The Ultimate SEO Guide: Boost Your Rankings In 2024
25 actionable techniques to beat competitors
- Last Update: September 13, 2024
Want More Traffic To Your Website In 2024?
Yes!
Then you are in the right place.
This is the ultimate guide to search engine optimization in 2024 to beat the competitors.
Because I will take you through 25 actionable SEO techniques that will definitely help you to rank your webpage on the first page of Google search results.
Actually, SEO is a never-ending process.
In order to provide the most accurate and best results, search engines keep updating their algorithms and are getting smarter day by day.
And if you have been involved in SEO you would have noticed it for sure.
If not, then do not worry…
Just follow me, I will disclose every single strategy that will work Great in 2024.
SEO Trends For 2024
1. Core Web Vitals.
2. Google Passage Ranking.
3. Optimize for Featured Snippets.
4. Visual Search.
5. Domain Authority 2.0
6. Master Search Intent.
7. Optimize For Google Voice Search.
8. Optimize Content For Semantic SEO.
9. Stay Away From Blackhat SEO Strategies.
10. Update, Upgrade OR Entirely Remove The Old Post.
11. Publish Content With At Least 1900 Words.
12. Analyze Your Competitor’s Website.
13. Steal Your Competitor’s Keywords.
14. Discover Untapped Keyword On Reddit.
15. Create Your Own Unique Keyword.
16. Embed Long Tail Keyword In the Title.
17. Add LSI Keywords In Your Post.
18. Behave Like A Brand.
19. Link To Authority Sites.
20. Send Link Juice To Pages Sitting On Page 2 or 3 In SERPs.
21. Use The Power Of Web Stories.
22. Remember The “First Link Priority Rule”.
23. Add Infographic.
24. Use Hook Words To Improve Dwell Time.
25. Mobile-First Index.
1. Core Web Vitals
According to Google, since 2021, core web vitals have played an important role in ranking factors.
📌 Definition:
What Is Core Web Vitals?
Core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure the speed and performance of a webpage based on real-world usage data (sometimes called field data).
Core web vitals are a set of three specific web page experience metrics that Google considers extremely important.
- Largest contentful paint – measures how fast the largest element (images, videos, animations, text, etc.) can load and appear on a website.
- First input delay – shows how responsive a website’s pages are when users interact with them for the first time. It also assesses how quickly a website’s browser can return a result to users.
- Cumulative layout shift – ensures that a website’s pages do not contain any unexpected or confusing movements that may distract users from consuming the content.
Apart from core web vitals, you should also consider other ranking factors like HTTPS, Mobile Friendly or Intrusive Interstitials.
But core web vitals directly impact ranking.
However, Google stated in August 2021 that Safe Browsing will no longer be considered a ranking factor.
How To Improve Your Core Web Vital Scores
You should run a quick website performance analysis test to see how well your website performs in terms of core web vitals.
To do so, you can use Google Search Console or Page Speed Insights.
Enter your website address to see the performance of your webpage.
Check the details and start working on the issue.
The exact steps you take to improve your core web vitals depend on your site.
For example, a site that runs on Shopify will be different compared to one that runs on WordPress.
5 Tips To Improve Your Core Web Vitals
A. Reduce JavaScript (JS) Execution.
B. Preload Key Resources to Speed up Visual Load Times.
C. Improve Your Server Response Time.
D. Optimize, Compress and Provide Proper Dimensions For Images and Embeds.
E. Implement Lazy Loading
A) Reduce JavaScript (JS) Execution
You should consider reducing and optimizing your JS execution if your report shows a poor FID score.
Try to bring JS execution time below 300 milliseconds.
Deferring unused JS is one method listed by Google for decreasing execution time.
In order to see if your website has unused JavaScript.
Inspect the webpage by clicking the right button of your mouse.
Then click on ‘Elements’ and look for three dots at the top right corner. You should add a tool– Coverage. After you have added it, press the load function.
When you click on coverage, you will see how much JavaScript is not being used on your web page at the bottom of the page.
When you have realized the amount of unused JS, you should start to cut it down.
B) Preload Key Resources To Speed Up Visual Load Times
The appearance of above-the-fold content is among a user’s first cues that a page is loading.
The ‘fold’ refers to the area of the screen that’s immediately visible without scrolling down.
Here, the first Core Web Vitals metric, Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), is used to evaluate how quickly the main on-page element loads.
Preloading techniques can be used to instruct the browser to fetch the LCP element and above-the-fold content first and as a priority, which can help the LCP element load more quickly.
C) Improve Your Server Response Time
Server response time is the amount of time required to load an HTML document from a server so that the client can begin rendering the page.
It is typically measured in terms of time to first byte (TTFB).
As you run several speed tests, you may see a slight variation in the TTFB number. Ideally, TTFB time below 100ms is considered good.
