Everyone has started moving their businesses online, because of the pandemic and the general growth in the digital direction. This means, there’s more competition online, and it gets harder for your website to rank higher on search engines. This is why it’s integral to improve your online visibility, so your business can grow organically.
Lots of people look for shortcuts, but you need to remember that SEO is a long-term project and not just a one-night fix. If anyone promises you immediate results, be skeptical about it because there’s nothing immediate about SEO.
If you’re considering hiring a digital marketing agency in the UK to handle your SEO, think about Explosion Digital as a good option. One of our key rules is transparency, so we’ll keep you part of the process throughout, and we’re honest about our timelines. We don’t make empty promises and understand SEO through and through enough to calculate the trajectory of your business.
If you’re planning on handling your website’s SEO on your own, that’s great too! Though it is time consuming and requires lots of dedication, if you have the time, then go for it. This article will give you a few tips on how you can use SEO to boost your visibility on (Google) search engine result pages (SERPs) and rank higher.
Just How Long Does It Take To Rank Higher?
We’re sure the first question on your mind is just how long it’s going to take for you to get your website to rank higher on Google. Well, we can’t give a definitive answer for that, because it really depends on quite a few factors.
As frustrating as it is, it’s the truth. SEO isn’t just a one-shot thing, there are lots of unique variables involved. Some factors that highly affect your ranking are skill, budget, competition, and how your website stands out against said competition.
So, keeping these factors in mind, we’ll help break down ways you can make the process a little faster and more efficient. Bear in mind, though, that your best bet is to hire digital marketing agencies in London to help manage your on-page SEO and other marketing needs. A digital marketing agency in Amersham or any other location close to you will be able to better track your website’s progress and help you understand the SERP ladder better.
How To Move Up The SERP Ladder
Now that you’ve been given an answer for the most asked question, we can move on to ways you can get your website to rank higher. So, if you’re ready for your business to move up the SERP ladder, keep the following in mind!
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Make Your Foundation Good
When your website isn’t structured well, and the information on your website is all scattered, no amount of SEO campaigns can help you rank higher. It is integral for your website to have a strong foundation in order to grow organically. Having a website that is difficult to navigate and for Google to analyse is a sure-shot way to murder your ranking. Think about “usability” before anything else and set a strong foundation for your website.
- Do a Technical SEO Audit: Google goes through a very intricate process when determining search rankings. So, make sure you get all the SEO basics out of the way so you have the upper hand when it comes to competition.
- Get Rid of Duplicate Content: Issues related to duplicate content are often intertwined with technical problems. The most common one is the existence of multiple versions of the same page. Remember, you’re on Earth, not travelling the infinite multiverses. So, make sure to sort out any duplicate content issues so Google doesn’t see you as spam. Make sure to set the right redirect rules in your .htaccess file.
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Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Optimized
Google recently rolled out a “mobile-first” index, so your website has to be mobile-friendly in order to even be recognised by Google. Google says that the mobile version of your page will be used for indexing and ranking, so you really should put a strong focus on mobile functionality and optimization!
- Task-oriented: When making your website task-friendly to users, you have to think about the flow of movement of a user on your website. What do they want to do once they land on your page? Once you know this, you can optimize your website based on this and give your users a smooth experience, so they can even multi-task. So, think about 3-5 objectives and then make sure they can be reached without any effort.
- Performance-oriented: Google now uses page speed as a huge factor for ranking. So, if your website has lots of images that increase loading time, or your visitors have to scroll endlessly to find your products, you may be in trouble.. Most times, connections are slower on mobile than on PCs, so you need to optimize your website to run fast on mobile too.
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Speed Optimization
Using the Google PageSpeed tool can help you understand your site’s speed progress better. It’s integral to monitor your site’s speed on both desktop and mobile, since it’s a key factor in Google’s ranking regimen. To optimize your page when it comes to speed, do this:
- Image Size: The file size of your image matters. You can use your favorite editing program, but before uploading make sure your image file size isn’t too hard to read. Optimize your image by using image compression and optimizing tools. And, always make sure the dimension of your image fits into the reversed image space so your live webpage has a clean and structured look.
- Browser Caching: Add a code to your web host/server access file to enable browser caching. If you’re using WordPress, there are plugins that can help you!
- Script Handling: Before adding extra files to enhance your website, make sure you actually need the augmentations. JS and CSS files tend to slow down your website significantly. You can minify your files as well.
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Keep Your Links in Check
Your website’s ranking is affected by both internal and external links. So, to keep your links in check, do this:
- Fix Broken Links
- Exact Match Anchor Text
- Turn Site Mentions into Links
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Work on On-Page Optimization
Though it may seem like the opposite, Google actually wants to help you rank higher. In fact, they have a SEO Starter Guide for people interested in promoting their content via search.
Follow this guide to improve your website’s architecture and client journey, so you’ll be leagues ahead of competitors!
Consistency Is Key
As we mentioned earlier, SEO isn’t just a one-shot fix. You have to be consistent in your on-page work so Google can recognize your SEO efforts. This often requires lots of time and patience, and the only true way to be efficient about it is to have a whole team working on just this.
So, if you really want to make your business grow online organically, you should hire a digital marketing agency in the UK. Digital marketing agencies in London and Amersham have entire teams dedicated to helping you with your SEO, and other marketing needs.
Conclusion
If you’re considering hiring a digital marketing agency in the UK, why settle for less when you can have the best? Explosion Digital is one of the best digital marketing agencies in London, and we’re here to help with all your online needs! So, if you want to explode into the digital world, Explosion Digital will help you get there!