Businesses, brands and companies all across the country need to consider their ranking across Google at all times in order to gain the best results when searched for.
By appearing higher on Google, people are more likely to click on your company site over those who sit below you. Potential customers and clients trust those who sit higher, as not a lot of people search past the first page when it comes to Google (67% of people choose one of the first five search results).
With more than 20 social media platforms available at your disposal just for marketing, it can be difficult to make time to keep track of your Google ranking on top of that. But the truth is, this ranking is primarily based off of your website and online presence.
Google is still the most popular website worldwide and gets more than 86 billion total monthly visits. When you compare this to some of the most popular social media sites, Facebook gets only 20 billion total monthly visits, while Instagram attracts just over 4 billion respectively. As a matter of fact, for the past decade, Google held the first spot as the most popular website.
This is why it is extremely important to appear high on Google search results, with this task still one of the biggest challenges any company has to face. The competitive nature of Google and businesses worldwide make it tricky, but not impossible. Here are some top tips and tricks that you should use in order to make your business appear higher on Google.
The Use of Keywords/Low Quality Content (SEO)
Keywords surrounding your business are key to attracting new searches across Google. Google uses the keywords on your website to decide whether to display it as a direct search result or a recommendation. If you haven’t optimised your site for the right keywords and key phrases, you could be missing out on valuable organic search traffic. Having this content focused around your business sector, no matter what people search for on Google, as long as it is linked to your business’ services/products, you have more chance of appearing higher on the results list.
Content is one of the most important ranking factors for Google, which looks at your website content to determine the overall quality of your site and whether it provides value to visitors. If your copy across the site is of poor quality and does not read well, people will not trust your site, and neither will Google. Even the simple factors such as spelling mistakes or grammatical errors will turn customers away from your site, especially if you are showcasing yourself as a professional company. By including other features that differ to traditional copy such as video and imagery, this will also improve your SEO across your webpage.
Functionality and Security (Technical SEO)
If your site is slow to load, throws errors, does not use correct encryption and has broken links, your site visitors will get frustrated and go elsewhere. This is also negative in terms of Google searches and appearing high on the list of results. Google likes sites that operate smoothly and don’t crash. If your website has any broken links, then these need to be sourced and fixed as soon as you can. By reducing your bounce rate by having links that work fast and are secure (virus friendly), customers are more likely to stay put on your website and complete business with you.
Create a GMB Profile
Businesses can also get a better Google ranking for local searches by creating a Google My Business (GMB) profile. In short, a Google My Business profile helps you to control how your business appears across Google. This can be used to highlight key products, appear on Google maps, or to share your opening times, the possibilities across a GMB profile are endless.
So, double-check that all your business details, like contact details, business hours, and address, are correct and complete. According to Google’s help page, relevance and prominence play a key role. If your Google My Business profile closely links to what your target audience typically searches for, Google will find it easier to match your profile to the right searches. Interaction with customers such as reviews and feedback also helps to boost your local ranking on Google.
To summarise…
Ultimately, if more people visit your website, you have more opportunity to turn these visitors into new customers and to generate positivity for your business. However, it’s not just about winning new customers (or diverting some of your competitors’ potential customers). It also helps to boost the credibility of your brand or business. While credibility might sound more boring than new customers and more profit, if you can convince your target audience that you’re one of the most credible sources in your niche, it will, at the end, also help to turn leads into paying customers.