How to rank your website in Google without having to spend tons of money

 

As google keeps updating their algorithms, it gets harder to rank your website in google. You can’t just throw money at your website and expect to rank on Google without knowing what it is you need to rank. However, with a strategy and willingness to spend some time working on it, you can improve the search engine results and can even rank without having to spend money. Keep in mind, though. You’re exchanging money for time. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doesn’t work overnight. It takes time like fine wine. Here are the 10 most effective ways to rank on Google for free.

 

1. Aim for “position zero” to rank my website

A lot of searches nowadays have an answer box or featured snippets. The snippet is the content that directly answers the question that the user is searching for, right on the search results. This is an effective way of increasing traffic as the snippet typically links to the website content from which the search engine drew it. The good thing about featured snippets is that you do not have to rank number one for as long as your website is on the first page it can rank in position zero. You can improve the chances of ranking in the snippets by writing authoritative and clear answers that answer the most asked questions in your niche. And if it answers the right question, Google will feature it in rank zero.

 

2. Fix broken links

Backlinks are an important part of improving the trust of your website. But did you know that internal links are also very important? For one they improve the user experience and in doing so they can help you rank higher. Having broken links on your website means that visitors will be getting 404 errors when they click on your links, which is a terrible experience. And, broken links mean that the link juice you get from the back link is not spread around the website efficiently. This means that you will not rank some pages of the website as high as you would like. You can fix broken links by checking for them using Dead Link Checker or Broken Link Check. 

 

3.Get more backlinks

Backlinks are the hyperlinks from other sites to your website. They are a form of a voting system in which the more back links you get, the higher you can rank on the SERPS. This is arguably one of the most important ranking factors in the Google algorithm. The reason for this is that when you get links from other websites, it tells Google that your website has valuable information or is an authority in the niche you are writing about. The more links you can get from authoritative websites, the higher you are likely to rank on Google.

 

4.Google loves to rank a great looking website

Having a great web design not only improves the user experience but will also make it easier for the search engines to crawl and index your content. Good web design means that you buy a theme or engage professional who will make a website that loads fast, spreads link juice better, has great navigation that allows clients to move through the website easily, and is mobile optimized for clients on small screens. This will get you more mobile visitors, lower bounce rates and consequently more traffic from the search engines.

 

5.Improve the User Experiencen (UX)

According to a SEMrush study that analyzed ranking factors, the most critical factors that affect how high a website ranks on the SERP (Search Results Page) are bounce rate, pages per session, time on site and website visits. All the four have a direct correlation with the user experience on your website. The relationship is very simple. If your website is enjoyable and easy to use and provides valuable and useful information that users love, you are more likely to get more visitors. If these site visitors stay longer on the site clicking through to different pages as compared to those of the competition, your rank will rank higher. 

6.Improve your page speed

Since 2018, Google has been using mobile page speed as a ranking factor. While the search company did say that only a few websites are going to be impacted by the update, it is still critical to ensure your site is compliant. The reason for this is not only to improve the user experience but also your ranking on the search engines. When you have a fast loading website, visitors are more likely to stay longer on the site browsing more pages. This sends a signal to Google that you have a valuable website, which could increase your ranks. 

7.Optimize for local search to rank your website

Optimizing for local search is one of the best ways of getting more traffic to your website particularly for service business. More people are looking for businesses near where they are and you stand a better chance of ranking higher if you are optimized for local search. Some techniques for ranking higher on local searches include optimizing for “near me” searches, getting your clients to write reviews of your business online, claiming Google My Business listings, and getting the business listed on local directories will get your website to show up in local SERPS. 

8.Optimize for voice search

A lot of leading tech sites  found that by 2020, half of all online searches online will be by voice. This means that there is a huge opportunity to get ahead of the curve and take advantage of this opportunity as more people start searching using voice. You can incorporate likely voice searches in your niche by writing content in a natural conversational style and capture that traffic for more revenue.

9.Optimize your images

Non optimized images tend to slow down your website, which makes for bad user experience. Non optimized images without alt tags and descriptions also make it harder for Google to identify and understand what they are about. You can rank better by compressing your images which will make your website load faster for site visitors and also easier for the Google bot to crawl. Optimizing descriptions for filenames and alt tags will also make it easier for Google to understand what your content is about, which could improve your ranking on the SERP. 

10.Use H1 and H2 header tags

Headers not only make your content easier and more readable for human visitors but also for the search engines. As such, you need to include H1 and H2 header tags that give a strong indication to Google about what your content is about. For the visitors, the header tags are an effective way of organizing your content to emphasize your content, which makes for good user experience. This will ultimately make the search engines see your website as a valuable resource, which will increase the chances of your website ranking higher. 

11.Write SEO Optimized Content

Having great content on your website that is optimized for SEO is one of the most effective ways to rank higher and improve traffic numbers to your website. In fact, a recent survey of SEOs and digital marketing practitioners had 57% of the participants saying that on page content development is one of their most effective tactics for ranking. To optimize content, you need to optimize it for mobile, ensure that it targets certain keywords common to the topic or niche, it is written to help solve the particular needs of the audience reading it, and has links to helpful and authoritative internal and external content. 

 

Conclusion

You do not have to spend tons of money to rank higher on the search engines. With a few onsite tweaks and optimizations, you can significantly improve the value of your website and Google rankings. Implement a few of the suggested optimizations at a time and you should start seeing improvement in your search engine rankings within a few weeks.