Slight variations in latency can be caused by a variety of factors. However, if you notice significant differences, this may indicate a more serious underlying performance issue.
Things That Affect Server Response Time
- Poor web hosting
- Increased traffic
- Bloated webpages
- Lack of caching
D) Optimize And Compress Images
The most important elements on many websites are images.
Optimizing them is critical because it can make your page significantly lighter, improving loading speed, LCP score, UX, and search engine rankings.
Apart from that, you should provide proper dimensions for images & embeds. It directly impacts Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Cumulative Layout Shift is one of these key metrics that measure the “jumpiness” of a website and how it unexpectedly moves as elements load.
For example, if a website visitor loaded a page and, while they were reading it, an image loads and the page jumps down, that would constitute a large CLS score.
E) Implement Lazy Loading
Lazy loading allows images to be loaded at the exact moment when users scroll down the page, without compromising the website’s loading speed and achieving a high LCP score.
2. Google Passage Ranking
In a major update, Google has stated…
“Very specific searches can be the hardest to get right, since sometimes the single sentence that answers your question might be buried deep in a web page. We’ve recently made a breakthrough in ranking and are now able to better understand the relevancy of specific passages“
So Google came up with a new passage ranking feature that allows Google to rank specific sections of a page (“a passage”) independently.
📌 Definition:
What Is Google Passage Ranking?
Passage ranking allows Google to differentiate the topics of different passages on the same page and rank them separately.
Here’s an example of a Passage Ranking from Google’s feature announcement:
How To Optimize For Google Passage Ranking
Previously, if you wanted to rank for a specific long-tail keyword, you had to write an entire blog post about it.
With Passage Ranking, you can simply incorporate the answer to that search query into a longer, better, more comprehensive blog post on a broader topic.
This means your content needs to be divided up into dedicated sections.
Each section should cover a specific subtopic.
However, Google has made it clear that they will still evaluate entire pages.
So backlinks, on-page SEO, UX signals, and Google’s other page-level ranking factors will still apply.
The only difference is that now a single page will be able to rank for more search terms! In other words, you can potentially write fewer, more in-depth blog posts and still rank for just as many search terms.
If you have already been practising this, great. If not, I suggest going back and breaking up your content into sections that are VERY clear.
Look at my blog post I have already organized my entire article with proper subheadings and sections.
Every section has an H3 subheading. As a result, Google can treat the content beneath each H3 as a mini web page. And then rank it accordingly.
3. Optimize For Featured Snippets
Featured Snippet is stealing searcher’s attention and clicks from the organic listing.
According to SEMrush, almost 6% of Google search queries show Featured Snippet.
📌 Definition:
What Is Featured Snippets?
Featured Snippets are short snippets of text that appear at the top of Google’s search results in order to quickly answer a searcher’s query.
A snippet is a type of rich answer in the search result, where an answer is pulled directly from a website and featured in a box above all the other results.
…and the best part, it will give a link back to your website.
Here is an example:
Snippet results alone get 36% of all clicks.
How To Get Featured Snippet For Your Site
1. Use clear and concise language in your content. The content should be simple to read and understand and directly address the user’s query.
2. Use headings and subheadings to break up your content and make it more scannable.
3. Use lists (ordered or unordered) to present information in a clear and easy-to-digest format.
4. Use tables to present data and compare the information.
5. Optimize your website for mobile devices, as Google is increasingly showing featured snippets in mobile search results.
6. Keep your content up-to-date and relevant. Google is more likely to show a featured snippet from a website that regularly updates its content.
4. Visual Search
According to a ViSenze survey, 62% of millennials and Gen Z prefer visual search over all other types of search.
And based on how things are trending, visual search is poised to take off in 2024.
📌 Definition:
What Is Visual Search?
Visual search uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help users search for different objects using real-world images instead of text inputs.
This technology is especially beneficial for eCommerce stores and brands, and with the implementation of well-optimized content, they may be the returned search result for a user.
Why Is Visual Search Optimization Important?
More people are conducting more visual searches than ever before.
It has the potential to change the way we are currently interacting with the world online.
Although both visual and image search is based around imagery, the crucial difference lies in the fact people use words to conduct an image search, whereas, with visual search, a user uses an image to conduct the search.
Visual search works through a combination of computer vision and machine learning technology.
Visual search is still in its infancy.
And it already works REALLY well.
Try it yourself…
Open the Google Lens app on your mobile device and begin scanning things around you.
You’ll probably find that it can identify pretty much anything.
Today, Google Lens can identify 1 billion objects. And that number is growing every day.
The Main Players In Visual Search
Each major visual search platform provides slightly different search functionality, and users tend to use each for a different set of requirements.
