In the ever-evolving world of SEO, it’s easy to focus on the latest trends and forget about some of the foundational tasks that can significantly boost your rankings. While new strategies and tools are important, revisiting and optimizing these often-overlooked SEO tasks can provide a substantial lift to your site’s performance. Here are some forgotten SEO tasks that can help boost your rankings:
1. Optimizing for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are the highlighted answer boxes that appear at the top of Google’s search results. Securing a featured snippet can dramatically increase your visibility and click-through rates. To optimize for featured snippets:
• Identify Snippet Opportunities: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find keywords where your site already ranks on the first page and has the potential to be featured.
• Answer Questions Clearly: Structure your content to directly answer common questions related to your keywords. Use bullet points, numbered lists, and concise paragraphs.
• Use Header Tags: Organize your content with H1, H2, and H3 tags to make it easier for search engines to understand the structure of your page.
2. Improving Dwell Time
Dwell time, the amount of time a user spends on your page before returning to the search results, is a strong indicator of content quality. To improve dwell time:
• Engaging Content: Create high-quality, engaging content that keeps readers interested. Use multimedia elements like images, videos, and infographics to break up text and add value.
• Internal Linking: Use internal links to guide users to related content on your site, encouraging them to stay longer.
• Readable Format: Ensure your content is easy to read with short paragraphs, subheadings, and bullet points.
3. Regularly Updating Old Content
Search engines favor fresh content. Regularly updating your old blog posts and pages can improve their rankings. To update old content:
• Add New Information: Include the latest data, statistics, and insights to keep your content relevant.
• Improve Readability: Update the formatting, add new images, and ensure the content is easy to read.
• Optimize for New Keywords: Research new keywords that have emerged since the original publication and incorporate them naturally into your content.
4. Optimizing for Voice Search
With the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants, optimizing for voice search is becoming increasingly important. To optimize for voice search:
• Conversational Keywords: Use long-tail keywords and phrases that mimic natural speech patterns.
• Answer Questions: Structure your content to answer common questions directly, as voice searches often start with “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” or “how.”
• Local SEO: Ensure your local SEO is strong, as many voice searches are location-based.
5. Implementing Structured Data
Structured data helps search engines understand the content of your pages better and can enhance your search listings with rich snippets. To implement structured data:
• Use Schema Markup: Add schema markup to your HTML to provide search engines with additional information about your content.
• Test Your Markup: Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to ensure your markup is correctly implemented.
• Monitor Performance: Track the impact of structured data on your search performance using tools like Google Search Console.
6. Optimizing Images
Images are often overlooked in SEO, but they can drive significant traffic through image search. To optimize images:
• Descriptive File Names: Use descriptive, keyword-rich file names for your images.
• Alt Text: Add alt text to describe the content of your images, making them accessible to search engines and users with visual impairments.
• Compress Images: Ensure your images are compressed to reduce load times without sacrificing quality.
7. Enhancing Mobile Experience
With mobile traffic surpassing desktop, optimizing your site for mobile users is crucial. To enhance the mobile experience:
• Responsive Design: Ensure your site uses a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes.
• Fast Load Times: Optimize your site for speed by compressing images, minifying CSS and JavaScript, and using a content delivery network (CDN).
• Mobile-Friendly Navigation: Simplify navigation for mobile users with clear menus and easy-to-click buttons.
8. Building High-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks remain a critical ranking factor. Building high-quality backlinks can significantly boost your SEO. To build backlinks:
• Guest Posting: Write guest posts for reputable sites in your industry to earn backlinks.
• Content Promotion: Promote your content through social media, email outreach, and influencer marketing to attract natural backlinks.
• Broken Link Building: Find broken links on other sites and offer your content as a replacement.
9. Optimizing for Local SEO
Local SEO is essential for businesses that serve specific geographic areas. To optimize for local SEO:
• Google My Business: Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing with accurate information, photos, and regular updates.
• Local Citations: Ensure your business is listed consistently across local directories and citation sites.
• Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on Google and other review platforms.
10. Monitoring and Cleaning Up Backlinks
Not all backlinks are beneficial. Monitoring and cleaning up your backlink profile can protect your site from penalties. To monitor and clean up backlinks:
• Regular Audits: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to regularly audit your backlink profile.
• Disavow Toxic Links: Identify and disavow toxic or spammy backlinks that could harm your rankings.
• Build Relationships: Focus on building relationships with reputable sites to earn high-quality backlinks.
11. Creating Skyscraper Content
Skyscraper content is a strategy where you find high-performing content in your niche and create something even better. To create skyscraper content:
• Research: Identify popular content in your industry using tools like BuzzSumo.
• Improve: Create a more comprehensive, detailed, and updated version of the content.
• Promote: Reach out to sites that linked to the original content and promote your improved version.
12. Using Infographics and Videos
Visual content like infographics and videos can enhance user engagement and attract backlinks. To use infographics and videos:
• Create High-Quality Visuals: Invest in creating high-quality infographics and videos that provide value to your audience.
• Optimize for SEO: Use descriptive file names, alt text, and transcriptions for videos to optimize them for search engines.
• Promote: Share your visual content on social media, embed it in blog posts, and reach out to other sites for backlinks.
13. Optimizing Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are crucial for both SEO and user experience. To optimize them:
• Include Keywords: Use relevant keywords in your title tags and meta descriptions.
• Compelling Copy: Write compelling and descriptive copy that encourages users to click.
• Length: Keep title tags under 60 characters and meta descriptions under 160 characters to ensure they display correctly in search results.
14. Improving Site Speed
Site speed is a critical ranking factor and affects user experience. To improve site speed:
• Compress Images: Use tools like TinyPNG to compress images without losing quality.
• Minify Code: Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to reduce file sizes.
• Use a CDN: Implement a content delivery network (CDN) to speed up content delivery to users around the world.
15. Focusing on User Experience (UX)
A positive user experience can lead to higher engagement and better rankings. To improve UX:
• Clear Navigation: Ensure your site has clear and intuitive navigation.
• Readable Content: Use readable fonts, short paragraphs, and plenty of white space.
• Interactive Elements: Add interactive elements like quizzes, polls, and comment sections to engage users.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the latest SEO trends, revisiting these often-forgotten tasks can provide significant benefits to your site’s rankings. By optimizing for featured snippets, improving dwell time, updating old content, and focusing on user experience, you can create a solid foundation for long-term SEO success. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and regularly revisiting these tasks will help you stay ahead of the competition.
