex algorithms that evaluate websites’ credibility, relevance, and user experience. Staying informed about these algorithms, such as Panda, Penguin, and Core Updates, is essential. Regularly monitoring Google’s official webmaster guidelines is crucial for staying aligned with their expectations.

Crafting High-Quality, Engaging Content

Content remains king, and websites must prioritize creating valuable, informative, and engaging content. Strive to address users’ queries comprehensively, utilizing relevant keywords naturally. Diversifying content formats, from articles and infographics to videos and podcasts, can enhance user engagement, signaling quality to search engines.

Nurturing a Healthy Backlink Profile

Building a robust backlink profile is a cornerstone of SEO success. However, the emphasis should be on quality over quantity. Acquiring authoritative, relevant backlinks from reputable sources can bolster a website’s credibility. Avoid dubious practices like link farms, as they can trigger severe penalties.

Prioritizing User Experience and Technical Excellence

User experience (UX) plays a pivotal role in ranking. Ensure your website is responsive, easy to navigate, and quick to load. Google’s Core Web Vitals have gained prominence, measuring page loading speed and interactivity. Optimizing these aspects not only prevents penalties but also enhances user satisfaction.

Monitoring, Analyzing, and Adapting

Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These platforms offer valuable insights into user behavior, search queries, and technical issues. Analyze this data to identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Navigating Google Penalties and Enhancing Rankings

1. Familiarize yourself with Google’s algorithms, including Panda, Penguin, and Core Updates.
2. Stay updated on Google’s webmaster guidelines to meet their expectations.
3. Create high-quality, informative, engaging content addressing user queries.
4. Utilize relevant keywords naturally within your content.
5. Diversify content formats to cater to different audience preferences.
6. Build a strong backlink profile with authoritative, relevant sources.
7. Avoid unethical practices like link farms or paid link schemes.
8. Prioritize user experience by ensuring a responsive and navigable website.
9. Optimize page loading speed and interactivity for better Core Web Vitals scores.
10. Regularly monitor your website’s performance using Google Analytics and Search Console.
11. Analyze user behavior, search queries, and technical issues from the collected data.
12. Identify areas for improvement in content, user experience, and technical aspects.
13. Make necessary adjustments to your strategies based on the insights gained.
14. Continuously update and refresh your content to maintain relevance.
15. Engage with your audience through social media and other platforms.
16. Address negative user experiences and feedback promptly.
17. Implement structured data markup to enhance search result appearance.
18. Collaborate with reputable websites for guest posting and mutual backlinking.
19. Regularly audit your website for broken links, technical errors, and outdated content.
20. Stay informed about industry trends and algorithm updates to adapt your strategies.

The post What Is a Google Penalty and How Do I Avoid It? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Creating great content is one thing. Making sure it performs in the search results is another. This year, vow to make your content perform better. Here are 17 things you can do to optimize and promote your website content for better results.

1. Whole SERP strategy
2. E-E-A-T
3. Silo your site
4. Consolidate webpages
5. Evergreen content
6. Fix duplicate content
7. Meta information
8. Word count
9. Readability score
10. Keyword optimization
11. Structured data
12. Image optimization
13. Page experience
14. Position zero
15. Tap your network
16. Reference a leader
17. C0-create Content

FAQ: How can I optimize my content to achieve better search engine results and user engagement?

1. Whole SERP Strategy

A whole-SERP strategy analyzes the search engine results page for the keywords you are targeting and provides a roadmap for the content you can create. Look at what type of content is ranking and what other opportunities the results page offers to discover what is appropriate for the keyword. Read more: What Is a Whole-SERP SEO Strategy?

2. E-E-A-T

Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are tenets of quality content, according to Google. Ensuring your webpages and your site demonstrate these principles helps you compete in the search results. Read more: Complete Guide to the Fundamentals of of E-E-A-T

3. Silo Your Site

SEO siloing is good for user experience and SEO. It helps architect your site in a way that demonstrates expertise and authority through content and internal linking. It also helps your visitors easily find the information they are looking for. This is a must for every site. Read more: SEO Siloing – What, Why, How

4. Consolidate Webpages

If you have a handful of webpages that are all on the same topic, consider combining them to make one authoritative article on the subject. In many cases, one long article on a website will gain more traction in the search results than several shorter pieces that aren’t interconnected in any way. Be sure to do this properly with a 301 redirect. Read more: How to Do a 301 Redirect

5. Evergreen Content

You can refresh the content on any given page with newer, more relevant content. Without changing the actual URL (so you get to preserve the link equity of that webpage), you can simply update the existing content. Start with the top-performing webpages that need an update and work your way down the list.

