The Best SEO Tactics To Use In 2019
Most of us typically have a general idea of what Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is. SEO has something to do with keywords and Google, and the main goal is to increase website traffic. In very simplified terms, yes, that is correct. In reality, it is a bit more complex than that.
Search engine optimisation is the process of improving your website from many different aspects.
To better understand how to do it, it is first important to understand how Google and other search engines evaluate websites. Over the years Google has introduced multiple algorithms, what I would call little helpers.
So let’s get a quick overview of Google’s core algorithms:
Hummingbird is Google’s main algorithm. It goes beyond the meaning of the individual words that the searcher types in and instead tries to understand the relationship between the words in order to match them with the best SERP result (Search Engine Result Page).
PageRank is the oldest algorithm, around since the start of Google. Fun Fact: it is named after the Google founders, Larry Page. The purpose of PageRank is to evaluate the importance and reputation of a webpage.
Panda was launched in 2011 to serve Google users with superb website content and to reduce the number of websites with low-quality content. By low-quality, I mean spammy pages that, for instance, have either very little text, duplicated content from other websites, information with very little value to the reader, or a high ad-to-content ratio.
Penguin launched a year later and has the same goal as Panda but relates more to keyword stuffing and backlinks from external websites. Generally, backlinks help websites build their authority and relevance, but this takes time and good content. Some website owners might take the easy way out and buy unnatural backlinks or use a large number of keywords to manipulate Google’s ranking system.
RankBrain learns the human language through artificial intelligence with the goal of understanding the searcher’s intent on Google.
Now that we have a better grasp of the algorithms, here are the best three SEO tactics for you to start your SEO strategy:
1. Mobile comes first! This year, in 2019, Google introduced mobile-first indexing, which basically means the mobile version will be considered as the primary version of your website. So, if your website is not optimised for mobile, you will face a lower rating.
Not sure if your site is mobile friendly? You can use Google’s mobile-friendly test to check. If you discover that you only have a desktop-optimised website, no need to panic; Google has also provided a few recommendations to help website owners prepare for the changes.
As soon as the mobile version is launched make sure to add and verify it in Google Search Console.
2. Link building: internally, externally and with backlinks.
Internal links are a great way to reference your older content in your new blog post. This has many benefits. First, you can showcase your readers your industry knowledge and keep them longer on your site. Secondly, it helps Google easily discover the rest of the webpages and to make connections between them. Last but not least, it contributes to your SERP ranking.
External links, on the other hand, are referencing sources outside of your own website. When you write an article and would like to quote some statistics, for example, you can give the reader the option to check the statistics in more detail by providing them with a hyperlink to the other website that you got the information from. This is a two-way street, so you also benefit from this. When you are linking to high-authority domains, it brings you a step closer to the top 10 SERPs.
Backlinks, as mentioned earlier, are checked by Google Panda, to ensure they are authoritative. It does take time to earn those links. Here are some tips on how to earn them: publish valuable and high-quality content that people will like, quote and refer to in their blogs.
3. Competitors are a great source of inspiration when it comes to SEO tactics. See which of your competitors’ websites are ranking higher than yours and investigate the reason why. One of the secrets could be the keywords they are using. A good (paid) tool you can use for the competitor keyword research is Spyfu. Simply enter the website of your biggest competitors and Spyfu will tell you which organic keywords are the top ranking, ones that maybe you never thought of using or writing content about. Don’t forget that high-quality content will bring you more traffic and backlinks, that will again help you rank higher and higher with Google.
Before you begin applying our web page optimisation tips, first go and assess the current position of your website and see how it currently ranks. This Keyword Rank Checker will help you determine your current position in the SERP in Google. Write this number down and come back to it after a few months’ time to see if your SEO efforts paid off. Keep in mind that this is a long process and it takes time to rank among the top 10 web pages, but you can do it, I know it! Good luck!
SPIN Ideas is a strategy marketing agency, focusing on startups and SMS. We help our clients find their place in the market and grow. You want to hear more about what we do and have monthly marketing updates, subscribe to SPIN Ideas’ Journal.
