Where does your website rank in the search engines? If it’s several pages deep — or nowhere to be found at all — you won’t be generating many sales. But neither Google nor any of the major search engines have revealed the exact formula they use to rank websites, so how do are you supposed to obtain a higher rank?
Make it Mobile-Friendly
We’ve talked about this before on the GreenVineMarketing blog, but in case you didn’t get the memo, mobile Internet traffic now surpasses desktop traffic. In other words, more people now access the Internet on their mobile devices than desktops and laptops. Google, Bing and Yahoo have updated their ranking algorithm to encourage webmasters to create mobile-friendly websites. Websites that are compatible on mobile devices will receive a slight boost in their search ranking, so make sure your site caters to this demographic.
Reduce Load Times
Google first announced the use of site speed as a ranking signal back in 2010, citing internal studies that showed visitors spend less time on slow-loading websites. If you are looking to improve your site’s search rankings — and I’m assuming you are — optimize your site for faster load times. This may include consolidating CSS files, enabling browser caching, enabling GZIP compression, limiting plugins/add-ons, and using a content delivery network (CDN).
Build Backlinks
While the search engines are constantly updating their ranking algorithms, backlinks remain one of the most influential signals. If a website has a large number of high-quality backlinks from relevant sources, it will naturally rank higher in the search engines than its competitors. It’s just that simple. Rather than mass producing backlinks on any platform you come across, though, you should selectively choose your backlinks based on their quality. A handful of high-quality links will be much more beneficial than hundreds or even thousands of low-quality, irrelevant links.
Publish New Content
According to Google, publishing high-quality content is the single most important thing that webmasters can do to encourage higher search rankings. And when Google makes a statement like this, it’s usually a good idea to heed its advice. Try to get into the habit of publishing at least once article or post per week, more if you have the time. New content-rich pages will increase your visibility in the search engines, attracting more visits and subsequently higher search rankings.
Embrace Social Media
If you aren’t using social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, you are missing out on one of the easiest ways to encourage higher search rankings. After you publish a new article, log into your social media accounts to share it. Assuming the content is good, other users will like and share it with their friends, some of whom may share it with their friends. This can create a viral effect in which floods of new visitors come pouring into your site.
