How to Improve Google Rankings: Step-By-Step Process
Ranking higher on Google translates to more traffic to your website and increases your online visibility. I mean, who doesn’t want to be at the top of the search engine?
But the thing is, there really is no cookie-cutter or super-quick way to improve your website’s rankings; you must focus on your page’s SEO, including content quality. You also must understand SEO ranking factors and how they affect your Google rankings. With the right strategies, you can improve your website's visibility on Google and attract more traffic to your site.
That said, adopting the right approach and putting in a little bit of effort will improve your website’s Google rankings. Read on to discover a step-by-step process to improve your Google rankings, carefully broken into 11 points.
1. First, Understand How Google Ranks…
So, how does Google rank a page? Webpages don’t just rank or appear on search results once they’re published, there are some ranking factors that Google uses.
There are 3 stages that Google follows to discover and rank web pages. These stages include crawling, indexing, and finally serving relevant search results.
Now that you understand the process, what are the specific Google ranking factors? There are many SEO ranking factors, but here are a few examples:
In the next section, I’ll take you through how you can apply the above Google ranking factors to improve your Google rankings.
2. Perform Keyword Research to Identify Keywords Targeting Your Search Intend
To improve your Google rankings, the first step is to perform keyword research to identify your target keywords. This is essential because it helps you understand what your audience is searching for and what keywords or phrases they’re using to find the information they need. When you identify these keywords, you can optimize your content to match their search intent and rank higher in search results.
Keyword research involves discovering the opportunities available by analyzing search volume and competition for each keyword. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest to find the search volume and competition for each keyword. These tools will help you identify the keywords with the highest search volume and the lowest competition, which will give you the best chance of ranking higher in search results.
Pro Tip: When starting with your SEO strategy, It’s best to start with low-competition, low-volume keywords. In this case, “low-volume” keywords will depend on the industry you’re in. That said, keywords in the 100-400 volume range are a reasonable start.
Once you identify your target keywords, you can optimize your content to include these keywords and phrases. This will help your content rank higher in search results for those specific keywords and phrases.
However, it’s important to avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of overusing keywords in your content. This can lead to penalties from Google and hurt your rankings.
3. Analyze Your Search Engine Algorithms/SEO Rankings
Once you have optimized your website's content and structure, it's time to analyze your search engine algorithms and SEO rankings. This process will help you identify areas where you can improve your website's performance and increase your rankings on search engine results pages.
One way to analyze your search engine algorithms and SEO rankings is to use a tool like Google Analytics. This tool can provide you with valuable information about your website's traffic, including the keywords that people are using to find your site and the pages that are receiving the most traffic.
Another way to analyze your search engine algorithms and SEO rankings is to use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush. These tools can provide you with detailed information about your website's backlinks, which are an important factor in determining your search engine rankings.
Pro Tip: Keep in mind that search engines are constantly updating their algorithms. This means that what works today may not work tomorrow. Therefore, stay up-to-date on the latest SEO trends and best practices.
4. Find Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords: Phrases that Target Your Topic
You also want to find latent semantic indexing words (also known as semantically related phrases) that will help your content rank higher on Google. These phrases are words that are conceptually related to your target keyword or topic.
Semantically related phrases improve your content's relevance and authority in the eyes of search engines.
So, how do you find semantic SEO without using paid tools?
Google’s Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that provides valuable insights into how your website is performing on Google. One of the features of this tool is the "Search Analytics" report, which shows you the queries that your website appears for on Google, as well as the pages that are currently ranking for those queries.
When you analyze the data provided by Google’s Search Console, you can identify the semantically related phrases that your website is already ranking for and optimize your content accordingly.
Google Suggest/Autocomplete
Google Suggest, also known as autocomplete is another great way to find semantically related phrases. When you start typing a keyword into the Google search bar, Google will suggest related phrases that people commonly search for.
When you include the suggested phrases in your content, you can improve your content's relevance and target the long-tail keywords people are searching for.
The People Also Ask Feature
The "People Also Ask" feature on Google is a great way to find semantically related phrases. When you search for a keyword on Google, you'll see a box with related questions that people ask about that topic.
When you click on these questions, you’ll see the answers that Google provides, as well as additional related questions. Include these questions and answers in your content, and they’ll help you improve your content's relevance and provide value to your readers.
“Related Searches: At the Bottom of the Page
At the bottom of the Google search results page, you'll find a section called "Searches related to [your keyword]." This section provides additional keywords and phrases that are related to your target keyword. Including these phrases in your content will help you improve your content's relevance and target a wider range of keywords.
