Do you know if your SEO service is working for your business? You may be aware of what kind of rankings you’re getting on Google, but that’s not the whole picture. A good SEO strategy is about more than just ranking well for certain keywords.
In fact, there are many other ranking signals that you should be paying attention to. Some of these signals will give you a better idea of how well your SEO service is working, and others can help you improve your rankings. In this guide, we’ll cover some of the most important ranking signals that many businesses overlook.
1. Site security
You want your users to feel confident that their personal data is secure and won’t be stolen. But did you know that your site’s security can also impact your SEO?
Google has confirmed that site security is a ranking signal. This is especially true for e-commerce sites and other sites that collect personal data.
To show users that your site is secure, you need to have an SSL certificate. This will encrypt the data that’s transmitted between your site and your users, making it much harder for hackers to steal.
In addition to an SSL certificate, you should also use other security best practices, like keeping your software up to date and using strong passwords.
2. Mobile optimization
Over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. This means your website needs to be optimized for mobile use.
If your website is not mobile-optimized, you could be missing out on a large portion of your potential traffic.
In addition, Google has announced that it will be using mobile-first indexing for all websites. This means that Google will use the mobile version of your website to determine its ranking in the search results.
If your website is not mobile-optimized, it could be negatively impacting your SEO.
3. Site speed
If your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, users will bounce. Google doesn’t want to send users to a site that takes too long to load.
To measure site speed, there are a few tools you can use:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Lighthouse
- GTmetrix
- WebPageTest
- Pingdom
- Site speed is a ranking factor for both desktop and mobile searches.
To improve site speed, you can do things like compress images, enable browser caching or minify JavaScript.
Pro tip: Use Google Search Console to check your site speed for free.
4. Domain age
The age of your domain is a ranking signal. This is because older domains are seen as more trustworthy, and have had more time to build up their authority.
Newer domains can still rank well, but it’s a good idea to register your domain for a longer period of time to show search engines you’re serious about your business.
This will help you build up your domain authority and show search engines that you’re a trustworthy source of information.
5. Social signals
Google’s algorithm doesn’t measure the authority of social media profiles, but it does index social media posts. This means that social media activity can help your content get indexed faster and improve your SEO.
Social media activity can also help improve your website’s click-through rate (CTR) on search engine results pages (SERPs). If your content has a high number of shares, likes, and comments on social media, Google may interpret this as a sign that your content is valuable. This can lead to higher rankings on SERPs, even if the social signals themselves aren’t a direct ranking factor.
That’s why it’s important to promote your content on social media and engage with your audience. The more social signals your content gets, the more likely it is to rank well on SERPs.
6. Anchor text
The words used in the anchor text in backlinks to your site help search engines understand what your page is about.
While it’s important to diversify your anchor text so that it’s not just keyword-rich, you do want it to be descriptive.
For example, if you have a blog post about the best project management software, you might want the anchor text to say “best project management software.”
This is a clear, concise description of the content, and it’s also a term you’d want to rank for.
However, you wouldn’t want all of your anchor text to be the same. You can mix it up by using different terms or phrases that describe the content.
You can also use other words in the anchor text, such as “click here to learn more,” or “this blog post.”
In general, the more descriptive and varied your anchor text, the better.
7. Fresh content
The freshness of your content is a ranking signal. This is why it’s important to continue to update your existing content and create new content on a regular basis.
There are many ways to keep your content fresh. You can update the content with new information, add new sections, or create new visuals. You can also repurpose your content into different formats, such as videos, podcasts, or infographics.
By keeping your content fresh, you can improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
8. Image optimization
Optimizing images can help pages rank in image search and be shown in Google Images. This can help increase brand visibility and bring in traffic to your website.
To optimize images, make sure you have the rights to use the image, and then rename the file to include a target keyword. For example, if you have a picture of a chocolate chip cookie and you want to rank for “chocolate chip cookie recipe,” you would rename the file to “chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.jpg.”
After that, compress the image so it doesn’t slow down your website. Finally, add descriptive alt text to the image. Alt text is a short description of the image that helps search engines understand what the image is about. It also helps people who are visually impaired understand what the image is.
To add alt text to an image in WordPress, click on the image and then click on the pencil icon. In the box that appears, you can add alt text to the image.
If you’re not using WordPress, you can add alt text to an image by right-clicking on the image and then clicking on “Edit alt text.”
9. Outbound links
This is another tactic that can go a long way to demonstrate your site’s authority to search engines. Linking to other authoritative websites is a sign that you’ve done your research and that your content is well-informed.
And, if you’re lucky, they may even link back to your page. This can help build your backlink profile and, in turn, your site’s authority.
Conclusion
We’ve all heard the phrase “content is king,” and we all know
