Why Your Competitors are Outranking You on Google

Have you ever searched your website’s keywords in Google only to find your competitors pop up before you? When you think you’re doing all the right things by SEO standards, this can be very frustrating. So what are you doing wrong?

Why do other websites rank higher than mine?

There are a variety of reasons why your competitors may be ranking better than you in Google search results. To outwit your competition on Google it’s important to review every facet of your website – the user experience (UX), content, mobile optimisation, header tags and backlinks each hold weight when it comes to your search engine ranking and can be optimised to the get the edge on your competition.  

What SEO techniques can improve my website’s Google ranking?

1. Boost your website’s dwell time

One of the most overlooked elements in SEO is user experience and its influence on dwell time.

Your site will be ranked based on session duration, time on page and bounce rate. In SEO terms, the amalgamation of these metrics is often referred to as ‘dwell time’. Increasing your website’s dwell time can be achieved by improving your website design, navigation and ensuring your content is purpose-driven and engaging.

2. Create unique content

One major misconception is that keywords are the be all and end all of SEO but according to Google, high-quality content beats out keywords to be the most important element on your website. Yes, keywords are vital to SEO success, however it’s important to focus on developing unique, original content before even thinking about your keywords. What’s the point in having effective keywords in place if nobody is reading your content?

3. Think mobile first

With consumers spending more time on mobile than any other device, it’s important to have a mobile-focused SEO strategy. If users are unable to navigate your website on mobile, they will be  more likely to leave your site.

4. Build quality links

Link building is another very important practice in SEO. Google gives weight to websites which are informative and resourceful. The more quality backlinks your website gains, the more resourceful it will appear, thus boosting your search engine ranking. If your backlinks are low-quality and spammy, or you simply don’t have enough of them, your site may be penalised. So, how do you build quality backlinks? It all comes down to publishing informative and engaging content which is of interest to other websites, optimising your website’s UX and utilising social media and other channels to share your website’s information.

5. Use social media

Social media is a great tool to attract more links to your page. Remember that quality trumps quantity in link building, although quantity can benefit your ranking. This is where your social media pages come into play. More links from different domains look good in Google’s eyes, but ensure you strategise carefully in order to get quality followers to share your most valuable content.

6. Target niche keywords

You may have set up your SEO strategy to use the most relevant keywords to your business. However, have you thought about targeting some alternative low competition keywords that are also relevant to your product or service offering?

Your competitors may rank highly for “craft store” but if you add an alternative like “wool craft store” you may experience traffic from a whole new audience. Making your keywords more specific will provide you with more targeted traffic that will lead to more valuable leads and conversions, and ultimately give your website a better ranking on Google.

7. Use header tags effectively

Subheadings make content more readable and user friendly. For this reason, search engines allocate weight to websites which utilise subheadings effectively. H1 tags are the most important title tags for SEO, followed by H2, H3 and so on. Your H1 tag helps Google understand what your page is about, so it’s important to make this heading relevant to your page content. It’s also important to include relevant keywords in your subheadings, ensuring that each heading across every page on your website is different.  

If you are planning to turn your website into a top ranking Google listing but don’t know how to get started, talk to an expert at Flight Digital today. SEO experts at Flight Digital can provide a comprehensive website analysis  to boost your website’s SEO and get your brand above the competition.