SEO Tricks We’ve Fallen In Love With That Will Help Boost Your Organic Rankings & Traffic

Search Engine Optimization. SEO. WTF?

The topic of SEO is an interesting one. Many business owners have heard about it, and they want it for their websites, but they don’t really know what it means, how to do it, or what it actually does.

Luckily, we do — but it’s an unbelievably nerdy and admittedly boring topic for most people, especially if you don’t speak HTML as a second language. So, we tend to refer to SEO as a technological magic trick. Basically, we’re trying to trick Google and all of the other search engine algorithms into thinking your website is better than all of the others — especially when the algorithms are regularly updated.

Obviously, there is a lot more to it than just pressing a magic button and yelling, “Abracadabra!” — especially when the algorithms are frequently updated. The tools and techniques used by SEO are constantly changing to keep up with Google, but we’d like to share a few of our recent favorites with you that we’ve found can effectively boost your website’s organic search performance, rankings, and impressions.

Add FAQ Schema Throughout Your Site

How many times in the past week have you turned to Google to answer a question? Whether it’s finding the source of an obscure movie quote, the DIY recipe for Emeril Lagasse’s “Essence” seasoning blend, or an emergency plumber near you, Google has become the go-to quick fix for all inquisitions — Spanish or considerably less dire.

To help Google better navigate your website’s content for specific answers to the world’s unending search for the unknown, you can add FAQ schema — especially on your product and service pages.

Without getting too nerdy, FAQ schema is just a special markup you can add to your website’s HTML code that structures a list of questions and answers in a way that Google really appreciates. Ever seen the “People also ask” section near the top of your personal Google searches? That section relies heavily on FAQ schema.

While dedicated FAQ pages traditionally don’t tend to rank very well and are typically some of the least popular pages on your site, we’ve seen some amazing gains in organic search results and impressions for our clients after appropriately spicing up their web content with structured FAQ content. Bottom line: 11/10 — highly recommended SEO trick.

Strengthen Your Core

No, we’re not talking about hitting the gym for more ab crunches. We’re talking about getting your Core Web Vitals a little tighter on your website. Unlike Planet Fitness, Google is a judgment-always zone and it reviews and ranks your website based on a set of specific indicators that show how your pages are performing based on real world field data.

These vital signs — which measure your website’s loading speed, interactivity, and stability — are a pretty good indication of your website’s and individual page’s overall user experience, also known as UX. While all of your Core Web Vitals are important, search engines — especially Google — have a need for speed and prioritize pages with fast loading times.

If your site is a little sluggish, or if you think it’s fast but your Core Web Vitals say otherwise, there’s a myriad of things you can do behind the scenes to get everything moving and loading faster — but you’ll likely need some professional help.
Not sure of the current status of your Core Web Vitals? It can be found under “Enhancements” in your Google Search Console account. If you just read that and said, “What is Google Search Console?” — feel free to give us a call.

Spruce Up Your Google Business Profile ASAP

First things first — have you claimed your business’ Google Business Profile listing (formerly known as Google My Business)? If the answer is no, stop reading this blog post and get started. Seriously.

For all intents and purposes, your Google Business Profile is likely the first impression of your business and connection with your business by potential customers (or potential employees). Your Google Business Profile is critically important to the process of connecting with potential customers because Google Business Profile information is highly integrated with both search and Google Maps.

Consider everything you’ve been taught and told about the importance and long-term implications of an initial impression. Now consider these stats from Google’s Consumer Insights:

More than 1 billion people use Google Maps every month and more than 5 million active apps and websites use Google Maps Platform core products every week.
The average business is found in 1,000+ searches per month.
More than half of the people who view your Google Business Profile will also check out your website and about 25% will give you a call.

If your Google Business Profile isn’t accurate, you are missing out now — and maybe forever.

If you have already claimed your Google Business Profile, take a moment to give it a quick look. We’ll wait…

Do you like what you see? Is the information accurate? Is your website linked and correct? Is your phone number linked and correct? Are your primary and secondary service categories accurate? Do your products and services on your profile match what you offer on your website? Do the photos portray you in the best light? Are there unanswered reviews or questions from customers?

If the answer is no to any of those questions, it’s time to spend some time updating your profile. Then it’s time to schedule a monthly reminder to check it out again, add new photos, respond to reviews, and ensure your first impression on Google isn’t your last.

Want to get some more ROI out of your SEO efforts? Does just thinking about SEO make you say “WTF?” If you’re ready to get more organic brand awareness out of your website and online content, give us a call today and let’s have a chat. We’ll even talk nerdy to you, if that’s your thing. — 804-521-4141.