Master SEO in 2024: Improving Content, UX, and More
Studies have shown that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. Moreover, websites on the first page of Google receive at least 71% of all search traffic. As you can see, SEO must become your top priority if you want to achieve online success.
In this article, we will explore nine techniques that can significantly boost your website’s visibility and SEO performance.
1. Publish Original Content
Google advises to keep the content original and expert to increase chances of getting to the first page. Here are some practical tips that could help you do it.
1. Analyze Your Audience
Research your target audience’s needs and desires. Some resources are social media, surveys, reviews, keyword tools, customer support interactions, and product usage data.
For example, if your audience consists of small business owners, create content that addresses common challenges they face, such as marketing strategies or financial management tips.
2. Create Content with a CJM in Mind
To create effective content, tailor your content to address the needs and questions of your audience at each stage of the customer journey:
- During the awareness stage, users are looking for information about their problems and potential solutions. For such people, you should create useful and engaging content that introduces your brand as a helpful resource.
- At the consideration stage, potential customers evaluate their options. These people need detailed, value-driven content that compares options and shows why your solution stands out. For example, publish in-depth articles, comparison guides, case studies, and e-books.
- During the decision stage, your task is to encourage potential customers to choose your company over competitors. To reach such people, insert lead generation forms in your articles and offer product demos and free trials. Also, publish success stories and detailed FAQ pages.
- When customers reach the retention stage, you should keep providing ongoing value and support to help customers get the most out of your product or service. For example, create how-to guides and useful content about your niche. Ensure your content offers actionable insights, solutions to problems, or answers to questions. Avoid fluff and focus on delivering value.
3. Incorporate Visual Elements
Visual elements enhance the readability of the article: studies show that users remember visual content better than text or sound.
- Images can break up text and provide additional value to the readers.
- Infographics summarize information in an engaging way and make complex data or processes easier to understand.
- Videos help engage readers and convey the topic through a different medium.
- Quotes are also good for breaking up the plain text and highlighting important thoughts. They can be just ideas from the article or actual quotes from industry experts.
- Tables organize data into an easy-to-read format, making it easier for readers to compare information.
4. Do Keyword Optimization
Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content. Add them to meta descriptions, headers, and alt text for images.
- Find relevant keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Moz.
- Target long-tail keywords (phrases with three or more words) as they often have fewer competitors in search.
- Examine the keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can reveal keyword opportunities and gaps in your strategy.
- Use Google’s autocomplete suggestions and the related searches at the bottom of search results pages to find additional keyword ideas.
5. Make the Content Scannable
Break up your content with headings, subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs.
This approach increases the chances that users will find what they’re looking for on your website and won’t go elsewhere. This is a good sign for search engines: they see that your website provides actual value and will probably make the page rank higher.
2. Pay Attention to SERM
Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) means monitoring and controlling your reputation on the web.
Effective SERM helps build trust and credibility, which are crucial ranking factors. Here are some strategies to leverage SERM for improving SEO.
Monitor review websites
Regularly track what is being said about your brand across the internet, including reviews, news articles, and even employment websites.
Use tools like Google Alerts, Mention, or Brand24 to receive notifications whenever your brand is mentioned online. This allows you to promptly address any negative comments or reviews and reinforce positive mentions.
Encourage Positive Reviews
Proactively ask satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google’s Business Profile, Yelp, and Trustpilot.
For example, after a successful transaction or service, send a transactional email thanking the customer and requesting a review. Provide direct links to your review profiles to make the process easier.
Address Negative Content
Don’t ignore negative comments. If a customer leaves a negative review, acknowledge their concerns, apologize if necessary, and offer a solution. This shows potential customers that you are responsive and willing to resolve issues.
Manage Online Listings and Citations
Update information about your business on platforms like Google’s Business Profile, Bing Places, and industry-specific directories. Consistent information helps build trust and improve local SEO.
3. Deal with E-E-A-T and YMYL
E-E-A-T is a set of criteria that Google uses to evaluate the quality of content. It is deciphered as Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Thus, Google emphasizes that high-quality content must be based on the practical, real-world experience of content creators.
YMYL stands for Your Money or Your Life meaning the content that can impact a person’s health, safety, financial stability, or overall well-being. Google holds YMYL content to the highest standards because incorrect or misleading information can have serious consequences.
How to Improve E-E-A-T
- Showcase author credentials. Include author bios with qualifications, experience, and links to their profiles on LinkedIn or other platforms. For example, a health article on a medical blog written by a doctor should include the author’s credentials and professional background.
- Build authoritative backlinks. Get cited by or guest post on authoritative sites of your industry to boost your content’s credibility.
- Use trustworthy sources. Reference reliable and authoritative sources within your content. For example, link to studies from reputed institutions.
- Make your brand credible. Foster trust by ensuring your website’s integrity and reliability. Include privacy policies, disclaimers, and contact information to build user trust.
