3.5 billion searches. That’s how many times per day someone types in a question on Google. If you’ve ever wondered why SEO is worth it, just think about all the people looking for information related to your website.
The problem is, there is a lot of competition on the internet today. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t have the right strategy to rank on the first page.
White hat SEO can help you get the results you’re looking to obtain. Below are seven white hat SEO techniques you can count on to boost your spot on the search results.
1. Keyword Research
One of the biggest pillars of white hat SEO is content. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know what to write about when you don’t understand what your audience looks for. Keyword research will fill those details in for you.
Keyword research is the process of using tools to look for phrases searchers type on Google. Some tools will give you search volumes, and others will provide you the highest-ranking keywords of your competitors.
Your ultimate goal is to find topics that cover the main keywords that you’re trying to rank. Your focus won’t necessarily be on this keyword alone, but a set of keywords that relate to that content. Doing this will help you write long, authoritative content that people will get value out of reading.
2. Use Local Keywords
You have an advantage if you run a local service. You don’t only have generic keywords in your industry available to rank for. You also have the local variations that people in your area type into search engines.
Take a customer looking for Phoenix SEO. People looking for a search engine optimization service in their area won’t search for the term SEO or search engine marketing. They’re going to search for “SEO services in Phoenix.”
Make sure you take advantage of this and use your location in your content where it makes sense. You’ll have the chance to rank for the general keywords and the more specific local ones.
3. Don’t Ignore Mobile
Search engine optimization isn’t only about keywords anymore. Google wants its searchers to have a great experience when they land on a website. That won’t happen if they have problems reading your page.
A lot of the traffic you see on your site today will come from mobile users. If you don’t have a responsive website, your visitors will have to scroll back and forth to read your content. People don’t want to do this, so they’ll go elsewhere.
Google sees when this happens. If you don’t provide a seamless experience for people with small screens, Google will push you down in the search results.
4. Focus on User Intent
You can add a lot of keywords to an article and call it a day. The question is, does your article answer the questions that people are asking?
In the past, Google didn’t have a great understanding of user intent. You could fill your articles with a bunch of keywords and have them rank on Google. That isn’t the case today.
Google has gotten better at understanding the intent of user searches. If your content doesn’t answer the question of search engine users, you’re going to move down in the rankings.
The good news is that this isn’t a hard problem to solve. All you need to do is look at the content that’s ranking on the first page of Google. See how this content is structured and make sure your articles deliver a similar message.
5. Optimize Your Meta-Information
While Google has gotten better at gauging user intent, it still isn’t the best at figuring out the topic of your site. It’s up to you to fill in the gaps.
Use your meta-information to tell Google what title and description to display on search results. Using keywords in these areas can help Google figure out what to rank your pages for.
Since the searcher sees this information on the results page, you can also optimize it for click-throughs. Test different headlines and descriptions to see which ones searchers respond to the most. If you can get your click-through rate up, it can signal to Google that your page is better than the rest.
6. Internally Link Content
External backlinks aren’t the only type of links Google looks at when ranking your website. It also looks at the internal links to other content you have on your website.
When you add internal links to your content, it provides Google a better way to navigate your website and figure out what it’s about. It provides the organization Google needs to categorize your website and will help build your authority in your industry.
Internal links also help keep people on your site. Instead of leaving your site immediately, you can move visitors to similar pages. Increasing your time-on-site is a signal to Google that people found what they need and see your site as valuable.
7. Build a Few Backlinks
Contrary to popular belief, backlinks are still relevant in SEO today. Unfortunately, many people in the link building space don’t do things correctly. They will spam links on the internet and hurt the sites they try to rank.
There are white hat methods for backlinking, though. One of the most common ways is by guest posting.
Guest posting is the process of building relationships with other webmasters and providing content for their sites. It might seem counter-intuitive to provide quality content for other people. However, getting links from sites with high authority can help boost the authority of your website.
White Hat SEO Is Essential for Every Website
You can’t ignore the advantage you have when ranking high on Google. While there are a lot of shady techniques out there, using white hat SEO will help you stay safe during Google updates. Start using white hat techniques today so you can build your site for the future.
Of course, SEO doesn’t matter if you don’t have access to great data. Read our latest posts to discover what tools will help you optimize your website for results.