In milliseconds, search engines assess a number of elements — images, keywords, content, metadata, links, etc. — before delivering results. Ever wonder how a small handful of lucky websites make it to the first page of Google’s search results? It’s because they were deemed the best resources for your search query — using an unimaginably complex version of the system described above. To be sure, stealing and republishing someone else’s content without their permission is a terrible practice, and doing this frequently is an obvious sign of a spammy, low-quality website. A natural link profile has variety. The links come from different domains and links will have different strengths. Google and Bing have moved far beyond algorithms that positively reward a keyword appearing multiple times in the URL string. Don’t hurt your chances of earning a click (which CAN impact your rankings) by overdoing keyword matching/repetition in your URLs.

Promote your content via social media (and beyond

Focusing on conversational keywords, or keywords someone might use when speaking out loud, will help you future-proof your website. The easiest way to get editorial links is to create outstanding content that people will want to share with their readers. Another way is to guest post on a high-quality site that is in your niche. The main aim of your content should still be to provide value and relevance for your target audience, but this doesn’t mean that it can’t be slightly more SEO-focused. In addition to your user experience, there are also a number of other factors that affect the usability of your website such as website load speed, server uptime, broken links, cross-device compatibility, learnability and clarity. By making sure your website is easy to use you’ll be helping to ensure that it can perform well in the search engines and will also help to convert your visitors into customers.

Do prospects come to my content?

Great images compliment great website copy, and since millions of people search for images online, they play an important role in your on-page SEO. Similar to title tags, using customized image tags will help describe the subject of an image. Keyword selection is the starting point of the small business SEO process. You must choose keywords that are directly relevant to your business, which people are actually searching for, and which aren’t too competitive for your budget. Choose the right keywords – limit yourself to around 5 to start with – and you can get good results on a small budget. The words that make up a query are commonly referred to as “keywords,” a foundational element of SEO. Since the ultimate goal of your SEO strategy is to help people who are looking for your business or products, what more logical place to start than optimizing your site to best match customers' searches? Users searching for your site on Google might not necessarily want to land on your homepage. Sitelinks on the SERP provide them with a direct link to other parts of your site which might be more relevant to them.

How Should You Use Search Activity Data?

Authority is built by earning links, or what some refer to as votes, for your website and is one of the quickest ways to rank quickly in Google. This is accomplished by creating great content that provides so much value that other high-authority websites reference it. We all know that when it comes to link building, we aim for the authority links in the first place. But they’re also the hardest to land. The SERP landscape is constantly changing, with Local listing and OneBoxes popping up everywhere. Ranking number one has obviously never been a walk in the park. But now we’re dealing with a much more complex environment. According to SEO Consultant, Gaz Hall: "In order to rank highly in SERPs, the search engines must see your website’s content as being trustworthy."

Set-up Search Console (Webmaster Tools) Account

It is better to create a content that is user-friendly than exhaustive. Content should be easy and simple to read. If you’re thinking about using a CMS plugin that automatically hyperlinks a certain word every time it appears on your website (i.e. like Wikipedia does), I’d suggest refraining from doing so unless you’re a relatively big brand or if it makes complete sense from a UX perspective. Never start writing an article without performing a keyword research. The best tool to use is the free Google Keyword Tool. Link building is also spreading brand awareness and capturing referral traffic.