Digital marketing has been a vital part of many companies’ marketing strategies. Building a strong online presence allows them to reach a wider audience, convert them into new customers, and maintain the existing ones. There are several components you need to pay attention to for a successful digital marketing strategy. One of them is ranking your website on search engine results pages (SERPs), particularly on Google.
Why Your Website Should Rank High
Data show 81 percent of people search for a product or service online. That’s why businesses need to build a strong online presence and appear on search engines. Most users only visit websites on the first page of SERPs.
Appearing on the first page, especially at the top result, is tricky. There are factors you need to consider to rank higher. That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of a digital marketing strategy. Its goal is to increase the visibility of a website in the organic search results of search engines.
You should be familiar with several factors to come up with an SEO strategy that delivers positive results. These factors include keywords, content quality, and links. Meeting these criteria can put your website at the top results page and increase visibility.
But is it possible to rank higher if your website is still small?
Ranking A Small Website: Be Strategic
Ranking high on SERPs doesn’t happen overnight. It’ll take time and practice until you see results. But it would be more challenging if you’re trying to rank a relatively new or a small website. It’s likely not that capable of creating an internal linking structure. Smaller websites also tend to have a few pages that are probably not link-worthy.
That is why you need to be strategic if you want to rank higher in search. Adding relevant frequently asked questions (FAQS), for example, can help improve the performance of your website.
You can also add other types of content, like images, videos, charts, and infographics that add value to the copy and enhance the user experience. Work with graphic design companies and other professionals in Phoenix to come up with high-quality content. But be careful not to slow down the page too much.
Another way to boost your ranking is to build strong domain authority (DA), which is about the number of relevant backlinks on your website. Moz describes backlinks as a “vote of confidence” from one site to another. If other sites link to your website or webpage, search engines will look at your content as authoritative. This will increase your chances of appearing on a SERP.
Knowing your website’s DA score can help you align your SEO strategy. You should not only focus on your keywords but also the quality of your backlinks. The range of DA scores is from one to 100. The higher the score, the higher your chances of increasing your SERP ranking and web traffic.
Smaller websites with a few inbound links usually have lower DA scores than sites with many external links. One way to improve your score is to conduct a link audit. It will help you ensure that links to your website are valid and not involved in black-hat SEO. You can use available tools to check your site’s domain score, the number of backlinks, and referring domains.
Moreover, you don’t have to keep your website small. Consider expanding it to give you more opportunities to rank higher in search. Adding a blog and dedicating a page for each service or product is a smart way to grow your website. You can also use these pages for your backlinks.
When optimizing your website, don’t forget to make your website mobile-friendly. In 2019, half of all website traffic globally came from mobile devices. About 60 percent of smartphone users have also reached out to a business through the search results.
Additionally, Google started judging all websites on their mobile version instead of the desktop version. Designing your website for mobile users contributes to its ranking performance. You can use Google’s mobile-friendly test to see how mobile-friendly your website is. If your website doesn’t work properly on a mobile device, Google will suggest what to improve.
Digital marketing is an essential component of a marketing strategy. Knowing how to optimize your website according to its needs is vital to get the results you need. Ranking high on SERP may take time. Keep yourself update with the latest algorithm updates to align your tactics and improve your website’s performance.