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Improve Google ranking in 2024 + free SEO tools

Luca Brezing

2/10/2024

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Reading time: 24 min

The most important facts in brief
  • Technical optimizations form the basis for Google to crawl and index your site effectively.
  • A clear keyword strategy sets the direction and helps to serve relevant search queries.
  • High-quality content is the targeted execution that convinces users and Google alike and improves rankings.
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Want to improve your Google ranking?

Very good, then you've come to the right place. Since you may have found this article via Google search, you can see that the tips you will learn in the following article work.

The main keyword with which I would like to build visibility with this post is "improve Google ranking".

You don't always need an SEO service provider or expensive tools to improve your Google ranking. You can easily implement many things yourself - and even for free!

In this article, you will receive SEO tips that you can use for your company. You will learn how to optimize your website for better rankings without external help and with smart, free tools.

Whether technical aspects, choosing the right keywords or writing high-quality content:

You'll be surprised how much you can do yourself to get to the top of Google.

Let's take a look together at the most effective measures you can implement immediately to improve your Google ranking.

Very important: This article deals with the basics, so if you already have a foundation and are interested in more in-depth strategies, please get in touch here!

Ready?

Here we go:

Why it is so important to reach position 1 on Google

You will know that 1st place is important, that's why you're here.

Everyone wants their website to rank as high as possible on Google - and for good reason.

The click rate for position 1 is almost 40 %, and after that it goes steeply downhill.

From position 4, hardly anyone clicks on a result.
This means for your ranking:

If you are not at the top, your website will simply be overlooked.

The channels through which you can build visibility are extremely diverse today. As someone who is responsible for marketing in their own company, you certainly know how challenging it can be to choose the right channels at the right time.

However, you can achieve a lot with a few search engine optimization basics, especially with Google - and often without external help.

User search behavior is constantly changing, especially in the shopping sector.

It is therefore crucial to constantly optimize your Google ranking and focus on the important places.

Because if you manage to get your page to number 1, it will not only be seen better, but also clicked on more often - and that means more traffic and more potential customers.

SEO agency or do it yourself?

We are an SEO agency, and now you're probably thinking: "He's probably saying I definitely need an agency."

But I don't actually do that - and for good reason.

Our customers should already have a certain SEO foundation before we even start working with them. Up to a certain turnover range, you can already do a lot yourself to improve your Google ranking.

Of course you have to invest some time, but it's worth it if you don't want to scare your customers away straight away. Many SEO aspects also cover user-friendliness.

A large part of the ranking factors that influence your Google ranking ensure that your website is more user-friendly and clearer. And that's exactly what Google rewards in the search results.

With the right tips and a little perseverance, you can implement many of these optimizations yourself and make your website fit for search engine rankings.

What influences the Google ranking?

Google has a clear goal: a user's search intention should always be fulfilled in the best possible way in the search results. This means that the content that a user finds in the search results is exactly what they are looking for and that the website they land on is easy to use - without frustration.

After all, Google wants to ensure that searchers use the Internet efficiently and continue to use Google for future searches.

This allows Google to remain relevant and earn money through advertisements that appear in the search results.

This is why good search engine optimization is so important, because only if your website serves the search intention perfectly and performs well in the search results will you be successful in the long term.

Indexing: How to get your website indexed correctly by Google

Before your site can even appear in the search results, we have to make it indexable for Google.

Nothing works without indexing - no matter how good your content is or how much effort you invest in your SEO measures. Only if your website is indexed correctly by Google can it appear in the search results and fight for a good ranking.

In this section, you will learn how to ensure that your pages are indexed correctly and what steps you can take to optimize the process.

Is your site already indexed? How to find out

You can easily find out whether your page has already been indexed by Google using a special search parameter.

Enter "site:" in the Google search (replace yourwebsite.com with your actual domain).

Here is an excerpt from our site:

Google search results for the site parameter site:globalists.com

Google will then show you all the pages of your website that are already in the index. If important pages are missing, you need to check why they have not yet been indexed.

A common reason can be something wrong with your meta tags. This means that you have a "noindex" tag that prevents Google from indexing a certain page.

If this tag is set in your source code, the page will be ignored by Google. Therefore, check the source code of your site to ensure that only the pages that should not be indexed are tagged with "noindex". Also make sure that your Robots.txt file does not inadvertently block Google from accessing important pages.

Checking the indexation is an important step to ensure that your site is visible and can appear in search results.

