Let’s face it. The internet is a big, crowded place, and it is very easy to get lost in it, especially for an online business.
Online businesses first need to show up in front of their customers, before they can make any sales, and one of the most effective ways to do that is:
Take over search engine results!
That sounds nearly impossible, doesn’t it? Let me tell you something: It’s not.
Here are 10 incredibly simple tips & tricks that highly ranked businesses and SEO experts use to dominate search engine results and get heard:
- Get a Google+ Account
It might not be the most popular social network, but Google+ offers a big, often overlooked, SEO advantage.
It lets you put your face right next to your search engine results!
We all know that people usually click on the highest ranked links on search engine results, but a link that has a face next to it is a total game changer.
It offers an authentic, visual value that makes it look so much more clickable.
Here’s how you can do that:
Step 1: Create a Google+ account, if you don’t have one already.
Step 2: Set up your Google+ profile picture. Make sure that it’s a photo of your face.
Step 3: Open your Google+ profile page, and go to About -> Links –> Edit
Step 4: Edit the ‘Contributor to’ section and add a link to your website. This lets Google know that you write for that website, and displays your photo next to your links in search engine results.
Step 5: Verify your website ownership by placing a link to your Google+ profile somewhere on your site.
That’s it! You are done setting up your Google+ account to boost your SEO efforts.
- Get Local with Google My Business
A great way to show up at the top of search engine results is to get as local as possible!
What does that mean?
Fact: Local websites are listed higher up in search engine results than non-local websites.
This means that you need to let Google know your address, which can boost your chances of getting featured at the top of searches in your area.
An easy way to let Google know your address is to list it at Google My Business. You can get it verified by placing the address on your website as well!
Local listings offer a fast alternative to getting highly ranked in front of audiences nearer to where you are, even if you aren’t getting ranked high globally!
- Work on Your Internal Link Structure
There are two types of links that improve your SEO: Backlinks and internal links.
Backlinks are very important, but so are the links placed on your own website that drive traffic to your different site pages.
Make sure that all your pages have enough internal links placed on other pages of your website to maintain a strong internal link structure.
Additionally, optimizing your site’s content to match each page’s titles and keywords can go a long way in boosting your chances of getting ranked higher up in Google’s search engine results.
- Optimize Your Website’s Pages
If you want to show up more on Google, make sure your web pages are meeting all its requirements.
Here are some quick ways you can ensure that all your pages are Google-friendly:
- All your main headings should be in <H1> tags.
- All your subheadings should be in <H2> and <H3> tags.
- Your webpage’s title should have important keywords.
- Your main page headings should have important keywords.
Follow the guidelines above to make sure that your website and its pages are all in perfect order for enhanced SEO.
- Research Your Competitors
The best part about doing SEO is, you know exactly who you’re competing with:
The sites in your niche that rank the highest in search engine results.
A simple trick to jumpstart your SEO is to learn from your competitors, instead of trying to do everything yourself.
What are they doing to dominate search engine results?
Here is a super-easy way you can find that out:
- Search for a popular keyword or phrase for your niche using a search engine (e.g. Google). Check out the top three results: these are your competitor websites. Click on one of them, and take a good look at it.
- Focus on how these websites are structured, such as the length of their headlines, the amount of links, and the keywords used in their content.
- Now that you have a good idea of how highly ranked websites are structured, you can use that insight to structure your own website. Here are some areas to pay attention to:
- Word count
- Keyword density
- Titles & headings
- Layout
- Color scheme
Note: Be careful not to copy their exact content: that’s plagiarism!
Once you’re done restructuring your website, you will start to notice an improvement in your search engine rankings and an increase in your site traffic!
- Make Videos for YouTube
Let me tell you this: Google loves videos, especially the ones on YouTube.
Videos are simply more likely to be ranked higher on Google, as compared to text-based webpages.
So, if you’re looking for a quick shortcut to get ranked higher up in search engine results, your YouTube videos might do the trick.
Of course, there are so many ways you can make sure that your video shows up at the top of search results. Here are a few:
- Get a lot of likes, comments and views on your video.
- Make sure the title of your video contains important keywords.
- Upload longer videos of 5 minutes or more.
- Create shareable video content that’s informative and entertaining at the same time.
Videos are a great alternative to traditional text-based content, and offer a surefire way to get ranked higher up in popular search engine results!
- Be Informative – Write ‘How-to’ Guides
Here is something that people absolutely love to share: Informative, how-to guides that they find immensely useful.
What does that mean for you? MORE TRAFFIC!
Writing genuinely useful, unique how-to guides is a tried-and-tested way to get people to visit your website.
That is why SEO professionals have relied on this method since a very long time.
Instead of focusing on quantity, focus on producing quality content that people will find easy to use as a reference. The more useful they find your content, the more likely they are to share it.
This article that you’re reading is also an example of a useful guide for boosting your SEO.
Remember, sound authoritative, and write unique content that people won’t find anywhere else. The more unique your information is, the more likely they will be to visit you to get it!
- Make Use of Free Backlinks
Never underestimate the power of backlinks, especially the free ones!
Did you know? All those free online platforms, like SoundCloud, that allow you to link your website through your profile, also count as backlinks.
They might not be as valuable as a backlink from famous blogs and brand websites, but they still count.
When it comes to SEO, every little effort can make a big difference in your ranking. Use this simple trick to increase your chances!
Find out 17 platforms that allow you to get free backlinks below:
http://backlinko.com/17-untapped-backlink-sources
- Take Over Competitor Backlinks
Here is quick tool you can use to check where your competitor websites are getting their backlinks: Backlink Checker.
A really easy way to get great backlinks is to approach the websites who your competitors are getting linked from.
Contacting those website owners and showing interest in their platform can bring you a lot closer to asking them to backlink your website. Don’t worry if you face a few rejections at first; you’ll eventually get a good response if you keep trying!
Once they do that, you win! This simple trick can get you really good backlinks, and help you boost your SEO.
- Build Blogger Relationships
This last tip is simple, but can take a lot of time to work.
Reach out and connect with bloggers in your niche, and see if you can build a good relationship with them by showing interest in what they do.
If you can get people writing about you, especially famous bloggers who have a lot of readers, it can do wonders for your online business.
People tend to trust established blogs they regularly read, and if you can get yourself featured in one about your niche, think of how much traffic you will get!
That’s All, Folks!
Use these super easy and simple tips & tricks to make the most out of your SEO efforts. Remember, it is always great to be innovative and come up with new things that not a lot of people have tried out!
Feel free to let us know if you have some other suggestions!
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