Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When you consider that 91.5% of all users click a link on the first page of search results, and 61.5% of them systematically click on one of the first three links on the (organic) results page, it is not surprising that everyone wants to be at the top of Google searches.
The traffic generated by a top position on Google is substantial, but competition is often fierce, and a pragmatic approach is required to secure and, above all, maintain these positions. This is where SEO comes in.
Google doesn’t randomly position websites when you perform a search. It analyzes each website to determine how relevant it is to the keywords you enter in the search bar. These positions of course aren’t fixed and the goal of SEO is to rank you in the best Google results.
There is no miracle formula for SEO, no magic tool that will get you to the front page. SEO pays off when it is supported by long-term commitment, quality content and a good knowledge of the methodology used by Google to reference web pages.
It is impossible (or extremely rare) to create a site and organically reference it on Google in the first search results within the first week of indexing.
However, simply waiting for visitors to arrive on your site after regularly publishing quality content is not enough. You need to understand and adapt to the way Google works to maximize your content’s reach.
If you want to increase traffic to your website, as well as conversions, you need to proceed methodically, and follow these few tips.
Create quality SEO content
The first and most important element of your online referencing is your content, for Google as well as for users. As soon as your content is relevant and your user experience is developed enough to provide users with the answers they need, Google will notice the quality of your site and boost your ranking in search results. But there are several ways to create quality content online.
Provide answers to your users
To create relevant content, you need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would your customers want to find on your site? What answers could they be looking for? Offering content on a regular basis that answers recurring questions that your customers may have is a first step in improving your SEO.
Moreover, Google values rich content. You should therefore carefully research the topics you cover on your website. Find out what the competition is offering and fill in their gaps. Your content must be at least 500 words long to have any real impact on Google, which increasingly values lengthy content.
Get into video content!
We can never repeat it enough, but video content is becoming increasingly important online. For starters, it is worth noting that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world in terms of search volume. It is therefore beneficial to position yourself on the platform. In addition, Google is very fond of video content and tends to better reference the platforms in this niche. At My Little Big Web, we recently launched our YouTube channel and we publish weekly videos on SEO, Web Marketing and design.
According to Cisco, video could account for up to 80% of online traffic by 2021. Now is the time to start positioning yourself on these search engines so that you can take full advantage of the visibility they can offer you and follow our tips to get the best possible ranking on YouTube!
Reaching position 0
Presented in several formats (carousels, reply boxes or paid advertising), position 0 is the position that appears at the top of your result page when you ask Google a question.
It is not impossible to reach position 0 and there are several ways to do it. First, shortening your URL to formulate the fastest possible answer puts you in the right position for position 0. Second, by phrasing your titles as a question users might ask, your chance of attaining position 0 also increases. However, be aware that position 0 generally only exists for specific requests that ask a given question. So don’t simplify your content as much as possible in order to reach it, because sometimes a good SEO strategy will be more effective than reaching this position.
Long tail
Another SEO technique that has proven its worth in many cases is the long tail technique. Theorized by Chris Andersen, this technique is a common practice online and recommended by all SEO experts. While long tail keywords will attract less traffic than more generic keywords, you will drive qualified traffic to your site, meaning users who will be genuinely interested in your offer when they land on your web pages. Using this method and publishing content consistently and effectively, your traffic will increase significantly.
Perform technical optimizations on your site
Become Mobile-Friendly
With nearly 60% of online traffic coming from mobile devices today, it has become almost unthinkable to neglect optimizing your site for smartphones. Google has decided that mobile content will take precedence over desktop content for positioning in search results. Therefore, if your site is not “responsive”, regardless of whether you offer the most relevant content in your industry, you still risk being penalized.
Today, having an adaptive site that is seamlessly accessible by phone is essential. In particular, Google has launched AMP formats, which can be very interesting for certain types of sites and tend to better position you online. However, keep in mind that this technology isn’t suitable for all websites.
Optimize your web pages (keywords, tags)
SEO is first and foremost about creating content, but also includes a whole range of techniques that will help you showcase your articles online. To get the best results, several strategies must be implemented on each of your publications.
Start by conducting keyword research. Keyword research is an essential part of SEO that allows you to determine the best keywords to target in relation to your competitors. Creating content without first doing keyword research may significantly reduce the impact of your work in terms of SEO. Use tools such as Google Ads, or SEMRush to determine the keywords that should define the content of your web pages.
In addition, optimize the tags on your web pages. Title tags, meta descriptions and HN must be structured around your keywords, to make them stand out on your web pages and therefore reach the best positioning on the chosen terms.
In this video, Maxence, co-founder of My Little Big Web, gives you 3 tips to improve your SEO, and explains how to optimize the different tags of your site.
Voice search
With the arrival of Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and Siri, voice search made up 20% of the total search volume in 2016 and continues to grow. Voice searches are often formulated as questions. It can therefore be beneficial to position yourself on long tail keywords in the form of a question so that you can appear in the voice search results.
Link building
Finally, one last SEO technique that is indispensable if you want to show up first on Google is link building. Link building is the process of obtaining incoming links from other sites that lead to your site. Having incoming links, or “backlinks”, signals to Google that you have an interesting site, since other websites use you as a reference. However, having 100 links from the same website is not useful and will have much less impact than having 100 links from 100 different sites. Try to diversify your incoming links as much as possible.
In addition, obtaining these links increases your domain authority. Domain authority is a score from 1 to 100 assigned by Google, which gives an indication of your website’s quality. The more incoming links you have from sites with strong authority, the more your domain authority will increase. For example, publishing press releases on high-profile sites or articles on news sites can give you a boost on Google. Generating quality incoming links is an excellent way to increase your ranking.
The web is constantly evolving, and top positions on Google are difficult to reach and maintain. However, with a well-developed digital strategy, quality content and consistent publication, you can ensure a comfortable place at the top of the search results. To help you determine your digital strategy, our team of experts is at your disposal and will help you make your site a reference on Google.
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