6. Fix Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is not good for SEO. Having too-similar pages on your own site can cause some of your pages to be filtered from the search results. Even if not a penalty, it can result in lower overall perceived quality, potential search engine confusion, and diluted PageRank. But this is often easy to fix, depending on what type of duplicate content we’re talking about. Identify which webpages on your site may be causing duplicate content issues and address it as soon as possible. Read more: Understanding Duplicate Content and How to Avoid It

7. Meta Information

The title tag and meta description tag together offer key data to the search engine on what the webpage is about. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if your title tag does not contain the query’s keyword(s) or synonyms, the page will not rank. The description may be seen by the user in the search results, so using keywords there reinforces that your page matches the query. There are general best practices for meta information, but you can also get custom targets based on the competition. Read more: What Are Meta Tags & Why Are They Important for SEO?

8. Word Count

Why write 2,000 words when 800 will do? Knowing a webpage’s target word count based on the top-ranking webpages in the search results for your keyword gives you a realistic goal. Content creators can be more efficient as a result, and your content can meet the “profile” for what is already ranking, according to Google. Read more: Want Customized Advice per Keyword? There’s a Plugin for That!

9. Readability Score

Google looks at how similar or different your content is compared to other high-quality webpages on the same topic. Assuming that the pages are written for the audience and that you know your target persona, you should write for the ideal audience as well. Technical papers, for example, may be written at a higher reading level than a blog article on games for teens. Knowing your target readability score based on your competition can help you stay within the “norm.” See article linked in No. 8 for more.

10. Keyword Optimization

Having the right keywords in your content and making sure they show up as often as needed and where needed on the page can help search engines understand that the webpage is a match for a search query. It’s just one of many tactics in SEO. Read more: How a WordPress SEO Plugin Can Help You Optimize Your Content with Keywords

11. Structured Data

Structured data further clarifies to search engines what the content on your webpage is about. It does this by explaining what type of information you’re presenting, whether it’s an event, a person, a place or something else. Eliminating ambiguity is critical, where words can have several meanings (“you desert your home in the desert”). You can learn more about structured data here at Google.

12. Image Optimization

An image on your webpage offers another opportunity to rank in the search results. So don’t forget to optimize your images as well as your text. Read more: How to Optimize Images and Other Media Content for SEO

13. Page Experience

Boosting content performance is as much about technical SEO as it is about on-page SEO. With Google’s new Page Experience update, optimizing for all the factors that create a good user experience is key. Read more: Page Experience: Google’s New User Experience Algorithm Update

14. Position Zero

Often referred to as “Position 0,” featured snippets show up at the top of the search results above other organic results in Google. There is an art and science to optimizing for this position by architecting the content in a certain way. Read more: 3 Surprising On-Page SEO Techniques You May Not Know About, and check out this Featured Snippets+ tool.

15. Tap Your Network

Boosting your content’s performance doesn’t stop with technical or on-page SEO. Off-page activities can help tremendously. Who in your network would benefit from knowing about your content? Can their audience get value from it? Reach out to people you know who can help spread the word.

16. Reference a Leader

Building an industry thought leader’s work or advice into your content can sometimes pay dividends. It’s natural for people to share content they’ve been featured in, so your article may get in front of that leader’s audience. This can equal more links and traffic to your website.

17. Co-Create Content

Another way to leverage a larger audience is to create content together and then promote that content to both audiences. This can equal more links and traffic to your website. But, no, do not accept guest posts. Read more: Paid Guest Posting: More Proof That It’s Bad for Business

For many clients, we provide both content services and SEO consulting because they go hand in hand. If you’d like a free estimate, contact us today.

FAQ: How can I optimize my content to achieve better search engine results and user engagement?

Optimizing your content is paramount to capturing your target audience’s attention and gaining favor in search engines’ eyes. To strike the perfect balance, focus on the following key points:

Understanding User Intent

Before crafting your content, delve into the minds of your audience. Conduct thorough research to understand their pain points, needs, and desires. You provide value and enhance engagement metrics by aligning your content with their intent.

Keyword Research and Integration

Keywords remain the backbone of content optimization. Identify relevant keywords that resonate with your topic and audience. Skillfully integrate these keywords into your content’s headings, subheadings, and body while maintaining natural flow. Avoid keyword stuffing, as search engines are quick to penalize such practices.

Quality and Value Above All

No amount of optimization can replace the value of high-quality content. Craft well-researched, insightful, and authoritative pieces that demonstrate your expertise. Engaging content keeps users on your page longer, reducing bounce rates and signaling to search engines that your content is relevant and valuable.

Optimized Visual Elements

Engagement isn’t solely text-driven. Incorporate visually appealing elements such as images, infographics, and videos. Compress and optimize images for faster load times, enhancing user experience. Alt tags and descriptive file names not only aid accessibility but also provide another dimension for optimization.

Mobile-Friendly Responsiveness

In an era dominated by mobile devices, content must be responsive. Ensure your website and content adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes. Mobile-friendliness is a user-centric practice that search engines consider when ranking your content.

