5 Things That Affect How Your Website Ranks
Ahh, the almighty, ever-so-sacred first page of any given Google search. How does one achieve such a revered status?
Bribes? Blackmail? Political lobbying?
Fortunately, such dubious tactics aren’t necessary for helping your website rank higher on relevant, local search engine results. But there are still plenty of factors that impact just how high your website will ultimately wind up ranking.
Getting to that first page of a Google search that specifically pertains to your company’s products, services, or industry is imperative for generating and closing more leads. Research shows that less than 1% of Google searchers even click on results from the results of the second page or beyond!
That’s where implementing proper SEO strategies comes into play, contributing to a well-balanced digital marketing campaign that will appease Google’s algorithms that ultimately dictate search engine result rankings.
So. Are you ready to see how high your website can climb up the rankings?
Here are five things you need to keep in mind that will ultimately affect how well your website ranks!
#1 | High-Quality, Well-Optimized Content
If there’s one thing you can take away from this article, it’s the importance of a successful content management strategy.
If you’ve ever visited a website and thought to yourself, “Gee, none of this content seems very meaningful, informative, or influential in the slightest way,” it’s not just you, the website visitor, who’s going to be dissuaded.
Google’s algorithms will be as well!
Valuable information, target keywords, and consistent publishing; All of these content management tactics play an essential role in determining SEO rankings. For starters, the better the writing, tone, and clarity of your website content, the longer people are going to stay on your website. And when people are spending more time on your site, it can significantly reduce bounce rates while exponentially increasing the odds they’re going to make a purchase – or at least reach out to your business to learn more.
Failing to implement fresh, original content that features proper target keyword research is a surefire way to freefall down the search engine page result rankings you’re trying to climb up!
#2 | Responsive Web Design & Enhanced Page Experience
Google doesn’t just factor keywords and content into page rankings. Much of what plays into how your website ranks depends on how responsive and optimized your web design is and the overall page experience provided for website visitors.
Studies have shown that nearly 75% of web designers attribute a poorly designed website as the primary reason a visitor will suddenly or abruptly leave. Even a one-second page response delay has been found to produce a 7% reduction in lead conversions.
Poor page speeds and loading times will obviously frustrate a website visitor – not to mention do significant damage to your SEO rankings.
You also need to ensure that the overall web page experience is not only pleasant and accessible to the visitor but that it’s well-optimized and structured for converting leads, especially with concise contact options and call to action buttons.
#3 | Mobile-Friendly Design
It’s no secret that more and more people are utilizing their smartphones or mobile devices to access and navigate their ways through the internet. In 2021, mobile devices generated nearly 55% of global website traffic.
So, in addition to superior web design, the mobile-friendliness of your website also dictates how it will wind up ranking in search engine results.
Google has responded to the rise of mobile usage by implementing a mobile-first ranking index into its algorithms. Meaning? It’s prioritizing results from more mobile-optimized websites, while sites that aren’t mobile-friendly don’t get as much precedence in rankings.
When your website fails to sufficiently load, respond, or perform on mobile devices, you can rest assured that your SEO rankings are also suffering as a result.
#4 | Internal Link Structure & External Link Building
Internal and external linking tends to be the most overlooked component of web design, which also plays a significant role in determining website ranking.
In addition to functionality and performance, internal link structuring helps create a more user-friendly website experience, aiding in site navigation and accessibility. It’s easy to think of internal linking as a map to your website, making it easier for visitors to find and click on the specific pages they want to visit while prioritizing the indexing of your content.
External link building, on the other hand, aims to enhance your website’s credibility, visibility, and trustworthiness.
Whether with your blog articles, social media posts, or other inbound content, search engines assess and evaluate all the sites you link to, as well as the ones that link back to your website, specifically keeping an eye out for quality. Any irrelevant or spammy sites that are linked to or from your website will ultimately take a toll on your SEO rankings.
#5 | Updated & Optimized Business Information
Before people even get to your website via search engine results, they’re going to gloss over whatever business information is immediately available to them. This specifically pertains to your Google Business listing.
Your GMB listing is typically displayed in local Google Maps results, providing users with instant access to essential information, such as business hours, phone number, address, etc. How fleshed out, updated, and optimized it is plays a big role in your SEO ranking.
In addition to attracting higher quality leads, optimizing all of the following details and information in your GMB listing will help boost your standing in local, relevant search results:
- Claim your business name and verify your Google My Business profile.
- Add appropriate location(s) and business/contact information (hours, description, contact preferences, etc.).
- Upload high-quality, custom photos, videos, and imagery.
- Ensure all online reviews are displayed (and responded to) accordingly.
- Fill out all information and descriptions as much as possible.
- Incorporate target keywords into your profile and content.
- Link back to your website, appropriate landing pages, or social media channels.
The more completed and customized your GMB listing is, the more esteemed and established it will come across to Google’s SEO ranking algorithms.
Get Your Website to Rank Higher With Triton Commerce!
There are dozens of factors that play into the SEO rankings of your website, and finding the time to sit down and figure them all out can seem nearly impossible. That’s where we come in handy!
At Triton Commerce, we help businesses of all sizes and industries round out their digital marketing strategies so they can start seeing immediate and long-lasting SEO ranking results. From content marketing campaigns to innovative web design, contact Triton Commerce today to get your website ranking where you want it!