Google a product you sell. Where do you rank? Is it on the first page? Are you in the top 3?

Your competitors may be ranking above you because they have developed a successful SEO strategy that spans across all pages of their website. In turn, they get traffic that is targeted and relevant.

Ranking on Google and other search engines is a combination of many elements that can and will change. When you invest in SEO, you invest in a consistent source of revenue and traffic —allowing your brand to reach customers when they are searching for you.

SEO may be short for “Search Engine Optimization,” but ultimately, it is a large and dynamic jigsaw puzzle of your marketing efforts.

Keywords

Words and phrases that describe what your content is about are known as “keywords.” The keywords you choose to include in your content will determine the organic traffic that your website receives. You should go about the keyword research process strategically. Understand the needs of your visitors, and begin by identifying which popular keywords could drive traffic to your site. Then, you must determine if it is even possible to rank for the keywords you have chosen. You can gauge the competitiveness of a keyword by searching it in Google and viewing who ranks. If local businesses rank, it is possible for you to also rank. If national businesses are ranking first, the keyword is highly competitive and you will likely not be able to rank for it.

Quality Content

Quality content makes your business worthy of ranking high and taking an impressive search engine position. Consider SEO expert Rand Fishkin's observation that, "better content is outweighing more content."  He has found that including meaningful and relevant content improves SEO performance more than just adding a lot of superficial content. Content should be focused around keywords that make sense for your business and are useful to your customers.

Reviews

On Google Support’s “Improve Your Local Ranking on Google” page,  they state the importance of reviews and improving your local ranking by using Google My Business. When you interact with customers and respond to reviews it shows you value your customers. The more positive the reviews are, the more likely someone will choose to visit your business and the better your visibility will be. Learn more on Google’s support page.

Link Building

Following a link building strategy is important. It involves incorporating internal links (links that connect internal pages of the same domain) and backlinks (also known as inbound links or external links that point from one website to another) to help you build trust and authority with search engines.

Social Media

Social media is a factor that indirectly influences your search rankings. When used properly, social media has the power to increase your online visibility, drive traffic to your website and increase your authority. It is important you use social media to inform, entertain, and entice your audience to take action, so they visit your website.

Listings Accuracy

Consistent and accurate information across all of your online business listings allows you to build trust with Google, Bing, Apple Maps, and your customers. Slight variations, such as an old phone number on Yahoo, affects how search engines view and ultimately rank your business. Check your online business listing's accuracy with our free scanner.

Time

If your domain and site are new, it will take time for search engines to consider your authority on content subjects and rank your site accordingly. The amount of time people spend on a page after finding it via search also plays a key role in your search position.

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Improving your ranking begins with reviewing your SEO strategy and understanding what matters to Google, Bing, and other search engines. Although Google’s algorithm undergoes constant changes, we know that in 2020 ranking is a result of many different factors (some with larger roles than others).

If you aren’t ranking where you believe you should, or you found your business information is incorrect on multiple platforms, our team can help! Fill out our project form or give us a call today at 985-602-0600.