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Can you get higher in Google in a few days? Sure. It can even be done in one day if you do it right and if you’re lucky. But…. it’s not really about time. It’s about knowing what you can improve on a particular article you’ve written and published.
If you know what to improve and how, you can work in a targeted manner and determine how many days you work on search engine optimization (SEO). And any time investment can give your page the push needed to rise one or more positions.
So we’re going to do that. We are going to discuss a handful of tips and tactics that you can read in a few minutes to improve a page and then you can determine how much time you will spend on improving your post. Deal?
How to rank higher on Google.
To get higher in Google you have to match the demand (the keywords or search terms) and the search intention (what is the searcher really looking for?) with the offer or answer (your web page or article). Huh, what? Keyword? Search intent? What are you talking about, Richard? I’m talking about doing SEO (search engine optimization) the right way.
The specific words used to search for information on a particular topic are keywords or search terms. And the search intent is the real correct question behind the keywords. Suppose someone searches for marketing books. Then that person is not so much looking for a random marketing book or the oldest marketing book or even an overview of all marketing books. The search intent is about understanding this person. Why does he or she search for marketing books? With some common sense, insight into your target group and keyword analysis you come to the conclusion. Most likely, the searcher is looking for the best marketing books. He or she wants a list. A top 10. The intention is probably even more specific such as the best (online) marketing books for entrepreneurs. Keywords and search intentions are the foundation of SEO. The better you match supply (your post) to demand (the keywords or search terms plus search intention), the easier you rank.
1: Finding solutions.
Take a webpage that you want higher in Google. Scan the page quickly and ask yourself the questions:
- What problem does this page solve?
- What need does the web page fulfill?
- Or to which question does this page answer?
And then it comes: What words will a searcher use when he has that question, need, or problem? These are often terms that describe the problem or solution. Then search those words in Google and look at the search results. Are there any pages that address the same problem? If there are few or no pages, chances are you are either not using the words the searcher is using or you are solving a problem no one is looking for. However, here’s a nice shortcut that makes checking the search results unnecessary: Are there any Google search suggestions in the drop down box below the search bar? Then use the suggestion that best suits your article. You could also take a look at the related keywords, which are at the bottom of the search results. Here you will find keywords that people are also looking for. Is there a combination of words that describes the need? As you can see, the Google search results page offers several solutions for finding search terms that are often being used.
2. What problem do you solve?
You could also use a keyword planner and enter the relevant words. Keep in mind however, that, in general, keyword planners have limited functions and are time consuming. The Google search suggestions as mentioned under 1 are more relevant and much faster. However, a disadvantage is that there are no numbers and only a few suggestions. So it’s totally up to you what to use for your keyword research. The goal is to find a combination of words with some search volume. This doesn’t have to be much. A search volume of 1000 per month is enough.
3. Choose one very specific combination of words that best fits that question.
No, not one word, but a combination of descriptive words. The more specific, the better. So not: wedding photographer or midlife crisis. But modern wedding photographer Chicago or midlife crisis solutions for men. Actually, you change the question you answer to loose terms that the searcher will use when the searcher searches on Google. The more specific the question you answer (and the chosen keywords), the more likely you are to rank high. So not furnishing a living room, but tips and inspiration for furnishing a small living room. This is called long tail keywords. Alright. We now have a search term combination we want to rank on. Let’s go back to the problem your post solves.
4. Understanding the subject.
Okay. Now step into the shoes of the target group. Think like the searcher. Think of the whole problem. With all additional matters and concerns. All possible related questions. What do you hope to find when you search on the term you have chosen? Suppose you want to rank on midlife crisis solutions for men. What do you hope to find? What topics do you want to see? Here they are:
- You want your situation to be described.
- You want the consequences to be explained.
- You want to feel understood.
- You probably also want to be reassured. That it occurs more often. You want to hear other people’s experiences.
- You want to understand. Why is this happening?
- And, last but not least, you want concrete solutions.
5. Is your page or post the best web page on this specific topic?
That should be the goal of SEO. The best answer to a specific question. Read your article again. Is it really distinctive? Does it read well? Or, is it boring? What makes your page twice as good as the best competitor? Do you find this too difficult? Then Google the keywords and view the pages of the competitors. Is your page more elaborate, more complete, substantively stronger and more beautifully designed? Is the problem (and solution) extensively addressed and described? No? Even then there is nothing wrong with your approach. Every page can be better. And as long as there is a gap between what you like and what you can make, there is something you can improve. Research for approximately half an hour (collect extra facts, stories, quotes and figures) and use that extra information to expand and improve your text.
Important tip
The more specific the topic (the keywords), the easier it is to create one of the best web pages on the topic. However most subjects are very broad. An example is the subject of SEO, the one we are discussing right now. There simply are too many kinds of SEO needs that are similar. But, if you take a small part, for example: how to make the perfect SEO title, then that is a lot more feasible. And then you still don’t have to make the best page right away. That is basically impossible. Think of the page as a plant. One that you have to water now and then. A page that gets closer to the perfect page over time. Alright. We now have a webpage that is stronger in content. Let’s optimize it further.
6. Can the searcher immediately see that you can help him further?
Of course you can help him further, but can he see this? The searcher (and the search engine) must be able to see quickly and clearly that you can solve his problem. It should be obvious. In short: are you a hairdresser in Los Angeles? Say it then. In the title and on the page. Don’t let people and the search engine guess. Let’s take a quick look at how to optimize a web page for the user and the visitor. How do you get more visitors and customers in an honest, sustainable and realistic way?