Use Google Search Console: Your free tool for index monitoring

As an SEO basis, you should always set up the Google Search Console to monitor the development of your site, but also to identify technical issues or indexing problems.

This is what the registration page looks like:

Google Search Console login page

The Bing Webmaster Tools can also do no harm to be set up. Although Google is clearly (!) the larger search engine, some data can be collected with Bing Webmaster Tools.

Technical aspects: The foundation that everyone is afraid of

When it comes to the technical aspects of websites, many people quickly feel overwhelmed.

Especially when it goes beyond the functions of a classic modular system, understanding often comes to an end.

Topics such as page speed, mobile optimization or the structure of the website seem complicated and difficult to grasp. Yet it is precisely these technical aspects that determine how well your site ranks in search results.

But don't worry, you don't have to be a tech expert to understand and apply the basics. With a little effort, you can optimize the most important factors yourself - and it's worth it, because a technically well-positioned website is the key to better rankings and a positive user experience.

Optimize pagespeed: How to make your website faster

When it comes to SEO and technical optimization, most people immediately think of the loading time of the website - and that's not entirely wrong!

Pagespeed is one of the key issues if you want to improve your Google ranking. Nobody wants to wait a long time for a page to load, and Google also prefers pages that load quickly so that users don't bounce during their search.

But don't worry, you don't have to be a developer to improve the speed of your website.

First of all, you should measure the performance, which you can see in the Search Console, but I recommend Google PageSpeed Insights.

There you can see which page is performing how and why.

Here is an example of our homepage. We recently had a relaunch, so the performance is not yet optimal, but these are issues that are already being worked on:

Here are a few quick SEO measures that you can implement without much effort:

  1. Compress images: Large image files slow down the loading time of your website enormously. Use tools such as TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file sizes without any visible loss of quality.
  2. Deactivate unnecessary plugins: Too many plugins can affect performance. Delete or deactivate all plugins that are not necessary to positively influence your Google ranking.
  3. Activate lazy loading: This technology ensures that images and other content are only loaded when they actually appear on the screen. This speeds up the initial loading time of the page.
  4. Activate caching: Caching stores frequently visited pages in the cache, which can significantly reduce future loading times. Many hosters offer simple options to activate caching.
  5. Optimize Shopify themes: Shopify themes often come with many functions that bloat the code. Remove unnecessary functions and apps to improve the loading speed of your website and thus increase your Google ranking.

These simple adjustments can have an immediate positive effect on the loading time of your page and therefore also on your Google ranking!

Usability of the site: Simple navigation for better rankings

How the user experience influences the ranking

The user experience (UX) has a direct influence on your Google ranking. That is a fact.

Google pays particular attention to user signals such as dwell time and bounce rate.

If users stay on your website for a long time, Google sees this as a positive signal that the site offers relevant content.

However, if they quickly jump back to the search results, this indicates poor UX, which can worsen your ranking.

You can achieve a good UX through clear content, short loading times and mobile optimization. These positive user signals help to improve your Google ranking in the long term.

What you can do for good usability

Well thought-out navigation is the first basis for meaningful user guidance.

If users can quickly find their way around your website and reach the information they are looking for without any detours, this sends positive signals to Google and boosts your ranking.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize the usability of your site:

  1. Simple and clear navigation: Keep the navigation bar as simple as possible. Ideally, there should be no more than 7 navigation points, with a maximum of 9, as people can only remember and retain content to a limited extent. The clearer and simpler your navigation, the better for your Google ranking.
  2. Every navigation point must be clickable: Avoid dead links, both in the navigation and on the entire website. Nothing is more frustrating for users than clicking on a link that doesn't work.
  3. Such errors can not only ruin the user experience, but also send negative signals to Google.
  4. Links and buttons must be clear: Every link and button on your site should clearly show where it leads to.
  5. Confusing or unclear labels can cause users to bounce and return to the search results - a signal that Google doesn't like to see.
  6. Fast provision of information: Users want to find the information they are looking for as quickly as possible. Your website should therefore serve the search query right at the top of the page.
  7. If a user does not find what they are looking for directly, there is a risk that they will jump back to the Google search page, which can have a negative impact on your ranking. If this happens frequently, you can quickly slip from position 1 to position 3.

