If your aim is to improve the ranking of your website on Google SERP – congratulations. You aren’t the only one. In fact, you’re one of a crowd of millions, hundreds of them with the exact same product you have – in short, competitors. Since everything from lead generation to website traffic to conversions depends on how many people can find your page; it is only natural that you want to find your website on the first page of search engine results, especially with Google. That is, after all, the Holy Grail of all search engines.
In fact, most studies indicate that 75% of people only click on search results that appear on the first page of the search engine results. In addition, the top ranking website, i.e. the one that appears as the first result is 8 times more likely to be clicked than the second result. Also if your website has appeared on the first page organically – if it’s not a sponsored advertisement – you are again likely to get more clicks – all of this for free. What all these facts and figures mean is that you need to ensure that your website is ranked high enough on Google that it appears on the first page. This is where SEO or Search Engine Optimization comes in.
There are various factors that affect your ranking on Google and SEO looks at all of them. One such factor is the keywords that you use. Keywords are basically what searchers across the globe type into the search engine to initiate a search. Based on them, the search engine pulls up a list of websites that it deems relevant to the search query. If you want your website displayed in those results, you need to ensure that the search engine reckons that your website is relevant, something it does base on the keywords.
This is how you can make your website more relevant in the SERP using keywords.
- Determine Where You Stand
Before you can begin, you must know where you are. You need to establish what your current ranking on Google is. This can be used as a baseline so you can measure your improvement as things move along. You can check the ranking manually by searching for keywords relevant to you on Google and noting down your position in the SERP. This is perhaps best when you establish the initial baseline. Doing this on a daily basis, however, is not advisable – instead, you can use various tracking tools that track the ranks of websites and get a daily report. Most importantly, be patient. The ranking won’t improve overnight.
- Determine the Best Keywords
When determining which keywords to use for your website, remember not to complicate things. It is best to use keywords that appear in daily conversations when people discuss whatever service or product your website offers. This is where research helps. Do not assume that you know what keywords people are using. At the same time, a generic keyword suggestion tool may give you keywords that are, well, generic. You need keywords that are more tailored to your website – especially if your website is new. There might be too much competition from other websites that have been around longer. It is a good idea to pick some keywords that are less generic, maybe even add a location such as the name of a city or a particular area in a city.
You can also get less common keywords by using long-tail keywords. These keywords tend to be longer than the standard keywords and offer two advantages:
- They have more detail and as such make better search tools. You can ensure that you can provide the searcher exactly what they’re looking for.
- Since they’re longer with a bit more detail, they make your website more visible in the rankings. Chances are fewer websites use those specific keywords
- Determine the Relevance by Area
You can use various available tools to determine how relevant the keywords you have chosen are in different regions or even different parts of the world. If you utilize a tool such as Google Keyword Planner, it can show you whether the keywords you have decided upon are searched for widely in your targeted region. Such tools let you know if your choice of keyword’ needs to be changed if you are looking at expanding the reach of your website.
Keywords are not the be-all and end-all of SEO but they play a huge part in ensuring that your website ranking improves organically. Utilizing the appropriate and relevant keywords can dramatically increase the ranking of your website. However, keep in mind that keywords cannot do so much if they are not backed up by a good and relevant content or if you overstuff your pages with the keywords, you’ll end up doing more harm than good.