It is not enough to create a good website for your business; it wouldn’t mean much if it is hidden somewhere at the bottom of Google, and no one gets to see it. To increase the chances of your business getting all the attention it needs, you must find a way to increase your website’s visibility on search engines.
Hundreds of websites are rolled out every day, all seeking public attention. To rank higher on Google, the number one search engine in the world, you must be intentional about it. According to internet live stats in 2019, Google publishes over 3.5 billion searches per day. This shows that people are constantly looking for information including products and services options.
What is Search Visibility?
Also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) visibility, search visibility is the percentage of a website's organic traffic due to its ranking on search engines. Simply put, it is the number of times people click on your website on search engines like google.
In today’s digital world, a website’s SEO visibility could determine the success of your business locally and internationally. According to Backlinko, higher ranking results get more search traffic than those below them, with the first result garnering almost 32% of total search volume traffic:
This gives an insight into your website's performance and helps you know when optimization is necessary.
Why is Search Visibility Important?
There are so many reasons why search visibility is such a big deal. Everyone wants their website to have a chance at making it to the SERP and for other key points.
- Increases Traffic and Lead Generation: Any traffic is good traffic, and SEO visibility ensures that your website is in the right place to get noticed. This generates more leads for your business and has an overall good impact on your revenue.
- Create brand awareness: In this modern world of intense online competition, you have to constantly put your brand out there if you want to be noticed. Search visibility helps your website get noticed, which is good for your brand.
- Promote brand trust: With several brands out there promising different things, people want to know who to trust. Being presented to them as a top-ranked site on a search engine will give them more confidence in your brand. Visitors will most likely invest their time and money in a business if they believe that it will give them exactly what they are looking for. This is what good website visibility helps you achieve.
- Boost customer loyalty: If visitors can trust your brand, they will be willing to commit to it. Having good search visibility makes this possible.
- Stay ahead of competitors: As earlier mentioned, ranking top of the list on search engines helps you compete better against similar websites on the internet.
- Long-term benefits: SEO visibility has long-term marketing benefits that are good for any brand. All the positives from getting your website to rank higher on search engines usually stand the test of time.
How to Increase Search Visibility.
The importance of having good website search visibility is not debatable. What raises some questions among website owners is how to go about it. There are several methods of increasing the likelihood of your page being seen on a search engine, a lot of them are easier than you think. While using these tactics, consistency is key.
Use Target SEO keywords
SEO Keywords are the specific words or phrases that are used in a website’s content and makes it easy to find on any search engine. For many years, SEO keywords have been a rave in the content creation space, primarily because they have proven to be very effective in terms of creating website traffic.
Knowing the right words to use based on the language of internet users in your niche could make a big difference. When choosing SEO keywords for your articles or blog posts, you should take time to study top-ranked websites that offer the same services like you do, and study commonly used keywords or phrases.
Luckily for content creators, SEO generation tools now exist to help you generate the right words that would rank high on google search. You are exposed to different options, and you decide which you prefer based on the amount and your target audience.
Put Out Only Quality Original Content
To rank higher on search engines, ensure your website content is free from plagiarism and non-quality work. People are drawn to original content and google can tell if your content is authentic. Sticking to this rule will increase your chances of being noticed on any search engine.
Have Multiple Website Pages with a Clear Internal Linking Structure
To have high search visibility, there must be searchable content. Consider having multiple website pages for distinct website content. Putting out more than one website page of course gives you more content on the field fighting for attention.
You should however consider different internet devices before making your decisions to ensure your website is user-friendly. Your mobile view can be different from a desktop view, to accommodate the habits of visitors.
According to Statista, the number of mobile phone users is about 6.7 billion in 2021, meaning that 87% of the world’s population are more likely to visit the internet using a mobile phone. This is not a number you want to ignore when setting tactics for search visibility. The mobile view is usually smaller in size than a desktop view hence, putting more content on a page rather than having several pages is likely to keep a user’s attention.
At the same time, it also pays to have a clear internal linking structure that takes into account how users navigate across your website. Internally link pages that tackle similar topics to pass around SEO juice and maximize the chances of the right content getting read by those actively looking for it.
Use Quality Images
After writing great articles and blog posts, it would be a flop if the corresponding images are of low quality. Websites with high-quality images have been proven to rank higher on google. Visually appealing content increases websites traffic and the likelihood of customer retention. Ensure that your images are original if you can, this goes a long way in making your website relevant on the internet.
Get Backlinks and Listed on Online Directories
Getting backlinks and local citations that are relevant to your business can help you improve your rankings, especially in your local area. The SEO mix is full of competition and you want to ensure that your brand is well-positioned to stay ahead of it. It helps build brand trust on search engines because it serves referral purposes, and is a clear indication that your business exists
Take Advantage of Social Media
Almost everyone is on social media, and frankly, every business should be too. Your potential buyers are scattered all over Facebook and Instagram, to mention a few, and you should be out there getting yourself noticed.
When certain types of queries are submitted on search engines, social media suggestions usually pop up a lot of options. It's a no-brainer, these are platforms people spend their time and resources on. Having a social media presence also makes your brand appear authentic. So apart from ranking higher in the SEO realm, customers are likely to trust your service.
Tools To Boost Search Visibility
Lots of platforms have developed algorithms that help websites have a higher stake in the SEO world. These platforms are usually self-explanatory and easy to use. You do not have to worry about doing all the SEO research yourself, there are so many tools that you can resort to. A few of them are listed below.
- Ahrefs SEO Keyword Tool: Ahref has one of the best SEO audit tools available for free. It gives keyword suggestions that are highly ranked on search engines.
- Google Search Console: With GSC, you can monitor your site's performance on Google SERPs and track the keywords you’re ranking for. You just need to submit a code for our website verification on Google Analytics. Unlike other search volume estimation tools, GSC provides accurate search volume figures for keywords you’re ranking for.
- KWFinder: KWFinder is an SEO Keyword tool that helps you determine key phrases with lower competition. It also helps users run SERP analysis reports.
- SEMRush: This tool helps solve all your SEO marketing needs by giving suggestions on available rankings opportunities. It also has a domain Vs domain analysis tool that allows you to compare your website to those of your competitors It is a good method to know how well you are doing in the search visibility space.
- MOZ Pro: This software tool consists of a MozBar toolbar to help view your website metrics as you browse on the internet. Top SEO Content Manager, Liraz Postan recommends Mozbar as one of the top free SEO tools. She says on her blog, “Despite its age, it remains innovative with upgrades and technological advancements over time”. The tool also creates lots of insights into users’ enquiries. You can also gauge your website’s performance and have an option to improve it.
The digital world continues to be one filled with lots of content, and the search visibility of these contents will always matter. SEO is something any new website owner should invest in to help their website’s performance. Luckily there are different ways to do these and easily accessible tools to use. It is a competitive world on the search engines, and the only way to stay relevant in the market is to increase your websites search visibility.