In addition to these aspects, there are other factors that are decisive for user-friendliness and thus for better search engine optimization:

  1. Mobile optimization: Since the majority of users are on mobile devices, your site should be optimized for smartphones and tablets. Google takes the mobile user experience into account in its ranking assessment.
  2. Internal linking: Link your content together to make it easier to navigate within your site. This not only improves the user experience, but also helps Google to better understand the structure of your site.
  3. Clean structure and clear headings: A well-structured page with clear and meaningful headings makes it easier for users to find their way around. Here too, Google pays attention to whether your page offers the user the desired content quickly.
  4. I can recommend the ahrefs Chrome Extension, with which you can view the heading structure on each of your pages.
  5. Each page has ONE H1 (main heading), then comes H2, H3, etc.
  6. Here is an example of what this looks like in this post

Accessibility for all

Accessibility is not only an ethical responsibility, but also an important ranking factor. Google favors accessible websites because they ensure that all users - regardless of their abilities - can use the website's content without any problems. Sites that are not accessible could frustrate users, resulting in a higher bounce rate and therefore lower ranking in search results.

Some simple tips for improving accessibility:

Use alt texts for images so that screen readers can better communicate the content of your images.

Clear font sizes and sufficient contrast.

This not only helps your users, but is also rated positively by Google and can have an impact on your ranking.

I can recommend this page from WebAIM where you can test the contrast directly.

Here is a test of our site, where we score well:

Optimize display in the search results page

Now we come to the first non-technical topic:

the showcase of your website in the search results.

Everything the user sees before clicking on your page is crucial for the first impression. This includes the meta title, the meta description and structured data.

The meta title is the blue, clickable text that appears in the search results and should summarize your topic briefly and concisely.

The meta description is the short text underneath that gives users an insight into what your page is about.

So-called structured data helps Google to better understand the content of your page and enables additional information such as reviews or product prices to be displayed directly in the search results. For now, however, we will limit ourselves to the meta title and description.

These elements provide a preview of your content and are crucial for directing users to your site. In the next sections, we'll go into more detail on how to design them optimally.

The meta title: huge potential

In everyday agency work, we often see that optimizing the meta title alone can have a hugely positive impact on the ranking.

Unlike the description, the meta title is a direct ranking factor, which makes it particularly important. If the title is well chosen, it can significantly improve your position in the search results.

A best practice that always works: Place your main keyword right at the beginning of the title.

You should then use clear and appealing wording to persuade the user to click on your page. A well-optimized meta title not only increases your ranking, but also the click-through rate to your page.

Here is an example of what a very great meta title looks like from one of our biggest customers fensterversand.com:

Short, snappy title with main keyword "living room window".

We now come to the description

Meta description: Increase click-through rate with an appealing description

Although the meta description is not a direct ranking factor, it plays a decisive role in the click-through rate.

This is because it gives users a first impression of your site and influences whether or not they click on your site in the search results. A well-written description can make all the difference here.

Special characters such as ✓, ➤ or emojis work particularly well to immediately catch the eye in the search results.

They draw attention to your page and make the description visually more interesting. Use the description in a targeted way to make users curious and encourage them to click!

Here is a very cool tool with which you can easily test your title and description.

The right keywords for better Google ranking

So we come to the exciting part that you've probably been waiting for.

The keywords.

Keywords are the be-all and end-all when building a website and the basis of any search engine optimization. Without targeted keyword research, the full potential of your website cannot be exploited.

It is essential as it forms the structure of your site, the ranking potential and the basis for how you should design your content.

The right keyword research lays the foundation for how well your site ranks on Google. It's not just about individual terms, but about a clear strategy of how you can meet the needs of searchers with your content and thus play a leading role in Google search results.

Keyword strategy: Why the right choice is crucial

When it comes to keyword strategy, it is very important to first understand what you want to be found for, where the topic of "search intent" is again very important.

There are different forms of search intentions, which we will discuss below.

Transactional keywords

Transactional keywords are search terms that indicate that the user is about to make a purchase decision or wants to perform a specific action, such as "buy now", "order" or "free trial".

These keywords signal a clear intention to buy. Transactional keywords are particularly interesting for online stores and companies that sell products or services directly, as they appeal to the target group that is ready to take a specific action.

Navigational keywords

Navigational keywords are used by users when they want to go directly to a specific website or brand, such as "Facebook Login" or "Amazon Prime".

These search terms aim to find a specific page on the internet without having to enter the exact URL. Navigational keywords are particularly relevant for companies and well-known brands, as they increase direct findability in search results.

