9 ways to improve SEO rankings and traffic

SEO is 1 of the astir reliable ways to thrust postulation and summation marque visibility.

But maintaining competitory rankings takes much than a well-written article. Google's systems measure contented quality, method health, authority signals, and personification acquisition simultaneously, and the barroom keeps rising arsenic much contented competes for the aforesaid positions.

This guideline covers 9 strategies for improving your SEO rankings:

1. Update existing content: Pages pinch existing authority tin respond quickly to targeted improvements, making this 1 of the fastest ways to assistance rankings 
2. Target low-competition keywords: Less-competitive position springiness newer aliases lower-authority sites a realistic way to page one
3. Improve your site's personification experience: Google tracks really users interact pinch your pages, and sites that support visitors engaged thin to rank amended complete time
4. Enhance your on-page SEO: Optimizing title tags, headings, and assemblage contented helps hunt engines understand what each page is astir and erstwhile to rank it
5. Maintain beardown method SEO: Crawl errors, indexing issues, and surgery redirects tin impact your rankings if near unaddressed
6. Build value backlinks: Links from reliable sites successful your manufacture enactment arsenic votes of assurance that awesome authority to hunt engines and AI systems
7. Win much AI Overviews: Optimizing for AI-generated answers tin importantly grow your brand's visibility
8. Consolidate pages that target akin keywords: Merging pages that target the aforesaid keywords prevents you from competing against yourself and concentrates your ranking power
9. Demonstrate E-E-A-T: Content that reflects genuine experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness consistently outperforms contented that doesn't

Below, we’ll show you precisely what to do for each strategy.

1. Update existing content

Updating existing contented often delivers faster ranking improvements than creating caller contented from scratch. Pages pinch existing authority and indexing history typically respond to targeted improvements quickly — sometimes wrong days of being recrawled.

Find pages pinch ranking potential

Find pages pinch ranking imaginable utilizing devices that show your rankings, for illustration Google Search Console (GSC).

First, unfastened your website wrong GSC and spell to "Search results," click "Average position," and navigate to the "Queries" tab successful the table. You'll spot a database of each the hunt position your tract ranks for, on pinch their positions.

Review the queries wherever you're ranking beneath position three, and place the corresponding pages that request improvement. (We're focusing connected this period because click-through complaint falls nether 10% erstwhile you driblet retired of the apical 3 positions, according to information from First Page Sage.)

Improve content

Improve contented by adding relevant, up-to-date accusation readers will find useful. 

• Align pinch search intent: Ensure your contented matches the intent (the logic personification searches). For example, users searching for "best crm software" apt want to comparison different options earlier making a acquisition decision. Structuring your contented arsenic a "best of" list, pinch the pros and cons of each tool, would align good pinch that intent.
• Answer the mobility completely: The astir consistently classed contented gives readers everything they request to execute their extremity — not a partial reply that sends them backmost to hunt for more. Before publishing, ask: Does this page afloat reside what personification searching this query really needs? If not, it's not ready.
• Update outdated information: Replace aged statistics, examples, and facts pinch the astir existent accusation connected the topic. Remove thing that's nary longer applicable aliases accurate.
• Draw connected firsthand knowledge: Original perspectives transportation much weight than rehashed information. Write from existent experience: see information from your ain tests aliases campaigns, mention circumstantial examples you tin verify, and aboveground specifications that tin only travel from personification who has worked pinch the topic. Content for illustration this is difficult to replicate, which is precisely why it tends to rank.
• Include missing subtopics: Check top-ranking competitor pages to spot what subtopics they screen that you haven’t. Add these subtopics to your portion to make it much complete and thief pinch query fan-out (a process wherever AI expands your query into related sub-queries).
• Add target keywords: Use your target keywords passim the contented to reenforce to Google and LLMs what the page is about. Include variations and related keywords arsenic well.
• Build internal links: Link to the updated contented from different applicable and charismatic pages connected your tract to thief web crawlers (bots) observe your important contented and understand really different pages are related

2. Target low-competition keywords

Targeting low-competition keywords gives you a faster way to integrated postulation — if you create genuinely amended contented than what's presently ranking. 

