Those familiar with SEO know it’s one of the most effective ways to reach users on the internet organically. If you’re looking to increase your website’s traffic or want to generate more online sales, you’ll want to use the best SEO practices to get more traffic to your website. However, while most people focus on keyword optimization and backlinks, they forget about other essential practices of good SEO. Images and videos, for instance, have become particularly important for SEO purposes today. Utilizing high-quality images and optimizing them can help your website rank much higher in SERPs. This article also contains other best practices to help you improve your website’s ranking in SERPs.

Here are some of the best SEO practices you should utilize to rank higher in SERPs:

1.Quality Photos for SEO

Images matter for SEO. Moreover, properly-optimized images also affect the user experience, another important ranking factor. Google notes that high-quality images appeal to readers more than blurry images. Furthermore, the search engine giant also notes that using high-quality images in the result thumbnail can increase traffic.

However, finding high-quality images can be challenging for some niches. Capturing images yourself might also not be a viable alternative. In such instances, people often purchase high-quality photos. The good news is you don’t need to go down this route because you can find high-quality stock photos from Dreamstime.

In addition to using high-quality images, it’s also necessary to optimize them for indexing purposes. Ensure you use image alt-text to help crawlers understand images. Image alt-text also increases accessibility as screen readers use these descriptions to explain pictures to disabled users.

2.Keyword Research and Integration

Keywords have always been a fundamental aspect of a well-thought-out SEO strategy. However, the SEO landscape has considerably evolved since the internet’s early days. You cannot just randomly insert keywords into your website’s pages and content and expect these pages to rank well in SERPs.

An astute keyword strategy requires conducting thorough keyword research for all SEO aspects. For instance, let’s assume you run a boxing gym in NYC, and you want to use SEO to increase brand awareness and get more customers to your gym.

You might need to incorporate some long-tail keywords, such as “boxing gyms for weight loss,” to attract a certain customer. However, you’ll also need to use keywords that target mobile and local users. Using keywords optimized for local search results is necessary if you wish to increase conversions since research shows users performing localized searches have a higher purchasing intent. Therefore, consider integrating local keywords, like “boxing gyms near me” or “boxing gyms in NYC,” to target these consumers.

In addition to using keywords that cover every SEO aspect, you’ll also want to focus on keyword integration. Always use your primary keyword as early as you can within the content. Most experts recommend inserting the primary keyword in the H1 page title or primary header tag. Furthermore, insert the primary keyword in the meta description and the web page URL. You also want to refrain from keyword stuffing, a practice that focuses on inserting as many keywords in a blog post or web page as possible. Instead, strategically implement keywords throughout the content.

3.Responsive Web Design

A responsive web design also affects your website’s ranking in SERPs. Google began using mobile-first indexing for the whole web in 2020, meaning Google’s crawlers access your website’s mobile version when indexing and ranking it.

Mobile browsing significantly differs from web browsing because phones and tablets have different resolutions and displays. A responsive web design adjusts according to the user’s device. Websites without a responsive web design won’t rank well in SERPs. You must ensure mobile users on different devices get the same experience.

4.Content Quality and Relevance

Content creation has become easier than ever because of advancements in AI and LLM. The update stressed the importance of creating high-quality, people-friendly content that answered search queries. As a result, content quality and relevance have become vital. The update states that the content must demonstrate first-hand expertise and knowledge. In addition, the content must provide information that leaves the readers feeling like they’ve learned enough about a topic and have an overall satisfying experience. 

5.Backlink Building

Backlinks have always been an important aspect of off-page SEO. Backlinks can benefit your website in several ways. For starters, getting high-quality backlinks from credible domains increases your website’s authority and domain ranking, meaning it’ll also rank higher in SERPs. More importantly, backlinks help you get referral traffic.

Let’s assume Forbes decides to include a backlink to your website in one of its articles. Forbes has a monthly readership of approximately 150 million people. Even if only one million people read the article that contains a backlink to your website and only one percent of readers click the backlink, you’ll still get ten thousand new visitors to your website.

You can create backlinks in various ways. However, the most effective approaches are through guest posts and publishing original content with statistics and figures so that other websites refer to your content.

6.Build Internal Links

Many digital marketers and SEO experts often overlook the importance of internal link-building for external links and backlinks. Backlinks are an essential part of off-page SEO. However, developing a robust internal linking structure is a good practice because it ensures other web pages on your website get more traffic. Furthermore, you can increase dwell time by internally linking readers to other helpful and related information.

Let’s use an example to illustrate the importance of a good internal linking structure. A reader finds your boxing gym’s website through a backlink. The backlink redirects them to a blog post on your website about boxing fundamentals. This blog post might be getting more traffic than all your other web pages. However, having readers go through one web page or blog post and then leave your website doesn’t do you any favors. You want to provide them with more helpful information to establish your authority and eventually convert them into customers.

7.Website Page Loading Speed

Another factor that affects your website’s ranking in SERPs is its page loading speed. Google and other search engines don’t always talk about the specific factors that affect a website’s ranking. However, page loading speed is one factor Google has repeatedly mentioned as an important ranking factor in its algorithm. Thus, you cannot dispute its importance. Google also mentions that page speed is particularly important when ranking websites in mobile search rankings. Since nearly sixty percent of web traffic today originates from a mobile device, you’ll want to optimize your website’s loading speed.

Conclusion

Implementing the best SEO practices can help your website rank higher in SERPs, leading to greater visibility, increased sales, and more website traffic. These SEO practices address on-page, off-page, and technical SEO aspects. Consider implementing them for better results