Informational keywords

Informational keywords are used when users are looking for information or answers to a specific question, such as "how does SEO work?" or "best recipes for vegan cakes" or even "improve Google ranking", which is perhaps what you came here for (I hope you're not being manipulated now - you're learning something after all).

These search queries are aimed at obtaining knowledge or solutions without an immediate intention to buy.

Companies that offer blogs, guides or informative content should focus on these keywords in order to reach their target group in the research phase and position themselves as experts in their field.

How to find the keywords for free

To avoid having to invest in expensive tools, I can only recommend using the Google Keyword Planner. It's free and excellent for viewing data, finding keywords and determining volumes.

Great for getting started!

Content is king - How to write your way to number 1

Good content is one of the most important SEO levers when it comes to improving your Google ranking. Especially if you want your website to maintain the top position. After all, you don't want your SEO ranking to plummet again straight away.

Google rewards sites that offer their users valuable and relevant content.

Even with the best technical optimizations, you will have a hard time ranking high in search results if your content is not convincing.

The aim is to create content that is not only informative and appealing, but above all precisely meets the user's search intent. In this section, I'll show you how to create content that is optimized for both your visitors and Google, giving you the best chance of ranking number 1.

Good content: Why high-quality content improves your ranking and what I think of ChatGPT in this context

People trust people.

It is therefore particularly important that content - even if it is created using AI tools such as ChatGPT - is based on sound expertise and human knowledge.

Google does not prefer mass content, but values genuine, high-quality content that helps users. Search engines love sites that offer real added value and not just uniform content.

For a good Google ranking, not only the quality of the content is crucial, but also the structure. Your main keyword must appear in the main heading and ideally in other headings.

In addition, a well-structured table of contents helps to give users a quick overview and make the page easier to read.

Make sure the text is easy to read: use paragraphs, bulleted lists, images and tables to break up the text. Also: avoid unnecessary rambling.

Information should be conveyed clearly and precisely - both users and search engines love that.

E-E-A-T: The key to trustworthy content

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. This concept helps Google to assess whether content in the search results is helpful and trustworthy.

Google not only evaluates whether the content was written by experts, but also whether it is based on real experience.

This means that content created from the perspective of someone who has actually used a product or been to a location in person is particularly valuable.

For example, if you're looking for a detailed product experience or restaurant review, you probably want the opinion of someone who has had the experience themselves.

Expertise refers to the fact that the content was written by someone who is knowledgeable about the topic in question. Especially for areas such as finance or health, Google prefers content created by real experts (Your Money, Your Life).

Authority means that your website and its content are considered a reliable source, which is often built through mentions, backlinks and positive reviews.

Trustworthiness refers to the fact that users can trust your website - be it through transparent information, security or credible content.

Google uses these criteria to ensure that searchers find quality and useful information, and creators can use these principles to improve their content and rank better.

Real authors with real social media profiles can help a lot. Link the LinkedIn profile, because that's the only social media that Google can read without any problems!

Internal linking: The secret SEO turbo

Internal links are often underestimated, but they are a powerful tool in search engine optimization.

While a lot of time and resources are invested in building external links, internal linking often goes unnoticed - wrongly!

It is a crucial factor that strengthens the structure of your website and helps Google to understand the relevance and connection between your pages.

Although external links are important, they are often missing for many subpages. This means that Google relies on internal links to assess the ranking of these pages.

Clever internal linking passes on so-called linkjuice, which means that good rankings can be achieved even without external links.

Wikipedia is a well-known example of successful internal linking. By consistently linking relevant terms within its articles, Wikipedia not only improves user-friendliness, but also its Google ranking. Internal links are therefore an SEO turbo that is of great benefit to both users and search engines.

It is important that the internal links are sensibly placed and clearly visible, ideally in the content itself and not just in the main navigation or footer.

This allows Google to better understand the structure of your site and users can quickly access relevant content.

Conclusion

You don't need expensive tools or a service provider to improve your Google ranking.

With the right SEO measures, such as a well-structured site, fast loading times and high-quality content, you can significantly improve your positions in the search results.

It is important that you always align your content with the search intent of users and take into account both technical aspects and user-friendliness. A good SEO strategy ensures that your website is not only favored by Google, but also generates more clicks, which ultimately brings you more visibility and success in online marketing.

Remember that SEO is not a one-off process, but requires continuous optimization. This is the only way to stay ahead of the competition and secure top positions in the long term. With the right measures, you will see the fruits of your labor and steadily improve your Google ranking.