Low-competition keywords are hunt queries that thin to person little search volumes and less high-authority websites targeting them. This makes it easier for a caller aliases lower-authority tract to rank for these position and thrust hunt traffic.

Find low-competition keywords pinch Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Open the tool, participate a wide keyword related to your niche, type your domain sanction (for personalized results), and click "Search."

You'll spot a database of related keywords on pinch metrics for illustration monthly hunt volume, hunt intent, and Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %). PKD % represents really difficult it'll beryllium for your circumstantial website to rank successful Google's apical 10 positions for a fixed term.

Select keywords pinch a PKD % nether 30% (indicating little title levels) and capable hunt measurement based connected your goals. 

Before committing to a keyword, see if you person existent expertise, original data, aliases a meaningfully different perspective connected the topic. If you don't, a little PKD% apt won't thief arsenic overmuch because you'll struggle to create contented amended than what's already ranking.

Once you find promising keywords, create pages focused connected them, making judge each thumps the existent top-ranking results.

3. Improve your site's personification experience

Improving the personification acquisition (UX) whitethorn power rankings because Google uses engagement signals to measure which pages champion service users.

Google uses the Navboost algorithm to way and analyse really users interact pinch hunt results. If users walk much clip connected your tract aliases click done to different pages, Google whitethorn beryllium much inclined to rank your contented higher.

Plus, the amended your site's UX, the much apt visitors are to enactment longer, research much pages, and stock your content.

UX-focused SEO improvements include: 

• Use a cleanable design: Keep it elemental and visually appealing, pinch accordant fonts, colors, and spacing. Avoid clutter and distractions to support the attraction connected your content.
• Improve page speed: Optimize images, minify code, and alteration browser caching to velocity up load times. Use devices for illustration Google's PageSpeed Insights to place and hole loading issues, arsenic fast-loading pages are basal for improving website SEO and personification satisfaction.
• Ensure mobile-friendliness: Make your tract afloat responsive, truthful it looks awesome and functions good connected immoderate surface size
• Simplify navigation: Create a clear paper level pinch logical categories. Use breadcrumbs (navigational elements) to show users wherever they are and to thief them navigate your site.

4. Enhance your on-page SEO

Enhancing your on-page SEO helps hunt engines understand what your pages are about, improving your chances of ranking for queries applicable to your business. 

Some of the astir important on-page SEO elements are:

• Title tags and meta descriptions: Title tags and meta descriptions are HTML elements that specify a webpage's title and summary and tin look successful hunt results. Include your target keyword people successful some elements, support titles nether 60 characters, and constitute compelling descriptions nether 135 characters.
• Heading tags (H1, H2, H3): HTML headings building contented connected a page, pinch H1 being the main heading and H2s, H3s, and truthful connected serving arsenic subheadings. Use your superior keyword successful the H1, see related keywords successful subheadings, and support a logical level that makes your contented easy to scan.
• Body content: Body contented is the main matter connected a page. Include your target keyword and its variations people passim the content.
• Image alt text: Alternative matter (alt matter for short) describes images for hunt engines, surface readers, and group who can’t spot the image. Ensure each image has alt matter that accurately reflects the image content.

Use Semrush's On Page SEO Checker to spot really good you’ve optimized these elements connected your pages.

Set up a project successful the instrumentality and spell to the "Optimization ideas" tab. You'll spot a database of each the pages the instrumentality evaluated.

Click connected the "# ideas" fastener for immoderate page to spot specifications astir its on-page SEO.

Implement the suggestions you see.

Many of the recommendations subordinate to utilizing keywords efficaciously and tin beryllium implemented successful your contented guidance strategy (CMS).

If you're connected WordPress, plugins for illustration Yoast SEO aliases Rank Math aboveground astir of these on-page elements straight successful the editor, making it easier to optimize without switching betwixt tools.

5. Maintain beardown method SEO 

Maintain a beardown technical SEO instauration by ensuring Google tin crawl and index your tract and fixing immoderate method errors. 

Here’s how.

Check your indexing status

Checking your indexing position tells you whether Google has crawled and indexed your pages. Pages that aren’t indexed won’t look successful hunt results. 

Use GSC to cheque your site’s indexing status. Open GSC and spell to "Indexing" > "Pages" connected the sidebar.

You'll spot 2 tabs showing really galore of your pages are indexed versus not indexed.