Google Lens
Google Lens, which was announced and launched at Google I/O in 2017, has quickly become the world’s most popular visual search platform due to its advanced visual search capabilities.
Google Lens technology is available to Android users in a variety of applications, including Photos, Google Search, and Google Assistant.
Pinterest Lens
Pinterest Lens receives over 600 million monthly searches, and it was announced in 2019 that the technology can recognise over 2.5 billion items.
People Want To Search With Images?
Sometimes people don’t know the names of objects/things they are seeing but want to know more about them.
In this scenario, Visual search comes in handy because people can use Google Lens to scan and gather information.
Once you start using it, you’ll quickly notice that visual search is super helpful for:
- Shopping
- Directions
- Identifying landmarks
- Local business reviews
- Translation
- Recipes
- Nutrition information
- Lots more
How To Optimize For Visual Search?
- Use high-quality images: Make sure that the images on your website are clear, visually appealing, and of high quality.
- Add descriptive alt text: Alt text describes the content of an image and is used by screen readers and search engines. Make sure your alt text accurately describes the image and includes relevant keywords.
- Use structured data: Structured data helps search engines understand the content of your images and can improve your search visibility. Consider using schema markup to provide additional information about your images, such as product information for an e-commerce site.
- Make images shareable: Encourage users to share your images by making them easily shareable on social media platforms.
- Optimize for mobile devices: Google Lens is primarily used on mobile devices, so make sure that your website is optimized for mobile devices and loads quickly.
- Provide context: Provide additional context for your images, such as text or captions, to help search engines understand the content of the image and make it more searchable.
By following these steps, you can improve the chances of your images appearing in Google Lens results and drive traffic to your website.
5. Domain Authority 2.0
Domain Authority used to be all about links.
Not anymore.
Today, Google also evaluates your site based on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness AKA (E-E-A-T).
📌 Definition:
What Is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) 2.0 is a metric used to predict the ranking potential of a website or domain.
It’s a scoring system that ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating a greater ability to rank for relevant keywords.
It was developed by Moz, a leading provider of SEO tools and analytics.
DA 2.0 takes into account various factors that are thought to impact search engine rankings, including the quality and quantity of links pointing to the domain, the relevance of the domain’s content, and other factors related to the domain’s history and structure.
It is important to note that DA 2.0 is a relative metric and is not a direct ranking factor used by search engines.
However, it can be a useful tool for identifying areas for improvement in a website’s SEO strategy, as well as for comparing the relative strength of different domains.
How To Improve Domain Authority?
Improving your Domain Authority (DA) 2.0 score can be done by implementing various search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. Here are some steps you can take to improve your DA 2.0 score:
- Improve your website’s content quality: Create high-quality, relevant, and unique content that is valuable to users. This will help attract natural backlinks and improve your domain’s overall relevance.
- Build high-quality backlinks: Backlinks from other relevant and authoritative websites can have a positive impact on your DA score. Focus on building high-quality, natural backlinks from websites that are related to your niche.
- Optimize your website’s technical aspects: Make sure that your website is well-structured, easily navigable, and optimized for both search engines and users.
- Use social media to promote your content: Promoting your content on social media can help increase your visibility and drive traffic to your website, which can lead to more backlinks and improved DA scores.
- Monitor and improve your website’s load time: Fast load times can improve user experience and help prevent users from leaving your website.
- Regularly update your website: Regularly updating your website with fresh and relevant content can help keep your audience engaged and improve your DA score over time.
By implementing these strategies and continually monitoring and improving your website’s performance, you can improve your DA 2.0 score and improve your chances of ranking well in search results.
6. Master Search Intent
Understanding search intent is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience (UX) because it helps marketers and website owners create content that matches the needs and expectations of their target audience.
📌 Definition:
What Is Search Intent?
Search intent refers to the purpose or goal behind a user’s search query.
It refers to the context, goals, and motivations that drive a person to make a search, and can be categorized as informational (seeking knowledge or information), navigational (looking for a specific website), commercial (researching products or services), or transactional (looking to make a purchase).
Assume you want to buy headphones and need some recommendations/comparisons.
So you head to Google and search for “best headphones to buy”.
You clicked on the first result.
But you realize the website only talks about specific brands.
So you quickly click over to the search results to find something else.
This new result (website) compares different brands and headphone specifications.
…which is EXACTLY what you’re looking for.
It means this result fulfils your search intention.
If enough people who search for “best headphones to buy” feel the same way, that result will get a significant rankings boost.
Why Is Search Intent Important?
It’s important because it helps determine the type of content that should be served in response to the query.
By understanding the user’s intent, marketers, content creators and search engines can deliver relevant, high-quality results that meet the user’s needs, leading to a better user experience, increased user satisfaction and potentially higher conversions.