Want to improve your Google ranking?

Very good, then you've come to the right place. Since you may have found this article via Google search, you can see that the tips you will learn in the following article work.

The main keyword with which I would like to build visibility with this post is "improve Google ranking".

You don't always need an SEO service provider or expensive tools to improve your Google ranking. You can easily implement many things yourself - and even for free!

In this article, you will receive SEO tips that you can use for your company. You will learn how to optimize your website for better rankings without external help and with smart, free tools.

Whether technical aspects, choosing the right keywords or writing high-quality content:

You'll be surprised how much you can do yourself to get to the top of Google.

Let's take a look together at the most effective measures you can implement immediately to improve your Google ranking.

Very important: This article deals with the basics, so if you already have a foundation and are interested in more in-depth strategies, please get in touch here!

Ready?

Here we go:

Why it is so important to reach position 1 on Google

You will know that 1st place is important, that's why you're here.

Everyone wants their website to rank as high as possible on Google - and for good reason.

The click rate for position 1 is almost 40 %, and after that it goes steeply downhill.

From position 4, hardly anyone clicks on a result.
This means for your ranking:

If you are not at the top, your website will simply be overlooked.

The channels through which you can build visibility are extremely diverse today. As someone who is responsible for marketing in their own company, you certainly know how challenging it can be to choose the right channels at the right time.

However, you can achieve a lot with a few search engine optimization basics, especially with Google - and often without external help.

User search behavior is constantly changing, especially in the shopping sector.

It is therefore crucial to constantly optimize your Google ranking and focus on the important places.

Because if you manage to get your page to number 1, it will not only be seen better, but also clicked on more often - and that means more traffic and more potential customers.

SEO agency or do it yourself?

We are an SEO agency, and now you're probably thinking: "He's probably saying I definitely need an agency."

But I don't actually do that - and for good reason.

Our customers should already have a certain SEO foundation before we even start working with them. Up to a certain turnover range, you can already do a lot yourself to improve your Google ranking.

Of course you have to invest some time, but it's worth it if you don't want to scare your customers away straight away. Many SEO aspects also cover user-friendliness.

A large part of the ranking factors that influence your Google ranking ensure that your website is more user-friendly and clearer. And that's exactly what Google rewards in the search results.

With the right tips and a little perseverance, you can implement many of these optimizations yourself and make your website fit for search engine rankings.

What influences the Google ranking?

Google has a clear goal: a user's search intention should always be fulfilled in the best possible way in the search results. This means that the content that a user finds in the search results is exactly what they are looking for and that the website they land on is easy to use - without frustration.

After all, Google wants to ensure that searchers use the Internet efficiently and continue to use Google for future searches.

This allows Google to remain relevant and earn money through advertisements that appear in the search results.

This is why good search engine optimization is so important, because only if your website serves the search intention perfectly and performs well in the search results will you be successful in the long term.

Indexing: How to get your website indexed correctly by Google

Before your site can even appear in the search results, we have to make it indexable for Google.

Nothing works without indexing - no matter how good your content is or how much effort you invest in your SEO measures. Only if your website is indexed correctly by Google can it appear in the search results and fight for a good ranking.

In this section, you will learn how to ensure that your pages are indexed correctly and what steps you can take to optimize the process.

Is your site already indexed? How to find out

You can easily find out whether your page has already been indexed by Google using a special search parameter.

Enter "site:" in the Google search (replace yourwebsite.com with your actual domain).

Here is an excerpt from our site:

Google search results for the site parameter site:globalists.com

Google will then show you all the pages of your website that are already in the index. If important pages are missing, you need to check why they have not yet been indexed.

A common reason can be something wrong with your meta tags. This means that you have a "noindex" tag that prevents Google from indexing a certain page.

If this tag is set in your source code, the page will be ignored by Google. Therefore, check the source code of your site to ensure that only the pages that should not be indexed are tagged with "noindex". Also make sure that your Robots.txt file does not inadvertently block Google from accessing important pages.

Checking the indexation is an important step to ensure that your site is visible and can appear in search results.

Use Google Search Console: Your free tool for index monitoring

As an SEO basis, you should always set up the Google Search Console to monitor the development of your site, but also to identify technical issues or indexing problems.

This is what the registration page looks like:

Google Search Console login page

The Bing Webmaster Tools can also do no harm to be set up. Although Google is clearly (!) the larger search engine, some data can be collected with Bing Webmaster Tools.

