7 Simple Strategies To Improve Rankings to Get More Leads From Your Website

Witness a jump in your rankings by applying high impact strategies in the development of your website.

A higher ranking equals more traffic which results in more leads.

Focus on the performance of your website to see the difference in the number of leads it generates through an increase in the number of visitors it receives.

Website Performance Factors

1. Increase page speed
2. Adapt to Googles liquid landscape
3. Create content that equates to value
4. Use the Renovation Method
5. Earn high-quality backlinks
6. Master your on-page optimization
7. Brand your business

1) Increase Page Speed

One of the first things that comes to mind is the mobile-first update. The number of mobile searches has officially surpassed that of desktop.

Mobile searches account for 58% of total online searches. Increasing page speed is a direct factor for how to improve your website’s rankings.

Page speed becomes a major factor in User Experience(UX) when 64% of mobile users expect a website to load in less than 4 seconds.

Ranking results are, therefore, rewarded with performance in page speed and penalized when a website doesn’t meet the standard.

Monitor your website’s page speed through tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights which will test the mobile and desktop speed of your site.

This tool will produce a report indicating where you are losing speed and how you can improve it.

There are a lot of technical terms and tasks involved in improving page speed. You may not be familiar with CSS, JavaScript or how to reduce image sizes, etc.

If your site is built on WordPress, the best solution is to use plugins to do most of the work for you. One of the top plugins that will speed up your pages is W3 Cache.

In addition to this plugin, use the Speed Booster Pack and Autoptimize. These three plugins are able to increase page speed. Simply install and activate them.

2) Adapt to Google’s Liquid Landscape

The search landscape has become slightly less predictable by producing a variety of search displays on the first page of results.

The rotating features that occupy the top spots on the page alter the potential for success for any given query.

The items that tend to occupy the top positions for the first page of results range from:

• featured snippet
• knowledge panel with questions and answers
• local listings
• advertisement carousels
• video carousels
• paid advertisements
• organic listings

The potential for organic clicks to a website changes with each of the different displays.

When a search is performed in which the answer can be found in a short paragraph, the featured snippet may soak up the majority of clicks out of the total search volume.

If the first result on the first page is a video carousel, it indicates that video is the best option for satisfying search intent.

This influences the content strategy when pursuing a keyword that produces a carousel of videos as a top position in the search results.

Video becomes the obvious option for content to create to receive the majority of the clicks for that search.

The amount of pixels above the fold that are being given to organic results is on the decline.

Google is responding to searches with their own products in the top positions in order to serve user experience with more efficiency.

This liquid landscape Google created has triggered a deeper focus on identifying the search intent behind the keywords we use to build traffic.

Investigative research is required to select the keywords a business chooses to pursue in order to produce content that best satisfies search intent.

Targeting the correct keyword phrases can ensure an adequate volume of traffic to your website.

3) Create Content that Equates to Value

Creating great content is the foundation of every great website. More emphasis continues to be placed on content due to higher expectations from website visitors as well as search engines.

The bar has been raised for what defines great content. In order to captivate your audience, there has to be value found in the content you produce.

This goes beyond adding an image to your text. Images do help readers retain 65% of information as opposed to 10% of what they read.

Value is found in helpful information that contributes to the quality of life a person experiences.

Providing a high level of quality in your content requires researching what will resonate with your clients by adding value to their everyday lives.

The trend has been to provide long-form, in-depth content that teaches and informs a reader about a specific subject in its entirety.

How-to guides, case studies, and infographics are only a few examples of the structures for building evergreen content.

This type of content is more widely shared and generates a steady stream of traffic over time.

Creating content that connects with clients starts with a focused content strategy which is effectively developed through keyword research.

Identifying what people want when they search specific phrases is one aspect that gives businesses insight on how to deliver that information.

Researching what people are experiencing in social media groups and forums provides insight on specific topics and issues to include in content.

Use this to respond to your target audience’s problems with real solutions.