Step-by-Step Guide: Optimizing Content for Better Search Engine Results and User Engagement

1. Establish Your Audience: Do your research. Acquaint yourself with their demographics, needs, and preferences before targeting your message to them.
2. Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to identify relevant keywords.
3. Strategize Keyword Placement: Integrate keywords naturally into your content’s headings, subheadings, and body.
4. Craft Compelling Headlines: Create attention-grabbing headlines that convey the essence of your content.
5. Prioritize Value: Provide valuable insights, solve problems, or answer questions.
6. Diverse Content Formats: Include a mix of text, images, videos, and infographics to cater to different preferences.
7. Optimize Images: Compress images for faster loading times and use descriptive file names and alt tags.
8. Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure your content and website are responsive across various devices.
9. Internal Linking: Connect relevant internal pages to guide users and enhance SEO.
10. External Linking: Include authoritative external links to reputable sources for added credibility.
11. Readable Formatting: Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings for easy readability.
12. Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling meta descriptions that entice users to click through.
13. Page Speed Optimization: Minimize loading times by optimizing code, images, and server performance.
14. Social Sharing Integration: Incorporate social media buttons to encourage content sharing.
15. Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and up-to-date to maintain relevance and authority.
16. User-Generated Content: Encourage comments, reviews, and discussions to boost engagement.
17. Monitor Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to track user behavior and make informed improvements.
18. Address Feedback: Respond to user comments and adapt your content based on feedback.
19. Promotion and Outreach: Share your content through social media, email newsletters, and relevant online communities.
20. Continuous Learning: Stay updated with SEO trends and user behavior to adapt your optimization strategies.

As you implement these steps, remember that content optimization is ongoing. Regularly analyze your results, gather feedback, and adapt your approach to continuously enhance your content’s search engine rankings and user engagement.

The post 17 Ways to Boost Your Web Content Performance This Year appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

If you’re not up to your ears in SEO like we are, it can be hard to “get” some of the terminology that SEO professionals throw around. So today, I’m going to clear up a common question: What’s the difference between on-page SEO and technical SEO?

• What is technical SEO?
• What is on-page SEO?
• Why you need both
• FAQ: How can I distinguish between on-page SEO and technical SEO for effective optimization?

What Is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing the “back end” of a site so that search engines like Google can better crawl and index the website.

Here are some of the things you might work on when performing technical SEO (not an exhaustive list):

Spider-friendly code: Streamline website code so that search engines, when they crawl the site, can access the important content first.

Content management systems: Choose a content management system that’s primed for SEO. Configure and monitor the CMS so you can identify any inherent SEO problems that come with the system.

Site speed / page speed: Page speed (how fast a page loads) is part of Google’s ranking algorithm, and it impacts the user experience. Make sure your pages are up to par by using the PageSpeed Insights tool.

Mobile usability: How many of your website visitors come from mobile devices? Ensure your site is optimized for mobile.

Robots.txt: Use the robots.txt file to tell search engines which directories on the site can and cannot be crawled. Bots check for this file in the root directory of your website each time they visit.

XML sitemaps: Tell search engines about the pages, images, and videos on your website with an XML sitemap.

301 redirects: Avoid error pages as much as possible by redirecting old URLs to new, more relevant URLs. Always use a 301 (permanent) redirect.

Fully qualified URLs: Make internal links fully qualified and avoid crawl issues by starting with the “https:” instead of a relative URL.

Structured data markup: Structured data (“schema”) helps search engines understand what the content on a webpage is about. Adding markup from schema.org clarifies what type of information is being presented and may lead to enhanced search results, too. Learn more.

Canonical tags: Use the canonical element to tell search engines which version of a URL you want in the search results. This is often used to resolve potential duplicate content issues.

Server maintenance: Regularly check and address server diagnostic reports to address any errors that might occur that create a bad user experience for visitors coming to your site. Also, make sure any plugins are updated consistently for security reasons.

Siloing: Structure your website content by grouping related webpages together in hierarchical categories based on how people search. This technique actually sits between technical SEO and on-page SEO as it deploys both types of skills. Learn more about SEO siloing.

Read more about technical SEO in our SEO Guide.

What Is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing webpages from top to bottom. The dual purposes are to give pages a better chance of showing up in the search results and to create a better user experience for website visitors.

Here are some of the things involved in performing on-page SEO (not an exhaustive list):

Quality content: Create quality content that is worthy of E-E-A-T. This is a huge step worth exploring before you create any content.

Content length and readability: Knowing how many words to write and at what reading level you should write based on the top-ranked pages in the search results is key to competing.

Meta data: Put effort into creating unique meta tags per page. The title and description may be the first things a potential visitor sees when looking at your website’s listing in the search results. Likewise, meta data is one of the first things a search engine encounters on a webpage that tells them what the page is about. Learn more about meta tags

Keyword optimization: Make sure you are integrating the keywords correctly into the content. For more, see my post on how a WordPress plugin can help with content optimization.

Heading tags: Create properly formatted heading tags. Heading tags within an article differentiate the subsections on a webpage. It allows for an easier read by visitors and also signals to the search engines what topics are covered on a page. Read about heading tags and their impact on search engines.

