Let’s face it – if your website doesn’t make it to the top 10 results in Google when looking up your target keyword, then it’s not doing as well as you expected.

If you want more traffic on your website, then having it be placed on the second page of Google search results is definitely not the way to go about it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that it’s the end for your website. There are still certain strategies you can adopt that will boost your ranking.

Best SEO Practices

If you want to increase the visibility of your website, you need to lay the foundation for your website. This can be achieved by getting the basics down and following the best SEO practices listed below:

  • Understand user’s search intent

Understanding the purpose behind every search query is essential if you want your site to rank in the top ten of Google’s search results. Search intent is usually either informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional.

When deciding on your target keywords, you need to understand why users would search for them on Google. This helps you create the appropriate content for your website.

  • Include a compelling and unique title tag and meta description

A title tag and meta description are two of the most essential meta tags you need for your site.

When creating a title tag, make sure it contains your main target keyword and matches the user’s search intent. Keep in mind that Google only displays the first fifty to sixty characters of your title.

A meta description, on the other hand, does not necessarily impact your search rankings but they do play a huge part in convincing users to click your site. A good meta description needs to be unique, contain the main target keyword and accurately summarize the page.

  • Place your main keyword at the top

What most people may not be aware of is that the location of the main keyword in your content is essential. This is because Google places more weight on words and terms that show up at the top of a webpage.

  • Optimize image attachments

Adding images to your content plays a huge role in improving the experience of users visiting your site. But selecting the right images isn’t enough, you need to make sure to optimize them.

This includes choosing the best file format, compressing them so they don’t cause your site to lag, and adding alt text to your images.

  • Optimize your website’s loading time

People want to find answers to their questions as quickly as possible so if your site takes too long to load, this could result in very frustrated users and could cause your search ranking to drop.

There are many tools you can use to test the speed of your page. Optimizing images also helps in the improvement of your site’s loading speed.

  • Add internal links

Adding internal links to your page helps Google gain a deeper understanding of the type of content you’re putting out. When used right, it can boost your search rankings.

  • Publish original and helpful content

This one might be obvious, but it still needs to be emphasized. Google has been very clear about avoiding any type of plagiarism. If you want your site to top the search rankings, you need to put out content that is not only unique but is compelling to potential readers.

  • Improve the user experience on your site

The engagement your page gets from its users is also closely monitored by Google. This is why you need to ensure that users are provided with satisfactory experiences when visiting your site.

There are different strategies to improve user experience. This includes:

  • Using subheadings to make the text more reader-accessible
  • Making visually appealing content and adding relevant images to emphasize points
  • Avoiding intrusive pop-ups as much as possible
  • Optimizing your site to make it accessible to mobile users

Final Thoughts

These SEO practices are simply the groundwork you need to lay down to give your site a higher chance of topping search rankings. With the millions of different pages available out there, the competition for the top search rankings is still pretty intense.

Either way, it’s still important to follow the best SEO practices. Keeping up with the latest SEO trends and techniques is also important to stay at the top of your game.