Technical aspects: The foundation that everyone is afraid of

When it comes to the technical aspects of websites, many people quickly feel overwhelmed.

Especially when it goes beyond the functions of a classic modular system, understanding often comes to an end.

Topics such as page speed, mobile optimization or the structure of the website seem complicated and difficult to grasp. Yet it is precisely these technical aspects that determine how well your site ranks in search results.

But don't worry, you don't have to be a tech expert to understand and apply the basics. With a little effort, you can optimize the most important factors yourself - and it's worth it, because a technically well-positioned website is the key to better rankings and a positive user experience.

Optimize pagespeed: How to make your website faster

When it comes to SEO and technical optimization, most people immediately think of the loading time of the website - and that's not entirely wrong!

Pagespeed is one of the key issues if you want to improve your Google ranking. Nobody wants to wait a long time for a page to load, and Google also prefers pages that load quickly so that users don't bounce during their search.

But don't worry, you don't have to be a developer to improve the speed of your website.

First of all, you should measure the performance, which you can see in the Search Console, but I recommend Google PageSpeed Insights.

There you can see which page is performing how and why.

Here is an example of our homepage. We recently had a relaunch, so the performance is not yet optimal, but these are issues that are already being worked on:

Here are a few quick SEO measures that you can implement without much effort:

  1. Compress images: Large image files slow down the loading time of your website enormously. Use tools such as TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file sizes without any visible loss of quality.
  2. Deactivate unnecessary plugins: Too many plugins can affect performance. Delete or deactivate all plugins that are not necessary to positively influence your Google ranking.
  3. Activate lazy loading: This technology ensures that images and other content are only loaded when they actually appear on the screen. This speeds up the initial loading time of the page.
  4. Activate caching: Caching stores frequently visited pages in the cache, which can significantly reduce future loading times. Many hosters offer simple options to activate caching.
  5. Optimize Shopify themes: Shopify themes often come with many functions that bloat the code. Remove unnecessary functions and apps to improve the loading speed of your website and thus increase your Google ranking.

These simple adjustments can have an immediate positive effect on the loading time of your page and therefore also on your Google ranking!

Usability of the site: Simple navigation for better rankings

How the user experience influences the ranking

The user experience (UX) has a direct influence on your Google ranking. That is a fact.

Google pays particular attention to user signals such as dwell time and bounce rate.

If users stay on your website for a long time, Google sees this as a positive signal that the site offers relevant content.

However, if they quickly jump back to the search results, this indicates poor UX, which can worsen your ranking.

You can achieve a good UX through clear content, short loading times and mobile optimization. These positive user signals help to improve your Google ranking in the long term.

What you can do for good usability

Well thought-out navigation is the first basis for meaningful user guidance.

If users can quickly find their way around your website and reach the information they are looking for without any detours, this sends positive signals to Google and boosts your ranking.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize the usability of your site:

  1. Simple and clear navigation: Keep the navigation bar as simple as possible. Ideally, there should be no more than 7 navigation points, with a maximum of 9, as people can only remember and retain content to a limited extent. The clearer and simpler your navigation, the better for your Google ranking.
  2. Every navigation point must be clickable: Avoid dead links, both in the navigation and on the entire website. Nothing is more frustrating for users than clicking on a link that doesn't work.
  3. Such errors can not only ruin the user experience, but also send negative signals to Google.
  4. Links and buttons must be clear: Every link and button on your site should clearly show where it leads to.
  5. Confusing or unclear labels can cause users to bounce and return to the search results - a signal that Google doesn't like to see.
  6. Fast provision of information: Users want to find the information they are looking for as quickly as possible. Your website should therefore serve the search query right at the top of the page.
  7. If a user does not find what they are looking for directly, there is a risk that they will jump back to the Google search page, which can have a negative impact on your ranking. If this happens frequently, you can quickly slip from position 1 to position 3.

