SEO is continually evolving and keeping up with what Google deem to be important ranking factors is a full-time job in itself!
Here are our top 5 tips on ensuring your website is at the top of Google in 2023.
#1 Speed
Core Web Vitals was one of the biggest changes in the Google algorithm and website loading speeds has dramatically shifted some SERP’s. Ensuring that your website loads in under 2.5 seconds is now a major ranking factor, especially if you are competing in a highly competitive keyword or a new website wanting to appear on the first page quickly.
We recommend using a free tool: www.gtmetrix.com to test your website performance.
#2 Add Videos
Google wants websites that are engaging, informative and easy to use. Adding videos to your site helps keep users more engaged about the message you want to tell. You don’t have to get a film crew in or have videos professionally made! You can start off with using tools such as Canva or Biteable to get you started. Crucially (for SEO) get them uploaded to YouTube and embed them on to your site and watch your rankings soar!
#3 Schema Markup
Schema Markup is code that sits in backend of your website that is designed to only be read and understood by Search Engines. You can provide business information about the areas you serve, opening times, who founded the company, social media profiles etc. You can also link your customer reviews and give detailed information about your service and products in a format that Google can natively read and understand. The more information you give to Google, the more confidence Google has in your website and business and naturally will rank you higher in the SERP’s.
#4 Get Reviews
Social Proof is a key element in building trust amongst your prospects and this is no different in the SEO world. Getting frequent reviews on your Google Business profile, Checkatrade or Trustpilot will not only demonstrate credibility to your potential customers but Google takes reviews as an important factor in ranking credible and trustworthy businesses.
#5 A/B test your title tags
The <title> tag is the piece of text that appears in blue (or purple if you have clicked on the link previously) on the SERP’s. Whilst it is important to ensure your keywords appear within this title you also want to be creative by making the title unique to the rest of the sites listed. This is because Click-Through-rate (CTR) is also an important ranking factor. Even if you are currently ranking in 3rd spot, if you write something engaging, unique or interesting you will naturally invoke more clicks to your site. Should you get into a position where you get more clicks than 2nd spot or top spot then naturally, Google will recognise you are the more relevant website in the SERP’s and therefore eventually rank you higher. So, each month, look at your CTR in Google Search Console, test a couple of tweaks and what your rankings fly!