Additionally, optimizing for search intent can also help improve search rankings, as search engines favour content that aligns with the user’s intent.
How To Master Search Intent
To master search intent, you can follow these steps:
- Research keywords: Use keyword research tools to identify keywords that are relevant to your business and understand the intent behind each keyword.
- Analyze search results: Look at the top-ranking pages for each keyword and try to understand what type of content and information the searchers are looking for.
- Create targeted content: Create content that matches the intent behind the keyword. For example, if the keyword is informational, create a blog post that provides information. If the keyword is transactional, create a product page that showcases your product and includes a call-to-action.
- Optimize for search engines: Use SEO best practices to optimize your content for search engines. This includes using the keyword in the title, description, and throughout the content, as well as using relevant images and videos.
- Track results: Use analytics tools to track your content’s performance and make adjustments as needed. Continuously monitor and adjust your content to stay aligned with changing search intent.
By following these steps, you can create content that effectively aligns with the intent behind the keyword, which will likely result in higher rankings and more traffic from search engines.
7. Optimize For Voice Search
Since 60% of the traffic is coming from smartphones, voice search is the next big thing for SEO.
In fact…
Google reports that 55% of teens and 40% of adults perform voice searches every single day on the Google app.
📌 Definition:
What Is Voice Search?
Voice search is a technology that allows users to search the internet or perform various tasks by speaking into a device, such as a smartphone or smart speaker, rather than typing their request.
Voice search has become increasingly popular with the rise of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, and is expected to continue growing in popularity as voice-controlled devices become more widespread.
Voice search uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand and respond to the user’s spoken request, allowing for a more conversational and hands-free experience.
Voice searches performed in Google are up 30x since 2015.
That is why almost every Smart Blogger and SEO Expert have optimized their content for voice search.
So that I.
How To Optimize A Site For Voice Search?
While performing a voice search, people generally ask a specific question, seeking a quick and relevant answer.
Like:
- How to make a WordPress website?
- How to move a website from HTTP to HTTPS step by step?
When this happens, Google usually picks a page that contains questions and answers.
A real example:
I asked (performed a voice search):
This is what I got in reply:
And when I opened the website, I saw the content had the same voice result.
So try to include a question and answer in your content.
Also, it has been seen that 4 out of 10 voice search results come directly from a Featured Snippet.
That is why along with optimizing for voice search it will be a great move to get Snippet for your post.
7 Tips For Optimizing Your Site For Voice Search
1. Use conversational language
2. Focus on “near me” and “how to” searches.
3. Improve site speed and mobile responsiveness.
4. Use schema markup.
5. Claim your Google My Business listing.
6. Claim your Google My Business listing.
7. Monitor and track results.
- Use conversational language: Write content using conversational language and long-tail keywords that reflect the natural language used in voice searches.
- Focus on “near me” and “how to” searches: Voice searches often use location-based keywords, such as “near me”, and how-to searches, such as “how to do X”. Make sure your content is optimized for these types of searches.
- Improve site speed and mobile responsiveness: Voice search is typically done on mobile devices, so it’s important to make sure your site is fast and responsive on mobile devices.
- Use schema markup: Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand the context of your content. This can improve your visibility in voice search results.
- Claim your Google My Business listing: Make sure your business is listed on Google My Business and that your listing is up-to-date with accurate information, including your address and phone number.
- Optimize for featured snippets: Voice assistants often read out featured snippets, which are brief answers to a user’s question that appear at the top of the search results. Optimize your content to be eligible for featured snippets.
- Monitor and track results: Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor your site’s performance in voice search results and make adjustments as needed.
By following these tips, you can improve your site’s visibility and ranking in voice search results, helping you reach a larger audience and drive more traffic to your site.
8. Optimize Content For Semantic SEO
Before Hummingbird, Google only used to analyze the individual keywords of the page.
For example, if you wrote a page that used the keyword “Keto Diet” over and over again, that told Google: “That keyword appears all over the page. This page must be about the Keto Diet!”
But in 2013, Google rolled out the Hummingbird Algorithm.
This algorithm changed how Google worked in a major way.
Instead of only looking at keywords, they now read and understand a page’s overall topic and rank them in the search results accordingly.
📌 Definition:
What Is Semantic SEO?
Semantic SEO is a process of providing more information to visitors about the topic they have searched for, not just individual keywords.
The goal is to improve the relevancy and accuracy of a website’s content for both users and search engines, which can lead to better search engine ranking and visibility.
How To Optimize For Semantic SEO?
First, optimize your page around your target keyword.
Then cover a subtopic related to your page. It means you answer the first question and then immediately answer the second, third, fourth, or fifth question right after that.
Google loves to send traffic to pages where searchers will find in-depth information on their queries.
