HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SEO EFFORTS WHEN YOUR SITE ISN’T RANKING

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5 WAYS TO HELP YOUR SITE RANK ON SEARCH ENGINES

With all that you do to improve your business’s SEO, from creating a website to sprinkling keywords into your content to getting on social media, one question may still remain: why am I not ranking well?

Despite your SEO efforts, your business, like many others, may still fall short of the high search engine rankings that you were hoping for. The hard truth is that SEO takes time. You won’t start ranking on the first page right away. As one expert marketer, Jayson DeMers, describes it, “SEO is a long-term strategy…Most SEO campaigns see few results at the beginning.”

“The hard truth is that SEO takes time.”
– Skoshe

If your search engine ranking isn’t improving right away, give it some time. Your SEO efforts may need just a little longer to take effect. But if after a few months you still aren’t seeing the ranking results you hoped for, try some of the following practices for additional help.

1. Errors

Small errors could be keeping your site from showing up on Google rankings. Your server may be down, site links may not be working, or a number of other issues.

Your site also needs to be indexed in Google for it to rank at all. If it isn’t, the first step is to head over to Google Search Console and add your site. Once indexed, this console tool will help alert you of any errors on your site that are keeping it from ranking. Use it as well to see what search terms customers are using to find your website pages.

2. Keywords

Another key to improving your rankings is to optimize for the right keywords. Choose to use keywords that are relevant to your industry, but also look for keywords with:

– Low to medium competition

– High search results

– Good user intent

High-competition keywords will be much harder to rank for, especially if you want to see results sooner. But if you optimize for keywords with low to medium competition, high search volume, and indications that a consumer is looking to buy or convert, you’ll have a much better shot at moving up in the rankings.

For example, a plumbing company looking to rank in a competitive city could try to rank for the keyword “plumbing.” Or they could focus their efforts on a keyword with less competition, like “drain cleaning service.”

Choose specific services or products you would like to target instead of targeting your industry as a whole. This will allow customers looking for those specific services or products to find your website, rather than it getting lost in cyberspace by shooting for a highly competitive keyword.

3. Listings

Don’t just optimize your chosen keywords on your site, page title/headers, and meta descriptions. Get the word out on local listings! Your customers may not see your site on the first search engine results page (SERP), but they might find it through directory sites.

Get your business on as many relevant directories as you can. Then optimize them and your Google index with those prime keywords.

4. Updated Content

Your content, including site content, listings content, social media content, etc. might need an update. It needs to be strong, relevant, and engaging. If it isn’t, it could be hurting your ranking.

Google may be ranking another site higher because their content engages more customers. They draw users in and keep them on their pages longer. As experts from Moz explain it, “Your content has to be worth the click.” If you’re just repeating keywords and writing rubbish without taking the time to create content that matters, it won’t make much of an impression on your audience, and Google will take note.

“Your content has to be worth the click.”
– Moz

5. Link Building

Make your site and brand more credible with link building. This is a marketing tactic where you get other influencers in your industry to link to your site. This can take some time to get your foot in the door with certain influencers, especially if you’re going after big names. But it’s a great way to build authority with Google and boost your rankings.

Find relevant influencers who have authority in your industry, like a local blogger or news platform. Give them a value proposition: let them know why mentioning or highlighting your business on their site would be beneficial to them. Be careful not to build links from sites without authority or influence. Seek quality links over quantity.

Better SEO and Higher Search Engine Rankings

Even if you aren’t on the first page yet, fixing site errors will improve customer experience. Optimizing for the right keywords will start bringing more people in, especially if you’re using those good keywords in listings and updated, original content. When influencers mention your brand on top of that, your ranking will be in a good spot to climb. These small baby steps will make a huge difference over time.

Get in touch with Skoshe for additional SEO help if your search engine ranking still isn’t moving in the right direction. What other strategies help when your site won’t rank?