Everyone wants to get the most traffic to their site for the least amount of financial investment. The key to achieving this is to get higher rankings on search engines like Google to bring in a steady stream of organic (free) website visitors. Unfortunately, while the goal is clear, the path to getting there isn’t always easy.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective strategies businesses can use to improve their website’s visibility. However, SEO requires a lot of patience and understanding of constantly shifting ranking variables. Because of this, many businesses fail to identify the most impactful areas to focus on and make time and resource investments that bring them the best results.

To simplify this process, we’ve created an easy-to-use guide you can follow based on your target keywords’ current performance on search results pages (SERPS).

Steps to Take When You Have No Ratings

It can be really exciting to launch a new website, but getting it noticed online is a whole other story. But even if you don’t see any immediate traffic after launching your site – which you almost certainly won’t be – there are some fundamental aspects you can address to ensure your site gets noticed quicker:

Do Thorough Keyword Research

When looking to improve your website’s ranking on SERPs, one of the most important things you can do is targeted keyword research. This is a really important early step to take and helps you avoid using overly broad or unrealistic keywords in your SEO campaigns.

Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs are great for helping you find the right collection of keywords to use. However, you’ll want to focus on using low- to moderate-volume keywords with lower-ranking difficulty ratings for the best results.

Focus on Creating High-Value Content

When you’re creating content for your web pages, it’s important to make sure it’s higher quality and isn’t just copied from other sites. Search engines like Google heavily prioritize content that is both unique and informative, as this is what their users are looking for.

It can be tempting to use any one of the wide range of generative AI tools available on the market to create large amounts of content quickly, but it’s important to avoid plagiarism and unresearched content. Instead of taking this approach, focus on a quality vs. quantity approach and only publish content that provides real value to your readers.

Make Sure Your On-Page Elements are Optimized

Once you’ve figured out what your targeted keywords should be, you’ll want to take the time to adjust various on-page elements on your website to support them.

A good starting point is making sure that the title tags and meta descriptions of each page on your site include your target keywords whenever relevant. Also, confirm that the content across your site makes use of appropriate header tags (H1, H2, etc.) effectively. These help to structure your content and tell readers (and search engine crawlers) what your pages are about and if they’re relevant to their needs.

Steps to Take When Your Keywords Rank on Pages 2-3 on SERPs

It’s definitely encouraging to see your web pages starting to appear on the first few pages of search results. That means you’re on the right track! However, this also means you’ll be running up against the stiff competition, looking to achieve the same first-page spot you’re looking for. To stay ahead of the rest, you’ll need to start shifting gears and implement some strategic SEO improvements.

Here’s where you’ll want to focus your efforts:

Gain More Authoritative Backlinks

While it takes time and effort, building high-quality backlinks is really important for improving your search engine rankings. Backlinks are incoming links from outside websites that essentially vouch for your brand or the relevancy of your content.

You’ll want to plan and execute a focused campaign designed to connect with as many influential sites in your industry as you can. Offer to contribute your own valuable content to their site in exchange for a link back to your own. This strategy can significantly improve your site’s authority and visibility while also helping you to build long-term strategic marketing relationships.

Look for More Places to Distribute Your Content

The articles and other digital assets you produce can be a great way to increase the number of visitors to your website. This can be done either through referral links on websites or social media feeds or by directly improving your search engine rankings.

It’s helpful to promote your content across a wide range of platforms. Look online for discussion groups relevant to your industry or email different organizations and ask about any relevant ways you’re able to contribute to their readership.

Analyze and Improve Your On-Site User Experience

User experience (UX) is a critical element in web design and affects not just user satisfaction rates but also your search engine rankings. While an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly website is important, there are other steps you should take to improve your site’s UX.

For example, your website performance, especially on mobile devices, is another thing you’ll want to verify. This, in addition to your website’s general speed and navigability, is important to factor in when trying to design a website that lowers your bounce rates and increases engagement levels across all of your website pages.

Steps to Take When You’re at the Top of SERPs

Reaching the top spot in search results is a huge accomplishment. But the real challenge often lies in maintaining that position over time.

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, so it’s normal for websites to experience some shifts in their rankings. However, there are key strategies you can implement to help keep your hard-earned top rankings for as long as possible:

Keep a Consistent Content Planner

To maintain your search engine rankings, it’s essential to be consistent with the quality and frequency of your content creation.

Search engines, especially Google, look for indications that a website is actively engaging its audience. A steady rhythm of site updates and newly published content signals ongoing relevance and helps preserve your rankings over the long haul.

Prioritize Building Brand Credibility

A strong brand identity can significantly improve your SEO efforts. Prioritize creating a respected online presence through different social media channels and work on executing other important brand-building initiatives. Important branding signals, like the number of online mentions or business reviews, can add up over time and become important factors for helping to improve your search rankings.

Regularly Track Your Performance Metrics

Keep in mind that SEO is not a one-time task. It’s crucial to consistently measure and evaluate your SEO performance to understand what’s proving effective and what areas could benefit from some improvements. This iterative process allows you to refine your approach and ensure your strategies are providing you with the best possible results long-term.

Maximize Your SEO Returns

By understanding the specific factors influencing your current search ranking, you can prioritize your time and resources effectively. This focused way of tackling your SEO initiatives will help you climb the search engine results pages steadily and stay there for longer.

Author Bio Below:

Jason Khoo started freelancing in SEO in college, sold his first agency, and now is the founder of Zupo, an Orange County-based SEO consulting agency helping construct powerful long-term SEO strategies for our clients. Jason also enjoys multiple cups of tea daily, hiding away on weekends, catching up on reading, and rewatching The Simpsons for the 20th time.