How to Improve YMYL
- Provide accurate and reliable information. If you’re posting medical, legal, or other sensitive content, ensure it’s well-researched and fact-checked. Health articles should be reviewed by medical professionals before publication.
- Highlight the author’s expertise. Always showcase the credentials of the content creators, particularly for YMYL topics.
- Use clear and precise language. Avoid ambiguity and ensure that complex information is explained clearly. For instance, financial advice should be detailed and clear, with step-by-step explanations when necessary.
- Maintain transparency. Be transparent about your sources and any potential conflicts of interest. Disclose affiliations or sponsorships that might influence the content.
4. Acquire Backlinks
Backlinks from reputable sites can help get more traffic and improve your SEO performance. Let’s have a look at some practices that might help get backlinks.
Publish Free Guest Articles
Guest posting can be challenging because many high-authority blogs charge for content placement. However, it’s still possible to publish guest posts for free if you employ the right strategies.
- Target lesser-known blogs that may not have massive audiences but are relevant to your niche. These blogs are often more open to free guest contributions.
- Communicate with other blog owners. Building a relationship increases the chances of them accepting your guest post for free.
- Propose unique content ideas that offer value to the blog’s audience. Blog owners are more likely to accept free guest posts if the content is exceptional.
- Use your network to get introductions to blog owners. Ask colleagues or friends in your industry if they can introduce you to blog owners who publish guest posts.
- Create a portfolio of published articles to showcase your writing skills and expertise. This can be your posts or articles on Medium and LinkedIn.
Utilize Local Citations and Directories
Get listed in reputable directories. Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information is consistent.
Submit your business to local directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and industry-specific directories that have high domain authority.
Publish Link-Worthy Content
Unique valuable content naturally attracts backlinks. Here are some ideas:
- original research and surveys;
- short reports with the results of your research;
- useful tools like calculators and templates.
Engage in Podcasting and Webinars
Host or participate in podcasts and webinars. For example, you can invite well-known industry experts to join as co-hosts or guest speakers. This not only attracts a larger audience but also provides an opportunity for mutual promotion. Ask attendees and speakers to share the blog post and webinar recording on social media.
Publish Paid Guests Posts
Paying for backlinks can be a part of your SEO strategy if done correctly and ethically. Here are some factors that you should pay attention to when choosing a website to get published:
- relevant to your topic;
- has quality content;
- high domain authority;
- good traffic;
- not spammy, has a good online reputation.
Warning: Google penalizes sites that engage in link schemes or acquire links from low-quality, irrelevant websites. Avoid websites that offer “1000 backlinks for $10” or have a high volume of outbound links to unrelated sites.
5. Enhance Site Organization with Silo
A silo structure involves grouping related content into hierarchical categories, creating clear, topic-focused sections within a website. Each silo represents a major topic, with sub-silos or categories for related subtopics.
This hierarchical arrangement makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index the content.
Follow these steps to implement a silo structure on your website:
- Determine the main topics (silos) and related subtopics based on keyword research and your site’s content.
Example: for a digital marketing site, silos could include SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media, and PPC.
- Organize your content into a clear hierarchy, starting with broad topics and narrowing down to specific subtopics.
Example: SEO (Main Silo) → Keyword Research (Sub-Silo), On-Page SEO (Sub-Silo), Backlink Strategies (Sub-Silo).
- Use clear, descriptive URLs that reflect the hierarchical structure.
- Create comprehensive category pages that act as hubs for each silo, linking to all relevant subtopic pages.
Example: a category page for SEO that links to individual articles on keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building.
- Use internal links to connect related content within the same silo, reinforcing the topical relevance.
Example: link an article on keyword research to other articles on related topics like competitive analysis and keyword tools.
6. Perform a Technical Audit
Check Crawlability
Crawlability refers to the ability of search engine bots to access and navigate your website. If your site is not crawlable, search engines cannot index your content.
Steps to improve crawlability:
- Check robots.txt file. Ensure your robots.txt file is not blocking important pages or resources. Use tools like Google Search Console to test your robots.txt file.
- Ensure proper use of sitemap. Submit an XML sitemap to search engines to guide them through your website structure.
- Fix broken links. Identify and fix broken links that could hinder bot navigation. Use tools like Screaming Frog to find and resolve broken links.
- Optimize site architecture: Ensure a logical and shallow site structure where important pages are no more than a few clicks away from the homepage. Create a clear hierarchical structure with well-organized categories and subcategories.
Check Indexability
Indexability refers to the ability of search engines to analyze and add your pages to their index. Even if your site is crawlable, it won’t rank if it’s not indexable.
Steps to improve indexability:
- Check no-index tags. Ensure important pages do not have no-index tags using tools like Screaming Frog.
- Use canonical tags correctly. To avoid duplicate content issues, add canonical tags to the head section of duplicate pages pointing to the original page.
- Monitor index coverage. For example, use Index Coverage report in Google Search Console to make sure all the pages that should be live are indexed.
