1. Choose a keyword. The keyword should be based on what you want your article or page to show up for when a use searches.
2. You can use a keyword research tool to find keywords with high search quantity and moderate competition. Choose words that are relevant and are being search but also that are not so competitive that you can’t win without spending money on PPC campaigns.
3. Use your keyword once in the first 50-100 words. Search engines put more weight on terms that appear in prominent places on your page (like at the top).
4. Use your keyword in your page’s title tag- From a Google SEO point of view, your title tag is the most important place to include your keyword.
5. Use your keyword in the H1 and in H2 subhead- This emphasizes to Google that your page is focused on that keyword and topic. H tags aren’t a huge deal for rankings. But every little bit helps.
6. Use keyword-rich image filenames and alt text- Google uses images to understand the content of your page. And descriptive file names and alt text helps them understand what your page is all about.
7. Add internal links to other pages on your site- Internal links can help Google find, crawl and index more pages on your site (and help them rank higher in the search results).
8. Add external links to other helpful websites and resources- External linking to related pages helps Google figure out your page's topic. So I recommend adding lots of external links to pages that will help your users learn more about something that you cover on your page.
9. Use synonyms and related terms- In other words: include variations of your target keyword on your page. For example, if your main keyword is “kettlebell workout”, use variations like “kettlebell exercises” and “easy kettlebell movements”.
10. Write an enticing meta description- Although using keywords in your meta description isn’t a ranking factor anymore, organic click through rate is. And when Google searchers see a compelling meta description in the organic search results, they’re more likely to click on your site.
11. Make your site work with mobile devices- In other words, your site should be mobile-optimized for Google users and search engine crawlers. Google’s index is now “mobile-first”, which makes mobile usability an absolute most for SEO.
12. Use structured data- Structured data (Schema) can help your site feature “Rich Snippets” in the search results.
13. Match search intent. Double check that your page is a 1:1 match for search intent. The best way to do that? Check out Google’s first page for that keyword. If they’re all a specific type of page (like a list post or ecommerce product page), you want your page to be in-line with what’s already ranking- If your page doesn’t satisfy search intent, your page most likely will not rank for that keyword (even if you have lots of backlinks). It’s that important.
14. Decrease bounce rate. In other words: make your content “sticky” so that Google users stay on your page...and don’t bounce back to the search results
15. Write a title tag that’s keyword optimized and engineered for clicks. The best way to do this is to think of what you would want to click on if you were searching for your target keyword- Like I mentioned back in item #10 from this list, a high CTR can boost your rankings. And your title tag is a BIG factor in what people use to decide what to click on.
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