5. Ensure Your Content Matches The Search Intent
When creating content for your website, ensure that it matches the search intent of your target audience. This means that your content should provide the information that your audience is searching for and satisfy their needs.
Matching Your Keywords to Your Intend
Generally, there are 4 main types of keyword intent. These are:
With SEO, we primarily look for informational intent keywords. However, within those keywords, you’ll still need to drill further to determine the exact information the searcher is seeking.
Once you have identified the right keywords your audience is searching for, you must create content that matches their search intent.
For example, if someone is searching for "how to make French toast," they’re likely looking for a recipe and step-by-step instructions. Therefore, your content should provide a recipe and step-by-step instructions on how to make French toast.
Analyzing Top-Ranking Pages for Your Target Keywords
Another way to ensure that your content matches the search intent of your target audience is to analyze the top-ranking pages for your target keywords. This will help you understand the type of content currently ranking and what your audience is looking for.
When analyzing the top-ranking pages, pay attention to the type of content they’re providing, the format of the content, and the length of the content. This will help you create content that matches the search intent of your audience and is more likely to rank higher on Google.
6. Update Your Content for Relevance and SEO
To improve your Google rankings, updating your content is a crucial step. Here are some tips to help you update your content for relevance and SEO.
Start With the Basics: On-Page SEO Best Practices
On-page SEO is the foundation of your website's search engine optimization. It includes optimizing your title tags, header tags, meta descriptions, and content. When you follow these SEO best practices, you’ll ensure that your content is well-structured and easy for search engines to understand.
Ensure your title tag includes your target keyword and is no longer than 60 characters. Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to break up your content into sections and include your target keyword in at least one header tag.
In addition, write a compelling meta description that includes your target keyword and is no longer than 160 characters.
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Include Meaningful Visuals and Make the Information Skimmable
Incorporating meaningful visuals, such as images, infographics, and videos, will help you make your content more engaging and easier to understand.
In addition, breaking up your content into smaller sections and using bullet points can make it easier for readers to skim your content.
Use ChatGPT to Optimize Your Content's SEO
ChatGPT AI is an AI-powered tool that can help you optimize your content for SEO. It can analyze your content and provide suggestions for improving your on-page SEO, including optimizing your title tags, header tags, and meta descriptions.
You can use ChatGPT to ensure that your content is optimized for search engines and improve your rankings. But how? Here are steps to help you with the process:
Updating your content for relevance and SEO is critical in improving your Google rankings. Following these tips will ensure your content is well-structured, engaging, and optimized for search engines.
7. Work on Technical SEO Improvements
To improve your Google rankings, you need to have a website that not only looks good but is also technically optimized. Technical SEO is a critical aspect of search engine optimization that focuses on improving the technical aspects of a website to increase its visibility on search engines.
In this section, I’ll take you through some of the technical SEO improvements you can make to your website.
Enhancing Site Speed and Mobile-Friendliness
Site speed and mobile-friendliness are some of the most important factors that Google considers when ranking websites. A slow-loading website or a website that is not mobile-friendly can negatively impact your search engine rankings.
To enhance your site speed, you can use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to identify areas of your website that need optimization. Some of the common ways to improve site speed include:
Mobile-friendliness is also critical as more and more people are using mobile devices to browse the internet. You can use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your website is mobile-friendly. If your website is not mobile-friendly, consider using a responsive design or creating a separate mobile version of your website.
Addressing Crawl Errors and Broken Links
Crawl errors and broken links can negatively impact your website's search engine rankings. Crawl errors occur when search engines cannot access certain pages on your website. Broken links occur when links on your website lead to pages that no longer exist.
To address crawl errors, use tools like Google Search Console to identify crawl errors and fix them. You can also use a tool like Screaming Frog to crawl your website and identify broken links. Once you have identified broken links, you can either replace them with the right links, remove them, or redirect them to relevant pages on your website.
Leverage Structured Data and Rich Snippets
Structured data and rich snippets can help your website stand out in search engine results pages (SERPs). Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying its content. Rich snippets are additional information that's displayed in search results, such as reviews, ratings, and images.
To leverage structured data and rich snippets, you can use tools like Google's Structured Data Markup Helper to markup your website's content. This will help search engines understand the content on your website and display rich snippets in search results.
8. Publish Your Updates and Be Patient for Improvements
Once you take all the necessary steps to improve your Google rankings, it's time to publish your updates and wait for the results.
Remember, it takes time for Google to crawl and index your updated content. So, don't expect immediate results. You might start seeing results after a week, but be patient and continue to monitor your metrics to see what's working and what's not. Also, avoid interfering with your content during the waiting period because the constant updates might interfere with Google’s indexing process and delay the results.
