11 Steps To Rank Higher On Google

In this post, I’ll detail a proven method to achieve higher Google rankings. This approach has successfully secured top positions for competitive keywords like ‘SEO checklist’ and ‘link building tools’. If you’re aiming to improve your Google ranking in 2024 and beyond, this comprehensive guide is for you.

How Does Google Rank Pages?

Google’s ranking algorithms are built to efficiently sift through vast amounts of web content to provide users with the most relevant and useful information quickly. This process is crucial for meeting search intent effectively. By leveraging algorithmic processes, Google assesses a multitude of factors to determine the quality, relevance, and utility of each search result. These algorithms are highly sophisticated and continuously evolving to better understand user queries and deliver improved search experiences.

Understanding these algorithms is key to formulating a robust SEO strategy that can elevate your website’s visibility on Google. A comprehensive approach, as detailed in this guide, involves optimising various elements of your site to align with Google’s ranking criteria. This includes enhancing content quality, ensuring it addresses user queries directly, and structuring information in a way that is easy for both users and search engines to interpret.

To achieve higher rankings on Google, it’s essential to focus on creating valuable, authoritative content that resonates with your target audience. This involves conducting keyword research to identify relevant terms, integrating them naturally into your content, and continually refining your approach based on performance analytics. By following these steps consistently and adapting to algorithm updates, you can enhance your site’s visibility and attract more organic traffic over time.

Step #1: Improve Your On-Site SEO

On-Page SEO stands out as one of the quickest routes to improve your rankings on Google. It’s a process that can be initiated in just a couple of minutes and yield noticeable results within days.

To optimize your site effectively for your target keywords, start by ensuring your keyword appears early in your title tag. Google prioritizes the beginning of the title tag to grasp the essence of your page’s content. Placing your keyword upfront signals to Google’s algorithms the primary focus of your page.

While it’s not always feasible to position your target keyword right at the start, aiming for proximity to the beginning enhances its visibility and relevance. This not only aids in rankings but also makes it easier for users scanning search results to discern the content’s relevance, potentially increasing click-through rates.

Secondly, consider crafting comprehensive, long-form content that thoroughly addresses your chosen topic. Research shows that top-ranking pages on Google often feature around 1,447 words on average. From personal experience, longer content tends to perform better in search results, even for competitive keywords like “Mobile SEO.”

For instance, competing against major sites such as Semrush and Search Engine Journal for the keyword “Mobile SEO,” I ensured my content covered every aspect of optimizing sites for mobile devices comprehensively. While not every page benefits from extensive content (like ecommerce category pages), where applicable, longer content generally enhances SEO performance.

Lastly, integrate your target keyword naturally throughout your page. Avoid overloading your content with keywords; instead, focus on incorporating relevant terms that reinforce your page’s relevance to the search query. This strategic approach signals to Google the thematic focus of your content, potentially boosting your rankings effectively.

By implementing these On-Page SEO tactics thoughtfully, you can enhance your site’s visibility and attract more organic traffic, aligning your content with Google’s search intent effectively.

Step #2: Add LSI Keywords to Your Page

LSI keywords are an advanced on-page SEO strategy designed to enhance your content’s relevance.

Essentially, LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words and phrases closely associated with your main topic. Including these keywords in your content helps Google understand the thematic focus of your page.

To discover and integrate LSI keywords effectively, start by using Google’s autocomplete feature. Simply type in your primary keyword, and observe the related terms suggested by Google in bold. These suggestions are based on real user searches, providing valuable insights into related topics and phrases.

By incorporating these LSI keywords naturally throughout your content, you reinforce the relevance of your page to the target topic. This strategic use of LSI keywords can significantly boost your page’s SEO performance, aligning it more closely with user search intent.

Step #3: Monitor Your Technical SEO

Technical SEO issues can significantly impact your site’s search engine rankings, making them crucial to address.

Firstly, ensure your website is optimised for mobile devices, considering that more than half of global web traffic now comes from mobile users in 2024. Verify your site’s mobile-friendliness by checking its Core Web Vitals or using tools like Google Search Console.

Another critical factor is page speed, a long-standing Google ranking metric. Assess your site’s loading speed using tools such as PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest.org. These tools provide detailed reports to identify and resolve technical performance issues.

Utilize Google Search Console to monitor how Google indexes your site. Navigate to “Indexing” > “Pages” to identify any indexing issues that need attention.

For WordPress users, employing the Yoast SEO plugin can streamline your site’s SEO setup. While it won’t guarantee higher rankings, Yoast SEO offers features to enhance your WordPress site’s SEO framework from the outset.

Step #4: Match Your Content to Search Intent

Understanding “Search Intent” is crucial for a successful SEO strategy.