Image optimization: Optimize all the elements of your webpages including images to help you gain visibility in search verticals like Google Images. This also boosts visibility in the main search results. And be sure to include an alt attribute with each image. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states all websites should do this for the vision impaired.

Structured data: Structure the information on your webpage to make it more digestible for visitors and search engines. This includes things like using HTML tables, bulleted lists, ordered lists, a table of contents at the top, and a TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) summary. These items may also help your website rank for featured snippets.

For more on-page SEO ideas, check out our SEO checklist.

Why You Need Both

A good SEO strategy focuses on both on-page and technical SEO. A site that is built from the ground up for SEO will ensure that search engines can crawl and index pages with ease. A site that publishes quality, optimized content will create a good user experience, earn links, and in turn, do better in the search results.

If you’re looking for assistance with your SEO strategy, our flexible consulting could be your answer. Request a quote here, and let’s talk about your needs.

FAQ: How can I distinguish between on-page SEO and technical SEO for effective optimization?

Understanding how on-page and technical SEO interact when optimizing a website for search engine results is crucial to creating successful SERP rankings. Although both aspects are integral, each serves different functions for increasing website visibility.

On-Page SEO: Crafting Content that Resonates

On-page SEO primarily deals with the content and elements that visitors encounter directly on your website. This involves optimizing individual web pages to improve their relevance to specific search queries. Key aspects of on-page SEO include keyword research, content creation, meta tags, and internal linking. By strategically incorporating relevant keywords into your content and ensuring high-quality, valuable information, you can create a compelling user experience while signaling to search engines that your content is relevant and authoritative.

Technical SEO: Laying the Foundation for Accessibility

Technical SEO, on the other hand, focuses on the behind-the-scenes aspects that facilitate search engine crawlers’ ability to index and understand your website. This involves optimizing technical elements such as website speed, mobile-friendliness, site architecture, XML sitemaps, and canonical URLs. Technical SEO ensures your website is accessible, user-friendly, and easily navigable by search engine bots. It forms the foundation upon which your on-page content can shine.

The Harmonious Synchronization: Achieving Optimal Results

While distinct, on-page SEO and technical SEO are deeply interconnected. Your on-page SEO efforts rely on a solid technical foundation to be truly effective. A fast-loading website with a responsive design enhances user experience and indirectly boosts the time visitors spend engaging with your content—factors that search engines consider when ranking pages. Moreover, technical SEO ensures that search engine crawlers can efficiently navigate and index your website, allowing your well-crafted content to be discovered by your target audience.

Expert Tip: Continual Monitoring and Adaptation

To succeed in the dynamic landscape of SEO, it’s vital to monitor and adapt both on-page and technical SEO strategies continuously. Regularly audit your website’s technical elements to identify and rectify issues hindering search engine crawlers or user experience. Similarly, refine your on-page content to align with the evolving search algorithms and user preferences. Embrace change as an opportunity to stay ahead in the search rankings race.

A Holistic Approach to SEO

For maximum effectiveness, technical SEO and on-page optimization must work hand-in-hand. By understanding each role’s significance, you can build a highly-ranked site in search engine results while offering great user experiences.

Step-by-Step Procedure: On-Page SEO vs. Technical SEO 

1. Understand the Core Concepts: Familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of on-page SEO (content optimization) and technical SEO (website infrastructure optimization).
2. Keyword Research: Learn how to conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords for your content.
3. Content Creation: Master the art of creating high-quality, valuable content that incorporates the identified keywords naturally.
4. Meta Tags and Descriptions: Understand the role of meta tags and meta descriptions in conveying the content’s essence to search engines and users.
5. Internal Linking: Explore the significance of internal links in guiding users and search engine crawlers through your website.
6. Website Speed Optimization: Learn techniques to optimize your website’s loading speed for better user experience and SEO ranking.
7. Mobile-Friendliness: Understand the importance of responsive design and mobile-friendly layouts.
8. Site Architecture: Explore the concept of organizing your website’s structure for easy navigation and indexation.
9. XML Sitemaps: Learn how to create and submit XML sitemaps to help search engines crawl and understand your website’s structure.
10. Canonical URLs: Understand the role of canonical URLs in preventing duplicate content issues.
11. Monitoring Tools: Discover tools that aid in monitoring your website’s performance, speed, and other technical aspects.
12. Regular Auditing: Learn how to conduct regular audits of your website’s technical elements to identify and address issues promptly.
13. Algorithm Updates: Stay updated with search engine algorithm changes and adapt your on-page and technical SEO strategies accordingly.
14. User Experience Enhancement: Explore ways to enhance user experience through both technical optimization and engaging content.
15. Continuous Learning: SEO is ever-evolving; commit to continuous learning to stay informed about the latest trends and best practices.
16. Experimentation and Adaptation: Be open to trying new strategies and adapting your approaches based on performance results.
17. Data Analysis: Learn how to analyze data from various sources to gauge the effectiveness of your optimization efforts.
18. Holistic Approach: Recognize the symbiotic relationship between on-page and technical SEO and approach them as integrated components.
19. User Intent Understanding: Dive deep into understanding user intent behind search queries to tailor your content accordingly.
20. Patience and Persistence: SEO results take time; maintain patience and persistence as you work towards long-term optimization goals.

