15 quick SEO wins to improve your search ranking today

Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be an absolute minefield. The big players (looking at you, Google) have all kinds of rules and guidelines that determine how high a website will rank, and they’re constantly changing, updating and reconsidering how they figure all this out.

There’s no denying that SEO is a long game, and it can take months and even years to truly yield the best results. But the fact is, it’s a game that’s definitely worth playing.

We’re not going to talk you through the ins-and-outs of search engine optimisation today (we’ll leave that to the SEO experts), but we are going to share some of our relatively quick wins that you can start implementing right now in order to get a head start on your website’s search ranking.

1. Optimise title tags

Your title tags don’t feature on your webpage, but they appear prominently on search engine results as the clickable link to open your page. It’s a good idea to optimise these to include relevant keywords that will lead people to your website.

1. Add visual elements

From Google’s perspective, images can add lots of value to your website. They can enhance your text and create a better all-round user experience. It’s a good idea to use visual elements on your website to provide clarity to your readers, helping them navigate your site with ease and get the most out of your content.

1. Optimise your images

While you’re busy adding images to your site, you should also consider how you can optimise them for SEO. Resizing them to help the page load faster, using alt tags to explain what the image is, and optimising your file names are just a few ways you can help Google understand what value your images are bringing to the table.

1. Incorporate videos

Embedding useful or engaging videos into your webpages can really help boost your analytics by encouraging people to spend longer on the page and lowering bounce rates. When these stats start moving in a positive direction, Google will be the first to notice.

1. Update and refresh old blog posts

Your SEO strategy should include keeping your blog up to date with new and fresh content on the regular. Another great tip is to go back through your existing content and update it, making sure your posts still align with your audience’s search intent.

1. Set up analytics and diagnostic tools

This may sound like an obvious one, but make sure you have Google Analytics or other diagnostic tools set up so you can keep an eye on your SEO performance. By keeping track of how you’re doing, you’ll also learn which areas need improving and be able to use this information to guide your efforts.

1. Optimise page speed

Page speed can have a big impact on your search ranking, so make sure your visual elements don’t take too long to load. It’s all about giving your audience a good experience on your site, and nobody wants to sit around waiting for webpages to load.

1. Speed up your hosting

A really important factor in website speed is your hosting provider. You should pay close attention when getting your site set up to ensure you’re making the right choice. If you’re hosting isn’t working hard enough for you – find a better provider.

1. Enhance your website security

Many website owners don’t realise the negative impact a cyber-attack can have on search rankings, but Google is always paying attention to this kind of thing. If your website has insufficient security, your site could end up ranking much lower than it should do.

1. Do your keyword research

Use keyword research tools to determine what questions users are typing into Google, and how they’re finding websites like yours. Use this knowledge to guide your content, providing answers to those questions.

1. Observe your competitors

Do you know who your competitors are? It’s a good idea to pay close attention to the keywords they’re using, because you may just be able to outrank them with better content.

1. Add internal links

Adding internal links between your pages is a very useful practice that is often overlooked by many website owners. Make sure your website is super easy to navigate, and point your users back in the direction of other pages wherever possible.

1. Optimise anchor texts

Anchor text is the phrase you use to link to other pages. When used properly, it can improve the relevance of the linked webpage by telling users (and Google) what the linked page is about. For example, when leading users to the “About Us” page, use words like “find out more about us” instead of “click here”.

1. Add an About Us page

Speaking of “About Us” pages – by adding information about you and your brand to your website, you can really improve its authority in Google Search. Pages like “Customer service” or “Contact Information” can improve the website’s ranking, plus they’re really useful for your audience.

1. Utilise Featured Snippets

Featured Snippets are the short paragraphs of text that appear at the top of a Google search results page. The content is automatically pulled from a web page, and they’re really handy for providing users with quick answers to their questions. If you’re able to get your content in the Featured Snippet box, you could dramatically improve your organic click-through rate.

When used alone, these “quick wins” won’t go a long way to improving your SEO because there is no magic fix when it comes to search engines. But when used in harmony together, you may just start to see a difference. If you’d like to chat more about how you can optimise your website and get the most out of the search engines, get in touch!