We all know that search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo are serving millions of users per day who are looking for answers to their questions or for solutions to their problems. Google alone has more than 3.5 billion searches per day. If you want your website to rank higher in Google searches you will need to play by Google’s rules and need to learn how to improve the SEO of your website. Top Google rankings are a pinnacle of online business prosperity.

As per the latest survey, the first result on Google gets 31.7 percent of all clicks while results on the second page receive just 0.78 percent of clicks. One of the best ways to ensure that you are making maximum use of your content is by improving your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. This article will focus on how to improve the SEO of your website on Google searches.

What is SEO and Why is it important?

SEO can be understood as a set of rules for optimizing your website so that it can achieve higher rankings in search engine organic results. Website SEO is the process to follow to increase the visibility of your website in search engines and get more traffic.

SEO is important for online business because it can keep you at a higher place on Google search, it improves the usability of a website, it helps in increasing your website’s trust among users, and it also helps to put you ahead of your competitors. If you have a website, blog, or online store, SEO can help you get free targeted traffic from search engines.

Tips to improve the SEO of your website

Follow these suggestions to improve your SEO or improve your Google search ranking for your website:

1. Understand the Google ranking algorithm

To improve Google search ranking it is very important to know the Google algorithm. Google is a platform that constantly changes its algorithm and most of these changes aren’t publicly announced. Google usually shares major update announcements but the exact inner workings of the algorithm are still unknown.

The best knowledge we have of Google’s algorithm comes in the form of major updates like the content should be relevant and not copied, mobile compatible websites will get priority, websites should not use unnatural links to boost their rankings, etc.

2. Know your current search ranking

To improve your Google ranking, you should first need to know where you stand. There are many tools like Semrush which help to assess your rank. You can compare your SEO keyword ranking with your competitors here and find out where you have to improve your website’s Google ranking.

3. Improve your page loading speed

Page loading time plays an important role in website SEO tactics. If your website load speed is low your ranking will get harmed as Google will recognize it very quickly. A slow website will also impact the way your website visitors engage with your pages. The latest research shows that 40% of visitors will abandon websites if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load. So, it is extremely important to optimize both your page speed and server response time.

4. Create your content around a Primary keyword and relevant Secondary keywords

Understanding what keywords are best for your target audience and content type can help you build a strong content strategy to boost SEO. Your content should be written in such a way that it flows naturally. Primary and secondary keywords should naturally come up in your content so that you don’t have to stuff your content forcefully.

5. Improve site navigation

Search engines reward sites that provide a positive user experience. If site visitors cannot find what they are looking for, they will most likely leave your site. This will impact your bounce rate, time that visitors spend on your website, number of pages they view, and ultimately it impacts your search engine rankings.

To avoid this, keep your website easy to navigate. Developing a clear navigational structure will help visitors find what they are looking for in your site. The rule of thumb for navigation is to never make a page more than 3 clicks away.

6. Optimize your website for mobile devices

One of the important SEO tips is to optimize your website for mobile devices. That’s because over 60% of Google searches are coming from mobile devices. Google recognizes this aspect and ranks websites accordingly. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile devices, it’ll hinder the user experience, adversely affecting your Google ranking.

7. Expand your Backlink portfolio

A big part of SEO strategy deals with backlinks and whether you are generating backlinks from high-authority sites. Backlinks increase the credibility of your website. All of your data claims should be linked to trustworthy and authoritative sources. A diverse backlink portfolio tells Google that your site is an authoritative source and that you are generating links in a natural way.

8. Use effective header tags

Using effective header tags helps search engines understand your content better. Headers let search engines know what your content is about, and if you insert proper keywords into headers, the search engines will have an even better understanding of your content.

If your site is just a wall of text, it’s going to discourage people from spending a long time on it. Headers make everything look more appealing, which is always beneficial. By using effective header tags in your content people will love to read your content and spend more time on it, and subsequently, your SEO ranking will rise.

9. Optimize images

Optimizing images on your website is a good SEO strategy. Huge images can slow down your page loading time and will ultimately hurt your ranking. Resize or compress your images to optimize them. Image optimization helps your content rank higher on Google image search while also improving your site’s visibility.

10. Use clean URLs and Meta descriptions

Your URLs should be clean, focused, and optimized to get most of the search engine ranking results. Your URL should also include the keyword or keywords you are targeting. Meta descriptions must also be optimized to improve the SEO of your website. Keep them concise, clear, and unique.