10 Effective Ways to Achieve Higher Rankings on Google

Being ranked higher in Google search results is one of the most effective ways to increase online visibility. Whether you own a business or run a personal website, ranking better on Google allows you to reach your target audience and stand out from the competition. In this article, we will explain step by step how to rank your site higher in search results by covering the basic strategies of SEO.

1. Keyword Research and Selection

Keywords are one of the cornerstones of SEO. Knowing which words are searched by your website's target audience allows you to focus on those words. When doing keyword research, use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or SEMrush to choose keywords with high search volume and appropriate competition. Focusing especially on long-tail keywords will help you attract more targeted traffic with less competition.

• Balance in Keyword Usage: It is important to use your keywords in your content in a natural way without overdoing it. Google may penalize the excessive use of keywords. Keyword density should ideally be between 2-3%. For example, using 20-30 keywords in a 1000-word content is ideal.

2. Content Quality and Length

Google ranks the content that best answers users' questions at the top. Therefore, your content should be both informative and long. Studies show that long articles rank higher than short content. Make sure to create comprehensive and detailed content that exceeds 1000 words. However, pay attention to content quality as well as length. Producing articles that fully master the subject and provide original and valuable information will increase your rankings.

• Enrich Content: Don't limit your article to just text; make it more attractive by enriching it with images, videos and graphics. This will ensure that users stay in your content for longer, which is perceived as a positive signal by Google.

3. Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Title tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) and meta descriptions help your page be perceived correctly by search engines. Make sure to create a unique H1 tag for each of your pages and include the keywords appropriately.

Your meta descriptions should be short, clear, and click-friendly, including the necessary keywords. These tags increase the likelihood of users choosing your page in search results. You can analyze the meta tags of your site or competitors with the Meta Tags Checker tool offered by Favtools.io, which is completely free.

4. On-page Optimization

It is very important that your website is structurally sound and SEO-friendly. This both improves the user experience and allows you to be better understood by Google algorithms. The elements to consider for on-page optimization are as follows:

• Title Tags: Separate your content into a logical hierarchy (H1, H2, H3).
• Image Alt Tags: Add descriptive alt texts to your images. This both improves the user experience and allows Google algorithms to more easily understand your site.
• Internal Links: Strategically link to other relevant pages on your website. This helps search engines crawl your site better and keeps users on your site for longer.

5. Technical SEO and Website Performance

Technical SEO ensures that your page is easily crawlable and indexable by search engines. Here are some technical SEO elements that Google places particular importance on:

• Website Speed: A slow-loading website can deter users and negatively affect your Google rankings. You can measure your site speed with tools like Google Pagespeed Insights or GTmetrix and make the necessary improvements.
• Mobile Compatibility: Searches made via mobile devices are increasing day by day. Having your site mobile-friendly is a critical factor that positively impacts your rankings.
• SSL Certificate:Google values ​​sites that use HTTPS more. Use an SSL certificate to show that your website is secure. This will both improve your rankings and ensure that users trust your site.

6. Backlink Strategy

Backlinks are crucial for establishing your website's reliability and authority. Backlinks you receive from other reputable sites show Google that your site is quality and reliable. Pay attention to the following elements in your backlink creation strategy:

• Get Links from Quality Sites: Backlinks from relevant, high-authority sites are more valuable
• Guest Blogging: Contributing to other sites as a guest writer increases your chances of getting backlinks to your site.
• Natural Backlinks: Producing quality content encourages others to link to your site naturally.. For this, take care to create educational and informative content.

7. User Experience (UX)

Google places significant emphasis on user experience (UX) on your site.Factors like the duration users spend on your site, the number of pages they visit, and the bounce rate can impact your ranking. Pay attention to the following to provide a good user experience:

• Simple and Intuitive Navigation: Create a site structure where users can easily access the information they are looking for.
• Readability: Make sure your content is clear, easy to read and understandable.
• Reduce Bounce Rate: Offer engaging and informative content to keep users from leaving your site prematurely.

8. Content Updates and Freshness

Google values ​​constantly updated content more. Update your old content from time to time so that it can be crawled again by Google. Be sure to add new information and remove outdated information while updating your content.

It is important to regularly monitor your website's rankings on Google. You can use the Google Rank Checker tool, offered by Favtools.io, which is completely free, to find out where your site ranks for target keywords.

A comprehensive and strategic SEO study is required to rank high on Google. From keyword research to technical SEO, from content quality to backlinks, all factors are part of this process. With the right strategy and a planned approach, you can move your website to the first pages of Google.

It may take time to achieve success, but when you take the right steps, you will be able to clearly see the improvement in your rankings.

9. Add meaningful images

Incorporating meaningful images into your web page can enhance your rankings in various ways.First of all, it makes your content more interesting and allows users to stay on the page longer. In addition, search results are increasingly becoming more visualized. This increases the chances of the images on your page ranking not only in the normal results but also in Google Images results.

However, if you want your blog posts to rank higher, stock photos and generic graphics will not suffice. These images need to be of a quality that explains the concepts, adds value and is relevant to the purpose of the keyword.

As in the saying "One picture worth thousands of words", 1 image can summarize a topic. Users prefer sites with images that allow them to quickly grasp the topic. It is also necessary to design images with this perspective, considering that images that do not add value will create a burden on the page.

10. Internal Linking

Internal linking is a vital SEO strategy for achieving higher rankings in Google search results. These links establish a relationship between the pages on the website, both improving the user experience and helping Google understand your site better. When crawling websites, As Googlebot crawls websites, it evaluates the relationships between pages by following both internal and external links. In this way, it determines which pages are more important and relevant and prioritizes them in the rankings accordingly.

Internal links, especially when redirected from SEO-strong pages to other pages, also transfer authority to these pages. In other words, the value of pages that receive a link from a high-authority page also increases in the eyes of Google. This provides a significant advantage for attracting more visitors and ranking higher in search engine results. Especially in content such as blogs and articles, by applying a correct internal linking strategy, connecting related pages to each other allows users to stay on the site longer and visit more pages. This enables Google to assess the value of your site based on user behavior.

Internal links also help solve the problem of “orphan content” (content that doesn’t receive links from any other pages) on your site. This content can be difficult for Google to detect and index. Internal links help your newly published content crawl and index faster. In addition, internal links help Google accurately display the hierarchy and internal structure of your website, making it easier to see the relationships between pages.

In conclusion, a well-planned internal linking strategy can both improve user experience and enable Google to crawl your site more quickly and accurately, helping you rank higher in search engine rankings