In addition to these aspects, there are other factors that are decisive for user-friendliness and thus for better search engine optimization:

  1. Mobile optimization: Since the majority of users are on mobile devices, your site should be optimized for smartphones and tablets. Google takes the mobile user experience into account in its ranking assessment.
  2. Internal linking: Link your content together to make it easier to navigate within your site. This not only improves the user experience, but also helps Google to better understand the structure of your site.
  3. Clean structure and clear headings: A well-structured page with clear and meaningful headings makes it easier for users to find their way around. Here too, Google pays attention to whether your page offers the user the desired content quickly.
  4. I can recommend the ahrefs Chrome Extension, with which you can view the heading structure on each of your pages.
  5. Each page has ONE H1 (main heading), then comes H2, H3, etc.
  6. Here is an example of what this looks like in this post

Accessibility for all

Accessibility is not only an ethical responsibility, but also an important ranking factor. Google favors accessible websites because they ensure that all users - regardless of their abilities - can use the website's content without any problems. Sites that are not accessible could frustrate users, resulting in a higher bounce rate and therefore lower ranking in search results.

Some simple tips for improving accessibility:

Use alt texts for images so that screen readers can better communicate the content of your images.

Clear font sizes and sufficient contrast.

This not only helps your users, but is also rated positively by Google and can have an impact on your ranking.

I can recommend this page from WebAIM where you can test the contrast directly.

Here is a test of our site, where we score well:

Optimize display in the search results page

Now we come to the first non-technical topic:

the showcase of your website in the search results.

Everything the user sees before clicking on your page is crucial for the first impression. This includes the meta title, the meta description and structured data.

The meta title is the blue, clickable text that appears in the search results and should summarize your topic briefly and concisely.

The meta description is the short text underneath that gives users an insight into what your page is about.

So-called structured data helps Google to better understand the content of your page and enables additional information such as reviews or product prices to be displayed directly in the search results. For now, however, we will limit ourselves to the meta title and description.

These elements provide a preview of your content and are crucial for directing users to your site. In the next sections, we'll go into more detail on how to design them optimally.

The meta title: huge potential

In everyday agency work, we often see that optimizing the meta title alone can have a hugely positive impact on the ranking.

Unlike the description, the meta title is a direct ranking factor, which makes it particularly important. If the title is well chosen, it can significantly improve your position in the search results.

A best practice that always works: Place your main keyword right at the beginning of the title.

You should then use clear and appealing wording to persuade the user to click on your page. A well-optimized meta title not only increases your ranking, but also the click-through rate to your page.

Here is an example of what a very great meta title looks like from one of our biggest customers fensterversand.com:

Short, snappy title with main keyword "living room window".

We now come to the description

Meta description: Increase click-through rate with an appealing description

Although the meta description is not a direct ranking factor, it plays a decisive role in the click-through rate.

This is because it gives users a first impression of your site and influences whether or not they click on your site in the search results. A well-written description can make all the difference here.

Special characters such as ✓, ➤ or emojis work particularly well to immediately catch the eye in the search results.

They draw attention to your page and make the description visually more interesting. Use the description in a targeted way to make users curious and encourage them to click!

Here is a very cool tool with which you can easily test your title and description.

The right keywords for better Google ranking

So we come to the exciting part that you've probably been waiting for.

The keywords.

Keywords are the be-all and end-all when building a website and the basis of any search engine optimization. Without targeted keyword research, the full potential of your website cannot be exploited.

It is essential as it forms the structure of your site, the ranking potential and the basis for how you should design your content.

The right keyword research lays the foundation for how well your site ranks on Google. It's not just about individual terms, but about a clear strategy of how you can meet the needs of searchers with your content and thus play a leading role in Google search results.

Keyword strategy: Why the right choice is crucial

When it comes to keyword strategy, it is very important to first understand what you want to be found for, where the topic of "search intent" is again very important.

There are different forms of search intentions, which we will discuss below.

Transactional keywords

Transactional keywords are search terms that indicate that the user is about to make a purchase decision or wants to perform a specific action, such as "buy now", "order" or "free trial".

These keywords signal a clear intention to buy. Transactional keywords are particularly interesting for online stores and companies that sell products or services directly, as they appeal to the target group that is ready to take a specific action.

Navigational keywords

Navigational keywords are used by users when they want to go directly to a specific website or brand, such as "Facebook Login" or "Amazon Prime".

These search terms aim to find a specific page on the internet without having to enter the exact URL. Navigational keywords are particularly relevant for companies and well-known brands, as they increase direct findability in search results.

Informational keywords

Informational keywords are used when users are looking for information or answers to a specific question, such as "how does SEO work?" or "best recipes for vegan cakes" or even "improve Google ranking", which is perhaps what you came here for (I hope you're not being manipulated now - you're learning something after all).

These search queries are aimed at obtaining knowledge or solutions without an immediate intention to buy.

