Ranking your content among the top 10 results in Google SERPs is one of the most important factors to increase traffic to your website and improve its credibility and brand reputation on the market.
Today, there are many ways to do it and each method has its own time frame depending on how much time and resources you are willing to spend on that goal. In this article, we’re going to share with you seven easy ways to rank your content as soon as possible.
Let’s dive right in!
1) Target long-tail keywords
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and there’s also more than one way for you to write your post.
The standard approach is keyword stuffing—to target one, or two keywords in particular.
While that may be sufficient if you have a small site with only a few pages, it won’t take you very far on a large corporate site where hundreds of new posts are published every year.
If your site reaches millions of people each month—or even if it doesn’t—you should use long-tail keywords.
Not only does long-tail targeting typically net better results, but it’s more natural as well. For example, how to lose weight fast is an excellent term because users enter many different variations of that search into Google; so it’s likely they’d like something similar in a piece of content.
Longer search queries tend to include conjunctions such as and or, making them harder to rank WordPress content for using basic keyword tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest.
With the flexible tools at your disposal, you can help your readers find exactly what they want by targeting their terms first.
2) Optimize page tags
Tags are a bit outdated when it comes to SEO these days, but they still serve an important function.
You should include tags in your title and meta description (and ideally on your site’s pages too) because they help with categorization.
Google uses tags to organize results, so including them can increase your chances of appearing in related searches. Make sure you use keywords in your tag lists, which will also help you gain more clicks on SERPs.
Also, while you’re at it, be sure that your tags are relevant to both users and search engines! It’s not easy balancing relevancy and optimization, but luckily that’s what makes SEO so interesting… get out there and play around! Experimentation is one of the best ways to master content marketing for rankings.
3) Choose a descriptive URL
When it comes to ranking, Google takes URL structure into account. It’s vital that you optimize your URLs so that they are descriptive enough for people and search engines alike.
You should also choose a memorable domain name for your website; if your website is under construction, get a placeholder domain with a decent description of what it will be about. Or you can use a coming soon page plugin to showcase the maintenance information.
Once you’ve decided on an appropriate domain name, use it as soon as possible; don’t take too long since .com domains usually have less competition than .net or .org.
Additionally, using keywords in your title tag and subheading tags can help people find content easier. Since they are used in search engines as well, including them can improve rank your WordPress content even further!
4) Use images instead of video
Video can do an incredible job of capturing attention, but images are more likely to get shared on social media.
If you’re looking for your content to go viral and spread across multiple platforms as fast as possible, using images will be a great asset.
They help your text stand out and make it easier for users on different devices and with varying internet speeds to access it.
Finally, they help increase engagement, which is yet another ranking factor that search engines consider when compiling their algorithms.
5) Add schema markups
This is one of those SEO tips that you might want to implement as soon as possible. Schema markups provide additional data about your content and make it easier for search engines to analyze what your page or post is about.
You can add schema markups manually, but if you’re not sure how and don’t have time for it – go ahead and use a WordPress plugin.
For example, the Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP plugin has options to add Structured Data (Schema) markup depending on your content type.
Keep in mind that Google started using rich snippets as a ranking factor recently (since February 2016), so Schema markup will definitely help you rank WordPress content faster in Google SERPs.
6) Clean up 404 errors
404 pages are nothing more than search engine dirt. When users try to find your content and land on a 404 page, it can be pretty frustrating, particularly if they have your logo plastered across it.
Fixing 404 errors should be one of your first SEO steps after publishing new WordPress content. First things first: make sure that you’re using relevant internal links (i.e., don’t link every internal link back to your homepage).
7) Get rid of spammy links
Spammy links are one of the most common reasons for low rankings. In a report, Google said that over 80% of sites with unnatural backlinks were banned from its index. So, before publishing your post, check it by using some powerful link-checking tools. And try to stay away from any paid links – they can be more harmful than helpful.
If you have some links that don’t pass quality, it’s time to get rid of them. You should also consider building more links as they can only help your rankings in Google search results.
Find bloggers in your niche and create relationships with them. Once you have a relationship, it will be easier for you to gain backlinks from reputable sources.
In addition, once you’ve published your content on WordPress and other platforms, promote it with articles syndication and social bookmarking services like Reddit or Stumbleupon (both are great traffic sources).
Note: avoid excessive linking in order not to be banned by Google or blacklisted by search engines in general.
Bonus Tip
Have a Proper Internal Linking Strategy
Internal links can help boost your search ranking by establishing links between relevant pages.
Internal linking is just one of the many factors that contribute to a strong and healthy website. When used correctly in conjunction with other on-page SEO elements, it can be beneficial.
For example, if you have a page on your website dedicated to programming languages, you could include links within that page that direct visitors to specific programming language pages, such as C++ or Java.
These types of links not only improve your ranking but also provide users with more relevant content options for their search queries.
Final Words
Backlinks, on-page SEO, and traffic quality should be your main focus when you want to rank WordPress content quickly. There are several tools that you can use in order to achieve these goals faster.
Also, concentrate on one keyword per post instead of trying to rank WordPress content for more keywords at once. This will help you make posts much more specific and focused which is always a good practice.
Building authority and gaining traffic isn’t going to happen overnight. But, if you follow these simple guidelines you’ll be sure to find success on your professional WordPress platform or any other digital platform for that matter! And, who knows? Maybe one day all of your hard work will pay off.
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