10 SEO Growth Hacks to Double Your Rankings

Are you looking to improve your SEO and reach higher rankings in search engines? If so, you’re in the right place! This blog post will discuss some of the best SEO growth hacks that will help your content rank higher.

So whether you’re just starting out with SEO or you’re looking for ways to improve your current strategy, read on for these top tips!

Contents:

1. Improve Your Meta Titles
2. Optimize Your Images with Alt Text
3. Make Your URLs SEO-Friendly
4. Write Better Meta Descriptions
5. Add Related Keywords to Your Content
6. Use Schema Markup for Rich Snippets
7. Study Competitors to Get Keyword Ideas
8. Improve Your Site Loading Speed
9. Leverage Internal Linking
10. Encourage Comments, Build a Community

1. Improve Your Meta Titles

Meta titles are one of the most important on-page SEO factors. A meta title is the HTML tag that defines the title of a web page. It’s the clickable headline of a listing on a given search engine results page.

The meta tag should give users an accurate and concise description of what they can expect to find on your page. Here are some tips for writing effective meta titles to help improve your organic click-through rate (CTR) and traffic:

• Keep It Short
• Use Relevant Keywords
• Write For Users
• Include a Call to Action
• Add Power Words
• Make It Catchy

Keep It Short

Your meta title should be around 50-60 characters. This is because anything longer will be cut off in search results.

Use Relevant Keywords

As we mentioned, you should include relevant keywords in your meta tag. But don’t stuff your title with too many keywords. This will not only turn off readers but also get you penalized by Google.

Write For Users

While it’s important to include relevant keywords, your title should be written for users first and foremost. Make sure it’s something that people would actually want to click on when they see it in the search results.

Include a Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) is a great way to increase your CTR. A CTA is a statement or phrase that encourages readers to take the desired action.

For example, you could end your meta title with “Click here to learn more!”

Add Power Words

Power words are words that elicit an emotional response from readers. Some examples of power words include “amazing,” “incredible,” and “epic.”

Using these types of words in your meta tag can help make it more click-worthy.

Make It Catchy

Last but not least, make sure your meta title is catchy! This will help it stand out in the search results and encourage people to click through to your page.

2. Optimize Your Images with Alt Text

Another important SEO factor is image optimization. When you upload an image to your website, be sure to include the alt text. This is a short description that appears when the image can’t be loaded.

It’s important to include because it helps search engines understand what the image is about. In addition, it can help visually impaired users when they are visiting your site.

To find the alt text for an image, just right-click on the image and select “View Image.” You should see the alt text in the HTML code.

Using WordPress, you can easily add your alt text, by filling this field:

Here are some tips for writing effective alt text:

• Use Your Focus Keywords
• Be Specific
• Write Up to 125 Characters
• Keep Blank if Purely Decorative
• Don’t Include “Image of”

Use Your Focus Keywords

When writing your alt text, be sure to include your focus keywords. This will help improve your image’s SEO and make it more likely to appear in search results.

Be Specific

In addition to including keywords, you should also be as specific as possible. Describe the image in detail so that search engines can easily understand what it’s about.

Write Up to 125 Characters

Your alt text should be no more than 125 characters. Anything longer will be cut off in the HTML code.

Keep Blank if Purely Decorative

If an image is purely decorative, you can leave the alt text blank. This will help reduce the length of your HTML code and prevent keyword stuffing.

Don’t Include “Image of”

There’s no need to include “image of” in your alt text. This is already implied, both for users and search engines.

3. Make Your URLs SEO-Friendly

Your URL should be short, descriptive, and relevant to your content. In addition, it should include keywords that you want to rank for. This will help improve your CTR and organic traffic.

Here are some practical tips for writing SEO-friendly URLs:

• Keep It Short
• Use Your Target Keywords
• Write Contextual URLs for Users
• Make It Easy to Read
• Avoid Stop Words

Keep It Short

Your URL should be as short as possible. Ideally, it should be less than 60 characters. This is because longer URLs can be cut off in search results.

Use Your Target Keywords

Including target keywords in your URL is a great way to improve your SEO. Make sure they are relevant to the content on the page and that they are placed strategically, without overdoing.