The post Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO: The Differences appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

There has always been a connection between SEO, user experience, and how well a website ranks. That’s because Google is laser-focused on the user experience — specifically, what type of experience searchers have when they click through to a site.

User experience is now more important than ever as Google ramps up its ability to filter out sites with poor user experience. Now businesses need to ask: How can we improve our user experience to improve our chance of ranking?

• How Google Search Evaluates User Experience
• Post-Click SEO: User Experience Strategies
• FAQ: What are the major ranking factors related to user experience SEO?

How Google Search Evaluates User Experience

We’ll never know all of Google’s secrets, but let’s start by looking at what we do know about user experience and SEO. This Google ranking engineer’s presentation at SMX in 2016 provides a good background:

That presentation is technical, so I’ll give a high-level overview of two ways Google is ensuring that its search results provide the best user experience possible.

Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

Google uses its search quality rating program to better understand if the changes that it is making to Google Search algorithms yield quality results.

Human raters use the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG) to analyze search results, determine their quality, and report back. Google engineers may then make tweaks to the algorithm and see if the results improve for a query.

If you’re wondering why Google is doing something, often the answer is to make it [the search results] look more like what the rater guidelines say.

–Paul Haahr, Google Ranking Engineer, SMX West 2016

Major ranking factors include how relevant a webpage is to a searcher’s intent and the quality of the page. (Both are user experience issues.)

The “needs met” section within the SQEG is worth noting. It goes into detail on how a search result can satisfy the user’s query.

“Fully Meets” is a special rating that Google says is for search results that are “fully satisfying for mobile users, requiring minimal effort for users to immediately get or use what they are looking for.”

This rating is for results that are the “complete and perfect response or answer so that no other results are necessary for all or almost all users to be fully satisfied.”

This is what you want to strive for.

Related: Complete Guide to the Fundamentals of E-E-A-T

RankBrain

RankBrain is Google’s machine-learning artificial intelligence system. In essence, it’s one way that Google Search achieves the goals set out in the SQEG. And it’s also one of the top three ranking signals in Google’s Algorithm.

In a nutshell: RankBrain is search results relevant to steroids. RankBrain applies machine learning to determine the best search results based on a variety of factors over time.

Click-throughs to your site could be a factor, as alluded to in the Paul Haahr presentation at SMX (above). And then there’s this quote from a former Google engineer on Quora:

It’s pretty clear that any reasonable search engine would use click data on their own results to feed back into ranking to improve the quality of search results. Infrequently clicked results should drop toward the bottom because they’re less relevant, and frequently clicked results bubble toward the top. Building a feedback loop is a fairly obvious step forward in quality for both search and recommendation systems, and a smart search engine would incorporate the data. The actual mechanics of how click data is used is often proprietary, but Google makes it obvious that it uses click data with its patents on systems like “Rank-adjusted content items”[1].

WordStream research suggests that for long-tail search terms for a niche, if a page:

• Beats the expected CTR for a given position by 20 percent, and you’re likely to appear in position 1.
• Beats the expected CTR for a given position by 12 percent, then you’re likely to appear in position 2.
• Falls below the expected CTR for a given position by 6 percent, then you’re likely to appear in position 10.

People speculate that RankBrain specifically looks at the query, the pages visited, the searcher’s intent (informational or transactional mostly), and the time spent engaging with that page (dwell time).

In theory, RankBrain determines whether the webpage fulfills the intent of the query. Then future search results will be biased towards satisfying that imagined intent.

Think about this: How do people engage with your page when they click through? Do they quickly click back to the search results to look for a better answer?

This is a user experience issue. Over time, RankBrain can figure out that even if you are on Page 1, you may not be qualified to keep rankings based on searcher behavior.

Related: The Real Impact of RankBrain on Web Traffic

Page Experience

In May 2020, Google announced that page experience would be considered a ranking factor some time in 2021. Page experience takes into account things like:

• “Core Web Vitals” like page load performance, responsiveness, and visual stability
• Page experience metrics like mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS, and no intrusive interstitials

These signals will come together to improve the ranking of webpages that offer a good user experience.

Page experience ranking signals, “Evaluating page experience for a better web,” Google

Google discussed how this will factor into inclusion in the “top stories” carousel in the search results:

As part of this update, we’ll also incorporate the page experience metrics into our ranking criteria for the Top Stories feature in Search on mobile, and remove the AMP requirement from Top Stories eligibility. Google continues to support AMP, and will continue to link to AMP pages when available. We’ve also updated our developer tools to help site owners optimize their page experience.

Post-Click SEO: User Experience Strategies

Would you be surprised if I told you that the same SEO strategies that have always worked to help a site rank also improve user experience?

