10 Tips to Optimize Page Speed & Climb Search Rankings
Top Google rankings indicate online success for any business. Backlinko's research suggests that the first Google result gets 31.7% of the clicks, with the second page receiving only 0.78%.
Most marketers end up spending exorbitant amounts to improve Google rankings via page speed optimization and White Hat SEO without getting penalized. However, while there is no shortcut to achieving the No.1 position in Google's SERPs, a series of steps can go a long way towards achieving the top spot.
Here are ten ways to improve Google search rankings and optimize page speeds:
1- Creating Great SEO optimized Content
Placing high-quality Content on the website can still be considered one of the best ways to improve traffic and climb the search rankings. Relevant SEO-optimized content that goes well with web design is even more important for ranking than the overall page experience.
However, the typical content pitfalls such as grammatical errors, duplication, poor readability, and lack of alignment with the target audience must be avoided to make it perform.
According to Search Engine Watch, Content is one of the top 3 factors for Google's search results.
2- Fixing Broken Links
Quality links are the best way of boosting traffic and establishing the site's authority. However, links with a 404 error beat the purpose by bringing down the search rank. Moreover, the user experience also takes a hit when a visitor lands on a page displaying the error instead of answering their intended queries. Ahrefs or Dead Link Checker can prove to be great utilities for fixing broken links.
3- Image Optimization
Optimizing the images is vital for boosting the site's speed and making it easier for Google to identify the web page's images. It can be done by compressing the images, giving them descriptive filenames, and ensuring alt text. More often than not, heavy media on the website, including auto-playing videos, HD graphics, and audio, results in slower loading times, negatively impacting user experience.
4- Focusing on making the site Mobile-Friendly
Research says that more than half of all website traffic now comes from mobile devices, which means that your site's mobile optimization is essential if you want it to rank well.
Google's Search Console presents a list of the mobile usability issues that your site might be encountering, while quick fixes can also be performed through sites such as Mobify.
An important consideration should be to avoid deploying annoying popups that become annoying to close and negatively impact the users' mobile experience.
5- Voice Research Optimization
The incorporation of voice searching queries within the website content has become the need of the hour. As more and more people rely on voice search as their preferred method of asking questions on their phones, there is a need to ensure that such voice searchers find your business. Those only relying on the traditional keyword searches might be losing out on potential traffic, sales and leads.
6- Deploying Social Sharing Buttons
Social media is a significant driver of purchasing behaviour of various sorts, with the majority of the social media users purchasing items shared by those part of their social network. Therefore, a site that produces Content to promote its products but doesn't display social sharing buttons could lose out on a lot.
Social sharing buttons on the site enable the users to share the Content resulting in better site rankings. Easy sharing of the web content via these buttons helps boost relevant traffic to the website, helping it climb search rankings.
7- Regular Content Updates
Google views regularly updated Content as one of the most vital indicators of a site's relevancy. Therefore, the need for routine evergreen Content updates to keep it fresh and meet the evolving needs of the target audience. Auditing content on a set schedule and making regular updates can help streamline the site's Content.
Outdated Content results in lower website traffic and signals that the site doesn't effectively meet the current search intent, potentially resulting in the ultimate ranking downfall.
8- Reviewing and Updating Metadata
It is essential to review and update Metadata with site changes, including the Title Metadata, Description Metadata, and Keyword Metadata. Resubmission of metadata based on regular intervals is integral for the smooth functioning of the site and the upkeep of its rankings.
9- Developing a link-worthy site
If an online apparel site has nothing but catalogues of the shirts and jeans they are selling and the prices, it may not receive quality backlinks apart from those it pays for. However, if, along with the product descriptions, the site presents blogs relating to the top fashion trends, a
A section devoted to the latest styles and which occasions they best suit, the chances to rank increase exponentially.
Value-creating Content and guides lead to developing a site that is in a better position to get free links from sites that hold a high DA.
10- Harnessing the power of alt tags
Describing the visual and audio media on the website through alt tags or alternative text descriptions allows the search engines to locate the pages, bringing about improvement in the search engine rankings. A lack of alt tags often renders Google unable to find the site's pages resulting in indexing and ranking issues.
HWD Platform Vs. WordPress: What helps better for ranking higher on Google?
While Duda offers better ease of use and easy admin options, WordPress is better for permissions and ease of setup. However, Duda's shorter development times have quickly popularized it amongst SEO experts and Web developers in a shorter time.
Final Thoughts
SEO may sound like an overwhelming and continually evolving aspect of Digital Marketing and resultantly hard to tackle. Still, these tips might come in handy for getting in the right direction towards achieving the top SEO rankings.
An excellent SEO strategy can always be bifurcated into smaller steps that are and easily implementable.
With these tips in consideration, you are ready to nail it with your site's SEO optimization and climbing up the Google SERP ladder.
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