Write Contextual URLs for Users

While keywords are important, your URL should also be written for users first and foremost. It should be easy to read and understand what the page is about.

Make It Easy to Read

Speaking of readability, your URL should be easy to read. This means using lowercase letters, hyphens instead of underscores, and avoiding confusion.

Avoid Stop Words

Stop words are common words that are often ignored by search engines. Some examples include “a,” “an,” and “the.” While they may not have much SEO value, stop words can also help make your URL more readable.

4. Write Better Meta Descriptions

Your meta description is the short description of your content and it that appears in SERPs. It should be attention-grabbing and relevant to your content.

Here are some tips for writing effective meta descriptions:

• Keep it Under 155 Characters
• Make It Relevant
• Use Your Focus Keywords
• Consider Your Audience
• Add a Call to Action

Keep It Under 155 Characters

Your meta description should be no more than 155 characters. This is because anything longer will be cut off in search results.

Make It Relevant

Your meta description should be relevant to your content. It should give users an idea of what they can expect to find on your page.

Use Your Focus Keywords

Including target keywords in your meta description is a great way to improve your SEO. However, don’t overdo it as this can result in keyword stuffing.

Consider Your Audience

When writing your meta description, consider your audience and what they are looking for. Keep it simple and to the point so that they can easily understand what your page is about.

Add a Call to Action

Be sure to include a call to action. Some examples are “learn more,” “find out now,” and “sign up today.” This will encourage users to click through to your page.

5. Add Related Keywords to Your Content

When you’re writing your content, be sure to include related keywords. Related keywords are words and phrases that are similar to your main keyword.

For example, if your main keyword is “dog food,” some related keywords could be “pet food,” “cat food,” or “animal food.”

Including related keywords in your content can help improve your SEO because it helps search engines understand what your content is about. It can also help improve your CTR because it makes your content more relevant to what people are searching for.

To find related keywords, you can:

• Use Google Autosuggest
• Look at the Related Searches
• Use Tools
• Leverage Wikipedia
• Visit Forums

Use Google Autosuggest

You can find related keywords by doing a Google search for your main keyword, using the autosuggest feature:

Look at the Related Searches

You should also see a list of related keywords under each result (it’s called, “related searches”). It’s usually placed at the end of the search result page:

Use Tools

You can also use a keyword research tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find related keywords.

Leverage Wikipedia

Another great way to find related keywords is to look at the sections on Wikipedia pages. For example, if you search for “dog food,” you’ll see a list of related topics in the “See Also” section.

Visit Forums

You can also find related keywords by visiting forums and looking at the topics people are discussing. For example, if you search for “dog food” on Reddit, you’ll see a list of related topics in the sidebar.

6. Use Schema Markup for Rich Snippets

Schema markup is code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content. It can also help improve your CTR because it makes your listings more relevant to what people are searching for.

In addition, schema markup can help improve your SEO by making your site eligible for rich snippets. Rich snippets are special listings that include additional information about your content.

For example, a rich snippet for a recipe might include the cooking time, number of servings, and calories:

To add schema markup to your website, you can use a WordPress plugin like Yoast SEO. Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, just go to SEO > Schema and select the type of content you want to add schema markup to. Then, fill in the required information and click “Publish.”

In the alternative, you can take advantage of Google’s tool to implement schema markup to your website. To use the Structured Data Markup Helper, just go to the website and select the type of content you want to add schema markup to. Then, follow the instructions on the screen to add the schema markup code to your website:

7. Study Competitors to Get Keyword Ideas

One of the best ways to find new keyword ideas is to study your competitors. To do this, just enter a competitor’s URL into a tool like SEMrush or SEOmoz. Then, the tool will show you all of the keywords that the competitor is ranking for.

You can also use Google AdWords Keyword Planner to find new keyword ideas. Just enter a competitor’s URL into the “Your landing page” field and click “Get Ideas.”

Google AdWords Keyword Planner will then show you a list of keywords that are related to the competitor’s URL. By studying your competitors, you can find new keyword ideas that you can use to improve your SEO strategy.

