Google has released another core update and the SEO community are noticing significant changes in rankings. Google’s John Mueller said there is nothing significant to fix and the update focuses on relevance and quality.
Google changes its algorithms constantly, some small and some large, for how it ranks websites. In this article, I give you some SEO tips to help you increase your rankings.
Keep the Google RankBrain algorithm in mind
While keywords, backlinks and other traditional signals are still important ways Google judges webpage quality and relevance, the search engine recently made a huge change to the way it ranks websites on its results pages – it has put new artificial intelligence (AI) in charge. Called RankBrain, the AI puts searcher satisfaction first. Google has said that RankBrain is one of the top three most important search factors that it looks at to rank websites by.
It’s important to ask yourself how to perform SEO for Google’s new artificial intelligence.
Improve click-through
Your click-through rate is one of the most important things to keep in mind. When Google displays your website in its organic search results, it wants to see searchers click through and visit your webpage, demonstrating that they like it. You need to do whatever it takes to get people to click through.
One of the best ways to improve click-through is to publish list-type articles. When people see content with numbered lists, they realise that the content is probably easy to absorb. They quickly click through to visit it. People are simply more likely to click on a link when it leads to a numbered list. Also. Make sure you make your meta description enticing so people click your search engine result.
Lower your bounce rate
When people click through a link for your website on a search engine results page, Google’s artificial intelligence wants to see that they like the page and stay on it for a while. Your dwell time is an important factor in the kind of ranking that your page ultimately gets. If Google sees visitors turn back right away, it knows that your page doesn’t have what it takes to satisfy users.
The best way to improve dwell times for webpages is to create ‘sticky’ content that quickly gets to the point. If your content contains lengthy intros and takes its time getting to the point, it can scare readers away. It can also help to write your content in short paragraphs punctuated with text in bold to help anchor the reader’s eye.
Try new ways to find great keywords
Google Trends can be a great destination for keyword research. When you find that a word or phrase repeatedly appears on discussions to do with a relevant topic, you know that it has to be important. When you write content around those keyword phrases, you’re likely to do well.
Update old content
You don’t have to create all-new content from scratch all the time. You can simply update existing content/blogs with some new material, and re-promote it. If you can add a new case study to an existing article, for instance, you could give it a new lease of life. You would just need to promote it on social media and send an email out to your subscribers.
Look to Google ads for title ideas
When you have a great title, you can attract lots of reader interest. If you’re not sure how to write a title that brings in clicks, you need to look no further than the Google Ads that appear for your keywords. Google ads are the result of dozens of split tests to determine the most relevant use of keywords. They can be a valuable source of ideas for keywords that work.
For instance, if you’re trying to write a blog post about supply chain software, a quick look at the advertisements that show up on Google search results pages may show you that simple supply chain software is a phrase that often comes up. People are concerned about implementing software that is difficult for staff to learn and they seem to like software that is easy to use. Writing an article about simple supply chain software keyword phrase, then, can help bring in readers.
Finding the right keywords to use, and learning how to cater to Google’s new artificial intelligence, can be valuable new methods to try to come out on top on Google.
Try these SEO ideas out on your webpages and see the difference to how well your pages will rank. To gain a better understanding of your SEO tactics and find out ways to improve book a consultation with one of our Mavens.
