Today I am going to show you how you can get a basic understanding of what keywords your website ranks for in Google. I will show you how to use two powerful SEO tools to do this. You can do this for free.
Click “Search.” Look under Organic Search. You will be able to see what keywords you rank for. Ideally, you want to have as many relevant keywords ranking in the top 10.
Realize that this may not be everything you rank for, but it will give you a basic understanding.
You can do both of these checks for free. If you want me to run a full keyword ranking report for you, send me your website address and I will send you a keyword ranking report for free.
It is critically important to Google that they produce great search results. If people are not happy with the search results they will go somewhere else to search. Google mostly uses an algorithm to determine how a page ranks for a keyword search. However, they have recently stepped up their game and added about 10,000 people to manually check what comes up for specific searches and evaluate the quality of those pages. They created a guide for these quality checkers. This guide can give you some great insights into what you can do to improve your website so you will have better search results.
I would recommend reading it and apply what you learn to your website.
Here is a great video, based on the Google Search Quality Guidelines, that I recently watched, that will give you everything you need to know about SEO to rank well on Google and get organic traffic in 2019. They break down Google’s guidelines for page quality and how you can apply them in a practical way on your website.
Here are some of my notes from the video:
Google uses an algorithm to judge the quality of your page. They also have an army of people manually ranking websites. That is the whole point of creating this guide.
The most important thing to learn from this guide is that Google cares about user experience.
The #1 Goal is to give the most useful answer when someone searches your topic. The whole goal of Google is to makes sure the best answer is #1.
When you create your pages, try and create the most helpful page. Think about how well this page meets the need of your user.
Google considers the click-through rate. Are people clicking on the search result, getting their answer, and closing the browser? Or are they going to the site, bouncing out, clicking on the next result, bouncing out, and then search another until they find the answer?
Make sure your site provides the answer.
Google cares about the reputation of your website. They are looking intently at the quality and quantity of websites linking to your domain.
Google is also looking at online reviews on Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook. Do your reviews show that you are reputable?
Make sure that you have a plan to consistently get good reviews.
Get real on your website. Show that you are the real deal. Show that you are an authority.
Take the time to write a great about page. Showcase your degrees, credentials, what conferences you have spoken at. What sort of real experience do you have to be writing about the topic of the page?
Give real-life examples.
Create a resource that is designed for sharing. Create an infographic, article, or video. Do something with someone in your industry. Go on a podcast, do a YouTube collaboration, write a book and get it on Amazon, speak at a conference.
Really try to improve the user experience of your page. Add images that improve the user experience, use clean formatting, make your text easy to read, break up your content well.
Have a nice title and description that draws people into your content.
Don’t over-monetize your content. Google doesn’t like it when you use too many ads on your page.
Make sure to answer the question the searcher is looking for quality and thoroughly.
Google really wants to provide results that answer the questions that the searchers are trying to answer in the fastest and most efficient fashion.
Be the most helpful resource based on what people are searching for.
Add shareable tweets, tables, and clean and beautiful to easy to read font.
Make sure that your website loads fast.
Make sure that your site has SSL. Also, make sure that your SSL certificate is up to date and not broken. If your SSL certificate is not up to date, your site won’t load up or will display “Not Secure” in the search bar. Check your SSL here.
Remember SEO is a long-term investment. You will reap what you sow. Create a plan to steadily improve your SEO and Google will reward you with lots of organic traffic.
Action Plan
Take a look at your site and see how you can be the best answer to searchers’ questions.
Check your site speed.
Be real in your content. Use real-life examples.
Write a great about us page.
Create a shareable resource.
Collaborate with others. Get on a podcast, write a guest post, or collaborate on a video.
Click the sites and see what people are saying about your business.
Make sure to take the time to respond to the reviews.
If you haven’t registered for those sites take the time to register for them. Remember to save your usernames and passwords somewhere. You could create a document where you save all of these. Keep it safe.
Make sure you set up the site to send you notifications when you get new reviews.
To see what people are saying about your competitors, search for your main service type + city in Google.
Look in Google Maps, Google Home Services, Yelp, Facebook, and your industry review sites to see what people are saying about your competition.
Get a system to help you regularly get reviews from your customers.
A great way to increase website traffic and conversions is to answer common questions that your potential customers have and post these on your website.
Here are the benefits by utilizing this strategy:
Your sales people will have a place to send people to that have questions.
You will get more leads because people will see you as the expert.
You will get more traffic from the search engines because people will be searching for the answers to these questions. If you have the best answer to the question and you have authoritative website, then you have a high chance of ranking for these questions
Your potential customers will spend more time your website. This is great for search engine optimization.
You will position yourself as an expert in your field.
Start this process by creating a comprehensive list of questions that your customers and prospects could ask. First write down every question you could think of yourself. Then ask your employees what questions they think customers may have. Then, contact your customers and ask them what questions they have and what they think other customers would want to know.
Next, type in your question into Google and see what other people have said. You may even come up with other questions. You can also, look at other business that provide your type of service in other cities to see if you can find other questions that may be asked. Finally check out https://quora.com to see if you can discover any other questions.
Your potential customers are typing all sorts of things into Google to find answers. They are not just typing in “Plumbing Boston.” They are typing “how do a replace a bathroom sink drain.”
Once you have created a solid list of questionsstart answering the questions one by one.
Write out your answers in detail. Don’t leave anything out. Consider adding photos and videos that you create to answer these questions. You could hire a local videographer or you could have someone film you with their Phone. Make sure you have good audio. Upload these videos to YouTube and then embed them into the web page where you answer these questions. Ideally you want someone to spell check and proof your work before you post it on your website.
Next create a page called “Frequently Asked Questions.”
Create a page for each question and answer. Then you can link to these pages from a Frequently Asked Questions page. You could also use this type of content for blog posts or social media posts. You could also add the questions and answers into a knowledge base. There is software you could use for this such as ZenDesk.
If you have an answer to the questions your prospects are asking, then you have a much greater chance of being found in Google when someone is looking for an answer. Your goal is to provide the best answers out of all your competitors.
Don’t hesitate. Get started answering questions today.
Action Plan:
Make a list of potential questions.
Answer these questions with text, photos, and videos.
Create a frequently asked question with this content.
Always be on the look out for new questions.
Check back on your questions and answers periodically to make sure they are current.
Want Marketing Help?
If you have questions about digital marketing please contact us. If you are interested in getting help with marketing your business online go here.