8. Improve Your Site Loading Speed

One of the factors that can affect your search engine rankings is your site’s loading speed. Site speed is defined as the amount of time it takes for a page to load. A fast site is important for SEO because it can help improve the user experience.

To improve your site’s loading speed, you can:

• Use a CDN
• Compress Your Images
• Minimize Your Code
• Clean Up Database
• Optimize Media Library
• Test With Tools

Use a CDN

A content delivery network (CDN) is a system of distributed servers that deliver content to users based on their location. CDNs can help improve the loading speed of your site by delivering content from servers that are closer to the user’s location.

Compress Your Images

Images can take up a lot of space, which can make your site load slowly. To reduce the file size of your images, you can use an image compression tool such as Photoshop or an online service such as TinyPNG.

Minimize Your Code

Your site’s code can also affect its loading speed. To reduce the amount of code on your site, you can:

• Use a CSS minifier such as YUI Compressor
• Use a JavaScript minifier such as UglifyJS

Clean Up Database

If your site has a lot of content, it can have many files in its database. Over time, these files can accumulate and slow down your site. If you are using WordPress, you can download a plugin such as WP-Optimize to clean up your database.

Test With Tools

There are many tools that you can use to test your site’s loading speed. Some of these tools are:

• Pingdom
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• GTmetrix
• WebPagetest

By testing your site with these tools, you can find out what areas need improvement.

9. Leverage Internal Linking

Internal linking is the process of linking to other pages within your website. This strategy can help improve your SEO in two ways:

• It can help search engines crawl your website more easily.
• It can help improve the user experience.

To add internal links to your website, just edit your post or page and add a link to another post or page on your website. You can also use a plugin like SEO Smart Links to automatically add internal links to your website.

When adding internal links to your website, keep in mind these suggestions:

• Use Keywords In Anchors
• Link Deep
• Use Follow Links
• Think About Users

Use Keywords in Anchors

When adding internal links to your website, you should use keywords in the anchor text. Anchor text is the visible text that’s used to link to another page.

For example, if you’re linking to a post about SEO tips, you might use the anchor text “SEO tips.” Using keywords in your anchor text can help improve your SEO because it tells search engines what the page you’re linking to is about.

Link Deep

When adding internal links to your website, you should link to deep pages on your website. Deep pages are pages that are not your home page or your main category pages.

Linking to deep pages helps improve your SEO because it shows search engines that your website has a lot of content.

Use Follow Links

When adding internal links to your website, you should use follow links. Follow links are links that tell search engines to follow the link and index the linked page.

Nofollow links are links that tell search engines not to follow the link and index the linked page. Using follow links can help improve your SEO because it allows search engines to index more of your website’s content.

Think About Users

When adding internal links to your website, you should think about the user experience. The user experience is how easy it is for users to find the information they’re looking for on your website. You can improve the user experience by adding internal links that help users navigate your website.

10. Encourage Comments, Build a Community

Comments are a great way to build a community on your website. When you encourage comments, you give users the opportunity to interact with you and with each other.

To encourage comments on your website, you can:

• Reply to all comments.
• Ask for comments.
• Use a plugin like Disqus or Livefyre.

Reply to All Comments

Replying to all comments shows that you are active on your website and that you care about what your users have to say. When you reply to comments, you create a dialogue that can help to build a community on your website.

Ask for Comments

Asking for comments is a great way to encourage interaction on your website. When you ask for comments, you give users a reason to leave a comment. You can ask for comments in a number of ways, including:

• Asking questions.
• Making statements that provoke thought.

Using a Plugin like Disqus or Livefyre

Using a plugin like Disqus or Livefyre can help to encourage comments on your website. Disqus is a commenting system that allows users to log in with their social media accounts. And Livefyre is a real-time commenting system that allows users to comment on your website in real-time. Both plugins make it easy for users to leave comments on your website.

SEO Growth Hacks Final Words

These are some of the best SEO hacks that you can use to improve your content. By using these SEO tips, you can help your website reach higher rankings in search engines.

Now, it’s over to you. Do you have some suggestions that you use to improve your SEO? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

---

The post 10 SEO Growth Hacks to Double Your Rankings appeared first on Linkody’s Blog.