- SEO title. A good article has a strong title
If you have installed the SEO plugin of Yoast on your WordPress website, you can create two titles. One for the search engine (which is shown in the search results) and one that is seen on the page itself. Often the normal title is already suitable for SEO, sometimes it is smarter to write a title specifically for the search engine. The perfect SEO title is clear, descriptive and inquisitive. Make a strong SEO title, which contains the search term combination.
- Bad: Home – Toys – Lego.
- Better: Toddler toys.
- Even better: The best educational toddler toys for in the car.
8. Be quick.
We are impatient. We don’t want to wait long for a page to load. Does it take longer than two seconds? Then chances are that some of the searchers will already click away and go to a competitor. There are a lot of ways to make your site faster. The best way to make a website faster is to purchase fast (WordPress) hosting from a quality provider. This can double the speed of your website. Is your site slow? Then it may be smart to move your website to another web hosting provider. Furthermore you can optimize images, reduce your image sizes, implement lazy loading, use caching and less heavy plugins. These are just a few examples that improve website speed. Again, if you are using WP, your life will be much easier because of the many available plugins that are able to boost website speeds in different ways.
9. A good article has an introduction that grabs attention.
Readers generally hastily read a text. They fly through a page and stop briefly at everything that catches the eye. But they almost always read the introduction. Here, reassure the reader by citing the problem you are solving and make the reader curious about the rest of what you have to say. It is smart to arrange the top of your article in a quiet way. Start with a single sentence. A powerful curiosity sentence. Followed by a short paragraph of two or three sentences. And maybe an image. Make reading easy. Make reading feel light.
10. A good SEO article has clear headlines.
Headings are the stop signs of web text. Use the attention a headline demands to convert a scanner into a reader. More headlines means more attention. And better headlines means more conversion. What are good headlines? They should be descriptive and make visitors curious.
- Boring: Advantages.
- Better: More time, less stress.
- Even better: How Peter achieved 246% more turnover with (search term).
11. Be the Walmart/Amazon of your niche.
Amazon is successful because you can buy everything there. Books? Check. Sleeping bags? Check. Hair clips? Check. A person no longer has to go to 3 different stores to buy the things he needs. So you have to try to create one place where the searcher can (almost) find answers to all of his questions. What information does the searcher need during, before or after reading? Is it an in-depth article? A related article? An explanation of a term? A manual? A follow-up article? Link to those pages. If they are on your website, top. Does another site have a better explanation? Link to them. Linking to the best articles also improves the quality of your article. On which other pages and blog articles on your website is the topic of the page you want to optimize, discussed? Place links from those pages to the page you are working on. Your entire site should be connected like a spider web via internal links.
How do you know which other articles are relevant to your web page?
You can use Google’s algorithm for this. Go to Google and type in the search bar: site:yourwebsite.com keyword. Then open those pages and link with a descriptive text to your web page. The more relevant links, the more powerful the page becomes. If you have WP you can automate this process with certain plugins for internal linking. Saves a lot of time and effort.
12. How much white space should I use?
Probably more than you use now. The less white space you use, the faster someone can theoretically read the text. The more white space you use without forcing visitors to scroll all the time, the easier the text reads and the better the text is understood. The latter is important on the Internet. Reading on the internet does not have the same motivation as reading a book. And, oh yes, short sentences are also easier to understand than long sentences.
13. Make the web page attractive.
Or rather, not disturbing. It’s much more difficult to convey a message through a written text than through a (personal) conversation. Therefore, don’t let the design of your website distract the reader. And use images. Images make a page easier and more attractive to read. It is a moment of rest for the eyes of the reader.
14. Be honest and personal.
It’s about trust. You want the reader to get to know, like and trust you. If the reader does that, then something will be done with your advice. You gain confidence by being yourself. By telling something about yourself. By sharing personal stories. The more personal, the more honest. This also ensures that your text cannot be matched by competitors. Sure, they can steal your tips, but they can never steal your personality.
15. Breathe new life into the web page now and then.
You now have a web page that is more relevant, qualitatively stronger, more extensive and more user-friendly. A web page that captures more attention and channels that attention better. New readers will read the text longer, understand it better, and take action faster. The longer they stay on your page, the higher the article will rank. User metrics (what actions do users perform on your page) are a very important part of SEO. Actually Google considers user metrics more than any other ranking factor. Also, an updated page will be shared more by your visitors. And don’t forget that you, as the author, should also share the web page on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. There are WordPress plugins for this making the process of sharing with your own Social media accounts automatic. The more people see the improved page, the more data Google can collect and the higher the chance that visitors will share the article or link to it. So you get higher in Google All these factors will contribute to a higher ranking in Google.
The core of ranking higher in Google.
The core of SEO is that you fulfill the need better than all your competitors.
- This means that the design should not be disturbing.
- The text must be easy to read.
- The text must add valuable information.
- The questions that readers have must be 100% answered.
To be the best answer, make sure you are read. And the more funny, powerful and understandable you write, the easier this becomes. With more and better writing skills, you will quickly gain an advantage over your competitors.
How to rank higher on Google.
With the steps above you can optimize a web page for the search engines in order to beat your competition. But, you need to know what to write about, how to structurally promote your articles, how to build a network, how to build a user-friendly website and how to become an authority in your niche at a strategic level. Do that and your article positions on Google will be better than ever before. Good luck! Last but not least, if you need more information then you can also read this excellent article created and published by expert writer Andy Crestodina.