Being an SEO many people ask me what are the things which are working on SEO these days. Read on this blog post of mine on some of the SEO basics which can work in 2014 and which is actually showing results.
You all know the fact that Google is enhancing its search algorithm day by day. Google never want to display any results in its SERP (Search Engine Result Page) which can be irrelevant or useless to its users. So to maintain the quality of the search results, for which Google is known for, they use to emphasis on certain ranking signals. Based on which they rank different websites.
Now it should be known that the numbers of those ranking signals are not such which you can count on fingers, they are not even in hundreds, but actually there are approximately thousands plus of ranking signals based on which Google decide the rankings of a particular website.
Though to understand SEO, not all the factors are like that which can instantly give you a ranking boost, but certainly some of the factors are like that which are very essential if you want to rank your website on Google.
A few days back Google emphasized on secure website, I posted about it in this blog Google Emphasizing on Secure Websites! And then after this they also closed one of the most popular things of their i.e. Google Authorship Program. These things will certainly going to effect the search engine patterns in coming days but at this moment there are certain things which are showing prior results in the SEO of any website in 2014.
[alert-announce] SEO Basics 2014 [/alert-announce]
Here are some of the ranking factors which are working well in the SEO of any website in 2014:
[alert-note] Lengthy Content [/alert-note]
As per my experience I can say you that content which are of around 1000+ words are doing better than small length content. Though some pages with less content are also ranking in Google based on the fact that they are displaying either too much of graphics, info graphics, images, presentation, etc. But normally content with around 1000 plus words are doing quite good in Google these days.
[alert-note] Low Bounce Rate [/alert-note]
Sites which are coming in around top 20 results are those websites which has really low bounce rate. Considering this fact it is quite clear that Google is emphasizing more on engaging content. Those websites which has the capacity to engage its users is automatically getting more value by Google.
Considering this scenario, I would suggest everyone to prepare content which can engage your users more and more on your website or blog. You must need to use the internal links, or banners to some of the useful and relevant things in between the content and plugins like related posts, especially those which displays related posts with the thumbnail of the content.
These are some of the ways which can convert your posts into engaging one and users can enjoy their stay on your website.
Always keep an eye on the bounce rate of your website. If bounce rate is growing, be alert of it. It might damage the SEO efforts of yours. Do try different combinations of customized menu’s which can increase the user engagement on your website.
[alert-note] Site Load Time [/alert-note]
One thing which I realized in 2014 is that Google normally not allowing any website to feature on their search results which are taking hell lot of time to load. This is certainly a great initiative by Google. This way Google is giving two important lessons to the webmasters. One is you should always spend your money on getting quality web hosting services. And second is that you should always maintain your website in good condition, so that it should not take much time to load.
[alert-note] Mobile Friendly Website [/alert-note]
As I already discussed this many a times that gone are the days in which webmasters were ignoring mobile websites. Now considering the length smart mobile phones are becoming the essential part of our life, the mobile searches are quite increasing than the normal desktop searches. You will be surprised to know the fact that it is assumed that in the year 2014 only the searches made on mobile phones and tablets are most probably be more than the desktop searches made in the year.
Considering this scenario Google is giving value to sites which has either responsive design (which works well on mobile phones and tablets as well) or sites which has different (fast and lighter) versions for mobile and tablet users.
I am sure you all are already aware of the SEO benefits of responsive web design.
[alert-note] Quality Back Links [/alert-note]
Though it is said that Google is not much keen about back links, but it is not true. Google still giving value to the quality links. Now it is a time when Google is not interested in websites which are getting quantity of links, but Google is giving value to sites which are getting quality of links.
Quality of back links is the only thing which matters in Google. Now it is considered that normally people don’t link to any website, but they do link to websites which has some quality, or something useful for their users.
This is the reason why a few days back I blogged about Bad Link Building Habits, it is something from which ever website owner should be aware of.
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So these were some of the points which are getting more and more attention by search engine giant Google, and hopefully if you can work on these factors I am quite sure you all can get a good ranking boost for your website.
[alert-note] Over Optimization [/alert-note]
Always be aware of the fact that you should not ever do over optimization on your website. Try to ignore doing keyword stuffing, or things like putting more than one H1 Tags, or putting so many H2 Tags, all these things are something which can damage the reputation of your website in Google. Google hates over optimization in 2014 and likes natural things too much.
Honestly as we were saying from the very beginning that content is the king, it is almost true that now Google truly emphasize on the quality and usefulness of the content. So if you are creating any new page on your website, be it a blog, or any new page or your site for the services which you are offering, always remember to make the content informative, lengthy, original, and engaging.
You can also read my blog on the 10 lessons which I have learned from Blogging and SEO, hope it can be useful for you.
I might be missing some points over here, if you know any such points please do share the same with us in the form of comments and I will surely discuss on the same. Please also do share your opinion about this blog post of mine. Please don’t hesitate in sharing your opinion about the points which I discussed over here for the SEO of your website. Please do let me know what you think about these SEO basics.
I will be waiting for your comments on this blog post of mine.
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