Scroll down to spot why definite pages aren't indexed.

Click connected immoderate rumor to spot a database of affected URLs.

"Learn more" provides much specifications astir the rumor and really to resoluteness it. 

Find and hole method errors

Finding and fixing method errors helps hunt engines and AI systems navigate your contented truthful they tin scale and mention it.

Find method errors utilizing Semrush's Site Audit.

To get started, create a task successful the tool, tally a crawl of your site, past spell to the "Issues" tab. The instrumentality sorts problems by severity — errors, warnings, and notices — truthful you cognize wherever to attraction first.

Site Audit scans your website for complete 140 method and on-page issues that wounded your SEO, including:

• 4xx errors: Invalid page requests, specified arsenic a petition for a page that doesn't exist
• Redirect chains: Multiple redirects firing successful series — for example, URL A redirects to URL B, which past redirects to URL C 
• Mixed contented issues: HTTP resources loaded connected HTTPS pages, which trigger browser information warnings successful users’ browsers

When addressing method issues, commencement pinch "errors" since these typically person the biggest effect connected your site's performance.

If you're not comfortable making method changes to your website, activity pinch a developer aliases your method squad to instrumentality the fixes.

6. Build value backlinks

Building value backlinks (links from different websites that constituent to your site) matters because it's 1 of Google's astir important ranking factors.

Each value nexus from different website (especially if it's wrong your industry) acts for illustration a ballot of assurance successful your favor. The much "votes" you have, the better.

Here are immoderate effective ways to get value backlinks:

• Find unlinked mentions: Look for mentions of your marque that don't see a nexus and politely inquire the creators to adhd one. Use the Brand Monitoring app to find specified mentions, aliases Google your marque sanction and analyse the results for unlinked mentions.
• Become a source: Offer master insights to media outlets and petition a backlink successful return for your contribution. Find journalists looking for master insights connected platforms for illustration Qwoted and HARO.
• Create link-worthy assets: Publish high-quality, shareable contented (infographics, information studies, calculators, etc.) that creators will people want to nexus to. Once you create these assets, beforehand them done societal media and manual outreach.

Manage your link-building activities pinch Semrush's Link Building Tool.

To get started, create a task pinch your domain, past navigate to the "Prospects" tab. The instrumentality surfaces link-building opportunities based connected your top-ranking competitors and your target keywords. 

Review the prospects, move the astir applicable ones to "In Progress," and usage the built-in email outreach characteristic to interaction tract owners directly, each successful 1 cardinal place. 

7. Win much AI Overviews

Winning much AI Overviews (AI-generated answers that usually look astatine the apical of the hunt results) helps you summation marque visibility.

The simplest measurement to find featured AI Overview opportunities is to unfastened an incognito model and hunt for your target keywords to spot if an AI Overview is present. 

To streamline the process and quickly find opportunities crossed each your keywords, usage Semrush's Organic Rankings tool:

Enter your domain and navigate to the "Positions" tab to spot each the keywords you rank for.

Select the "SERP Features" filter, hover complete "Domain doesn't rank," and prime "AI Overviews."

This will show you keywords you rank for but not successful AI Overviews.

You tin besides analyse the SERP straight successful the tool. Click the SERP icon to unfastened the hunt consequence page straight wrong the tool.

This powerful characteristic lets you analyse AI Overviews without leaving Semrush.

After uncovering AI Overview opportunities you want to secure, optimize the applicable pages connected your tract by intelligibly answering the query wrong your contented truthful Google tin easy extract and aboveground a nonstop response. 

Other ways to amended your chances of appearing successful AI Overviews include: 

• Building backlinks
• Earning marque mentions
• Improving on-page SEO
• Optimizing method SEO
• Enhancing the personification acquisition connected your site

Basically, implementing each of the strategies we talk successful this article tin summation your chances of appearing successful AI Overviews. 

8. Consolidate pages that target akin keywords

Consolidating pages that target the aforesaid aliases akin keywords helps you hole keyword cannibalization — and boosts your chances of ranking well.

Keyword cannibalization is erstwhile aggregate pages connected a tract target the aforesaid keywords and hunt intent and wounded 1 another’s rankings successful the process. Search engines whitethorn struggle to find which page is the astir applicable to rank erstwhile aggregate pages target the aforesaid term(s). 

