To rank on Google in 2022, you’ll need to follow these comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) tips. By optimizing your website and improving your content, you can make sure that you’re seen first by potential customers. It’s not an easy task, but with the right tools and knowledge, it’s achievable to improve your SEO ranking.
In this guide, you’ll learn what it truly takes to rank on the search engines. You won’t find generic SEO tips here. Instead, you’ll find the latest techniques that are being used to rank websites today.
Let’s get started with some major ranking factors!
Domain Authority
One of the most important factors when it comes to search engine ranking is your domain authority. This metric is determined by Moz and measures how authoritative your website is based on a scale of 1-100. The higher your score, the more likely you are to rank on Google.
Google doesn’t use a domain authority score in its algorithm. Instead, this score is designed to help you measure the potential of ranking on Google based primarily on backlinks.
Each SEO tool — including SEMrush, AHREFS, and Ubersuggest — has its own scoring system. The best practice is to pick one and use that scoring system. You’ll use the domain score to find keywords and topics that you can compete against in the search engines.
For example, if you have a domain authority score of 25, you’ll want to find keywords that have mostly domains at 30 or below ranking on page one of google.
While there are outliers, and anything is possible, you’ll find it easiest to compete against websites that have a domain authority score similar to yours.
If your website is new, you’ll have a low domain authority score. Using a Keyword research tool, you can sort the keywords by authority score; start with the easiest, and work your way up.
The Right Platform
Using the right platform is another ranking factor. It’s important to choose a website platform that is SEO friendly and allows you to grow without limitations. While websites like Weebly and Wix are easier to get started with, many suffer with these platforms on the search engine rankings.
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) and accounts for more than 30% of all websites on the internet. It’s also the most SEO-friendly CMS available.
When you’re looking for a platform to build your website on, make sure that you choose one that will allow you to grow. WordPress is the best option for this as it has an immense amount of plugins and add-ons that can help with your SEO efforts.
Avoid going with a standard web hosting option and instead go with a managed WordPress host like Pressable for best performance.
You will be able to choose a monthly hosting plan and get your WordPress platform from there as well.
Content is King
To rank high on a Google search, you need to have high-quality content. This has been a rule for years, and it stands true today for SEO ranking. Google’s goal is to provide the best user experience possible, and the best way to do that is by providing relevant and high-quality content.
To create high-quality content, you need to do two things: understand your audience and provide value.
When you understand your audience, you’ll be able to create content that is relevant to them and that they will find valuable. This could be in the form of tips, tutorials, or even just answering common questions.
When you provide value, you’re not only satisfying your audience, but you’re also providing a service that Google will recognize. This is what they’re looking for when it comes to ranking websites.
In most cases, long-form content is required. This is content that is 1,500 words or more. While you don’t have to write this much for every post, it’s a good rule of thumb to follow. Not only will this help with your rankings, but it will also help you rank for more long-tail keywords.
Google isn’t ranking pages based on their word count. Instead, it’s attempting to return the most relevant page for the search query. An in-depth article is usually the best match.
Imagine that you are the person performing the keyword search on Google. What would you want to know if you were them? Don’t skimp. Give them everything they would need to know, but don’t add “fluff” just to make your content longer.
Backlinks
One of the many factors that Google takes into account when ranking websites is the number and quality of your backlinks.
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. The more quality, and related backlinks you have, the better. Not only does this show Google that your website is valuable and worth linking to, but it also helps to increase your authority score.
When you’re looking for backlinks, you want to find websites that are related to your industry or niche. You also want to make sure that the website is of high quality and has a high domain authority score.
There are several ways to find quality backlinks, but some of the best methods include:
- Creating valuable content that other websites will want to link to
- Guest blogging on high-quality websites
- Participating in online discussions and forums related to your niche
- Adding your website to directories
- Creating press releases
- Harnessing the power of social media
The more effort you put into getting quality backlinks, the better your chances of ranking on Google will be.
Internal Links
Internal links are links that point from one page on your website to another. Not only are they a great way to keep users on your website, but they’re also a valuable SEO tool.
When you include internal links in your content, you’re telling Google that the pages are related. This helps to strengthen your website’s overall authority score, and it also helps to rank those pages for specific keywords.
Internal links are easy to add to your content, and you can do it in several ways:
- Including a link within the text of your article
- Adding a “related posts” section at the end of your article
- Creating a blogroll
- Adding links to other pages on your website in the sidebar
There are also many tools such as Link Whisper and WordPress plugins such as YOAST that can help you with this strategy.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is a type of code that you can add to your website to help Google understand your content.
Adding schema markup to your website is a great way to improve your SEO. Not only does it make your website stand out in the search results, but it also helps Google better understand your content.