In SEO, you have four goals:

1. Get quality rankings in the search results.
2. Create enticing SERP listings so that people will click through.
3. Have quality content that satisfies the intent of the visitor.
4. Keep and engage the traffic on your site.

Yes, SEO is about driving traffic. But it’s also about user experience. How you engage with your traffic can make the difference between more traffic and less traffic in the future. This is more evident now with things like Google’s SQEG and RankBrain.

Let’s look at each of the SEO goals outlined above with some high-level strategies you can apply to your website.

1. Get Quality Rankings in the Search Results

The foundation of a searcher’s user experience is the content you create. If you do not create content that satisfies both user intent and Google’s quality ratings, you may not rank.

But I’ll take this idea a step further. With 50% of searches today resulting in zero clicks, it’s important to target queries that have a better chance of click-throughs.

Know which of your target queries Google is answering right in the search results so that a person never has to click through. Don’t target those.

Not only that but create and optimize the type of content (e.g., video or other) that is most often featured on the search engine results page (SERP) for your target query.

Related: How to Adapt SEO in a Zero-Click World

2. Create Enticing SERP Listings So People Will Click Through

If you’re on Page 1 of the SERP, congratulations. But you’re not done. You also need to entice the searcher to click through to your site.

While data has shown that the top results get the most clicks, we also have information that people quickly scan the search results page before deciding where they will click.

That means you need to stand out. How do you do that?

1. Compelling meta information. And not just metadata that satisfies current SEO best practices. But meta-information that is written with copywriting tactics in mind. This study by CoSchedule showed that more emotional headlines got more shares. Apply this principle to your webpage’s metadata (title and description) to get more clicks.
2. Enabling rich snippets. Schema markup is nothing new, but it is a great way to enhance your listing in the search results and make it stand out. For some niches, like recipes, it’s critical.

Related:

• How to Use Schema Markup to Improve Your Website Visibility in Search
• Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin (for targeted recommendations on your metadata)

3. Have Quality Content That Satisfies Visitor Intent

Adhere to the principles outlined in Google’s SQEG. This will go a long way to ensuring content is up to par with Google’s standard of quality. This will enhance the user experience.

Also, there’s one SEO strategy that has always been at the center of user experience, and that’s siloing. Siloing (aka content architecture) is how you organize the content on your site for search engines and users.

Organizing content on your site is something Google has suggested for years. Here are two quotes from Google that prove this.

The first relates to content architecture as it applies to the user experience:

Make it as easy as possible for users to go from general content to the more specific content they want on your site. Add navigation pages when it makes sense and effectively work these into your internal link structure. Make sure all of the pages on your site are reachable through links, and that they don’t require an internal “search” functionality to be found. Link to related pages, where appropriate, to allow users to discover similar content.

–Google, Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

The second quote is about content architecture as it relates to determining relevance. (Remember, relevance is a biggie when it comes to ranking and satisfying user intent.)

The navigation of a website is important in helping visitors quickly find the content they want. It can also help search engines understand what content the webmaster thinks is important. Although Google’s search results are provided at a page level, Google also likes to have a sense of what role a page plays in the bigger picture of the site.

–Google, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide

4. Keep and Engage Traffic on Your Site

To keep people on your site, you want to create a good experience when people are interacting with your webpages. This is going to be especially important as new page-experience ranking signals go live in 2021.

Then you can a) build an audience and b) gain quality links when your content is shared.

It’s important to note that good content will still trump user experience signals like those outlined earlier in Google’s new ranking system. But UX is still important nonetheless.

From Google’s page experience help file:

While page experience is important, Google still seeks to rank pages with the best information overall, even if the page experience is subpar. Great page experience doesn’t override having great page content. However, in cases where there are many pages that may be similar in relevance, page experience can be much more important for visibility in Search.

Google gives specific details on how to optimize for page experience in its help file, including:

• Measuring Core Web Vitals
• Checking the Mobile-Friendly Test
• Viewing the Security Issues report
• Checking the site’s secure connection
• Not using interstitials that hinder the experience

Related:

• SEO Done Right Cares About Content Architecture
• Complete Guide to the Fundamentals of E-E-A-T

Google has always valued the user experience. Now Google is accelerating its algorithm to better filter out the sites that don’t share its values. The good news: Strategic SEO has always put user experience at the center.

Need to talk to an expert about your website? Contact us here, and let’s talk about improving your results.

FAQ: What are the major ranking factors related to user experience SEO?

User experience (UX) is a pivotal factor that can make or break your website’s visibility. Understanding and optimizing for UX SEO ranking factors is essential for staying competitive in the digital realm.

1. Page Loading Speed Matters

One of the fundamental elements of UX is page loading speed. A slow-loading website can drive users away and adversely affect your SEO rankings. Invest in optimizing your site’s loading time to ensure a seamless user experience.

2. Mobile Responsiveness Is Non-Negotiable

With the majority of internet users accessing websites through mobile devices, mobile responsiveness is a paramount UX SEO factor. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites, so make sure your design is responsive and adaptable across various screen sizes.

