Every good website or blog owner knows that their Google ranking matters. The higher their ranking, the more often they’ll be viewed on Google Search. In turn, the greater the opportunity they’ll have to gain clicks on their site.
While there are several things you can do to boost your rank on Google, there are also things you’ll want to do to make sure your ranking doesn’t drop. To prevent yourself from being penalized by Google, consider the following tips.
1. Don’t Engage in Keyword Stuffing
Part of good search engine optimization (SEO) is use of relevant keywords. One issue many people get wrong, however, is using too many keywords or using certain keywords too often. Keyword stuffing tends to look spammy, and sound funny, and thus can be bad for your rank.
2. Use Only Unique Content
Websites with unique content are more likely to prosper rank-wise on search engines. It’s never a wise idea to use others’ content without their permission, especially if it’s copyrighted.
3. Cool it on the Ads
Ads can make for a great source of revenue. However, if you have pop-up ads on every page, it doesn’t do your Google ranking good. Keep the ads at a healthy minimum.
4. Avoid Link Spamming
You might think the more links you use, the better. In reality, you should be picky about the quality of your links rather than the quantity. You can skip the hard work by utilizing the best link building services.
5. Include Your Physical Address on Your Site
To appear legit online, adding your physical address to your website is critical. You’ll look more trusted and authoritative.
6. Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly
Who doesn’t have a mobile device these days? It makes little sense to have a website if your website isn’t compatible with visitors on mobile.
7. Localize Your Site
Localization makes it to where more people within your target audience are able to make use of your website. A localized website will be able to adapt to the language and/or culture of different people.
8. Opt for a Legit Security Certificate (HTTPS)
Websites with a security certificate appear safer, more professional, less risky, and more authoritative than websites without such.
9. Resolve Loading Issues on Your Website
Let’s face it, nobody likes a website that takes forever to load. The longer it takes to load, the more likely your bounce rate will be high. In fact, a slow-to-load website is one of the biggest reasons people exit the site. And a high bounce rate doesn’t look good to Google.
10. Avoid Short-Form Content
Straight and to the point is good in many circumstances. However, long-form content is the new short-form content. Anyone can do short-form. Long-form content, while it’s more time consuming, ranks for more keywords and stands out against competitors with boring short-form content. You’re also more likely to gain authority online with longer content.
Conclusion
Google can be finicky when it comes to getting and maintaining a good online ranking. While you may be focused on doing things to help improve your ranking, it’s just as critical to ensure you aren’t doing anything that could hinder your ranking. From avoiding keyword stuffing to using only unique content, there are several things to prevent from being penalized by Google.