Photo by Kaboompics .com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-using-stylus-pen-for-touching-the-digital-tablet-screen-6335/
So, you’ve created a whizz-bang, fancy new website – with all of the functionality, interactivity, site navigability, and necessary technical bells and whistles you could wish for! Hey, you even engaged the services of a professional web designer and web developer to build your website for you. So, why on earth isn’t your website ranking? That is to say, why isn’t it appearing on the first page of Google’s search engine results? What could you possibly be doing wrong?
The answer, my friend, lies not in what you’re doing wrong. In truth, it lies in what you are not doing! If you’re not actively using search engine to optimize your website – that is, if you are not taking active steps to make sure that your new site is optimized to meet Google’s preferences – it will never rank! Just read on for the essential steps to ensure that your new website does start ranking – and ranking highly at that.
The Basics: How Do I Get My Website To Rank?
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/app-blur-business-close-up-270669/
So, if you’ve read this far, it’s likely that you are perplexed about how to get your new website to rank. To be frank – in case you have been living under a virtual rock for the last 20 years – it’s possible that you have not heard of Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO).
However, if you have heard of SEO, which is far more likely, you might not yet have used it to optimize your website! And that is your first mistake. Search Engine Optimisation is essential when attempting to increase your website’s online visibility, and to ensure that it is displayed on the first page of Google’s search engine results.
Of course, SEO is a multi-faceted and relatively complex process. It encompasses multiple aspects, factors, and elements, and usually requires the prowess of an SEO expert to be delivered to optimal capacity. The key elements of SEO are:
Off-Page SEO: Backlinks and Link Building
One of the most commonly used methods of Off-page SEO, link building is a fairly involved process, but one that is growing in popularity in the world of Search Engine Optimisation – largely thanks to its effectiveness in getting a website to rank. The process of link building typically involves embedding what are known as backlinks to a website, on another external page. If you are based down under, Australian backlinks are an essential part of getting your page to rank locally.
Essentially, the creation of backlinks requires a copywriter to curate what is known as an Outreach Guest Post. Also known as guest blogging, outreach posts are written specifically for embedding backlinks to a certain website within the body of external page copy. These links then aim to entice the reader of the post to click on the backlinked website, thus directing organic online traffic to the site. Of course, the quality of the copy written in the outreach guest post must be of the highest quality. This ensures that Google sees the post as a credible and reliable source and one that can be trusted.
On-Page SEO: Keyword Optimisation and Content Creation
Another commonly used technique when working to get a website to rank well is to utilize On-Page SEO methods. These methods include keyword research and optimisation, which are used to dictate the content that is created and uploaded to a website.
When researching keywords that are relevant to your website, it is important to note the keyword difficulty of certain search terms. To clarify, a broad search term such as ‘shoes’ is extremely competitive and difficult to rank for. This is because many online shoe retailers will be targeting this search term, and trying to be displayed whenever a search engine user inputs this particular query into Google. As such, it is often better to target less difficult keywords – that is to say, keywords that are more specific, narrower, and more tailored to a specific audience. For instance, ‘red platform heels’ is a more specific, and thus, much narrower search term. It is therefore likely to better direct traffic to that specific product on your website, than the broader keyword of ‘shoes’ – which can bring up literally thousands of search results.
By using tried and tested methods of Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, you can effectively get your website to rank! Of course, the effectiveness of SEO methods depends on how well you employ them. Targeting the right keywords in your on-page website copy is essential. As is creating quality off-page backlinks. For this reason, it is advisable to engage the services of an SEO expert – that is, a digital professional who is well-versed in the most effective methods of Search Engine Optimisation. That way, you can finally get your new website to rank, and as such, achieve the end goal – being displayed as highly as possible on Google.