3. High-Quality Content Reigns Supreme

Compelling, informative, and relevant content is the cornerstone of SEO. Ensure your website offers valuable content that engages users and keeps them on your site longer. This can positively impact your SEO rankings.

4. Intuitive Navigation Enhances User Experience

Websites that are well-organized and intuitive make finding information much simpler for visitors to your site. Utilize clear headings and menus to guide them around.

5. Secure Your Website with HTTPS

Security is a significant concern for users and search engines alike. Transitioning to HTTPS by installing an SSL certificate not only encrypts data but also gives your site a boost in SEO rankings.

6. Optimize Images and Multimedia

Images and multimedia content enhance user engagement, but they must be optimized for faster loading times. Compress images, use responsive media players, and provide alt text for accessibility and SEO.

7. Consistency in Branding and Design

Maintaining a consistent branding and design scheme across your website fosters trust and recognition. It also contributes to a cohesive user experience that search engines appreciate.

8. Reduce Bounce Rates with Engaging Design

High bounce rates can negatively affect your SEO rankings. Craft visually appealing and engaging pages to captivate visitors, encouraging them to explore your site further.

9. Prioritize Accessibility

Make your website accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This not only aligns with ethical principles but also helps improve SEO rankings as search engines value inclusivity.

10. User Engagement Metrics Influence Rankings

User engagement metrics, such as click-through rates (CTR), dwell time, and bounce rates, are closely monitored by search engines. These metrics reflect user satisfaction and can impact your rankings.

Optimizing for user experience SEO ranking factors is indispensable in today’s digital landscape. Your website’s credibility and visibility with both visitors and search engines can be strengthened by placing emphasis on factors like page loading speed, responsiveness to mobile devices, quality content production, and user engagement.

Step-by-Step Procedure: How to Optimize for User Experience SEO Ranking Factors

1. Assess Your Website: Undergo an in-depth audit to identify areas where user experience could be improved.
2. Prioritize PageSpeed Optimization: Utilizing tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help assess and optimize the loading speed of your website. Take the necessary measures to do so!
3. Conduct multiple device and screen size tests on your website to ensure mobile responsiveness.
4. Produce High-Quality Content: Generating relevant, informative, and entertaining content will attract your target audience and increase loyalty.
5. Simplify Navigation: Make your website’s structure intuitive and user-friendly by simplifying its navigation system.
6. Implement HTTPS: Secure your website by obtaining and installing an SSL certificate.
7. Optimize Images and Multimedia: Compress images and ensure multimedia content is optimized for fast loading.
8. Maintain Consistency: Ensure consistent branding and design elements across your website.
9. Reduce Bounce Rates: Design visually appealing and engaging pages to keep users on your site.
10. Prioritize Accessibility: Adherence to accessibility guidelines will ensure your website is accessible to everyone.
11. Measure User Engagement Metrics: Monitor metrics such as click-through rates, dwell times, and bounce rates to gauge customer satisfaction.
12. Update Your Content Regularly – To keep the information on your website fresh and engaging for visitors, update and improve it frequently.
13. Utilize Structured Data. Structured data provides additional information to search engines and can help increase website visibility.
14. Engage in Link Building: Build high-quality backlinks to boost your website’s authority and SEO rankings.
15. Test and Iterate: Regularly test and iterate on your website’s design and content to optimize user experience.
16. Assess SEO Performance: Utilizing SEO tools will allow you to monitor the performance of your website and make any necessary adjustments as required.
17. Stay Informed: Stay informed on the latest algorithm updates and SEO trends to keep your website competitive. This can ensure that it stays relevant.
18. Seek Expert Assistance: If needed, consult with SEO experts or agencies for specialized guidance.
19. Engage with User Feedback: Listen to user feedback and make improvements based on their suggestions and complaints.
20. Stay Committed: Achieving optimal user experience SEO requires ongoing dedication and adaptation to changing user behaviors and search engine algorithms. Stay committed to the process for long-term success.

The post Post-Click SEO: User Experience & How to Survive Google’s Algorithm appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

For many years, there has been a subset of SEO vendors that make what I believe are unethical guarantees. For the most part, these types of companies are selling cheap services based on simple SEO checklists and promising things like No. 1 rankings.

• Quality SEOs
• Weighing SEO Vendors
• FAQ: Are SEO guarantees really trustworthy? 

I’ve said in the past that cheap SEO is a near-death experience. Unfortunately, though, many cheap SEO companies are aggressive in their marketing. They prey on the misinformed.

The allure of cheap SEO with guaranteed rankings creates false expectations. This, in turn, creates a major headache for quality SEO vendors who now lose clients to cheap SEO companies because they won’t guarantee No. 1 rankings.

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google.

–Google, Do You Need an SEO?

There are no guarantees in SEO. SEO takes place in an environment where search engines constantly change their rules and algorithms and where competitors continually adapt. It takes skill, effort, and time to compete well.

Unless an SEO professional truly owns and controls Google Search and also controls your competitors, then they should not promise No. 1 rankings.