Companies that offer blogs, guides or informative content should focus on these keywords in order to reach their target group in the research phase and position themselves as experts in their field.

How to find the keywords for free

To avoid having to invest in expensive tools, I can only recommend using the Google Keyword Planner. It's free and excellent for viewing data, finding keywords and determining volumes.

Great for getting started!

Content is king - How to write your way to number 1

Good content is one of the most important SEO levers when it comes to improving your Google ranking. Especially if you want your website to maintain the top position. After all, you don't want your SEO ranking to plummet again straight away.

Google rewards sites that offer their users valuable and relevant content.

Even with the best technical optimizations, you will have a hard time ranking high in search results if your content is not convincing.

The aim is to create content that is not only informative and appealing, but above all precisely meets the user's search intent. In this section, I'll show you how to create content that is optimized for both your visitors and Google, giving you the best chance of ranking number 1.

Good content: Why high-quality content improves your ranking and what I think of ChatGPT in this context

People trust people.

It is therefore particularly important that content - even if it is created using AI tools such as ChatGPT - is based on sound expertise and human knowledge.

Google does not prefer mass content, but values genuine, high-quality content that helps users. Search engines love sites that offer real added value and not just uniform content.

For a good Google ranking, not only the quality of the content is crucial, but also the structure. Your main keyword must appear in the main heading and ideally in other headings.

In addition, a well-structured table of contents helps to give users a quick overview and make the page easier to read.

Make sure the text is easy to read: use paragraphs, bulleted lists, images and tables to break up the text. Also: avoid unnecessary rambling.

Information should be conveyed clearly and precisely - both users and search engines love that.

E-E-A-T: The key to trustworthy content

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. This concept helps Google to assess whether content in the search results is helpful and trustworthy.

Google not only evaluates whether the content was written by experts, but also whether it is based on real experience.

This means that content created from the perspective of someone who has actually used a product or been to a location in person is particularly valuable.

For example, if you're looking for a detailed product experience or restaurant review, you probably want the opinion of someone who has had the experience themselves.

Expertise refers to the fact that the content was written by someone who is knowledgeable about the topic in question. Especially for areas such as finance or health, Google prefers content created by real experts (Your Money, Your Life).

Authority means that your website and its content are considered a reliable source, which is often built through mentions, backlinks and positive reviews.

Trustworthiness refers to the fact that users can trust your website - be it through transparent information, security or credible content.

Google uses these criteria to ensure that searchers find quality and useful information, and creators can use these principles to improve their content and rank better.

Real authors with real social media profiles can help a lot. Link the LinkedIn profile, because that's the only social media that Google can read without any problems!

Internal linking: The secret SEO turbo

Internal links are often underestimated, but they are a powerful tool in search engine optimization.

While a lot of time and resources are invested in building external links, internal linking often goes unnoticed - wrongly!

It is a crucial factor that strengthens the structure of your website and helps Google to understand the relevance and connection between your pages.

Although external links are important, they are often missing for many subpages. This means that Google relies on internal links to assess the ranking of these pages.

Clever internal linking passes on so-called linkjuice, which means that good rankings can be achieved even without external links.

Wikipedia is a well-known example of successful internal linking. By consistently linking relevant terms within its articles, Wikipedia not only improves user-friendliness, but also its Google ranking. Internal links are therefore an SEO turbo that is of great benefit to both users and search engines.

It is important that the internal links are sensibly placed and clearly visible, ideally in the content itself and not just in the main navigation or footer.

This allows Google to better understand the structure of your site and users can quickly access relevant content.

Conclusion

You don't need expensive tools or a service provider to improve your Google ranking.

With the right SEO measures, such as a well-structured site, fast loading times and high-quality content, you can significantly improve your positions in the search results.

It is important that you always align your content with the search intent of users and take into account both technical aspects and user-friendliness. A good SEO strategy ensures that your website is not only favored by Google, but also generates more clicks, which ultimately brings you more visibility and success in online marketing.

Remember that SEO is not a one-off process, but requires continuous optimization. This is the only way to stay ahead of the competition and secure top positions in the long term. With the right measures, you will see the fruits of your labor and steadily improve your Google ranking.

About the author
Luca Brezing

SEO and content marketing are his passion. When he's not checking the latest rankings, he's probably playing sport.

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Luca Brezing

SEO and content marketing are his passion. When he's not checking the latest rankings, he's probably playing sport.

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