Do you want to improve your search presence on Google? If you said yes, you’re in the right place!
Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to growing your tech business and connecting with prospects and existing customers. Your search presence is how likely a potential customer will find your product when using a search engine.
Unfortunately, many new leaders and marketers don’t think about their search presence, which might explain why 90% of web pages get zero organic traffic from Google.
A well-planned SEO marketing strategy can help you rank for relevant industry keywords, which can help you grow in countless ways. Here are a few notable benefits:
- Improve your reputation
- Increase organic traffic
- Learn about the goals and pain points of your audience (through specific keywords)
- Boost engagement across all marketing platforms
Below, you’ll find four actionable ways to improve the odds that your target audience finds your website.
Let’s begin!
Write Top-Notch Content
First, let’s talk about the content on your websites, like your blog and landing pages. If you hope to hack your growth and increase organic traffic, you should publish top-notch content on your site.
Need more proof? Surveys show that a whopping 72% of marketers say content marketing is their number one SEO strategy.
The reason for this trend is simple. Between 40-70% of qualified leads are not ready to make a purchase. Instead, they are looking for information or want to find the answer to a specific question.
So, they turn to Google. If the content on your website answers these questions and uses the right keywords, there’s a better chance your website will appear in the results.
You’ll want to cite data used within your content from verified research or sources with a stronger reputation, like a mainstream news website. Taking this extra step will make your content appear more trustworthy in the eyes of visitors and Google.
Research shows that longer posts perform better in boosting your search presence. Blog posts between 2250-2500 earned the most organic traffic, as you can see below.
The more high-quality content you publish on your site, the better your chance of being recognized by Google and other smaller search engines.
Use Keywords in the Right Places
Keywords are the words and phrases you use to signal your website’s intent to Google and your audience. You’ll want to think carefully about your keywords and their placement on your website.
When choosing your keywords, you could use a paid SEO tool or Google’s free Keyword Planner. I suggest looking for keywords with a medium to high search rate; this will ensure you reach your intended audience. You should also look for words or phrases with medium to low competition. Fewer competitors mean you’ll have a better shot at rising through the ranks.
As an added note, long-tail keywords perform better than their shorter counterparts. There are multiple reasons for this phenomenon. What you need to know is your long-tail words tend to lead to targeted traffic and have a slow burn effect. You may not see immediate results, but choosing longer words will lead to a more consistent flow of organic traffic over time.
Let’s talk about how you use these words on your site. You want to strategically use your target words and phrases in seven main places. These places are:
- Page Title - The first thing Google and your readers see.
- Meta Description - Appears under the title in the search results.
- Subheading - Most people skim articles; this can help with accessibility and provide Google with user intent data.
- Images - Properly optimized images are likely to appear as a rich snippet or land a top spot in the image search results.
- Content - Blogs, landing pages, product descriptions, and virtually every other part of your website should include the keywords you want to target.
- Hyperlink text - Keywords that are hyperlinked and lead to other blog posts on your site can strengthen your SEO.
- URL - Using keywords in your URL mainly helps Google figure out the primary purpose of your content.
Add Schema Markup to Your Site
Schema markup is an excellent way to improve your search presence. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the term schema markup, you probably know what it is. Here’s one example from Amazon:
If someone was browsing for a Samsung Galaxy S21, they could easily see the price, rating, availability, and size without visiting the website. Now, that may sound counterproductive at first but think about it. Users will want to know what you have on your site when they see that you have all this data available before clicking.
Plus, if they are genuinely interested in making a day-one purchase, this could give them the confidence they need to click through.
Essentially, schema markup allows you to add extra information to your search listing from your website. The result is a smoother experience for searchers, which is bound to improve traffic and engagement.
You can add schema markup or structured data to your website with most premium SEO software or by using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
Plan for Voice Search
Did you know that voice shopping is expected to hit $40 billion by the end of the year? This startling statistic is the result of more people using their voices to search for information, purchase products, and learn about industry news.
Smartphones allow users to search with their voice instead of their fingers. This accessibility feature has led to about 40% of online shoppers in the U.S. using voice search at least once a month.
In a way, this is where the last three tips meet. Remember when we were talking about schema markup? Well, over 40% of voice search results come directly from rich snippets. So, if you decide to add structured data to your site, you’ve already taken the first step to optimizing for voice.
You’ll also want to use what you learned when researching keywords to write voice search-friendly content. Typically, this means conversational posts that sound more like how someone might speak instead of type.
This is a great time to include a FAQ section at the end of your blog post. Use the questions section to ask relevant questions that users might want to know with voice search. If your page ranks, users might hear about or see your website the next time they search with their smartphone.
Final Thoughts
Improving your search presence on Google can take a while, but it’s vital to growing your business. The tips discussed today will help you plan your SEO strategy and boost your ranking. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results overnight. Continue writing top-notch content, doing keyword research, and making sure your site is ready for smartphone users, and you’ll gradually start to see more organic traffic.