In a recent study, it has been found that:
- 80% of online searches are people looking for an in-depth answer.
- 10% are looking for a specific service or product and the remaining
- 10% are people, trying to go to a specific website.
So, optimize your content for semantic SEO.
Tips For Optimizing Your Site For Semantic SEO
1. Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords
2. Write descriptive and informative meta tags
3. Use structured data
4. Create long-form content
5. Provide context to your content
6. Use a related vocabulary
7. Make use of internal linking
- Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords: LSI keywords are terms related to the main keyword you are targeting, which helps search engines understand the context of your content.
- Write descriptive and informative meta tags: The meta tags should provide a clear and concise summary of the content on the page, helping search engines understand the purpose of the page.
- Use structured data: Structured data, such as schema markup, can help search engines understand the context and meaning of your content, leading to improved visibility.
- Create long-form content: Long-form content, typically over 1,500 words, provides more information on a topic, making it easier for search engines to understand the context and relevance of your content.
- Provide context to your content: Ensure that your content provides context, background information and relevant data, which makes it easier for search engines to understand the topic of your content.
- Use a related vocabulary: Use a related vocabulary when writing your content, this can help search engines understand the context and meaning of your content.
- Make use of internal linking: Linking to other pages within your site can provide more context and help search engines understand the relationships between different pages on your site.
9. Stay Away From Blackhat SEO Strategies
I have seen people getting attracted to Blackhat SEO strategies but trust me guys it will ruin your hard work.
Blackhat SEO doesn’t work for the long term.
Sooner or later Google will definitely penalize you.
📌 Definition:
What Is Blackhat SEO?
Black hat SEO refers to unethical and manipulative practices used to improve the ranking of a website on search engine results pages (SERP).
These practices often go against the guidelines set by search engines and are designed to manipulate the ranking algorithms to achieve a higher ranking.
Examples of black hat SEO tactics include keyword stuffing, cloaking, link farming, and using hidden text or links.
These practices can result in penalties or even banishment from search engines, causing harm to a website’s online visibility and reputation.
It is important to focus on ethical and long-term SEO strategies to achieve sustainable results, rather than relying on black hat techniques.
10. Update, Upgrade OR Entirely Remove The Old Post
The outdated post shows an adverse effect on the overall SEO of your website.
How?
Suppose a few months back you had written an outstanding post on How to customize a WordPress website.
And the post covered every single detail of that time.
Now things have changed…
…as we all know WordPress 5.0 has been rolled out and the Editor is updated with Gutenberg.
Now if someone visits that old blog post and finds it outdated they will immediately bounce back from your site.
It gives a signal to Google that people are not liking your content, so Google will drop your site like a stone.
So if you have any posts sitting idle, or outdated then consider Upgrading them.
If not, then remove it from your website.
11. Publish Content With At Least 1900 Words
This is the best SEO strategy you can always rely on.
Writing an in-depth long comprehensive post that covers every point related to the topic will definitely CRUSH the short 500-word blog post.
After analyzing thousands of Google search results, I found that the average word count of a first-page Google result was roughly 1900 words.
Why Does Long Post Work Better?
The long post gives a signal to Google that you are providing in-depth information to searchers.
Even a searcher loves a post that contains every detail about the topic.
Not only this…
In-depth content helps you to surpass your competitors way faster than you think.
Since we have talked about surpassing the competitors, why not look up their site?
This is what our next strategies will be on.
12. Analyze Your Competitor’s Website
Analyzing your competitor’s website gives you an idea about your potential visitors.
To do so…
Read their complete post and try to figure out, if you can provide additional information to that post.
Also, go to the comment section and see what people are commenting on.
For sure, you will see lots of appreciative comments.
However, If you find they are seeking more information then write a completely comprehensive guide on your blog for your potential visitors.
13. Steal Your Competitor’s Keywords
There are two ways to get the best keyword for your niche.
Enter a random keyword into a tool like Google Keyword Planner.
OR
Find the keywords that helped your competitors to rank their blog posts.
Both strategies work well. Stealing your competitor’s best keyword is art.
Here’s how:
First, find your competing website…
Then enter the site’s homepage URL into a tool like SEMRush or Spyfu.
And you will get a list of keywords that already rank.
Focus on the keywords that your target audience uses when searching on Google and produce exceptional content related to those keywords.
14. Discover Untapped Keyword On Reddit
‘The Front Page of the Internet’ also known as Reddit is a treasure for keyword research.
For example:
Suppose you want to write an article on ‘servers’.
Simply go ahead to the search bar of Reddit, type servers and hit enter.
…then choose the most suitable threads and subreddits from the results.
Scan and analyze the terms that appear again and again.
In this case, I found the keyword ‘network monitoring’.
If people are discussing these topics on Reddit, chances are they’re searching for the same terms in Google.
