Google is extremely smart when it comes to sniffing out the sites that make their way to the top of the search results. It’s hard to trick Google, and you should never try to as you put yourself at risk for receiving a penalty. Ultimately, Google’s goal is to give the reader what they’re looking for in the quickest, most efficient way possible. If you learn to cater to that mission, you might soon find yourself at the top. These five quick changes should help you rank higher on Google in no time.

Quality Content

Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that Google is looking for unique content. In the past a heavy emphasis was placed on keywords in the text, and this is arguably still important. However, this type of content doesn’t perform very well anymore. Also, take the time to keep your content fresh and update consistently. Google is looking for quality, relevant context that is useful to readers. If you can provide that, you’ll certainly be in good shape to rank much higher.

Shareable Content

In addition to making your content unique, you need to also be actively sharing your material. Sharing things on social media is a big deal these days, and you want to be able to reach out to your target market in a way that prompts them to share your content. This will in turn help you gain more traffic, build more natural links from genuine websites and sources, and boost your SEO.

Mobile friendliness

As of April 2015, Google has decided that the mobile-friendliness of your website will be used as a ranking signal. According to their website, this change has a significant impact on Google Search results as “users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results optimized for their devices.” You can access more information here including how to check if your site is mobile-friendly and more information on how to make your site mobile-friendly if it’s not already.  (Or you can just call us!)

Backlinks

Google also pays a good deal of attention to the backlinks that are associated with your website. Linking your website to other sites that Google classifies as “good” will inevitably allow you to receive a positive reception from the Google search engine algorithm. However, you should build your links at a natural pace as Google has cracked down on unnatural link-building strategies, and you will most likely be given a penalty if you purchase backlinks or try other ways to cheat the system.

Now that you know what Google values, you should be able to implement these changes and see your rankings improve in no time. Should you ever need help managing your website in or around Fredericksburg, Websites For Anything is always ready to help. Call, shoot us an email, or drop in for more information.