Schema markup is easy to add, and there are several plugins that can help you do it.
There are structured data elements that can help you earn featured snippets (the zero position on Google), site links (expanded snippets), and questions in the people also ask box.
If you are using WordPress, YOAST is a plugin that can help you easily add schema and structured content.
A table of contents can also improve the user experience, and earn sitelinks. WordPress users can use a plugin such as “Easy Table of Contents” or “TOC +.”
Topic Clusters or Silos
Topic clusters or silos are a way of organizing your content around specific topics. When you create a topic cluster, you create a page that acts as the “hub” for all of the content related to that topic. Some call this page a pillar post.
Each page within the cluster links to the Pillar post, and when appropriate, link to each other. This helps to create a strong internal linking structure, and it also helps Google to understand your content better.
Topic clusters are a great way to improve your SEO, and they’re also a great way to organize your website’s content.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing your website’s content and structure for the purpose of ranking in Google.
There are several on-page SEO factors that you can optimize, including:
Title tags: The title of your page is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. Make sure it’s catchy and keyword-rich, and that it accurately describes the content of your page.
Meta descriptions: Meta descriptions are the short snippets that appear under your title in the search results. They’re also a valuable on-page SEO factor. Make sure they accurately describe the content of your page and include your target keywords.
Headings: Headings are a way of formatting your content using HTML tags. They’re also a valuable on-page SEO factor. Make sure your headings are catchy and keyword-rich, and that they accurately describe the content of your pages.
SEO-Friendly URLs: URLs are the web addresses of your pages. Make sure they’re short, catchy, and keyword-rich.
Images: Images are a valuable on-page SEO factor. Make sure you include keywords in your image filenames and use descriptive alt text. Alt-text is the text that appears when an image can’t be loaded.
External Links: External links are links to other websites. They’re not a major on-page SEO factor, but they can still help to improve your SEO.
Anchor Text: Anchor text is the text you use to hyperlink to other pages on your website. Make sure it’s keyword-rich and relevant to the page you’re linking to, especially when it’s an internal link.
Internal Links: Internal links are links to other pages on your website. They’re a major on-page SEO factor, and they help to improve SEO by helping Google to better understand your website’s content.
Core Vitals
Google recently launched a core vitals measuring system. This score is composed of user experience signals such as load time. Google is increasingly focused on the user experience, and improving your core vitals will help you to rank better in Google.
You can improve your core vitals score by optimizing your website’s content, structure, and design for the user. You can also use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to help you identify and fix any issues that may be affecting your score.
For WordPress users, you can add the Google Sitekit plugin, which provides you with core vital scores for each page.
You can also use Google Analytics for free, or one of your paid SEO tools such as SEMrush.
Fresh and Updated Content
Google loves fresh content, and they give favor to pages that are updated more frequently. When new content is added frequently, and pages are updated, Googlebot will crawl your website more often.
This will help you to rank better in the search results, and it will also help you to keep your website’s visitors engaged.
Implement a spring cleaning strategy every year, where you find a particular number of older blogs and update them with fresh content. You can also update pages with new data, statistics, or insights.
Website Audits
Regular website audits are a great way to improve your SEO. They help you to identify any potential issues that may be affecting your ranking, and they also help you to identify any areas of your website that need improvement.
You can use a tool like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to conduct a website audit or your favorite comprehensive SEO tool that you are already using for Keyword Research.
Website audits will provide you with a score, errors, and warnings that can guide you to improvements that can boost your SEO.
They can locate broken links, spammy backlinks, slow pages, redirect chains, and more.
SEO is a Long-Term Strategy
One thing that many people don’t realize about SEO is that it’s a long-term strategy. You can’t expect to rank on Google overnight, or even in a few months. It takes time and effort to develop a strong SEO strategy, and you have to be patient and persistent.
The best way to think about SEO is as a foundation for your online marketing strategy. It’s something that you build over time, and the more effort you put into it, the better the results will be.
SEO is an ever-changing landscape, so you have to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
Amanda Tsourakis
With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, Amanda's experience demonstrates her sales expertise. Her commitment to building, training, and guiding high-performing teams has been instrumental in driving Pressable's success. Amanda's extensive background in sales and marketing, coupled with her sharp business acumen, has made her an invaluable asset to the tech community. Her ability to identify and foster talent, combined with her passion for developing winning sales strategies, has propelled her to the forefront of the industry. When she's not expertly navigating the tech sales landscape, she loves spending quality time with her family, loves travel and adventure, lounging pool/beach-side, playing tennis, working out, and meeting people/making friends all along the way!
