The notion of Search engine optimization is utterly complex. Today, keyword ranking has become a vital factor for a website’s success. The budget-conscious businesses intending to make a strong online presence prioritize keyword ranking more than other factors. It’s because a better page ranking can translate to better organic traffic. In the context of SEO, the term keyword ranking refers to the positioning of a given webpage in the Search Engine Result Page (SERP) for a given keyword.
What do you mean by the term “Keyword Ranking”?
Keyword ranking refers to the position of a webpage in SERP against a given keyword or query. Google search generally accommodates thousands of web pages per keyword but only a few qualify for the top 10 results. In general, a higher keyword ranking means being nearer to the top of the search page. Similarly, a lower keyword ranking implies being closer to the bottom of the search page. The page ranking largely depends on how relevant the content is against the given keyword.
Why does content relevancy matter when it comes to keyword ranking?
Let’s understand the notion of content relevancy through a given example:
Suppose you want to target a specific keyword- Trade License Benefits. This query revolves around the beneficial aspects of this license. If you create content around the legalities of this license, it won’t serve the purpose. However, if you devise your content around this query and illustrate all the benefits in detail, your page is more likely to get a better ranking in SERP. Although there would be other web pages competing with your page, being explicit and specific with your effort can help your page achieve a desirable ranking.
Content’s relevancy against the given keyword plays a key role in improving the SERP ranking of a webpage. Ask yourself the following question before publishing content for a given keyword.
- Does my content have enough information to satiate the reader’s intent?
- Does my write-up accommodate ample primary and secondary keywords?
- Does my content have apt sub-headings with some of them comprising long tail queries?
- Does my content have a logical link profile?
Strive to optimize your content by considering the above queries. Once you are all set to publish your write-up, perform final checks of permalinks and meta description. Make sure the latter comprises at least one primary keyword. Better keyword ranking is not something one can achieve overnight. It is a long and tedious process, which includes logical content creation, link building (inbound and outbound), and page sharing.
Google uses bots to crawl webpages at a set interval. Once your page gets indexed, it qualifies to appear in the SERP. But there is no assurance that it will grab the higher ranking unless it comprises all the elements mentioned above.
Additional tips to ensure better keyword ranking
- Knowing what other pages have can help you create SEO-optimized content. While crawling through the competitor pages, look out for the primary and long-tail keywords, the number of internal and outbound links, word count, and the number of sub-headings. But do not try to replicate the entire strategy as it may backfire on you.
- Optimize your meta description as per the searcher’s intent. Google crawls meta descriptions to recognize what the content is all about. Add one primary keyword in the meta description for SEO purposes.
- Uses long tail keywords in sub-headings. This will help your page rank for other keywords/search queries.
- Avoid adding irrelevant information to your piece as it could perplex google’s bots. Confined your content strategy around the intent behind the given keyword.
- Excessive uses of keywords fall under the spamming category. Google can deindex your pages for such acts. So, make sure to limit your keyword density to around 1%.
The interplay between a Search Engine and Keyword Ranking
For any given keyword, the page will have a specific position in the SERP. Search Engines leverage algorithms to vet website elements such as content, link profiles, metadata, navigation, and so on. This is what keyword ranking is all about- being able to design and optimize a website to boost ranking in SERP. Websites that check all the boxes will have improved keyword positions. Similarly, websites that accommodate fewer links or have unstructured or illogical content will never get to the desirous SERP’s position.
Improved keyword ranking comes with various benefits, including higher page positioning, more traffic via relatable queries, and a sustainable online presence. Therefore, it is vital to understand the keyword ranking thoroughly to invite traffic from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and more.
