3 Methods to Rank Higher in Google Search
SEO can be confusing. But we have a few tools and tips that help simplify things. Here are 3 methods to rank higher in Google Search.
- Using Google Tools
- Simple Onsite Optimization
- Thinking of your website in terms of “Mobile-First”
Useful Google Tools
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Add the tracking code into the header file of your website. Pay attention to the AUDIENCE -> AQUISITION -> and BEHAVIOR tabs on the left-hand side.
GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE
Once you connect Google Analytics, use that access to verify your ownership of the site in Google Search console. This is a powerful tool.
- Force the bot to crawl and index your site
- See search queries your site shows up for
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business page (and to a lesser degree, Bing Business) you are at a competitive disadvantage. Claim it, fill out the site as completely as possible, add tons of pictures, and recycle your social media posts here.
- Feeds info directly to Google
- Plug events, discounts, offers, and keyword-rich , back-linked posts
- Allows you to deeply entrench locally, events help this as well.
- Opens line of communication between searcher and you
Simple Onsite Optimization
KEYWORDS
Place keywords and phrases your customers might use during online research to find exactly what you do. Get in the mind of the consumer.
Add keywords to:
- Headers. H1, H2, H3 most important
- Images. Name, title, description, alt. text
- Anchor text (links), Bold Italics, Buttons
TECHNICAL
Schema or structured data markup is becoming increasingly important. It can get confusing, but a simple plugin on WordPress can make it easy. Begin blogs with a summary paragraph or navigable index to help your articles compete naturally.
Mobile-First indexing
SITE SPEED
Google FINALLY launched their much-anticipated mobile first indexing, This triggered an increased importance on site speed and they announced site speed is an OFFICIAL rank factor soon after.
- Pay a little more for a good server (host)
- Crop and resize images before uploading
- Eliminate any unnecessary animations or sliders
SECURITY
Mobile-first (among many, many other things) triggered an increased focus on site security. If you haven’t switched to HTTPS plan to do so quickly. Some browsers now block HTTP sites as “unsafe”. Before Switching:
- Edit all HTTP:// URLs to simply //
- Don’t forget images
- Click through pages and fix “mixed content” after