Pro Tip: Ensure your updated content aligns with the search intent of your target audience. This will increase the chances of your content appearing at the top of search results.
9. Track, Monitor, and Analyze Your Results
Tracking and monitoring your website's performance is essential to ensure your SEO strategies work effectively. By tracking the right metrics and conversions, you can identify areas for improvement and refine your SEO strategies accordingly.
Tracking the Right Metrics and Conversions
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help you track and analyze your website's performance. One of the most important metrics to track is organic traffic, which measures the number of visitors who arrive at your website through organic search results.
You can also use Google Analytics to track other important metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate. Monitoring these metrics will help you identify areas where your website needs improvement, so you can make changes to improve user experience and ultimately increase conversions.
Using Analytics to Refine SEO Strategies
Google Search Console is another useful tool that can help you improve your website's SEO. By analyzing data on impressions and clicks, you can identify which keywords and pages are driving traffic to your website.
Rank-tracking tools can also help you monitor your website's search engine rankings for specific keywords. By tracking your website's rankings over time, you can identify trends and make adjustments to improve your SEO strategies.
10. Stay Updated With Current SEO Trends
Staying up-to-date with the latest SEO trends is crucial for improving your website's Google rankings. Google's algorithm is constantly evolving, and what worked in the past may not be as effective today.
To ensure that your SEO tactics are up-to-date, stay informed on the latest SEO trends and make adjustments accordingly.
Stay Informed on Google's Algorithm Changes
Google's algorithm changes can have a significant impact on your website's search rankings. Therefore, it's essential to stay informed on any changes to the algorithm. One way to stay informed is to follow Google's official blog, where they announce any significant algorithm updates.
Another way to stay informed is to follow industry experts and reputable SEO blogs. They often provide insights into the latest algorithm changes and how to adjust your SEO tactics accordingly. Some of the most popular news sites and SEO blogs include ThemeIsle, Featured, and Backlinko.
You can also attend industry events and conferences to stay updated. Some popular SEO events and conferences you can attend are SMX, MozCon, and BrainLabs.
In addition to the above, consider experimenting with new SEO techniques or strategies. That way, you’ll gain insights into what works and doesn’t work for you, as well as stay ahead of your competitors. Popular techniques you should try out are A/B testing and split testing.
Adjust Your SEO Tactics for New Updates
Once you're aware of any algorithm changes, you need to adjust your SEO tactics accordingly. For example, if Google updates its algorithm to prioritize mobile-friendly websites, you need to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. If Google prioritizes websites with high-quality content, focus on creating high-quality content for your website.
To adjust your SEO tactics, conduct regular audits of your website. This audit should include an analysis of your website's content, backlinks, and technical SEO. Conducting regular audits will help identify any areas of your SEO strategy that need improvement and adjust your tactics accordingly.
11. Adapt to Google's Algorithm Updates
To improve your Google rankings, you must be aware of Google's algorithm updates and adapt to them. Google frequently updates its algorithm to provide the best search results to its users. These updates can affect your website's ranking on Google, so it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest changes.
Just as I mentioned above, one way to stay informed about Google's algorithm updates is to follow Google's official blog. Google's Webmaster Central Blog is a great resource for information on algorithm updates and other important topics related to SEO. You can also follow Google's Twitter account to get the latest news and updates.
Another way to stay informed about algorithm updates is to conduct regular SEO audits of your website. An SEO audit can help you identify areas where your website may be falling short and provide insight into how you can improve your rankings. You can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz to conduct an SEO audit of your website.
It's also important to understand that Google's algorithm updates are not always announced in advance. John Mueller, a Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, has said that some updates are "more subtle" and may not be announced at all. This means that it's important to be proactive and continually monitor your website's performance to identify any changes in rankings.
To adapt to Google's algorithm updates, focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to your audience. Google's algorithm prioritizes websites that provide a good user experience, so ensure your website is easy to navigate and provides useful information. Additionally, focus on building high-quality backlinks to your website, as this can help improve your rankings on Google.
Start Ranking On Google With Better SEO Content!
Improving your Google rankings is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and attention to detail. Remember, the key to ranking higher on Google is to create high-quality, optimized content that is relevant to your target audience. This means doing keyword research, optimizing your on-page SEO, and creating content that is engaging and valuable to your readers.
In addition to creating great content, you should also focus on building high-quality backlinks to your website. This can be done through guest posting, outreach to other websites in your niche, and creating shareable content that others will want to link to.
If you're struggling to create high-quality, optimized content for your website, reach out to a professional content writer. We have the expertise and experience to help you create the kind of content that will rank well on Google and attract more traffic to your website.
So what are you waiting for? Start improving your Google rankings today with better SEO content!