Australian Web Awards

Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

When a customer needs a product or service, they will often turn to Google search for options. This blog post looks at a few ways to increase your website’s Google ranking.

 

 Webpage Relevance 

Words or phrases that are inputted into the Google Search Bar are known as “keywords”. A webpage that contains the exact keywords entered is likely to be more relevant and therefore will rank higher on the Google Search Results page.

To ensure that your business’ website is easily discoverable. You can insert these keywords throughout your webpages in headings, body text, images, etc. You need to consider obvious words that are clearly related to your business but also consider words that are trending at the time. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about what they might enter into the Google Search Bar.

There are also many free and paid SEO software options available that can help you identify the words and phrases that customers have used to find your website. This a great way to learn about what aspects of your website draw customers in and what your customers’ needs are.

 

Webpage Usability 

A website with a clean design (uses valid HTML and CSS) is more likely to display correctly in different browsers and will therefore rank higher in Google Search Results. It’s important to test your website across multiple browsers (such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari) as your customers won’t all be viewing your website from the same one. Different browsers can affect the design and functionality of your website. 

Another factor is your website’s responsiveness. This means, your website will adjust to fit a screen size, regardless of whether it’s viewed on computer, laptop, tablet or mobile. DreamIT Host offers the DreamIT Website Builder, an easy-to-use drag and drop website builder. A key feature of this builder is Responsive Design. Your website will adjust to fit any screen size, regardless of the device.

 

Page Experience

From May 2021, Page Experience became a new factor in determining your Google Search Rank. Page Experience is measured by Google’s Core Web Vitals: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID (First Input Delay) and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift).

 

Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

LCP is a measurement of a website’s loading performance. It measures how long it takes to load the largest element on a page from when the page first begins loading. You should aim to have an LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, across desktop and mobile devices. Using an Australian Web Host, such as DreamIT Host, can improve your website’s speed as they partner with LiteSpeed who specialise in loading performance.

Click here to learn more about LCP.

 

Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

FID is a measurement of a website’s interactivity and responsiveness. It calculates how long your website takes to respond when a button is pressed. This determines how positive the user experience will be upon first impression. You want to have a low FID, as this makes your webpage more usable. You should aim to have an FID of 100 milliseconds or less.

Click here to learn more about FID.

 

Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

CLS is a measurement of a website’s visual stability. It evaluates how much elements move around while the webpage is loading. A low CLS ensures that a webpage delivers a comfortable user experience. A good CLS score is 0.1 or less, across desktop and mobile devices. Layout shifts can be very annoying and deter customers from wanting to stay on your website or discourage customers from returning in future.

Click here to learn more about CLS.

 

SSL Certificates 

You may think that SSL Certificates are only relevant for websites that collect personal information. However, SSL Certificates can also increase your Google ranking. If all of the factors mentioned above are equal, then having an SSL Certificate can act as a tiebreaker in Google search results. The best part is all websites hosted with DreamIT Host receive a complimentary SSL Certificate from Sectigo® within 24 hours of service activation.

 

Boost Your Google Ranking with Australian Web Hosting

It’s up to you to implement the ideas covered under Webpage Relevance and Webpage Usability. However, for Page Experience and SSL Certificates, all you need is the best Web Hosting in Australia. Sign up to DreamIT Host today to get your website on Australia’s fastest servers and our team will assist you with securing you website with a complimentary SSL Certificate.

 

Click here to view DreamIT Host’s Web Hosting plans.

Click here to view DreamIT Host’s Premier Web Hosting plans.

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