Search engines are now reading the content of an entire website to determine the ability of the site to satisfy search intent.

Google uses these stats as an indication or how well a website is satisfying what users want for specific keyword searches:

• dwell time (how long a visitor remains on a website)
• bounce rate (the percentage of visitors that back out of a website before clicking further)
• click through rate

Since the decline of clicks to organic results, many companies have shifted a heavier focus on increasing their click-through rates and conversions which result in better rankings.

This heightened awareness of the value a website contributes has raised the standards in how we produce content.

Great content involves planning and keyword research to determine search intent. Study the search landscape to choose the best method of delivering that content to potential clients.

4) Use the Renovation Method

This concept is contributing to a more competitive environment in search and forcing websites to provide more value in the content they are producing.

The Renovation Method is a content writing template that outlines the planning and creation of content.

The strategy includes setting routines such as daily reading to stay up to date on the latest trends and points being discussed.

Renovating content means matching and exceeding the standard of quality set by your competition by covering the topic more thoroughly.

With the addition of new information, a reader can take away more value after reading content that has been renovated.

Improvements can be made in a number of ways such as the optimization of the content, the level of engagement, amount of information provided, entertainment value, etc.

5) Earn High-quality Backlinks

Growing awareness in the search engines has wiped out many link schemes that may have worked in the past. We are now operating in an era of white hat backlinking.

Backlinking remains one of the largest ranking factors in organic search results.

A backlink should serve as a referral from another site with similar content that provides readers with a related source to enhance their user experience.

Guest posting is a widely practiced strategy that can result in acquiring high-quality backlinks for your website.

There are many high authority websites in every niche that accept guest posts. As a guest author on a reputable site, you not only gain a backlink but you gain credibility and authority in your niche.

6) Master Your On-page Optimization

In order to maximize traffic, your on-page optimization needs to take voice search into account.

The future of online searches will predominantly be screenless and that journey has been ignited by voice assistants.

The major update to optimizing for voice search is providing a more conversational tone in the phrases in which your website is optimized.

The featured snippets appearance has been largely influenced by voice search. 40% of searches posed as questions result in the featured snippet on the first page of results.

Tagging questions and answers as titles and subtitles have increased the likelihood of being featured in position zero.

Lists, tables, charts, and structured data are used as methods of optimizing for the featured snippet when applicable.

To enhance on-page optimization, the use of Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are more effective than repeating a specific keyword.

Over-optimization penalties are still common occurrences. Search engines have become more efficient at determining search intent and assessing the quality of your site’s content.

7) Brand your company

Brand recognition improves your click-through rate and can be the determining factor in a visitor’s decision in choosing your business over another competitor.

The more comfortable a person is with your company, the more likely they are to buy from you and continue their loyalty.

Successful search engine optimization campaigns result in effectively branding your business in related searches.

When multiple searches are performed by the same person and in every result, they see your website, the association between your company and the product they are looking for becomes stronger.

The development of a strong brand should include a story attached to the image of your business.

The story should give clients an idea of how your company developed through personal experience or through how your business has helped its clients.

A story will make your company more relatable by establishing a strong identity.

Brand recognition leads to the phenomenon of “leapfrog clicks”. These result when a searcher skips a higher ranked website and click on yours because they recognize your brand.

Take into account how the search landscape is changing the distribution of clicks as well as the way the search results are viewed.

Branding will not only improve the click-through rate of your website but increase conversions through familiarity and a higher level of trust.

Next Step: Learn SEO or Hire an SEO

We would all love to just focus on our business. Some of us simply love to create great content.

But ignoring SEO today means little or no rankings. So to improve rankings we either need to learn SEO or hire an SEO.

Choose wisely which path to take. Start with how to Identify Search Intent To Fuel The Growth Of Your Business.

And if you choose to hire an SEO, find one familiar with your niche. That is especially true for specialties like dental SEO.

You need someone with connections in your type of business. And they need to be knowledgeable about specifics and terminology.