By consolidating akin pages, you tin summation the likelihood that your preferred page appears successful hunt results.

Keyword cannibalization tin besides dilute your pages' authority, arsenic nexus equity (ranking power) whitethorn beryllium divided among competing pages alternatively of flowing to a azygous charismatic page.

To find keyword cannibalization issues connected your site, log successful to GSC.

Go to "Search results," click the "+ Add filter" button, prime "Query," and participate the keyword you want to check.

Then navigate to the "Pages" tab successful the table, and you'll spot each the pages connected your tract related to this keyword.

Analyze each page for contented and hunt intent overlap. 

If there's a important overlap, you apt person a cannibalization issue.

Once you've confirmed a cannibalization problem, find which page is the astir charismatic and applicable to support — typically the 1 pinch the astir integrated postulation and the astir backlinks (you tin quickly cheque a page's backlink count pinch Backlink Analytics). 

Then reappraisal the akin pages to place immoderate contented worthy incorporating into the main page earlier you return action.

How you consolidate depends connected the narration betwixt the pages:

When to usage a redirect (301)

Use a 301 redirect (a imperishable redirect) erstwhile 1 page is intelligibly weaker: little traffic, less backlinks, and nary unsocial contented that isn't already covered by the main page. 

A redirect permanently sends visitors and nexus equity from the weaker page to the stronger one. It's the cleanest solution erstwhile there's thing worthy preserving connected the page being removed.

When to canonicalize instead

Use a canonical tag (rel="canonical") erstwhile some pages should stay accessible, but you want to show Google which 1 to scale and rank. 

This is the correct attack for syndicated content, URL parameter variations (e.g., filtered merchandise pages), aliases near-duplicate pages that beryllium for method reasons but screen the aforesaid topic.

When to merge content

Merge contented erstwhile some pages person meaningful traffic, backlinks, aliases unsocial contented that would beryllium mislaid successful a redirect. 

Combine the strongest elements of some pages into a azygous definitive version, past usage a 301 redirect to constituent the weaker URL to the updated page. This attack takes much effort but often produces a stronger consequence than either page alone.

9. Demonstrate E-E-A-T

Demonstrating E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is simply a model utilized to measure the value of hunt results.

This model comes straight from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines, a manual that helps Google reviewers measure ranking content.

Though E-E-A-T isn't a nonstop ranking factor, contented that demonstrates these qualities tends to execute better. 

Here are circumstantial ways to build each awesome connected your website:

• Expertise: Reflect genuine subject-matter knowledge alternatively than rehashing what different articles say. Include method details, separator cases, and nuance that a existent practitioner would recognize. Keep elaborate writer bios that archive the qualifications, credentials, and applicable acquisition of everyone who writes aliases edits your content.
• Authoritativeness: Build your tract and your contributors into recognized sources for circumstantial topics by consistently publishing accurate, high-quality accusation that different reliable sources want to reference. Being cited by reputable publications and charismatic domains successful your section strengthens this awesome complete time.
• Experience: Demonstrate that your contented creators person direct, firsthand acquisition pinch what they're penning about. Original research, individual observations, and existent examples from believe outweigh secondhand descriptions. If you're reviewing a product, usage original photos and circumstantial hands-on details; if you're giving SEO advice, backmost it pinch information from your ain campaigns aliases tests.
• Trustworthiness: Support claims pinch reliable sources, support statistic and merchandise specifications current, and make it easy for readers to verify who wrote the contented and why they're qualified. A clear privateness policy, meticulous interaction information, and accordant specifications crossed your tract each reenforce trust.

Track your SEO improvements 

Track your SEO improvements by monitoring whether your changes person improved your rankings.

Semrush's Position Tracking instrumentality lets you way your keywords and visibility and spot if you're appearing successful places for illustration AI Overviews. 

Remember: SEO is not a "set it and hide it" thing. Rankings displacement arsenic competitors update their content, arsenic Google's systems evolve, and arsenic hunt behaviour changes. The sites that support beardown positions dainty SEO arsenic an ongoing process, not a one-time project.

Ready to spot really the supra strategies amended your SEO? Try Position Tracking today.