Alveena Ahmad
The March 2024 core update from Google is having an impact on a lot of small business owners. It’s possible that your traffic has decreased, your rankings have suffered, and you’re unsure of how to get back. It can be extremely frustrating to watch your hard-earned rankings drop, especially if you’re unsure of what to do next.
Google says that producing better content is the key to getting back on your feet. What does that actually mean, though?
In this article, I share 6 practical SEO tips to help you navigate the changes and ensure your business continues to thrive in 2024.
1. Create value-packed, long-form content
Everyone is aware that producing high-quality, lengthy content is essential to ranking well. But since Google’s March update, quality matters more than ever, so writing a 2,000-word generic article and calling it a day is no longer sufficient.
Rather, you ought to:
- Utilize case studies, data, and statistics to bolster your arguments and offer proof of your assertions.
- Maintain a conversational tone to keep the readers interested.
- To make the text easier to read and more aesthetically pleasing, break it up with headings, subheadings, bullet points, and images.
- Consider the common questions your readers may have, and provide answers.
- To produce the most comprehensive resource on the subject, thoroughly cover every facet of the matter.
- Update your articles frequently to reflect the most recent developments in your niche’s information, research, and trends.
If you own an e-commerce company and write about the “best project management software for small businesses,” for instance, don’t stop at making a basic list. Provide thorough evaluations, contrasts, screenshots, user comments, and advice on how to select the best software for a given set of business requirements.
2. Do comprehensive keyword research
Choosing a small number of keywords to focus on each week and switching to a new set the next week is one of the most frequent SEO errors I see people make.
Rather, you should adopt a more calculated approach. Identify 200–300 pertinent keywords to start before you even start writing content. This extensive list helps you determine which keywords are easier to target and provides you with a clear picture of your niche.
Prioritize the keywords with lesser difficulty and work your way up. You can rank for easier keywords and increase site traffic more quickly with this SEO strategy
By continuously creating content, you position your website as an authority in your industry, which will eventually help you rank for more competitive keywords.
With the help of this SEO advice for small businesses, you can begin ranking months ahead of time compared to using a weekly approach.
3. Make appropriate use of keywords
Although keyword density is no longer used to determine rankings, it is still crucial for SEO to strategically place keywords throughout your content. The secret is to incorporate them organically into the appropriate content to let search engines know that it is pertinent.
Use your keywords in the following:
- Introduction to set the context for readers and search engines
- URL to help search engines understand the topic
- Title to improve your click-through rates and rankings
- Body copy to support topical relevance
- Headers to structure your content and signal importance to search engines
- Meta description to improve click-through rates
To add context and depth to your content, you should also incorporate relevant keywords. You should include related keywords such as “small business task management software” and “project tracking tools for small companies” if your main keyword is, for instance, “best project management software for small businesses.”
4. Interlink your pages and blogs
One effective SEO strategy that aids in search engines comprehending the hierarchy and structure of your website is internal linking. It distributes page authority, improves contextual understanding of your website, and improves navigation and user experience.
Here’s how to link between your pages and blogs:
- Go to “site:yourdomain.com [keyword]” in Google to find every page on your website that is pertinent.
- Use a descriptive anchor text. For example, “project tracking tools for small companies” instead of “click here.”
- Use links naturally within the content.
- Focus on high-value pages and articles that you want to boost in search rankings.
5. Proactively build backlinks
Because it tells search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy, building backlinks is crucial for SEO. The likelihood of your website ranking higher in search results increases with the number of high-quality backlinks it has.
Although they are still very important for SEO, recent algorithm changes have made it necessary to have fewer but higher-quality backlinks.
Following are some typical link-building techniques that can help you obtain backlinks:
- Guest posting
- Link insertions
- Unlinked brand mentions
- Creating link-worthy content
- Building relationships with bloggers and website owners
- Using social media
6. Add a FAQ section to your blogs
One of the best ways to rank for long-tail keywords that your target audience is interested in is to include a FAQ section in your articles. To find the questions people are asking about your topic, you can search Reddit, Quora, and Google using the “People Also Ask” feature.
If you haven’t addressed these queries in your article, include a FAQ section at the conclusion of your piece. Add the long-tail keyword and provide a thorough response.
The following queries could be included in the FAQ section of a blog post you’re writing about the “best project management software for small businesses,” for instance:
- What advantages do small businesses have when using project management software?
- How much does small business project management software cost?
- What characteristics of project management software ought small businesses to consider?
Conclusion
Even with the most recent algorithm changes, you can still rank highly in 2024 by following these six tips. The secret is to produce excellent content that fulfils readers’ search intent and offers genuine value. For best results, you should also optimize your SEO content and take a proactive approach to link building.
