As Google continues to roll out new algorithms, digital territory remains an unknown and unstable place for businesses. Many businesses found their Google position plummet when Fred was made apparent early last year, targeting heavily ‘spammy’ websites whose main goal was profit over the user experience. Such unnatural and unfriendly practices have been kicked to the curb, leaving businesses with the only option to redesign their digital marketing strategies and curate a more user-friendly website.
Nowadays businesses are still vying for the number one spot on Google’s search results, and with Google’s Fred having made its first appearance this time last year, many people have had the chance to adapt their SEO methods and marketing strategies, allowing for them to regain any ground they may have lost. However, with the emphasis still on organic SEO, climbing those SERPs is no easy feat. For businesses still struggling, here’s a guide on how to improve your organic search result.
Get Rid of Any Unethical Links
Black-hat SEO is bad practice, and although it was a means of improving your online visibility a few years ago, if you’re still using such unethical techniques you’re a few Google algorithms behind. Keyword stuffing is out of favor, as is invisible text and content farming where you can produce the same content and distribute it across the World Wide Web. Now, you need to make a clean slate and remove yourself from any bad techniques.
If there are any unethical links, either onsite or offsite, you need to have these removed. Ask the bloggers to take them down, or if they’re on your website, remove them yourself. Again, if your keyword density is too much (keywords appearing too many times on your website), then you need to trim the fat. If you’re unsure on the best way to rectify any poor SEO, then by speaking to professionals such as the experts at Click Intelligence, they can advise you on the best way to do so.
Focus on Shareable Content
Content is king, and by having good quality content on your side, Google is more inclined to bump you up the results page. How does Google identify good content? Well, you need to make your content as informative, relevant and as shareable as possible. You can do this by posting regular content on your website’s blog, and then sharing the blogs via social media. Make sure you utilize all social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are great tools for spreading your message and gaining a following. You’ll want to be considered an industry leader, because by doing so, Google will recognize your authoritative nature.
Load Times
You’d be surprised at how many companies ignore their website loading times. People of today do not have the best attention spans (and research has suggested that our attention spans are worse than goldfish), so to ensure you capture the attentions of your customers, you need your websites to load in less than three seconds. Any slower, and you’ll losing business. Furthermore, SERPs favor websites who load quickly because it’s viewed as more user-friendly; it’s providing a good service to their customers, which, at the end of the day, is what Google is after.