We get asked this question a lot. Of course, you can engage the services of an SEO agency to help you try and boost your ranking. However, many small businesses to not have the budget for this, especially when they are just starting out.

Although we are not SEO experts, we thought it might be useful to share some handy tips to try and improve your Google ranking.

There are no quick fixes though. The days of keyword stuffing is over. Google is looking for top quality, relevant information and trusted websites. It takes time to build up this reputation and for the effects of your work to come to fruition.

Here are our 7 tips for success.

1. Submit your website to Google

At the start make sure you have submitted your website to Google How to register your website’s URL and also check robots.txt to ensure it is set up correctly.

2. Make sure you have an SSL certificate

You will be penalised if your site is not secure. Websites without an SSL certificate are flagged as Not Secure. This does not look good for your business and can affect your search ranking.

3. Optimize your site speed

Site speed is how fast your website loads on different devices and browsers. It can affect your search engine ranking but it also affects your user experience. If your website is slow to load people won’t wait! You can optimize your site speed by using a reliable hosting service and compressing your images and videos. If you add lots of images to your website, check the image size as large images can affect site speed. You can check your site speed using tools like Google Page Speed Insights.

4. Use keywords strategically

Keywords are the words and phrases that people use to search for you online. You should use them in your headings and content but don’t overdo it or you will risk being penalised for keyword stuffing. You can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer to find the best keywords for your business.

You can also simply google your topic and see what suggested searches come up. Also investigate the People Also Ask section of the search results. This will give you ideas about the type of information users are looking for. You can then target your keywords around this.

5. Create Quality Content

This is my favourite subject! Content has become the king of SEO. It is vital to create original, engaging, and useful content that answers your audience’s questions and solves their problems. You should also update your content regularly and keep it fresh and relevant. Quality content will attract more visitors, increase your dwell time, reduce your bounce rate, and boost your authority and trustworthiness. You can also repurpose old content. Some blog post topics are evergreen, but others may need to updated every now and again with new dates or information.

Check out how we created quality content for one client to help increase their reach.How creating regular content can increase website traffic

6. Create a Google map entry

A Google map entry can help you be more visible in search results. Map entries sit higher on the page and can be a great way for users to access your website quickly and easily.

Why you should have a google my business listing/

7. Monitor Progress

SEO is not a one-time thing. You need to monitor and evaluate your performance and make adjustments as needed. You can use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your traffic, conversions, and ranking. This monitoring can help you see what is working and what isn’t. It can give you valuable insight into user behaviour. You can then tailor your content around this information. Knowledge is power, tracking results help you make educated decisions.

5 Reasons Why it’s important to monitor website performance

Patience and Consistency are key

These are some of the basic SEO tips you can follow to improve your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines. It does take time to see results but if you are consistent, monitor results and tweak your actions accordingly, hopefully you will reap the benefits of more traffic and sales for your business.