Google’s RankBrain technology evaluates if your site aligns with a searcher’s query, making it essential to meet their needs precisely.

For instance, when aiming to rank for “Conversion Rate Optimization,” I initially focused on a comprehensive list of techniques. While the content initially performed well, its traffic gradually declined as it didn’t match what searchers were looking for.

Upon reassessment, I realised searchers sought:

Definition of CRO
How CRO works
Real-life examples
Practical tips to begin

Analyzing top-ranking pages revealed they all provided a beginner’s guide format, which my content lacked. To align better with search intent, I restructured it into “Conversion Rate Optimization: The Definitive Guide.”

The result? A significant increase of 214% in organic traffic, demonstrating the importance of meeting search intent for better SEO performance.

To ensure your content resonates with search intent, tools like Semrush’s Keyword Overview can quickly clarify what users expect from their searches.

Step #5: Reduce Your Bounce Rate

Let’s talk about improving your site’s bounce rate.

Why does this matter?

Google interprets high bounce rates as users quickly leaving a site after landing, suggesting dissatisfaction. This can negatively impact your rankings.

Aligning your content with search intent is key to reducing bounce rates. When users find what they’re looking for, they’re less likely to bounce back to search results.

Apart from relevance, there are practical steps to lower your bounce rate.

Firstly, focus on your site’s “above the fold” content — what users see before scrolling. This initial impression often determines if users stay or leave.

Ensure your key content is prominently displayed. This straightforward adjustment can significantly retain visitor interest.

Additionally, organize your page layout for easy navigation. Including a table of contents, like on Backlinko posts, allows users to navigate directly to their desired section.

Lastly, enrich your content with visuals such as images, videos, and charts. Visual aids enhance comprehension and engagement, reducing bounce rates effectively.

By implementing these strategies, you can enhance user experience and mitigate bounce rates on your site.

Step #6: Find Even More Keywords to Target

Now that your site is ranking higher in Google, it’s time to boost traffic further.

An effective strategy is to optimize your pages for multiple keywords. Here’s how:

First, head to Google Search Console’s “Performance” report and review the queries you’re ranking for. While you may have already optimized your pages for these keywords, there are likely opportunities with new keywords you’re unintentionally ranking for.

For instance, I noticed some traffic from searches like “youtube video description example” to my site, even though I haven’t specifically optimized a page for it. This presents an opportunity to enhance visibility by tailoring content to match these queries.

To capitalize on this, consider updating existing pages by integrating the exact keywords and expanding relevant content. Alternatively, create new pages dedicated to these keywords to improve relevance and attract targeted traffic effectively.

By focusing on multiple keywords across your site, you can maximize visibility and drive more qualified traffic to your pages.

Step #7: Publish Insanely High-Quality Content

You’ve likely heard that “publishing high-quality content” is key to ranking on Google. But deciphering what constitutes “high-quality” can be challenging.

To clarify, it’s about producing content that resonates enough to be shared on social media and linked to by others. Backlinks are crucial because Google’s algorithm values them highly, potentially boosting your ranking.

To attract these valuable backlinks, aim to create content that acts as “link bait.” Here are effective strategies:

Become a Data Source:

Provide data-driven content that others can reference in their own articles. For instance, our collaboration with Pitchbox for an email outreach study in 2019 yielded compelling statistics, like the fact that less than 10% of outreach emails receive a response. This type of data is highly shareable and cite-worthy.

Focus on Long-Form Content:

Longer content tends to attract more backlinks than shorter articles. While there’s no magic word count, pieces exceeding 3,000 words often perform well for link building purposes.

Publish Visual Content:

Visual assets such as infographics, maps, charts, and videos are excellent for attracting links. For example, we once created an infographic on on-page SEO strategies. Although it required outreach efforts to promote, it became widely embedded in blogs once it reached our target audience.

By employing these strategies, you can increase the likelihood of creating content that earns valuable backlinks, thus enhancing your site’s authority and visibility in search engine rankings.

Step #8: Build Backlinks to Your Site

Creating amazing content is essential, but it’s not enough to ensure it attracts links. You can’t simply publish and hope for the best in today’s vast online landscape flooded with new content daily.

WordPress alone sees about 70 million new posts each month, highlighting the challenge of standing out and gaining visibility.

To increase the chances of your content earning links, proactive promotion is key. Here are two effective techniques:

Find Dead Links (Broken Link Building):

Use tools like Semrush’s Backlink Analytics to identify broken links on competitor websites. By searching their indexed pages and filtering for broken links, you can discover pages with broken links that still have active backlinks from other websites.

Once identified, reach out to the website owners referencing the broken link. Offer your relevant content as a replacement. Here’s a simple email template to use:

“`

Hi [First Name],

I noticed a broken link on your page: [Title].

