How do they get the toothpaste in a toothpaste tube? Were the pyramids built by aliens? What should I have for lunch? Oh yes, life is full of seemingly unsolvable mysteries and conundrums.

However, the one mystery that keeps on popping up time and time again is this, “how do I rank my website higher on Google?”. Ranking your website higher in Google is a key task for any online business in New Zealand and around the world.

Why? Well, for many reasons, but the most obvious is that it gets your website seen.

If you’re an online business then you should bare this fact in mind and make ranking higher on Google your key priority:

93% of all buying decisions start with an online search.

The key to receiving traffic through Google is to get ranked on the first page because first page websites receive 91.5% of Google traffic. If your website is ranked on the second page of Google you only get to share 4.8% of the traffic along with all the other sites on page 2 and if you’re on page 3 that share drops to 1.1%. People just don’t bother to go beyond page 1.

Ranking higher in Google clearly increases your visibility, increases web traffic and gets your name out there in front of more customers but it also increases your brand’s credibility, earns you trust and increases customer engagement.

So how do you get your website ranking higher in Google?

How To Rank Higher on Google in 6 Steps

The first thing to know is that google is smart. Really smart. Google uses a variety of factors in its algorithm to determine what results will be the most helpful for the user. This algorithm is constantly changing and adapting to give users the best experience and takes into consideration a variety of ranking signals before displaying results — all in half a second.

Here are the 6 ways to improve your website’s rank on Google:

1. Create Quality Content

You’ve (probably) heard this one before but it is SUPER IMPORTANT. Content is still king in 2018. Google is all about the user experience and creating quality content that is easy for the user to find and understand is key.

Creating quality content (known as SEO — Search Engine Optimisation) does require a fair bit of work but the idea is that Google recognises and rewards content that helps the user find the information they were looking for.
Quality content means avoiding common SEO mistakes such as keyword stuffing, plagiarism or writing a bunch of stuff that isn’t relevant to anyone.

2. Length of Content

Google doesn’t actually have a specific requirement when it comes to content length BUT having said that, research shows that the average length of content in the first page of search results for a keyword has 2,000 words or more.

This doesn’t meant that you should be posting novels or turning your website into some digital encyclopaedia, takes your cues from your audience. Look into the analytics of your website, what is the user bounce rate, click through rates and so on?

3. Optimised Images.

Pictures, visual clues, illustrations etc. all help us to make sense of the world around us and understand information quickly — and Google knows this. However, “seeing” pictures is a little harder for search engines. In order to allow Google to “see” these images, pictures have to be optimised. The basics of making your images visible to search engines are:

• Reduce the image size to ensure it loads faster
• Name the image with keywords that you’re attempting to rank for
• Add alt tags (explains what the image is about)
• Give the image a title

4. Quality Backlinks.

What are backlinks? Backlinks are an incoming hyperlink from one web page to another website and the more backlinks you have pointing back to your site, the more popular it will be as it makes your site look more trustworthy.
The easiest way of achieving backlinks is via social media. Social media not only helps to promote your brand but it also helps to improve your website ranking and SEO.

If a user finds your content funny, informative etc. the more likely they will share your link or “like” a post etc. This increases your inbound links and tells Google that people love your content (so it must be relevant and informative).

5. Mobile Optimisation.

Mobile optimisation is extremely important for ranking your website higher in 2018. Businesses will HAVE TO make their website mobile optimised to rank highly as Google is moving closer to prioritising mobile-friendly content.
And this is why:

• 80% of internet users own a smartphone and, in 2016, mobile traffic outpaced desktop
• 452m users purchased goods and services on mobile devices in 2014, this figure is set to reach a staggering 2.07 billion users in 2019

If you’re trying to increase your visibility you have to understand that it is highly likely your audience are searching for you on their smartphone, tablet or mobile device.

We’ve all been there, landed on a website via our phones only to be confronted by what seems like a miniature version of the desktop website where the buttons are too small to click on, the copy is too small to read and the images are all out of whack. That’s an example of a website that isn’t mobile friendly and, thanks to Google, those mobile-unfriendly sites will be a thing of the past.

6. HTTPS vs Old HTTP

If you only take one thing away from this blog then take this — as of July 2018 if your website is not HTTPS then Google will label your website as “Not Secure” in the search bar.

Not only will “Not Secure” feature next to your URL (visible for all to see) but it will also be accompanied by a nice big red warning triangle. Google aren’t going to make this subtle at all.

If you’re on an e-commerce website and you see that your data isn’t secure, are you going to enter your credit card details and complete the purchase? That’s a hard no.

If you’re unsure if your website is still using HTTP or already has HTTPS then do this simple check. Have a look on your website. At the top left hand corner of the URL fields you will either see a black “http://” or a green “https://”. If you’re still using http:// then it will soon be “Not Secure”.

Take Your Business to The Next Level

Improving your website’s rank on Google is seen as mystery to many SMEs in New Zealand and around the world. People understand the importance of ranking highly in Google but due to its ever-changing SEO requirements the whole process is a mystery to many.

If you’re looking to improve your website’s rankings then these 6 tips will help you get there but there are many (many) more factors that Google considers.

At Quentosity we are a Tauranga website design agency and experts in website design and development. We have the experience and expertise to showcase your business in the digital age and increase your profitability through our digital marketing techniques and will help to rank your business higher in Google search results.

Whether you are based in Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Christchurch or anywhere else in New Zealand, we are the digital marketing agency that can take your business to the next level.

If you want to discover what we can do for you, drop us an email or phone us to arrange a casual coffee and a chat at our beachside Papamoa office.