…and to cross-check take that keyword and search on Google.
And with that, let’s move to our next SEO techniques.
15. Create Your Own Unique Keyword
Keep in mind you always rank #1 for the keywords that you have created.
Creating your own keyword provides a unique identification for your site.
Brian Dean of Backlinko did the same thing and came up with his own keyword ‘Skyscrapers’.
…and he is getting a great amount of traffic on his post from that keyword.
I also believe rather than being generic or choosing a keyword-stuffed domain, better to come up with some unique idea and get a brandable domain name.
It means when someone hears your domain name it should sound like a brand.
This is what exactly Amazon, Google, Bing, Zara, and Facebook have done.
Next time you are about to write new content which includes your own techniques — name it.
16. Embed Long Tail Keyword In the Title
This is going to blow your mind!
I will explain why…
A few days back I published a post on SEO Guide.
My target keyword for that post was ‘guide for SEO’.
But
I embed a long tail keyword in that.
As a result, I started getting traffic from other sets of keywords like ‘Ultimate guide for SEO’ and ‘SEO techniques’.
In fact for the keyword ‘ultimate guide for SEO‘, my post ranked at the top of the search results.
…and at #3, #4 for the keyword ‘SEO techniques’.
In this way, you will get traffic faster… and eventually, rank the post for more than one term.
Even my post secured first place for the keyword ‘ultimate guide for SEO’ for voice search.
17. Add LSI Keywords In Your Post
Along with target keywords, start adding LSI keywords in your content for better SEO results.
📌 Definition:
What Is LSI Keyword?
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words or phrases that are related to the main keyword of a piece of content and help to further clarify its topic and context.
These related words can be synonyms, related terms, or other words that frequently appear in content on the same topic.
For Example:
Suppose you’re writing an article on “vegan diet.” Some LSI keywords that you could include in your article to provide context and help search engines understand the topic include:
- Plant-based
- Vegetarian
- Whole foods
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Legumes
- Almond milk
- Quinoa
- Chia seeds
- Veganism
- Ethical reasons
- Health benefits
These LSI keywords help give a more complete picture of what the article is about and show that it covers not just a vegan diet, but also the reasons for choosing it and its benefits for health.
LSI keywords are important for search engine optimization (SEO) because they help search engines understand the context and relevancy of a piece of content, which can improve its ranking in search results.
By including LSI keywords in your content, you can demonstrate to search engines that your content is well-researched and relevant to the topic, which can help to increase its visibility and drive more traffic to your website.
In short, an LSI keyword is a phrase or a word that supports your main keyword.
You must be getting curious about how to find the LSI keyword for your niche.
So here is the answer…
7 Ways To Find LSI KeyWord For Better SEO
1. Use the LSI Graph Tool.
2. Use keyword research tools
3. Check the “Related Searches” section
4. Look at competitor content
5. Utilize auto-suggest
6. Use a thesaurus
7. Incorporate questions
- Use LSI Graph Tool: This tool is specifically created to find LSI keywords for your niche.
- Use keyword research tools: There are various keyword research tools available, both free and paid, that can help you find LSI keywords. Some popular ones include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.
- Check the “Related Searches” section: The “Related Searches” section at the bottom of a Google search results page can provide a good list of LSI keywords.
- Look at competitor content: Analyze the content of your competitors and see what keywords they are using to rank for your target keyword.
- Utilize auto-suggest: Use the auto-suggest feature of popular search engines to find related keywords and phrases.
- Use a thesaurus: A thesaurus can help you find synonyms and related terms for your main keyword.
- Incorporate questions: Consider including questions related to your main keyword to create content that will rank well for long-tail keyword phrases.
18. Behave Like A Brand
Want even more traffic…Then behave like a brand.
Once you start behaving like a brand, Google will start treating you as a brand.
You know Google considers you a brand when you get site links, like this:
However, you don’t have to bang your head against the wall to get the brand treatment.
So how do you do that?
Look:
Google is a search engine software, that follows its algorithm.
It doesn’t know if McDonald’s is a brand… They identify brands from online brand signals.
Here’s how:
1. Unique Site name: Don’t be obsessed with keyword-stuffed domain names. Come out of the box with some unique ideas and choose a brandable domain name.
For example:
If you want to start an e-commerce website for clothes then rather than choosing – “onlineclothes.com” or “buyclothesonline.com” it will be better to name it “moonybe.com“.
This is what exactly Amazon, Google, Bing, Zara, and Facebook have done.
2. Professional About Us Page: Real brands have contextual About Us pages.
They talk about their company, vision, strategies, clients, and many more.
So make an epic about us page for your website.
3. Contact Page: The contact page gives a brand signal to Google that your site is genuine. It would be great if you mentioned your physical address too.
