Getting to that coveted first page of Google takes work. But ranking among the top results is possible with the right SEO fundamentals.
Follow these 10 advanced tactics to take your website’s search visibility to the next level:
1. Create Content Better Than Your Competitors
Google wants to feature content that offers the most value to searchers. To outrank others, you must go above and beyond.
Research exhaustively. Get original data and expert perspectives. Invest in high-quality images, videos, and illustrations. Craft genuinely useful, actionable advice.
Optimizing for search engines alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Focus first on creating content 10x better than competitors.
2. Score Quality Backlinks from Authority Sites
The number of sites linking back to a page correlates with higher rankings. But not all links are equal.
Work to get backlinks from recognizable, reputable sites related to your niche. For example, a link from the New York Times does more than 100 links from small blogs.
Pitch relevant big brands for guest posts or reviews. Participate in niche forums and interact with industry influencers. Earn links slowly over time.
3. Increase Expertise with Guest Post Contributions
Writing for authority and industry publications helps establish you as an expert.
Identify blogs, magazines, and niche websites that overlap with your ideal audience. Pitch a topic that caters to their readers’ interests. The link back to your site is a nice bonus too.
Getting featured as a contributor raises your site’s credibility and trustworthiness.
4. Claim and Optimize Online Business Listings
Over 80% of local mobile searches result in same-day purchases. So ranking in the Local Pack is critical for local businesses.
Start by registering your Google My Business listing. Expand to other directories like Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing, etc.
Flesh out your profiles with photos, hours, services, descriptions, and any other details that help searchers. Be consistent with your business name, address and phone number across listings.
5. Leverage Long-Form Content Over 2,000 Words
Thin, short content often fails to rank highly. But in-depth long-form content better satisfies searchers’ intent.
Conduct extensive research and interviews around topics your audience cares about. Create ultimate guides, expanded product reviews, data-driven reports, and other pillar content.
Aim for over 2,000 words of content so you can really explore every facet of the subject. The long word count signals legitimacy.
6. Implement AMP and Instant Page Support
Google created the open-source AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project to optimize page load speeds on mobile.
When you make AMP versions of pages, they become eligible to appear in the Instant Pages section at the top of some mobile SERPs.
The format limits JavaScript and requires external resources to be cached. But the speed boost improves user experience.
7. Build an Email List and Send Newsletters
Email marketing strengthens SEO in two ways:
First, subscribers directly sharing or linking to your content helps search visibility. Their activity shows engagement.
Second, enabling signups expands your reach. Some visitors who find you via search and enter their email may turn into repeat site visitors when you send newsletters. More repeat traffic improves dwell time.
Just don’t add annoying popups that block content. Make signup forms short and sweet.
8. Make Video Content for YouTube
YouTube is the #2 search engine after Google. Optimizing video content presents a big opportunity.
Create videos that educate viewers around topics related to your niche. Include verbatim keywords in titles and descriptions. Link back to your site.
Videos over 2 minutes long tend to rank better. YouTube wants to surface “evergreen” videos not just short viral clips.
9. Use Structured Data Wherever Possible
Structured data markup lets Google understand your content better through item attributes like name, description, author, price, etc.
Product schema for ecommerce, jobs for hiring sites, events for calendars, articles for blogs, courses for online education – the possibilities are vast.
Search for applicable schema types, and implement structured data in JSON-LD format. Rich results in the SERPs boost click-through-rates.
10. Build an Advanced SEO Content Promotion Strategy
Creating remarkable content is just the first step. You need a promotion plan to boost visibility.
- Share all new content on relevant social media.
- Reach out individually to sites you’d like to get links from.
- Distribute press releases for high-impact content.
- Promote new posts in email newsletters and popups.
- Repurpose and expand on evergreen content periodically.
- Monitor social shares, links and conversions to identify your best-performing content.
Promoting content is crucial for extending reach and getting Google’s attention.
Ranking highly in competitive SERPs takes focus and perseverance. But sites that go the extra mile to be helpful, not just visible, earn searchers’ trust. That trust converts to higher rankings and referral traffic over time.
Have your own tips for dominating the top of Google’s results? Let me know in the comments!