How do I get a better position on Google Search results in 2024?

How do you get your site to show up in a good position on Google? Sure, you can always try GoogleAds, but there are many other ways to improve your ‘organic’ search position that should always be considered. 

The methods described below will not only will you get better search results, they will improve the overall effectiveness of your website and create a better user experience. And, as a bonus, they will even help with paid positioning (GoogleAds) if you choose to add that method to your marketing mix.

Ready to start? Here are 10 ways that you can improve your website’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in 2024:

1. Always post high-quality content: This should be obvious, always make sure that your website content is valuable, relevant, and engaging. Written and visual information on your website should address the needs and interests of your target audience. Include your site keywords naturally within your content, making sure that it is easy for ‘real humans’ to read and understand while also leading to better search results.

2. Do your keyword research: Make a list of keywords that visitors might use when searching for information related to your business. Online tools that can help your with this task include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs. These tools can help you identify relevant keywords with decent search volumes and low competition.

3. Optimise your ‘on-page’ elements: Make sure that your on-page elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and URLs include the keywords you have identified, and accurately describe what your page or post is about. Don’t forget the ‘Alt’ tag for images – this field not only provides information about the image for visually-impaired users but is also read and rated by search engines.

4. Don’t forget mobile: More and more users are accessing websites using mobile devices such as phones or tablets. It’s important that you make sure your site provides a good experience for these people. Using responsive design and ensuring faster download times will engage these users, making it simpler for them to navigate your site and saving them a lot of frustration. Remember, if your website does not perform well for mobile users Google will actually rate it lower in search results.

5. Improve your website load speed: Page load speed is a critical factor for both user experience and SEO. So optimise your image sizes, minify your CSS and JavaScript files and use browser caching to improve your website’s load speed. For large audiences you might even consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that serves pages from proxy servers that are physically closer to the visitor’s physical location.

6. Build quality backlinks: Backlinks point to your site as a reputable source of relevant information. You should earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites in your industry. You can do this by focusing on natural link-building techniques. These include guest blogging on topics that are related to your business, creating and posting shareable content, and engaging with influencers. On no account should you pay for backlinks. The ‘link farms’ that promote these kinds of offers are generally less that reputable and can actually damage your site’s reputation.

7. Optimize for ‘featured snippets’: Help your website to appear in featured snippets (‘position zero’) in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) by providing clear and informative answers to frequently asked questions in your industry niche. This information will be presented on SERPs as a paragraph of text or a list that appears above the first search result. You can optimise for this position by using 'long tail' keywords in your page headings that are similar to questions that users might ask in a search query. Follow this with page content that addresses these questions or topics.

8. Improve your User Experience (UX): Enhance user experience on your website by organising your content logically, improving your navigation, and making it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for. A positive user experience can lead to higher engagement metrics and improved search rankings, as well as reducing your 'bounce rate'.

9. Regularly update and refresh your content: Keep your website’s content fresh and up-to-date by regularly posting new articles, updating existing content, and removing outdated information. These changes will show search engines that your website is still active and that it is relevant.

10. Continually monitor and analyse your website’s performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor your website’s performance, track keyword rankings, analyse traffic patterns, and identify problem areas. You should regularly review your SEO strategy, taking into account and make adjustments based on these reports.