You can massively boost your SEO without spending a cent.
Being searchable on Google and Bing is a sure-fire way to increase traffic and convert more customers. The main technique to increase your presence on search engines is referred to as SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation. SEO involves a wide range of different actions, best practices, and marketing techniques that work together to improve how high your pages are shown in relevant search results.
The main problem with SEO is that it can be very expensive for new or small businesses to hire an agency to improve their SEO. It takes a huge amount of time and effort for everyone involved, and it’s a process that should technically never end. Businesses usually need a sustained effort (and a continuous expense) to even just maintain their search engine rankings. The moment you stop, one of your competitors may work on their SEO and overtake you.
But for those who are willing to put in the work and spend the necessary time, you can minimise your expenses by taking on the task yourself. Arming yourself with accurate knowledge of SEO and tips to increase your ranking can help you befriend Google or Bing’s algorithm and could even land you on the first page eventually. There’s not much an agency will do for you that you cannot do yourself with a bit of research, the right tools, time and effort. In this article, we provide seven ways to improve your SEO and rank higher on search engines for free!
Optimise your website's text
Google and Bing use the written content on your website to determine what it’s about. It aims to match what people search for with websites that are about that topic. So, how do you tell search engines what your web page is about? By using relevant keywords and keyphrases.
When you write your web pages or blog posts about topics within your field, try to use relevant keywords that people are likely to be searching for. For example, a pet shop in Sydney can use the phrase “Pet shop in Sydney” multiple times on a webpage. This keyword tells search engines what the page is about, so when someone searches for a pet shop in Sydney, their website is likely to rank higher in search results.
It’s important to note that the keywords and keyphrases you use should still flow naturally within your content. “Keyword stuffing” is the act of intentionally diluting your content with an overabundance of keywords to try and manipulate your search ranks. This can turn readers off and should be avoided at all costs. Always write your content with your user’s experience at the forefront of your mind. Tools such as Surfer SEO can help you to optimise your content to be as human and SEO-friendly as possible.
Before you begin writing your text, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner tool to help you determine which keywords will be the most beneficial for you to use. Aim for search terms that at least have a decent amount of monthly traffic, but don’t have huge amounts of competition. Targeting multiple low to mid-volume, low-competition search terms can be a great way to build up a steady stream of traffic over time. It can save you from wasting effort competing for highly competitive search terms that everyone else is optimising their content for.
Publish blogs on your website regularly
Blog posts are informative and can help your customers understand you and your industry. They can also position you as an expert in your field to gain the trust of readers. However, there’s also a technical benefit of blog posts that works beneath the surface.
Blog posts are an excellent way for you to target keywords regularly. You can target different keywords by publishing posts about various topics in your field. This can increase the target range of your website’s ranking, so you’ll rank high for a range of different topics that people search for related to your business. We recommend writing at least one new blog post per month to let Google and Bing know you’re up to date and relevant.
Share your website content on social media
When thinking about SEO, it’s important to know that connecting your website to other parts of the internet is always beneficial. When your website is linked to other channels, it builds its integrity, which is a priority for search engines. This is where your social media can be helpful. Sharing your posts or web pages to your social media is a great way to build its authority and create backlinks that search engines value – particularly when other social media users re-share your posts too.
You can either post each new blog on your social media channels or post regular statuses that link to your web pages. This can also increase the exposure of your website by encouraging your followers to click into it.
Review your website hosting
When you search for something on Google or Bing, the search results prioritise websites that are hosted within the same geographic region as you. Not only this, but having your website hosted on a server near you means it will load optimally for your local customers – rather than making them wait for a website to load from overseas.
If you’re using a low-end hosting plan offered by one of the larger providers, your website latency could be up to 20-30x slower than it would be if you hosted your website with a quality Australian hosting service. By hosting onshore, you’ll also ensure that your business is compliant with Australian data sovereignty laws by making sure that your data remains in a data centre located on Australian soil.
Silvercode offers highly optimised web hosting that is built exclusively on Australian servers, offering ultra-low latency and the potential for unbeatable page load times to Australian consumers.
Collect as many backlinks as possible, and always try to collect more
Backlinks are links to your website from other websites. Creating a network with other businesses or individuals can come in handy for this. Backlinks significantly enhance the integrity of your website in the eyes of search engines, and are one of the most powerful ways to improve your SEO. It’s so powerful in fact, that many businesses pay other websites significant incentive fees or offer free goods or services for a backlink.
You can ask other businesses, acquaintances or clients to write about you on their website, with a hyperlink that directs people to your website (or even offer to write it for them, so that all they have to do is post it). You can also offer free samples of your products or services to high-ranking businesses or bloggers in exchange for them including a link back to your site.
Increase your website's general traffic
While your website traffic should increase when you improve your SEO, generating website traffic by other methods can give it the first push it needs to gain SEO momentum. There are several ways to do this, and if you try as many as possible, it’ll give you the best chance of increasing your traffic.
You have to think outside the box a little on this one, but a few good ideas include:
- Host a competition or promotion that requires users to share your website on social media to win.
- Attend relevant industry events or markets with brochures or business cards that list your website address.
- Advertise your business and website by delivering leaflets directly to people’s mailboxes (be sure to ensure you choose sustainable materials, and respect “no junk mail” signs when doing this).
- Start an email newsletter and provide an incentive for users to subscribe. You can then send occasional promotional offers or useful information to remind people about your business.
Submit your website's sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tool
Submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tool provides these search engines with the structure of your site. This makes it easy for them to understand your site and how each web page relates to another. When they understand this, they can crawl your website easier to identify keywords and thus, improve your SEO.
If you’re using Silvercode to maintain your website, this is already done for you.
Final thoughts
Mastering your website’s SEO is no easy feat. While Bing and Google’s search algorithms change constantly, the practices mentioned in this article all remain vital. By incorporating these techniques into your website, you’ll be well on your way to improving your rankings and increasing your website traffic over time.
If you would like to work on your website’s SEO but just don’t have the time, or would simply prefer to get assistance from a professional team, Silvercode can assist you with our white-hat, evidence-based and completely transparent SEO services.