4. Professional email account: Running a website without a professional email looks spammy.
Why?
Ok,
Suppose you got a job offer from two different email addresses:
- First — job4you@gamil.com
- Second — jobs@amazon.com
Which email address seems more trustworthy to you?
Obviously, the second one.
This is how the brand speaks…
In fact, here’s what Google CEO Eric Schmidt has to say about brands:
19. Link To Authority Sites
Basically, it’s an On-Page SEO strategy.
Having an informative contextual external link on your post gives a signal to Google that you are trying your best to provide full information to your visitors.
This makes total sense if you think about it…
Google is after providing ‘The Best’ results to their searchers. So why don’t you support Google and make them happy to get the reward from them?
Google gives credit for linking out and even if they don’t your visitors will.
“The web is all about linking. That’s why they call it web”.
Shai Aharony of Reboot found an amazing correlation between outbound links and the Google algorithm.
— Pages with outbound links rank higher than the page with no links.
So link out at least 3 quality, contextual resources in every piece of your content.
20. Send Link Juice To Pages Sitting On Page 2 or 3 In SERPs
Link juice is an important factor in search engine optimization (SEO) as it helps search engines understand the relevance and authority of a website, which in turn can impact its ranking in search results.
📌 Definition:
What Is Link Juice?
Link juice is a term used to describe the power or value that is passed from one webpage to another through a hyperlink.
It refers to the authority and credibility that a page gains from the links pointing to it, which can help it rank higher in search engine results.
Your page is in the grave if it is sitting on page 2 or 3 of Google search results…
If this is the case then you have two options:
Either you leave thousands of potential traffic or use this powerful SEO technique to rank your webpage at the top position of search results.
No matter how good your contents are, if it is not showing on the first page of SERPs then you will lose lots of website visitors.
So what to do?… Throw some internal links their way, simple!!
To do so…
Log in to the Google search console and head over to the Performance section:
Then click on Average Position to see the average ranking of each page.
After that filter out the webpage having an average position between 10-30 and check if you are getting clicks on it…
Your next step is to identify the authoritative page of your website…
once you find it…
…add internal links from those authoritative pages to the page sitting on the second or third page of search results.
Best Practice To Pass Link Juice To Internal Webpage
1. Plan your website structure
2. Use descriptive anchor text
3. Link to deeper pages
4. Regularly update and audit your internal links
- Plan your website structure: Organize your content into categories and subcategories and link related pages to each other where it makes sense.
- Use descriptive anchor text: The clickable text that you use to link to another page should accurately describe the linked page. This helps both users and search engines understand the context of the link.
- Link to deeper pages: While it’s important to link to your homepage, it’s also valuable to link to deeper pages within your site. This can help distribute link juice and improve the rankings of those pages.
- Regularly update and audit your internal links: Make sure your internal links are still relevant and accurate. Remove any broken links and update links to pages that have moved.
21. Use The Power Of Web Stories
Web stories are typically short, lasting only a few seconds to a minute, and are meant to be engaging and easy to understand.
They are created using a variety of tools, such as Google’s AMP or web story plugins, and can be easily shared on social media platforms or integrated into a website.
📌 Definition:
What Is Web Story?
Web stories are a new type of digital content format that combines text, images, and animations to create visually engaging, bite-sized stories.
They are designed to be easily consumed on mobile devices and can be used to tell a story, share information, or promote a product or service.
Example Of Web Stories
How Web Stories Helps In SEO
Web stories can help in SEO by providing engaging, visually appealing content that can improve user experience and encourage engagement.
By using keywords, optimizing for search engines, and including internal links, web stories can help to improve the overall visibility and ranking of a website.
Additionally, web stories are mobile-friendly and can be easily shared on social media, which can drive more traffic and further boost a website’s SEO.
- Increased User Engagement: Web stories offer an engaging, visually appealing format that can keep users on a website for longer and improve their overall experience. This can lead to increased engagement, such as more clicks, shares, and comments, which can help boost a website’s SEO.
- Improved Mobile Optimization: Web stories are designed for mobile devices, which is important as more and more users are accessing the web through mobile devices. By being mobile-friendly, web stories can help to improve a website’s mobile ranking and overall SEO.
- Keyword Optimization: Web stories can be optimized for search engines by including relevant keywords and phrases. This can help to improve the visibility of a website and increase its ranking in search results.
- Social Sharing: Web stories are easily shareable on social media, which can drive more traffic to a website and increase its visibility. This can help to improve the overall SEO of a website.
In short, web stories provide an innovative and engaging way for businesses and content creators to reach their audiences and drive engagement.
22. First Link Priority Rule
Optimized anchor text has been a crucial element in search engine optimization for a while now as it assists search engines in determining the significance of the target URL.
