Given that the top 5 organic search engine results account for over 67% of all clicks, it’s vital that you make the most of search engine optimisation (SEO) in order help get your business or blog the attention it deserves. But how do you make your website stand out in a crowd of over 1.9 billion?
Ranking factors are constantly changing over time, with search engines such as Google adding new factors each year. Whilst it’s a given that providing a quality user experience is essential for top rated SEO companies in promoting interest in your website, staying abreast of the latest ranking factor trends may be just as important.
Here are our top 6 ranking factors of 2018:
1. Mobile optimisation
This is arguably the most important ranking factor to consider in 2018. Mobile users are fussier and more impatient than desktop users, so it is essential that you cater to their needs by ensuring you give them an optimal mobile experience. Not only this, but search engines such as Google now consider ‘mobile-friendliness’ as a ranking factor (here’s a website you can use to test whether your website is mobile-friendly). Some things to consider are:
- Including a responsive design: Your web page should render well across a range of devices and screen sizes. Tiny fonts on a mobile phone, for instance, are difficult to read and may turn people off from using your website. This also makes it easier for Googlebot to stay up to date with indexing your site’s content.
- Ensuring your website loads quickly: Mobile users are less likely to wait for a slow-loading web page than desktop users are.
- Answering user’s questions with blog posts: Consider what questions and keywords people are using in relation to your content. Addressing these in a blog post or Q&A page can help improve your SEO ranking.
2. Voice search
Technology such as Google Home and mobile personal assistants such as Apple’s Siri have helped make voice search one of the new standard ways to browse the web. Voice search is used across all age groups, and in 1 in 5 Google queries.
Yet voice search operates differently to traditional text searches, as queries are longer and more conversational, as well as more likely to be posed as a question.
To address these differences, try to get into the mind of consumers and work with natural language phrases. Websites such as Answer the Public can show you what people are asking and help you plan your content accordingly. A Q&A page can be beneficial for improving SEO.
Google Analytics can also be a useful tool for finding out which keywords people are using to find your content. Consider also that 22% of voice searches are for finding local information.
3. Include top-quality content
As the old adage goes, “Content is king”. Content is what drives the use of the web and makes people come back to your website time and time again.
Write your content for your users, not Google. Research what people are searching for in relation to your content and help them by answering their questions. Don’t just mercilessly target keywords in the hope that Google will notice you.
Make your content readable – huge chunks of texts are a turn-off to readers and may make it more difficult for search engines to make sense of your website. Use short sentences, paragraphs and visuals to improve readability.
While there are many more ranking factors to consider if you’re interested, these are three of the top things to consider when working with SEO in 2018.
