Other factors that count towards better ranking are loading speed measured from Chrome, user reports, and HTML (the latter being a criterion shared by most search engines). Having a sitemap will also help search engines to index all of your content easily. The rest is calculated through on-page optimization.
On-page SEO refers to the ways in which you can improve your content to make it appealing to Google and other search engine’s algorithms. These algorithms are constantly being updated so it is important to ensure you are up to date on the latest version. A quick Google search will give you this information and you can adjust content accordingly.
There are multiple things you can do in regards to on-page SEO and they are all under your control. We will be looking at the main strategies you can employ and how to make the most of them.
But first things first, you have to keep in mind that the star of your blog is content.
And not because you’re proud of the work you’ve put into it, but because the content is monitored by search engine algorithms. One of the key things Google, for example, takes into consideration, is the length of your posts, and it seems to prefer longer and better-formatted ones. To stay on the good side of search engines you need to make your content web friendly
This means that you have to follow a standard style that appeals to users. Try to space out your content in easy to read paragraphs, use lists, and subheadings as often as possible and don’t be ashamed of bullet points. Google also favors good grammar, so pay attention and proofread your blog posts.
Another important factor to take into consideration is keyword density. It used to be a very big deal, but now, if you insist on stuffing your content with keywords, no matter how relevant they are, you will get penalized. Having lots of keywords won’t leave much and search engines want to promote quality. The reverse is valid for quality content. too.
Not enough keywords and you risk being moved down the rankings for irrelevant content. You need to strike a balance and the best way to do that is by letting the content flow. If you’re writing good quality content on a relevant subject then your keywords should come out naturally in your posts.
It might seem simple enough, but what exactly are relevant keywords? The emphasis here is on “relevant” and it tells you all you need to know. You might have a good idea of what keywords are relevant from the research you did earlier. You can apply the same technique to your posts.
Take your topic for the post you want to write and think about what people might search for in order to find it. Next, take that list of keywords and find the most relevant ones, the ones that cannot refer to anything other than the information contained in this particular post. You shouldn’t have more than a couple and once found, adapt and use them in your post. Remember to keep it natural.
Another thing to keep in mind is the use of those keywords in the titles and sub-headings of your blog post. It increases relevance and, if correct optimization has been done on every page, your entire blog will rank much higher. Make your content more appealing by using images in your blog posts as studies show that images enhance your readers’ experience. Use them wisely and optimize them as well by providing SEO friendly captions, titles, and metadata. Even before inserting images into your post, take the time to optimize them. By right clicking and selecting the Properties menu of your images, you can change the title and metadata into keywords that will boost your relevance. Repeat this process when you upload them to your blog since every platform offers you the opportunity to tailor image metadata.
You should also be careful not to overcrowd your pages with links, as it will not only make your blog take longer to load, but it signals to search engines that the site is of poor quality. Keep your blog organized by limiting the number of links you choose to permanently post.
Affiliate links are particularly relevant here. Too many and Google might think your blog isn’t what it appears to be, but do not despair if you have chosen Affiliate Marketing as your monetization system. If you make sure that this is the only algorithm “violation”, then you can compensate by providing quality content. Write your product reviews professionally, be consistent, proofread, post regularly and keep other links to a minimum and you shouldn’t have a problem. Also, do not repeat the affiliate link an unreasonable number of times in your post; rather make it clear in the context so it only appears once.
Another factor in your ranking is the pages that appear on your blog. You might be surprised by the fact that having proper “About Us” and “Contact” pages weighs a significant lot into your search engine rank. Offering clear information about yourself as the owner, and giving visitors a means to communicate with you efficiently counts towards authority and transparency and search engines value these things.
Keeping your readers interested is another way to look good in the eyes of Google and its peers. By providing quality content and posting regularly you encourage visitors to spend more time on your blog, thus signaling to search engines that your blog is a good one. Interacting with readers through the comment section is another way you can improve ratings with little effort. Not only you can get inspiration for future content, but being active amongst your readers shows search engines that your blog is regularly maintained.
Choose a pace at which you can post regularly, so you can give yourself time to write quality posts, optimize them for search engines and always be able to provide fresh content.
Things you might want to avoid at all costs are “bad” backlinks. Despite your best efforts, while formatting and optimizing, one unfavorable backlink can render everything useless.
Backlinks are links from other websites that lead to you. And there are good ones, as well as bad ones. The ones you do not, under any circumstances, want to be associated with are links from disreputable sites that have been heavily penalized by Google. Why? Because you’ll be guilty by association.
What you should aim to do is to liaise with well-maintained and relevant websites in your niche. These will help build your reputation and make you more favorable to search engine algorithms.