The link to [Website] is giving a 404 error.

I recently published a post on [Topic] that could be a suitable replacement for the dead link.

Hope this helps!

“`

Create Resource Pages:

Resource pages are curated lists linking to top-quality content on specific topics. For instance, if you specialize in SEO, you could create a comprehensive resource page covering various aspects like keyword research and content strategies.

Identify existing resource pages in your niche by searching for terms like “intitle:resources + [Your Niche]” on search engines. Reach out to the owners of these pages and propose adding your outstanding content as a valuable addition.

These strategies focus on proactive outreach and leveraging existing opportunities to enhance your content’s visibility and attract valuable backlinks.

Step #9: Track and Monitor Your Results

By now, you should start seeing improved Google rankings for your site, which is a positive outcome. But how can you assess if these rankings are translating into meaningful results? And more importantly, how can you monitor SEO performance without constantly checking rankings?

Here’s how to track your SEO progress like a pro:

Google Analytics Organic Traffic:

While rankings matter, nothing beats measuring the impact of SEO like organic traffic—visitors from search engines. You can monitor this in Google Analytics:

Navigate to your Google Analytics account and check the Organic Traffic section under Acquisitions to see how search engine visitors are accessing your site.

Google Search Console Impressions and Clicks:

Complementing Google Analytics, the Performance report in Google Search Console provides insights into how many users viewed your site (impressions) and how many clicked through to visit (clicks) from search results.

Access the Performance report in Google Search Console to gauge the visibility and click-through rates of your site’s pages.

Leads and Sales:

Ultimately, the success of SEO efforts hinges on whether increased traffic translates into conversions and sales. Tracking leads and sales through Google Analytics’ Key Events can provide valuable insights into how effectively your SEO strategy is driving business outcomes.

Set up key events in Google Analytics to monitor specific actions like form submissions, purchases, or other conversions that indicate visitor engagement and conversion rates.

By monitoring these metrics regularly, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of how your SEO efforts are performing and adjust strategies as needed to achieve better outcomes.

Step #10: Include Meaningful Visuals

Including visuals in your content not only enhances its appeal but also boosts your chances of ranking higher in search results, providing a better user experience overall.

For instance, consider these examples of how visuals can impact your content strategy:

Enhancing Understanding with Graphics: Utilize charts, graphs, and high-quality images to clarify data, showcase locations or products, and simplify complex concepts. For example, in an article on website architecture, a simple graphic demonstrating the ideal page depth from the homepage can make a significant difference in reader comprehension.
Boosting Engagement and Backlinks: Visual content is highly shareable, making it a great opportunity to attract backlinks from other websites. Moreover, Google sometimes features content with images in its search results, which can increase your click-through rates.

Remember, ensuring that your visuals are contextually relevant to your niche and align with search intent can further enhance their effectiveness in SEO.

Step #11: Make Your Information Skimmable

A recent study on website engagement revealed that users spend an average of 54 seconds on a webpage. This underscores the importance of making a quick and effective impression on your visitors. Despite the vast amount of online information available, only the most engaging content succeeds.

To stand out, focus on clear, concise sentences. Use active voice, incorporate bullet points, and use subheadings to organise content into digestible sections. Visual elements are also crucial for enhancing user appeal (as discussed earlier).

Bonus Step #1: Boost Your Click-Through Rate

While it’s not confirmed whether Google directly uses click-through rate (CTR) as a ranking factor, increasing CTR remains crucial for attracting the right audience. Here are practical ways to achieve this:

Use Emotional Title Tags: Craft titles that capture attention.
Optimize URLs: Keep them short and descriptive to match search intent.
Target Rich Snippets: These visually enhanced results stand out in search listings.
Compelling Meta Descriptions: Persuasive meta descriptions can improve click-through rates.

Bonus Step #2: Use Internal Linking

Internal linking is a simple yet effective strategy to improve Google rankings. By linking relevant pages within your site, you can enhance visibility for important keywords and topics. For example, linking to your “Google Search Console” page from related content can boost its ranking potential.

Why Is It Important to Rank High on Google? Top 4 Benefits

Achieving a high ranking on Google offers several key advantages:

Increased Organic Clicks: Top-ranked results attract significantly more clicks than lower-ranked pages.
Reduced Marketing Costs: Effective SEO reduces the need for expensive outbound marketing.
Enhanced Business Reputation: High rankings build trust and credibility among customers.
Competitive Edge: Higher traffic and visibility lead to better sales and market dominance.

Follow these steps to improve your Google rankings effectively. For more detailed SEO tips and tools to track your progress, explore our comprehensive guide.