If you’re looking to improve your brand’s SEO to achieve higher rankings, faster site speed, improved traffic and other benefits, you’ve come to the right place. At Upward Engine, we’re a top digital marketing agency that’s spent over a decade assisting clients across numerous industries supercharge their SEO programs to achieve high rates of return – and we’re here to do the same for you.
How do we go about this process, and which areas are most important to pay attention to? Here are some digital marketing insights from our team on numerous important areas, from website optimization and on-page concepts to back-end concepts like links, competitor analysis and more.
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Best SEO Strategies to Boost Website Traffic
While website traffic alone is not the only major factor in digital marketing success, there’s no question it’s a major one. Some general approaches we utilize for boosting website traffic typically include:
Here are a few common questions we get in this area, plus some basic answers:
How many keywords should I target?
- This will depend on your specific industry and target audience. It’s important to conduct keyword research and choose around 5-10 primary keywords to focus on. You can also use long-tail keywords and variations of your main keywords.
Why is my website losing traffic?
- There can be a few reasons for this, including changes in search engine algorithms, technical issues with your website, or a decrease in the relevance and quality of your content. It’s important to regularly track and analyze your website’s traffic and address any potential issues.
Why is my website not on Google/other search engines?
This can be due to several reasons, including not optimizing your website for search engines, having low-quality or irrelevant content, or violating search engine guidelines. It’s important to follow SEO best practices and regularly monitor your website’s performance on search engines.
What should my SEO plan include?
A comprehensive SEO plan should include keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and regular content updates. It’s important to continuously evaluate and adjust your plan based on search engine algorithm updates and changes in your industry.
How can I improve my website's ranking on search engines?
Improving your website’s ranking requires a combination of strategies such as optimizing keywords, improving website speed and user experience, creating high-quality and relevant content, and obtaining backlinks from reputable sources. It’s also important to stay up-to-date with search engine algorithm changes to ensure you are using the most effective tactics.
Best Ways to Rank Higher on Google
As the primary search engine used by most internet users, Google plays a crucial role in the success of your website. A higher ranking on Google's search results page can lead to increased visibility, traffic, and potential customers for your business. Google rankings work by evaluating a number of key factors, and understanding these can be quite helpful for success.
Here are some top ways to rank higher on Google:
Quality, unique content
Authority via backlinks
Site speed optimization
Technical SEO
User experience
One common question we get from clients is regarding a need to recover lost SEO rankings or fix Google ranking issues. These can be caused by a few different factors, including algorithm updates, technical issues, or penalties. If your website has experienced a drop in rankings, it's important to identify the root cause and take necessary steps to recover and improve your SEO performance. Our team is here to help with this if needed. Here are some top ways to rank higher on Google:
Best Ways to Rank Higher on Google
As the primary search engine used by most internet users, Google plays a crucial role in the success of your website. A higher ranking on Google's search results page can lead to increased visibility, traffic, and potential customers for your business. Google rankings work by evaluating a number of key factors, and understanding these can be quite helpful for success.
Here are some top ways to rank higher on Google:
One common question we get from clients is regarding a need to recover lost SEO rankings or fix Google ranking issues. These can be caused by a few different factors, including algorithm updates, technical issues, or penalties. If your website has experienced a drop in rankings, it's important to identify the root cause and take necessary steps to recover and improve your SEO performance. Our team is here to help with this if needed. Here are some top ways to rank higher on Google:
What to Do After a Google Algorithm Update
Within the SEO world, Google algorithm updates are major events. Some sites may see sudden traffic drops after them, or may even receive SEO penalties or ranking drops due to changes in the algorithm. On the other hand, many sites will either be unaffected or show minor improvements.
If you experience a significant change in your website’s rankings, there are several steps you can take to identify and recover from – or capitalize on – the impact of a Google algorithm update. We have created a fully downloadable guide for you to peruse at your convenience about what to do after a Google algorithm update, whether your site has been impacted or not. Contact our team of professionals if you have further questions!
Which Factors Affect SEO Rankings?
Duplicate content
Having the same content on multiple pages can lead to confusion for search engines, resulting in lower rankings.
Unoptimized meta titles or descriptions
On website pages, meta titles and descriptions serve as snippets that appear in search engine results. If these are not optimized with relevant keywords, your site may not rank well.
Unoptimized H1 headings
Down related lines, H1 headings on web pages should include relevant keywords and accurately reflect the content of the page.
Broken links
If your site contains broken links, search engines may interpret this as a sign of poor usability and lower your rankings.
Slow page loading speed
This can negatively impact user experience and cause visitors to leave your site, resulting in a higher bounce rate and potentially lower rankings.
404 errors
Similar to broken links, having a high number of 404 errors (page not found) can negatively affect your site’s rankings.
Internal linking or sitemap issues
Poor internal linking or a lack of an updated sitemap can make it difficult for search engines to crawl and index your site effectively.
Schema concerns
When we talk about schema, we’re referring to structured data that helps search engines understand the content on your site. If this is not implemented properly, it can lead to a lower ranking for your site.
Redirects
Redirects are used to take visitors from one URL to another. However, if they’re not implemented correctly, it can result in a broken or incorrect redirect, leading to a poor user experience and potential ranking issues.
Low authority
The authority of a website is an important factor in search engine ranking. If your site has a low authority, it may struggle to rank higher than other sites in the same niche.
Competitor Analysis for SEO
Another key element of quality SEO involves analyzing your competition, and this area should not be ignored! Competitor analysis is important for a few reasons, from helping you understand the market and identify your target audience, to informing your keyword research and content strategy.
To begin, identify your top competitors in the search results for your desired keywords. Analyze their websites in terms of layout, design, user experience, content quality and quantity, backlink profile, and social media presence. This will give you an idea of what is working well for them and what areas they may be lacking in.
Next, use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to dive deeper into their SEO strategies. These tools can provide valuable information such as their top ranking keywords, organic traffic numbers, and backlink sources. This will help you identify any gaps in your own strategy that you can work on improving.
It’s also important to keep track of your competitors’ content. Take note of their top-performing blog posts and social media content, and see if you can find any patterns or common themes. This will give you insight into what type of content resonates with their audience and what topics are currently trending.