8 Tips to Optimize Your Search Engine Ranking

When people think of search engine optimization (SEO), they tend to think of complicated mathematical formulas and obscure keywords that you’d only ever know if you were an SEO expert or if you’d been around the industry long enough to pick up some valuable tips and tricks along the way. The reality, however, is that optimizing your search engine ranking isn’t as complicated as it might sound and can be achieved by using a few simple strategies and tricks that aren’t too difficult to execute.

1) Create killer titles ForSearch Engine Ranking

Search engines look at your title tags, so make sure they’re keyword-rich. Titles can also help boost clickthroughs on social media, where people have less time to read through the content. Try creating a few different titles (don’t be afraid of longer ones!) that incorporate keywords relevant to your topic and think about which one would perform best on social media. If you’re not sure what works best for your audience, try A/B testing them by running two headlines for each post. You might find that one performs better than another—but don’t stop there! Keep experimenting with different titles until you find what works best for you.

2) Create killer meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are an often-overlooked search engine ranking factor. They’re plain text descriptions of your page that get displayed in search results, right below your title. Although they’re not directly searchable, meta descriptions can influence clicks—if they’re persuasive enough, searchers may choose to click through just based on these short blurbs alone. Be clear and concise: To come off as a helpful resource rather than a spammy sales pitch (which is what search engines tend to look for), make sure you use clear, straightforward language in your meta description. Use keyword research tools: Tools like Keyword Planner can help you get a better sense of how competitive certain keywords are for your business.

3) Keep it relevant, but concise

Do you want people to read your search engine ranking tips? Then make sure they actually have something in common with your post. If you know that everyone who finds your post is going to be searching for SEO tips, then make sure your headline reflects that. The same goes for keywords: Include exactly what someone looking at search results would type into Google, but remember to keep it relevant. If you’re talking about keyword density, don’t write a full paragraph on how important it is—just include a sentence or two. That way, when someone searches for keyword density, they won’t get a paragraph of information unrelated to their query.

4) Use keywords in your first paragraph

When someone searches for your product or service, they’re looking for information—and they want it fast. When you write a post that shows up in search results, try using keywords in your first paragraph as well as throughout. These words will help people know what they’re getting when they click on your link. Using compelling opening sentences is particularly important since many readers only get a few seconds to decide whether or not to stay on your page.

5) Add more content For Search Engine Ranking

Unless you’re trying to game Google, there’s no need for your site to contain only one page. If you have multiple pages of content around a single topic, it’s more likely that people will find exactly what they want on your site, rather than having them leave when they don’t find what they expect. To create more thorough pages that rank well in search engines like Google, use H1 tags liberally; these titles are used as anchor text in search engine results (or as clickable links) and are a good way to let people know that your page is going to answer their question.

6) Think outside the box

When it comes to search engine optimization, don’t feel you have to follow all of the rules. Breaking search engine algorithms is not recommended, but sometimes it can be okay if you’re willing to take a calculated risk. For example, if you want your website links to appear higher in search results than they are naturally ranked, go ahead and take action—but know that there may be a consequence later on when your rankings drop. There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to SEO; just do what works best for your business and feels safest for your bottom line.

7) Include a picture

Images are far more likely to be shared on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Not only does adding an image make your post more visually appealing, but including one may help you rank higher in search engines. Google’s algorithm has a special place for articles with images that relate to the topic of a post. Be sure your photo has a file name that will clearly explain what it is (i.e., top-5-search-engine-optimization-tricks) for potential customers who come across it through search engines. Remember: if you’re not ranking on page one for your target keywords, someone else will be (and likely paying their way there). You want to make sure your brand or product comes up first!

8) Build links back to your site

link building is an integral part of all SEO efforts. The more inbound links your site has, from high-quality websites, that are relevant to your business, are going to be helpful for search engine optimization (SEO). But how do you get these links? It's not as hard as you might think. You can start by reaching out on social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. You can also build a press release website that generates incoming links or even write guest posts for other sites in your industry that may link back. Once you've built up a good number of quality links over time, you'll see a marked improvement in your search engine ranking and search engine results pages (SERPs).

Conclusion

For many website owners, search engine ranking is still a black art. We know it’s important, but we can’t help feeling like there’s something intangible about it. So we end up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars each year on fees from people who claim they have an amazing formula for boosting our rankings—but none of it works for long. The truth is that there are no miracle shortcuts to improving your search engine ranking.