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Rank higher in Google and increase the impact of SEO? In this checklist, we list more than 90 tips to rank higher in Google. Some are low-hanging fruit, for others you will need to make a little more intervention.

Ranking higher in Google through technical SEO

1. Ensure fast load times: Optimize images, minimize CSS and JavaScript, and use caching.
2. Use responsive design: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
3. Optimize for Core Web Vitals: Improve loading speed, interactivity and visual stability.
4. Use an SSL certificate: Make sure your website has an HTTPS connection.
5. Create an XML sitemap: Ensure that search engines can easily crawl your website.
6. Optimize your robots.txt file: Give search engines access to the right pages.
7. Ensure a clean URL structure: Use short, descriptive URLs.
8. Use Canonical Tags: Avoid duplication problems by adding canonical tags.
9. Provide a good internal link structure: Improve navigation and help search engines find your content.
10. Use breadcrumb navigation: This helps users and search engines navigate through the website.
11. Use fast and reliable hosting: This will improve the load time and uptime of your website.
12. Have a good website structure: Use a hierarchical structure with categories and subcategories.
13. Minimize the use of redirects: Reduce the number of redirects to improve load time.
14. Use Lazy Loading: Load images and videos only when they come into view.
15. Avoid broken links: Check regularly for dead links and fix them.
16. Use Structured Data: Add schema markup for rich snippets in search results.
17. Optimize your 404 page: Create a useful 404 page with links to important content.
18. Keep your website safe: Protect your website from malware and hackers.
19. Check your site regularly with Google Search Console: Track problems and optimize your website.
20. Use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages): Speed the load time of mobile pages.

Ranking higher in Google through content optimization

21. Write valuable content: Provide relevant and valuable content for your target audience.
22. Use long-tail keywords: Target specific searches with less competition.
23. Optimize the title tag: Provide a unique and attractive title tag per page.
24. Use H1 and H2 headings: Use header tags for good structure.
25. Write an attractive meta description: This increases CTR in search results.
26. Ensure clear search intent: Write content that matches the user’s intent.
27. Make use of multimedia: Add images, videos and infographics to enrich your content.
28. Use internal links: Link to related content on your own website.
29. Make use of external links: Link to authoritative sources.
30. Optimize images: Use alt text and compress images for faster load times.
31. Add new content regularly: Keep your website updated with fresh content.
32. Optimize for featured snippets: Write content in the form of lists, tables or short answers.
33. Provide longer, comprehensive content: Long, in-depth content often scores better.
34. Use an active writing style: Write engaging and approachable.
35. Avoid content duplication: Provide unique content on each page.
36. Use synonyms and related keywords: Make your texts natural and diverse.
37. Optimize for readability: Use short paragraphs, bullet points and images.
38. Keep the bounce rate low: Make sure your content matches the visitor’s expectations.
39. Use page titles with numbers and strong words: This attracts users’ attention.
40. Optimize for voice-activated searches: Use natural language and question-answer formats.

Ranking higher with link building

41. Obtain quality backlinks: Focus on backlinks from reputable and relevant websites.
42. Write guest blogs: Publish valuable content on other websites to get backlinks.
43. Take advantage of broken link building: Search for broken links on other websites and offer your content as a replacement.
44. Use press releases: Share newsworthy content to generate attention and backlinks.
45. Get listings in local directories: This can help improve local SEO.
46. Do social media outreach: Share your content on social media to encourage backlinks.
47. Use infographics: These are often shared and linked to by other websites.
48. Get listings in niche directories: This helps to increase your visibility in your specific market.
49. Participate in forums and communities: Offer valuable contributions and links to your site.
50. Organize contests or giveaways: This can lead to more exposure and backlinks.

Rank higher in Google locally through local SEO

51. Claim your Google My Business page: Provide a fully completed and optimized GMB page.
52. Ask for customer reviews: Positive reviews help your local SEO.
53. Use local keywords: Optimize your content for local searches.
54. Optimize for mobile devices: Many local searches are done on mobile.
55. Ensure consistent company information: Keep name, address and phone number consistent across all platforms.
56. Add your business to local business directories: This helps increase your visibility.
57. Make use of local landing pages: Target specific locations with separate landing pages.
58. Participate in local events: This can lead to more local mentions and backlinks.
59. Write local content: Focus your blog posts and articles on local topics and events.
60. Optimize your GMB page for Q&A: Answer questions on your Google My Business page.

Discover our 10 tips for ranking higher in Google locally here.

Scoring higher by improving user experience (UX)

61. Improve the mobile user experience: Optimize your website for mobile users.
62. Use clear and consistent navigation: Make sure users can easily navigate through your site.
63. Provide an attractive web design: An attractive design can increase time on the site.
64. Make use of call-to-action buttons: Encourage users to take action.
65. Optimize for accessibility: Make sure your website is accessible to everyone.
66. Provide a clear homepage: Keep it simple and uncluttered.
67. Use clear and attractive fonts: Make sure text is easy to read.
68. Avoid pop-ups and interstitials: These can be distracting and increase the bounce rate.
69. Use videos to increase engagement: Videos can extend time on the page.
70. Monitor user behavior with heatmaps: Understand how users behave and optimize accordingly.

Rank higher in Google with social media and SEO

71. Share content regularly on social media: This can indirectly contribute to your SEO.
72. Optimize your social media profiles: Use keywords and links to your website.
73. Use social sharing buttons on your website: Encourage visitors to share your content.
74. Engage your audience on social media: Create interaction to increase your brand awareness.
75. Ensure consistent branding: Keep your branding consistent across all your channels.
76. Create viral content: Content that is frequently shared can indirectly contribute to SEO.
77. Use Hashtags: Get more visibility on social media platforms.
78. Collaborate with influencers: Influencers can help you increase your visibility.
79. Monitor your social mentions: Understand what people are saying about your brand and respond as needed.
80. Use social media advertising: Expand your reach and attract more traffic to your site.

Analytics and Monitoring

81. Use Google Analytics: Measure your traffic, behavior and conversions.
82. Set goals in Analytics: Keep track of how many conversions you achieve.
83. Monitor your backlinks: Use tools such as Ahrefs to track your backlink profile.
84. Analyze your competitors: Understand what your competitors focus on and where your opportunities lie.
85. Use heatmaps and recording tools: Understand how users interact with your site.
86. Monitor the performance of your keywords: Use tools such as SEMrush or Moz.
87. Measure the impact of your content marketing: Analyze which content performs best.
88. Track your position in search engines: Understand how you rank for important keywords.
89. Use A/B testing: Optimize elements on your website for higher conversion.
90. Make use of UTM codes: Keep track of which campaigns generate traffic and conversions.

Additional Tips to Attract More Visitors

91. Create a newsletter: Keep in touch with your audience and encourage repeat visits.
92. Use retargeting: Draw visitors back to your website.
93. Optimize your pages for different devices

Ranking higher in Google can be done fairly quickly. If you consistently submit your changes to your website or content to Google (via the search console), Google will detect these changes within 24h and re-evaluate your website. A higher ranking in Google is best achieved with keywords of which you know they will generate relevant visitors. Therefore, always start with keyword research and compare these with your competitors. After all, scoring higher in Google means that you enter the SEO battle with your competitors and therefore need to know perfectly which search queries your competitors score well on… and where the opportunities lie for you.

Need help ranking higher in Google?

Find out here how we can help you make your website rank higher in Google and increase the impact of SEO. Want to test your SEO score yourself? Then be sure to discover our SEO test for business owners.