7 SEO Strategies That Work

Note: Before reading this post, make sure you’ve 1. Selected keywords to optimise for, and 2. Done an SEO competitor analysis. Once you’ve got your SEO keywords and competitors lined up, read on.

So you know which keyword phrases you want your website to rank for in Google Search, and who your SEO competitors are that are currently ranking high for those same keywords. What do you do next?

Simply put, you need an SEO strategy. Or more likely, multiple SEO strategies that you can implement at various stages. There are so many things you can do to improve your SEO and so many variables at play that your SEO strategy will change frequently. Start by focusing on one or more of the SEO strategies highlighted below:

Infographic via act-on

Mimic Your Competitors

In our last post about SEO Competitor Analysis, we pointed out many things to look for when analysing your keyword competitors. Take a look at the list you compiled of things your competitors are doing well and see if it makes sense to implement any of these same strategies on your own website. If it worked for them, it could very well work for you.

Please don’t straight-up copy your competitors, though. Put your own spin on their SEO tactics and produce your own original content. Ultimately you want to stand out from everyone else, so put some thought into how you can achieve this.

Produce Excellent Content

We’ve said it before, and we’ll continue to preach the importance of having quality content on your website. First, Google rewards websites with great content by ranking them higher. And second, you need to give people a reason to land on your website and click through to enquire about your services.

Start by focusing on improving each individual page within your website. There should be a healthy balance of text and images on every page. Also make sure you’ve made it very clear on your homepage what your company or website is about: if you make visitors work to find that out, they will bounce. If you have dedicated pages that outline the services and products you offer, think about how you could improve them so that visitors feel compelled to read more or click through to contact you.

You might also consider incorporating a blog into your website. Publishing useful new articles regularly gives people more reasons to find and return to your site, and gives Google more pages that can rank for the questions your customers ask.

On-Page Optimisation

Next, you need to let Google know that you’ve produced this great content. This is where you get your hands dirty with some on-page optimisation.

Start with a site audit and real search data

Before you change any pages, check what’s already holding your site back. A site audit tool, such as the Site Audit in Semrush (the tool behind our monthly SEO reports), crawls your website and lists problems like broken links, crawl errors and duplicate content. Fix those first, so your optimisation work isn’t undone by technical issues.

It’s also worth checking your keyword list against real search data. Google’s free Keyword Planner shows roughly how often a keyword is searched in your area and how much advertisers compete for it. If a keyword is barely searched, drop it and put your effort where people are actually looking.

Have we lost you yet? Fear not, it’s actually a lot simpler than it sounds. On-page optimisation calls for strategically inserting your keyword phrases throughout each page of your website, including:

• In your title tags, headers, and meta descriptions
• In the alt tags and filenames of your images
• Throughout the body text

If you’re not sure how exactly to do all of that, install the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin and it will provide a checklist for you to follow in order to optimise each page and post on your site.

Be mindful of not overdoing it, though. The point is to work those keywords in naturally so that it doesn’t look like you’re doing it for SEO purposes. Practise White Hat SEO techniques and you should be fine.

Image via Tech-Line

Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

Many of your visitors will be on their phones, and Google now reads the mobile version of every website first (see our guide to mobile-first indexing). Make it easy for people to navigate and contact you as they browse your website on their smartphone. If it takes them more than a tap or two to find what they’re looking for on your mobile site, they will probably leave.

Is your site mobile-friendly? Grab your smartphone right now and open it up on your browser to find out. If it doesn’t quite look right, consider redesigning your site and using a more responsive theme.

Don’t Forget About Social Media

Social media is an important part of online marketing. When used well, it can be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. And more importantly (at least in this case), you can use social media to improve SEO.

If you’re not sure which social media platform to start using, read our guide to deciding which social media to use for your business.

Collect Backlinks

Off-page optimisation is another variable to the SEO equation that encompasses things that you can do OFF your website to optimise it. Really, it boils down to one thing: backlinks. Aim to get your site link added on other websites, preferably those with related content and a good reputation. Third-party tools such as Moz Link Explorer estimate a site’s authority. If Google sees many trustworthy sites linking to yours, it treats that as a sign your site is valuable, which can help you rank higher.

There are hundreds of ways to earn links from other sites. Our guide to backlinks is a good place to start.

Keep Monitoring Your Keyword Ranking

SEO is not a “set it and forget it” thing: once you’ve optimised your site, your work isn’t done. You should be continuously monitoring your search rankings and making tweaks accordingly over time.

For instance, say you make a habit of logging into Google Search Console once a week. You might notice one of your keyword phrases has climbed the rankings but isn’t quite on the first page yet. In order to get it there, you might focus on re-optimising your site for this particular keyword phrase.

Or by contrast, perhaps a keyword you optimised for hasn’t even cracked the Top 100 yet. If this is the case and it’s a high competition keyword, you might want to replace this keyword phrase with another similar one that you have a better chance of ranking for.

Need help with your SEO strategies? Contact us to learn more about the Mildura SEO services we offer at Rock Solid Marketing.