Staying on top of the search engines results page (SERP) is proving to be a tremendous task day after day – especially with so many contradictory sources online.
At Maze, not only we managed to rank ourself 1st with many search terms, we have also succeeded in duplicating this work to our clients – and throughout the years we managed to gather a huge experience in this.
Here are our top 6 picks for 2020:
1. Target the right key phrase
One of our top tips when optimizing search engines for your website is to make sure that the correct key phrases are targeted.
If you target the wrong key phrases, you will end up with the wrong people visiting your site, or the first place in the search term where few people search for it every month.
Basically, you need to find key phrases that matches what your business has to offer, and not too competitive so that you have a good chance of ranking well.
2. Provide useful and fresh content
One of the reasons owning a website is to show authority in a specific niche, get visitors from Google and turn those visitors into customers. The best way to do the above is by creating reliable, useable content.
Content can be anything from articles, videos, infographics, slide shows, music, reviews, or anything else specific to your industry.
If your content is old, and outdated, Google will most probably remove your site from its SERP & your existing visitors will stop coming back.
For years, we used to tell our customers that modernization was not a major SEO factor in improving search engines but that changed because of competition.
Does that mean you have to publish new content on a daily basis? Not necessarily. Your deployment strategy is also based on a number of other factors.
3. Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly
Your website needs to be optimized for mobile devices. Why?
It’s easy for people to surf the Internet from their mobile devices. Doesn’t everyone seem to be stuck to their smartphones all the time?
This mobile application is something important for your company and your website. It will make it easier for your current and prospective customers to access your site.
In the second quarter of 2020, mobile devices generated more than 51% of global website traffic world wide.
4. Improve your website speed
Last year, Google announced that website speed is now a ranking factor for its SERP.
Think for a moment about your browsing habits. How long do you usually wait for a web site to be downloaded? Maybe two seconds and then you leave if the content is not fully loaded!
Measure the time it takes to load your pages on regular mobile connections (3G) and take all the necessary steps to maximize speed as much as possible.
5. Check duplicate content issues
Duplicate content is content that appears online in more than one place. This “one place” is defined as a site with a unique website address (URL) so, if the same content appears in more than one Web address, you have duplicate content.
Duplicate Content might earn you a penalty from Google’s Panda algorithm. You should always check what you write in online Plagiarism tools, like Dupli Checker, before publishing.
6. Write in your audience’s language
Before you decide on your content, you need to know who you are talking to.
- Where are they located?
- What are they interested in?
- And can their interest be served by your industry?
After identifying your audience, you can improve your interaction with potential customers in this target market.
Studies show that consumers are likely to buy from companies that provide content relevant to their native languages. However, in addition to attracting potential customers to the sales path and increasing revenue, regionalization offers other advantages, including increased customer engagement, improved loyalty and support, and greater brand convergence.
Make sure you get further support if you feel you need it. To get more information, request a free consultation.
By Myriam Lahoud