For this reason, internal linking is crucial. It allows you to tell search engines what pages you want to rank for a certain term.
In order to make your internal linking effective, there is one very important yet often overlooked rule you should be aware of called the “first link priority” rule.
📌 Definition:
What Is The First Link Priority Rule?
When a search engine crawls a web page and finds two links pointing to the same page, it will count the first link and ignore the second one.
For example:
Let’s say you have two links pointing to the same page on your site…and both of the links are on the same page.
Which anchor text does Google pay attention to?
- The first text?
- The second text?
- or Both?
According to the First Link Priority Rule, the first one.
While this rule has been well documented by many SEOs, there seems to be some confusion on whether or not this rule applies to the navigation menu of a website.
Problem With The Navigation Menu
On the vast majority of websites, the navigation menu is located above the majority of content when viewing the source code.
As a result, the spiders end up crawling your navigation menu first. This creates a problem because most navigation menus do not use fully-optimized anchor text.
For example:
Let’s say you have a navigation bar on your site, like this:
and the anchor text ‘start here’ links to the blog page on ‘how to make a website’.
Now, when Google fetch your site, it crawls your navigation menu before your content, so all the links in your navigation menu become ‘first priority links’.
That means when you drop a link to your ‘how to make a website’ page in a blog post with the anchor text ‘start a website’.
Unfortunately, the ‘start a website’ anchor text will be ignored by Google. It only counts the anchor text it fetches first i.e. ‘start here’ in the navigation bar.
Google came up with this rule to ensure that the site owner doesn’t bombard the search engine bots with hundreds of similar links pointing to the same content.
23. Add Infographic
Putting images, videos or graphs in your content is a great way to make your site visually appealing.
Optimized images not only help in driving more traffic but also keep your visitors stuck to your post.
It reduces the bounce rate and increases Dwell time.
People love reading content having eye-catching images and graphs which explain the content at a glance.
It leads website owner to insert infographics on their web page.
📌 Definition:
What is Infographic?
An Infographic is a representation of information in a graphic format to make the content easily understandable at a glance.
Adding interactive content like an infographic to your website can be one of the most effective SEO strategies in 2024.
It’s a tested technique that will abound in almost every situation.
No matter what, it will simplify the presentation of a large amount of data, content, relationships or variations of data very easily.
Example of Infographic:
This is the same infographic I have used in my on page SEO strategies guide.
Also, make sure to use keywords in alt text and the title of an infographic to improve the overall SEO of your web page.
It helped my visitors to understand the entire content very easily.
Also… Because of this technique, I got a more social share that improved my social traffic.
24. Use Hook Words To Improve Dwell Time
A hooking word is a sentence or word that encourages visitors to stay on your page.
When someone lands on a website from SERPs…
either they stay…
…or leave the site right away.
If people stay on your page, Google thinks:
‘People are spending time on this page means it is a great website. Let’s give it a rank boost’.
But Google will drop your page when people bounce back from your site immediately.
It’s a Google algorithm – Rank Brain that decides everything.
Look:
The average time that decides when to drop and when to boost the page is 30 Sec.
That is why it’s really important to hold your visitors on your page for a higher ranking.
How?
First, figure out the place in your content where people are likely to go back on SERPs…
…and then add-hook words.
Here’s an example from my website.
Bottom line:
Whenever your content needs a hooking word, add them.
A few random examples that really work, are:
- Here is the deal!
- But what…
- Bottom line
- Why does this matter?
- But wait a minute…
- Now:
- Like:
- And the best part
You can create your own hooking word or phrase…or just use the above example.
25. Mobile-First Index
Today 60% of Google searches are coming from mobile devices and mobile searchers are growing fast.
People love to access the internet while they are on the go, which also means local SEO is going to become even more popular.
As a result, brands will face a big opportunity to market their business in a local context.
If you are not sure if your site is MFI (mobile-first index).
Here is the recommended tool from Google that will analyze your website and let you know if your site is mobile-friendly.
This tool even detects the problem (if any) of your site. So you can work on that and make your site mobile-friendly.
You can also check out the mobile usability report in Google Search Console.
It’s an awesome tool that lets you know which page(s) on your site isn’t mobile-friendly… and how to fix them.
Just click on the errors, and they will pop up the details. Like this…
Then work on it and fix the error.
That’s it, guys!!
These are the tested SEO strategies that will definitely help you rank your website on the first page of Google search results.
I am just curious to know which technique you are going to try first.
Have I missed anything?
Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
FAQs On Search Engine Optimization
Is passage ranking same as featured snippets?
No, Featured Snippets and Passage Ranking are completely separate systems.
What type of seraches queries will be affected by passage ranking?
Passage Ranking is most likely to affect very specific, long tail search queries, on topics people don’t usually write entire blog posts on.
