You may have the most entertaining, informative blog online, but without properly utilizing SEO tactics, it will never be the most popular. Increasing your search result rankings is a key factor in distancing yourself from similar blogs and ultimately bettering your changes to increase traffic, and ultimately revenue, to your website.

1. Stay Informed on the Ever-Changing SEO Landscape

One of the best ways to get your website on top of Google is with on-page SEO tactics. Google’s algorithms are forever changing as SEO minds find ways to manipulate these algorithms to increase traffic to a given blog or website. “Keyword stuffing” is a prime example of a once-successful strategy that now results in websites being penalized by Google and ultimately losing traffic. Ironically, a quick Google search is a fine way to find information on current SEO trends to ensure you’re staying ahead of the game.

2. Build Your Content with Google and Readers in Mind

Whether you’re creating a new website for your business, or updating your copy, there are many successful strategies to get to the top of that Google search. The simplest one is: not being phony. Google is well-versed at catching phony. Write to your readers and provide entertaining, informative copy, first and foremost. Google analytics determine the length of time users stay on a page, and the longer they stay, the more credible your website will seem to Google. Once the content is truly something you believe your readers will consume and enjoy, then it’s time to go back and tactically apply the Google appeal. Remember that Google analytics is an ever-changing monster so be sure to stay updated on new trends or you may wind up shooting yourself in the foot using old tactics that Google now views as “spammy” or not credible. SEO writing is now alive and well in collegiate curriculums, too, and it’s not a bad idea to hire a freelance SEO writer/editor if you want to ensure your copy is both user-friendly and Google-friendly.

3. Get Mobile

This doesn’t mean go break a sweat before you code and Google will notice it. It means that more than 50% of searches are now done via cell phones, tablets, etc. and ensuring your blog or website is just as user-friendly on mobile screens as it is on computer screens is essential to ensuring more than half of potential searchers are able to view and interact with your copy in an easy, informative manner. Some search engines have already began placing mobile user-friendliness atop their algorithms, as far as importance. In reality, given the numbers, it’s now more important to ensure mobile user friendliness than it is to ensure PC accessibility and readability and most believe this trend will continue to move toward more mobile searches. (But make sure to check both boxes for the foreseeable future.)

4. Technical SEO Tactics

Here are a few granular tips on how to maximize the user-, Google-, and mobile-friendly content you have created. First, ensure your site speed is fast. No one wants to wait around for 30 seconds while your content loads, especially when there are probably a hundred similar results to a given search. Another ironic Google search will return the most up-to-date site speed tactics. Image optimization is another technical tactic that ties in with site speed. Ensure your photos are compressed down to ensure quick loading, and the relevance of these photos is also important, as mentioned regarding text. Finally, regularly checking any and all components of your website to ensure no “PAGE NOT FOUND” or other errors occur to users keeps your page on Google’s good side as well.

Conclusion

It’s probably obvious by this point that there is no level or piece of knowledge that one can learn regarding SEO tactics that may not be different in three, five, ten years, etc. Providing quality user content, however, has been the one constant in Google’s eyes. Continue to write to your readers and don’t over-use any of the tactics mentioned here, or any of the new trends you may find while staying ahead of the curve in the future. Stay on top of trends, revisit old tactics, and most importantly, embrace the changes as you work towards the top of the Google mountain.