How to Get More SEO Results: The Complete Guide

Are you looking for ways to improve your SEO results? You are not the only one!

SEO (search engine optimization) is a key component of how brands today attract customers online. Search is the foundation of almost every online experience. If you don't appear on page one of your targeted SERPs, your audience will not know you exist.

It is difficult because almost every brand wants to do the exact same thing, which leaves marketers wondering how to make their brand and content stand out.

This is what this guide will cover. After a brief overview of SEO, we will dive into 12 ways to get better SEO results. These tactics go beyond the standard keywords and algorithm alignment.

These tools will help you understand your audience's needs and tailor your strategy to provide the best possible experience.

Let's get started.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  Nearly 25% of search engine users click the first SERP result and only 2% click past page 1.
  
• 
  SEO generates more organic traffic, higher brand authority and a better customer experience.
  
• 
  Keyword positioning refers to placing keywords in strategic locations on your blog pages. It can help you rank higher.
  
• 
  Google's suggested search features and related keywords help marketers find new ideas for SEO content.
  
• 
  Refreshing outdated content can bring in new visitors and leads to your website.
  
• 
  Site structure and metadata are two of the technical SEO factors that make your site easier to crawl for search engines like Google.
  
• 
  Your SEO content should be centered on your human audience.
  

SEO 101: Refresher Course on the Basics

SEO refers to the process of creating websites and crafting content that will rank high on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO is the process of building websites and crafting content to maximize search engine results pages (SERPs) visibility. This increases organic traffic to your site, as well as brand awareness among your target audiences. Your rank will determine the percentage of your target audience who sees your brand.

Research shows that 28.7% of people click on the first search result they see. As you go down the rankings, clicks drop. Only 2.5% click on the 10th result and a smaller percentage click to page two.

Image Source: Search Engine Journal

Brands that rank at page one are more successful than those who rank lower.

SEO's core tactics, such as keyword and link building, are essential to any SEO strategy. They have stood the test and time. However, the way they are implemented changes with Google ranking factors. Google updates their algorithm thousands of times a year.

SEO is a vital part of your overall digital marketing strategy. SEO cannot be static and must be constantly updated. The ROI of a successful SEO strategy can be undisputed.

Let's take a look at 12 benefits that brands get when they do SEO well.

The benefits of an SEO Strategy

Organic traffic is more

Search engines are responsible for more than 90% of all online experiences. You can expect to see more organic traffic if you use SEO to improve your rankings. Organic search results are preferred by users over paid ads, even if they appear at the top. This is because the content they provide has a higher value and is more relevant to their needs.

Brand authority is higher

Consider the topics that you are most likely to search for. Do you have any brands that pop up in your mind? You see the same brands in SERPs related searches. Those brands are likely to be experts in the subject.

Their SEO strategy is the reason. You can establish trust among peers and users by making your brand and content visible on search engine results pages related to key industry topics.

Cost savings

SEO has its costs, such as writers and keyword research tools. However, it is far more cost-effective than other marketing strategies. It is often said that content marketing is more efficient than traditional marketing and generates three times more leads. You can scale it up easily as your business grows, using only the resources that you require at any time.

Image Source: Viisme

Promotional offers for brands 24/7

Google SERPs are available every hour of the week, so SEO makes sure your brand is visible to anyone searching for relevant topics. Although creating content is time-consuming, there are many opportunities for passive customers to be attracted by SEO content.

Superior customer experience

Customer relationships are built long before customers reach out to you directly. An excellent SEO strategy will ensure that you have high-quality content that represents your brand throughout the buyer journey.

SEO content is a way to communicate your brand's expertise and value proposition without having to communicate directly. This ensures that the right content reaches the right audience at the right moment. It helps potential customers resolve problems and accomplish important tasks. It also builds trust in your brand. This will improve their customer experience starting their first visit to your website.

Here are 12 tips and tricks to improve your SEO results

We now know SEO is highly effective. There's one problem: almost everyone is doing it. It is unlikely that you will be noticed in the crowded SERPs if your SEO status quo is not met. It is important to take your SEO strategy one step further.

We'll show you 13 different ways to do this.

Use smart keyword positioning

Keywords are words and phrases that can be used to search for something on Google or another search engine. Your SEO content should be built around keywords to ensure it matches the right audience — people who are actually searching for your content.

SEO was a relatively new concept. It was easy to simply include keywords in your content and expect results. Google is much smarter today than that. Google wants you to use keywords naturally and not to stuff your article to rank it.

This is why it's important to consider not only which keywords you use but also where they are placed in your content. In your title, section headings, and opening paragraph of your blog article, make sure you include a keyword match. Metadata, such as your URL and title tag, should be considered.

Image Source: TheWherever Writer

Your keywords should be used around five times in a 1000-2000 word blog post. (Don't overuse it or Google will penalize you.) Spread out the positioning of your keywords throughout the article.

Use related keywords in your content

Similar keywords are related variations of your target keyword. These keywords are important because Google considers them part of its ranking algorithm. People use different terms to search the same topic.

Use related keywords to rank your content for more searches, and get more traffic.

You can easily identify similar keywords by simply searching for your target keyword in Google. Scroll down and look at the related search terms at bottom.

