There are many SEO techniques that are both under-implemented and under-valued. In this post, I will lay out the techniques that will boost your rankings but which you may not have considered when performing SEO. Let’s dive in.
Use the Power of Internal Linking
This is the one SEO technique that I see given little importance or time, but it’s essential for success. The links you create between pages on your site are primarily used to make navigation of your site easier for the user.
When you use these links, Google can see exactly what your users are interacting with. Whether they’re targeting specific pages or sharing them on Facebook, Google and the authors of the post can compile live data that creates one unified strategy.
Here is an example of how this worked for a client’s money page: The site focused on ranking high for keywords that had low competition, and so the webmaster created a number of supplementary pieces of content that linked back to the main money page. Despite the search term being reasonably competitive and no links coming into the site, it ranks at number one for its main keyword.
When people arrive at article pages, they read and click on links leading to the money page. They are then exposed to advertising, which causes the main keywords to rank higher in search results. In order for this strategy to be successful, it is necessary to focus on internal links and user behavior.
Another example is this link here — which links to a page on this blog about digital marketing for small businesses. It’s just as valuable in many ways as an inbound link from another site and, of course, it helps readers to navigate to other pages they find interesting. This, in turn, helps your engagement metrics and improves your rankings.
Perform in-depth keyword research.
The most important step in your keyword research is defining which keywords are most valuable to you. You want keywords that are as competitive as possible, regardless of CPC, and then you want to find less competitive queries where the content best matches your main solution.
Long-tail keywords are simply keywords that are more specific and detailed than the average keyword. For example, instead of just using the keyword “shoes”, you might use a long-tail keyword like “women’s size 10 black leather shoes”. Long-tail keywords are great for a couple of reasons: firstly, they’re usually much easier to rank for than more general keywords, and secondly, they tend to convert better as they’re more specific to what the searcher is looking for.
In my opinion, the wrong way to do keyword research is to look at what competitiveness a keyword has and then try for something less competitive. What you will get for this is ranking for low-competition keywords, but low-competition keywords are of low interest as not many people want them. My advice is different: to start with the most popular search term first, choose the one with the highest search volume, and go on from there. This approach and my advice have proven to be successful.
Optimize Your Images
Images are an important part of any website, but they’re often overlooked when it comes to SEO.
Whenever you upload a new image to your site, make sure to include relevant keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief description of the image. This will help search engines index your images and improve your chances of appearing in image search results.
Use Structured Data
Structured data is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. This can be in the form of adding information about your products and services, as well as your business opening hours, contact details, and more. In short, it’s a way of making your site more “machine-readable”, which can in turn help you rank higher in search results.
Optimize for Voice Search
With the rise of digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, more and more people are using voice search to find the information they need online. And since these devices are often used hands-free, searchers tend to use more natural, conversational language when asking their questions. This means that optimizing your website for voice search is essential if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Some tips for doing this include using long-tail keywords, using natural language, and including question words such as “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, and “how”.
What Are the Main Areas of SEO?
Technical SEO generally refers to the practice of optimizing a website so that it can be more easily found and indexed by search engine crawlers. By making sure that your site is well-structured and easy to navigate, you can help ensure that crawlers will be able to find and index your content. In addition, by providing relevant and keyword-rich titles and descriptions, you can improve your chances of appearing in the search results for relevant queries.
While technical SEO is important for helping crawlers find and index your content, it’s also important to remember that promotion and authority SEO are also important factors in determining your site’s position in the search results. By promoting your site through social media, backlinking, and other strategies, you can help improve your site’s visibility and authority, making it more likely to appear higher in the search results.
Ultimately, by focusing on both technical and promotion/authority SEO, you can give your site the best chance of appearing prominently in the search results.
Final Thought: This Won’t Cost You A Thing
The lesson from this article is that there are many ways to improve SEO. To be most effective, you should use each of the above methods well. I always use these methods for my clients because they are simple but provide a strong foundation for further SEO projects and, best of all, apart from the cost of your time the are all completely free!
