14 Tips to Rank Higher on Google

Building a new website isn’t just about putting content in a layout; you have to prepare the site to show up on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and it helps your website appear higher on the results page when people are searching for you. 

Keep these SEO best practices and tips in mind while building your website.

Titles
Even naming your website can make a difference on how high it ranks.

1. The actual titles of the website and all pages within need to be between 50 and 70 characters (letters and spaces combined). 
2. The important keywords should be near the beginning.
3. Each title should be unique.

Meta Description
The meta description summarizes the contents of your pages for search engines. It exists within the backend and only shows as a descriptor underneath your website name on search engine result pages.

4. Keep descriptions under 155 characters, including spaces.
5. Make each description unique.
6. Ensure each description is well written. This will influence click through rates.

Hyperlinking
The links you place on your site can affect your search ranking as well. 

7. Regularly check your links to make sure none are broken (or install a broken link checker). 
8. Use HTML links instead of JavaScript links.
9. Use “nofollow” for paid links and untrusted content (so your site ranking doesn’t suffer if bad-quality sites link to you). This can be done in your programming or the CMS.
10. For image links, the alt attribute serves as anchor text (which can also be done in your programming or the CMS), so be sure to include strong keywords there.

Optimizing URLs
The URL (uniform resource locator) is your website’s “address.” 

11. Choose shorter, human-readable URLs with descriptive keywords.
12. Exclude dynamics parameters when possible (things like question marks, crazy strings, etc.).
13. Try to use a URL without the “www.” Instead, go with “https://example.com”.
14. When possible, place content on the same subdomain to preserve authority. For instance, https://example.com/blog is better than https://blog.example.com.

If this web stuff is starting to look a lot more complicated than you thought, consider reaching out to us. SEO is just the beginning of what we can do for you.