Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of making improvements to your website to increase your visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). There are several ways you can optimize your site, from straightforward changes that take minutes or hours, to more advanced strategies that take months and lots of expertise.
The truth is, no one knows the exact factors that influence google bots to rank one website higher than another – search engines like google keep the secret to how their algorithms work tightly guarded. However, there are some factors that impact search engine rankings that we know for certain. Here is a checklist of things you should review and consider as you work on improving your SEO:
- Domain-level Link Authority or Domain Authority (DA):
Domain-level link authority is important for SEO – it is the measure of how relevant your website is to a particular industry or topic. Google considers the DA of a website as one of the major ranking factors when it comes to generating organic search benefits. Your DA represents an index of how important your site is crucial in determining both search engine rankings and click-through rates.
Look at it this way… DA is the measure of your domain’s popularity and page authority in the eyes of Google. This value ranges from 1 to 100, where anything above 20 indicates that you have a high-ranking website that is likely to be returned on search engine results pages (SERPs). All other things being equal, you should try to build a website that has higher DA than other websites in your industry niche.
- Page-level Keyword and Content Features
SEO Keyword targeting is one of the most important aspects to consider when developing content. When creating content, you must start with research. You are probably wondering how to find keywords for SEO? Well, there are many great tools that help you identify the questions your audience are asking and the keywords they are using online; we recommend ahrefs or Spyfu. If you utilize keyword research your content is likely to get amplified. Think about it – search engines want to provide the best content to their users; so, the more relevant content you create, the better for your brand. Your main goal should be to make sure that all your content is optimized for search engines, with exact match phrases in your copy and meta tags.
- Page-level Keyword Agnostic Features
Beyond just the copy – SEO considers other factors. This includes factors such as how much content is on each page – your page must have enough data to be considered useful. The goal is to keep your audience as engaged as possible – the longer they stay on your website the more they trust you. If you had a webpage with only a hundred words, it would leave the user wanting for more information which they are likely to go and find on your competitor’s website. Although you need content, SEO also considers the quality of that content. Remember it can’t be fluff, it still must be relevant content that keeps the reader engaged and funnels them into taking a desired action. Finally, also consider adding images to the page and making sure your website loads fast on both desktop and mobile.
- Domain Level Brand Features
This is an obvious one, yet people forget. Trends are a thing and search engines know it. That’s why marketing is an ongoing endeavour; you cannot give your brand 15 minutes of fame and expect it to last a lifetime. SEO considers how often your brand name or domain is mentioned online. The more you can get people and other website talking about you or your products/ services the more traffic you will start to see on your website.
- Usage and traffic data
Search engines also consider the traffic coming to your website (and your bounce rate). However, its not about getting anyone to visit your website – it must be the right people. For example, if l am looking to buy an umbrella, then you trick me into landing on your website which sells sunglasses; l will likely leave in 2 seconds. Its about creating more of the right traffic. The more people visit AND STAY on your website the higher your domain authority. Search engines also consider how often people search for your brand as well as your social metrics on social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
- Link Building/ Backlinks
Link building is a powerful SEO tool that drives website traffic and improves search engine rankings. A vast number of websites rely on link building to create more exposure. By creating links with other high quality relevant sites, you can boost your search presence and generate more sales. Try to get links from domains that have domain authority of at least 20.94% (80/100) and a high Page Rank. Page Rank is reported to be another important consideration for search engines to rank your webpage higher than others. At Scrape Inc. we like to look at link building as networking for websites, you can totally target your audience and increase traffic to your site through strategic partnerships.
- Social Metrics
Finally, Social is believed to also play a factor in your SEO. Which makes sense if you think about it. Your social media activity paints a picture, how many people like you and engage with you. Are people clicking on the links you provide and ending up on your website? Everything works together to drive traffic to your website and essentially increase qualified leads and grow your revenue!
SEO is super important to the growth of your business. Most people don’t scroll past the first couple of pages of google. If your business is not showing up in search engine results for the products or services that you offer, then you have work to do. Lucky for you, we love doing this stuff, so you don’t have to. Our SEO service starts at $489 per month and can includes any of the factors discussed here. Contact us request a proposal.
Email contact@scrapeinc.com to book a free strategy session and discuss your SEO requirements today.