Image Source ClearVoice

Make backlink-friendly content

Backlinks are earned when a website links to your content. Google considers backlinks a key part of their SEO ranking algorithm. They are a sign of brand authority. When other websites link to your content, it is a sign that they trust and respect you.

Link building is a long-term strategy. There's no quick way to get them. However, you can boost your strategy by creating content with a greater chance of being linked elsewhere.

Some types of content are more likely to get shared on blogs or social media: original research, data visuals (such as charts and graphs), infographics and video content. You can earn more links by creating comprehensive guides on important topics. Brands will refer to them as a resource when they mention these topics in their related content.

Look for featured snippets

Featured snippets refer to excerpts of text which appear at the top of Google SERPs. These are often called “position 0” because they stand out more than other content and provide direct answers to users' search queries.

Although there's no guarantee that you will get featured snippets on a topic, optimizing for them can help you to optimize for the queries that are most likely to be eligible for them. A featured snippet that includes a definition, such as the one below, is often awarded to “what is” queries. You can give featured snippets the best shot by starting your article with clear definitions and providing useful bullet points.

Image Source: Marketing Insider Group

Multiply your content across all channels

Google will notice when the content you publish receives a lot more attention. How can you make it visible if your site isn't already ranked high? To drive traffic, one of the best ways to do this is to share your content on your own channels. You can share blog articles, as well as other content, on social media and in email newsletters. Encourage your employees to share content on their pages.

Social media offers a great opportunity to get other people to share your content. People love sharing videos and articles about subjects they are passionate about with their networks. You can increase the reach of your content by sharing it across multiple channels. This will help you rank higher in SERPs.

Target keywords that are suggested

Google's SERP features can be used to help you expand your SEO strategy. A list of suggested keywords will be displayed when you type in the Google search box.

It is a great way to find long-tail keywords content ideas by paying attention to the suggested keywords.

A quick Google search for content marketing showed me these keywords. These keywords gave me ideas for articles that are industry-specific and more niche content.

Image Source: Marketing Insider Group

Create skyscraper content

Skyscraper content can be compared to a mini-competitive analysis of topics in your SEO plan. You need to first Google the term that you wish to rank for. Then, you should research the most popular content for that keyword and then brainstorm about how to create even more content.

Skyscraper content allows you to rise in the rankings without reinventing your wheel. You also learn about your competitors and what you can do to differentiate yourself from them.

Regularly refresh old content

Old content can be a treasure trove of opportunities for SEO to improve rankings. Content marketing has a higher ROI than other marketing methods because it generates compounding results over time. It doesn't matter if something was published months, or even years ago.

Refresh it with new statistics, visuals, and relevant information. This strategy has proven to be effective — HubSpot doubled the number of leads they generated by old content by regularly updating it. HubSpot now generates more than three quarters of its views and more leads than 90% from old posts.

Image Source HubSpot

Concentrate on technical SEO

Technical SEO is the core of your overall SEO strategy. It covers site structure and metadata, which are behind-the scenes factors that can make a huge difference to Google and help you achieve better SEO results.

These are some technical SEO tips.

• Complete your metadata (title tag, meta description, URL, etc.)
• Keep your site clean and well-organized
• Make sure that your site can be crawled and indexable by search engines
• Mobile-friendly websites are a must! More than half of all traffic comes from mobile devices.
• Use HTTPS protocols
• Site speed is important. Any issues should be addressed immediately

Increase the time spent on pages

Did you click a SERP result, then in a matter of seconds clicked back on Google to get a different result?

This is called pogo sticking and can hurt your SEO rankings as it indicates that Google users don't find value in the content they see on your website.

Image Source: Backlinko

Although you cannot avoid pogo sticking completely, there are some ways to increase the likelihood of people staying on your page for longer periods. Your page design should be clean and attractive. To make your page easier to read, break up the text and use bullet points and clear headers. Users will be able to quickly understand your content if it is easier to read.

Keep content human-centered

Google emphasizes one thing above all, no matter how many times it updates its algorithm: that your content should be first human-centered. You won't succeed no matter what other strategies you employ to align with ranking factors. Users will not like your content, regardless of how many times you try. Google's algorithm can now recognize how valuable your content is to users and it is smarter than ever.

These (and other) SEO tips and tricks are my advice. However, I recommend that you do not implement them at the expense or coverage of topics that your audience is most interested in.

Your audience is your best friend. You can learn a lot from them when you publish content. When creating content, keep them in mind. You want to solve their problems, help them achieve their goals, and educate them on topics that are important to you brand.

Use Google Search Console

Google Search Console can help you monitor your website's performance in SEO. You can access tons of reports, troubleshooting tools and analytics insights to help you improve your content strategy.

Your performance report is a great report to have, especially since it is strictly related to SEO. It will show you how your site's traffic has changed over time. You can also drill down to see the top and bottom performing pages.

Once you have the list, you can drill down to see which keywords rank highest. One last tip to improve your SEO results is to search the list for keywords that you are already ranking for, even if you don't know it. You might be surprised by how many users find you.

These keywords will help you to be more successful in SEO.

More to you

Are you ready for SEO success? Great content is the foundation of any great SEO strategy. Marketing Insider Group's team of SEO experts and writers can provide you with optimized content that is ready to publish every week for a year or more. ).

To get started, check out our SEO Blog Writing Service.