If they do make promises — when they have zero control over the results — they are preying on the naive. Do you seriously think there is a spam method or secret that Google does not know about?

Quality SEOs

What quality SEOs can guarantee is their best effort backed by years of experience and education. They can demonstrate achievement backed by a strong reputation, and show past results including references.

Those results may include No. 1 rankings for their clients. But they cannot promise rankings. That is unethical.

Besides, the cheaper you want it the cheaper you get it. An SEO guarantee is a sign of desperation.

Unfortunately, though, there are ways that unethical SEO companies can make good on their promises, with few the wiser.

Perhaps they’ll get you on Page 1 for branded terms like “company name + product” (not that hard if you’re the only one with that company name). Or they may achieve Page 1 results for keywords that don’t have a lot of competition (in other words, things that people aren’t really searching for anyway).

These strategies don’t drive real improvement for the business, but they may satisfy the guarantee.

Weighing SEO Vendors

So where does that leave a business that is weighing the option of a cheap SEO firm with guaranteed rankings versus a reputable SEO firm with higher fees and no guarantee?

Sometimes the best value may seem unaffordable. But you get what you pay for. Understand that good SEO can drive revenue. But you have to invest in it.

Channel share in 2019 per BrightEdge Research

On the other hand, buying cheap SEO can actually harm your site. And then you’ve not only wasted money but also your opportunity to rank if you get a Google penalty.

While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye by using overly aggressive marketing efforts and attempting to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site’s presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index.

–Google, Do You Need an SEO?

In many cases, businesses are making a leap of faith with SEO. They are trusting that a competent SEO can help them outperform their competition better than an unreputable SEO. (And remember, the competition may also have competent SEOs and a big budget).

Yes, it would be great to have an “easy button” you could push for rankings, but that is not how SEO works. There are too many variables outside of our control.

You can certainly pay less for empty guarantees and poor advice. But where would that leave you?

If you need SEO services to help you invest in your business’s future, contact us for a free quote and consultation.

FAQ: Are SEO guarantees really trustworthy?

SEO guarantees often sound enticing, promising top rankings on search engines in a specified timeframe. Care should be taken when making promises about Google search engine algorithms as these changes often. This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to guarantee specific rankings.

One of the fundamental reasons why SEO guarantees can be dubious is the lack of control over external factors. SEO professionals can optimize your website, create high-quality content, and implement effective strategies, but they can’t control the actions of competitors, changes in search engine algorithms, or shifts in user behavior. Consequently, any guarantees made are often based on assumptions rather than certainties.

Furthermore, the ethical considerations surrounding SEO guarantees cannot be ignored. Some unscrupulous SEO providers may resort to black-hat tactics, which violate search engine guidelines and can result in severe penalties for your website. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose an SEO agency or professional with a proven track record of ethical practices.

So, how can you navigate the complex landscape of SEO without falling for unreliable guarantees? Here are some tips:

1. Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that SEO is a long-term strategy, and while results can be substantial, they may take time.
2. Focus on Metrics: Instead of relying solely on rankings, track other essential metrics like organic traffic, conversion rates, and ROI.
3. Research Your SEO Provider: Look for reputable agencies or professionals with a history of transparent and ethical practices.
4. Ask for Case Studies: Request examples of past successes to gauge the potential of the SEO services you’re considering.
5. Stay Informed: Keep yourself updated on SEO trends and changes in search engine algorithms.

While SEO guarantees may sound appealing, they should be approached with skepticism. The trustworthiness of these promises often hinges on factors beyond anyone’s control, and ethical concerns can arise. To navigate the world of SEO effectively, focus on long-term strategies, informed decision-making, and partnering with reputable professionals who prioritize ethical practices.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Navigating the Trustworthiness of SEO Guarantees

1. Understand the complexities of SEO and its role in digital marketing.
2. Familiarize yourself with the concept of SEO guarantees.
3. Recognize the inherent challenges in guaranteeing specific SEO results.
4. Be aware of the uncontrollable external factors that influence SEO outcomes.
5. Consider the ethical implications of SEO guarantees.
6. Approach SEO guarantees with caution, keeping in mind the potential risks.
7. Set realistic expectations for your SEO campaigns.
8. Shift your focus from rankings to important metrics like organic traffic and conversions.
9. Research and vet your potential SEO provider or agency.
10. Request case studies and examples of past successes from SEO providers.
11. Stay updated on SEO industry trends and algorithm changes.
12. Be wary of providers making extravagant promises.
13. Prioritize ethical SEO practices.
14. Avoid SEO providers that employ black-hat tactics.
15. Assess the long-term potential of SEO rather than seeking quick fixes.
16. Monitor the performance of your SEO campaigns regularly.
17. Adjust your strategies based on data and results.
18. Establish an impactful presence online through high-quality websites and content.
19. Form long-term relationships with reputable SEO service providers.
20. Continuously educate yourself about SEO to make informed decisions.

This article was updated on December 19, 2023.  

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