7. Improve Mobile User Experience
Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is crucial for improving your search engine rankings. To assess web pages Google uses Core Web Vitals: you can check them in Google PageSpeed Insights.
Core Web Vitals include three key metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures the time it takes for the largest content element on a page to become visible within the viewport. This is a key indicator of loading performance.
LCP score should be not more than 2.5 seconds. If it’s higher, try the following methods:
- Compress and resize images to reduce load times;
- Enable browser caching to reduce load times for returning visitors;
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): distributing content across multiple servers might help reduce load times.
- Defer loading of non-critical JavaScript and CSS.
- Preload the most important resources to ensure the user sees them quickly.
First Input Delay (FID)
FID reflects the page’s responsiveness to user interactions. It measures the time from when a user first interacts with a page to the time when the browser can begin processing it.
Normally, a website’s FID score should be 100 milliseconds or less. Some ways to improve FID are:
- Reducing JavaScript execution time. Break up long tasks to improve interaction responsiveness.
- Optimizing third-party scripts. Audit and remove unnecessary third-party scripts and use asynchronous loading where possible.
- Code splitting. Split your JavaScript code into smaller bundles that load faster. Use tools like Webpack to implement code splitting.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures the total of all individual layout shifts that occur during the lifespan of the page. It reflects the visual stability of the page.
A good CLS score shouldn’t be higher than 0.1. To improve CLS score, you can try the following:
- Specify size attributes for media. Define width and height for images, videos, and other media to reserve space and prevent layout shifts.
- Avoid inserting content above existing content. Insert banners or ads in a way that does not affect the layout.
8. Optimize Conversion Rate
While Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) primarily aims at improving conversions, it also has a significant impact on SEO. Better user engagement and satisfaction lead to higher search engine rankings.
Integrate text-based CTA
Text-based calls-to-actions embedded within blog posts are less intrusive than banners and blend naturally with the content.
Start by analyzing your blog posts to find the ones with the highest traffic and engagement. Within the content, include text-based CTAs that are relevant to the topic and offer additional value. Use clear, action-oriented language that tells readers exactly what to do next.
Implement live chats
Engage with your website visitors in real time using live chat software to provide immediate assistance.
Deploy these messaging features on essential pages such as pricing and product pages. This real-time communication ensures that potential customers receive timely information, which can effectively drive conversions. And if you offer complex solutions, that require live discussions via calls, CCaaS tools might come in handy as well.
Run A/B tests
Testing different versions of pages and elements helps identify what works best, improving both conversions and SEO. For example, test different headlines, images, CTAs, and layouts to see which versions perform better.
9. Use AI to Create Content
AI tools can also help boost your site’s performance. Let’s see what tools with AI companies (including SEO agencies) use to enhance SEO.
Automated content generation
AI algorithms can generate content automatically based on specific inputs or data.
Benefits:
- Scalability: AI can produce large volumes of content quickly, covering various topics without compromising quality.
- Consistency: Ensures a consistent tone and style across all content pieces, enhancing brand coherence.
Example: Tools like OpenAI’s GPT can write blog posts, product descriptions, and even news articles. Remember to fact-check and correct the content produced by AI.
Content personalization
AI can analyze user behavior and preferences to create personalized content experiences. By using data such as past interactions, demographics, and browsing history, AI tailors content to individual users.
Benefits:
- Improved engagement: Personalized content is more likely to resonate with users, increasing engagement and reducing bounce rates.
- Higher conversion rates: Customized content can lead to better conversion rates as it addresses the specific needs and interests of users.
Example: Platforms like Dynamic Yield use AI to deliver personalized content recommendations on websites and in email campaigns.
Content gap analysis
AI tools can analyze existing content and compare it to competitor content to identify gaps and opportunities. This helps in creating content that covers topics not yet addressed by competitors.
Benefits:
- Competitive advantage: Helps in producing unique content that fills gaps in the market, attracting more traffic.
- Content strategy improvement: Provides insights into areas where your content strategy can be enhanced.
Example: MarketMuse and similar tools use AI to perform content gap analysis and suggest topics to cover.
Content enhancement and optimization
AI can suggest improvements in structure, readability, and relevance. It can also automate editing processes, ensuring grammatical accuracy and stylistic consistency.
Benefits:
- Quality Improvement: Ensures high-quality content that is both SEO-friendly and engaging for readers.
- Efficiency: Automates time-consuming editing and optimization tasks.
Example: Grammarly and Hemingway use AI to enhance content quality by providing suggestions for grammatical corrections and readability improvements.
Checklist: 9 Best SEO Practices
- Publish original content;
- Pay attention to Search Engine Reputation Management;
- Deal with E-E-A-T and YMYL;
- Acquire high-quality backlinks;
- Enhance site organization with Silo;
- Perform a technical audit;
- Improve mobile user experience;
- Optimize conversion rate;
- Use AI to create content.
Keep in mind that several variables can affect the speed of your improvements. Implementing a single tip may not yield substantial changes, but combining multiple strategies will greatly enhance your SEO performance.