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Many small business owners are feeling the impact of Google’s March 2024 core update. Your rankings may have taken a hit, your traffic is down, and you’re left wondering how to recover. The frustration of seeing your hard-earned rankings slip away can be overwhelming, especially when you’re not sure what the next step should be.
According to Google, the key to regaining your footing is all about creating higher-quality content. But what does that mean in practice?
In this article, I share six practical SEO tips to help you navigate the changes and ensure your business continues to thrive in 2024.
Related: The Rules of SEO Are Changing — Here Are 5 Powerful Strategies to Help You Rank in 2024
1. Create value-packed, long-form content
Everybody knows that if you want to rank well, you need to create valuable, long-form content. However, after Google’s March update, quality is more important than ever, which means it’s no longer enough to write a 2,000-word generic article and call it a day.
Instead, you should:
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Use data, statistics and case studies to support your points and provide evidence for your claims
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Use a conversational tone that keeps readers engaged
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Break up the text with headings, subheadings, bullet points and images to make it more digestible and visually pleasing
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Anticipate and answer common questions your readers might have
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Address all aspects of the topic thoroughly to create the most complete resource on the subject
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Regularly update your articles to reflect the latest trends, research and information in your niche
For example, if you’re an ecommerce business owner writing about “best project management software for small businesses,” go beyond a basic list. Include detailed reviews, comparisons, screenshots, user testimonials and tips on how to choose the right software based on specific business needs.
2. Do comprehensive keyword research
One of the common SEO mistakes I see people make is identifying only a few keywords to target each week and then moving on to a new set of keywords the following week.
Instead, you want to be more strategic with your approach. Start by finding 200-300 relevant keywords before you even begin creating content. This comprehensive list gives you a clear picture of your niche and helps you identify which keywords are easier to target.
You want to target the lower-difficulty keywords first and work your way up. This SEO strategy allows you to rank for easier keywords and drive traffic to your site more quickly.
As you consistently produce content, you establish your website as an authority in your niche, which makes it easier to rank for more competitive keywords down the line.
This SEO tip for small businesses helps you start ranking months earlier than you would with a week-by-week method.
3. Use keywords in the right places
While keyword density is no longer a ranking factor, placing keywords strategically throughout your content is still important for SEO. The trick is to use them naturally in the right places to signal to search engines that your content is relevant.
You should use your keywords in the:
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Introduction to set the context for readers and search engines
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URL to help search engines understand the topic
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Title to improve your click-through rates and rankings
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Body copy to support topical relevance
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Headers to structure your content and signal importance to search engines
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Meta description to improve click-through rates
Additionally, you want to include related keywords to give your content more context and depth. For example, if your primary keyword is “best project management software for small businesses,” you should also include related keywords like “project tracking tools for small companies” and “small business task management software.”
Related: Here’s the SEO Combination You Need to Win Google’s Algorithm
4. Interlink your pages and blogs
Internal linking is a powerful SEO tactic that helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your website. It enhances navigation and user experience, distributes page authority and improves contextual understanding of your website.
Here’s how to interlink your blogs and pages:
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Type “site:yourdomain.com ” into Google to find all relevant pages on your website.
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Use a descriptive anchor text. For example, “project tracking tools for small companies” instead of “click here.”
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Use links naturally within the content.
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Focus on high-value pages and articles that you want to boost in search rankings.
5. Proactively build backlinks
Building backlinks is important for SEO because it signals to search engines that your content is trustworthy and valuable. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the better your chances are of ranking higher in search results.
While backlinks remain crucial for SEO, recent algorithm updates have shifted towards needing fewer but more qualitative backlinks.
You can acquire backlinks through these common link-building strategies:
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Guest posting
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Link insertions
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Unlinked brand mentions
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Creating link-worthy content
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Building relationships with bloggers and website owners
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Using social media
6. Add a FAQ section to your blogs
Adding an FAQ section to your articles is a great way to rank for long-tail keywords your target audience is interested in. You can use Google’s “People Also Ask” feature or explore platforms like Reddit and Quora to find the questions people are asking related to your topic.
If your article doesn’t already answer these questions, add an FAQ section at the end of your post. Include the long-tail keyword and offer a comprehensive answer.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post about “best project management software for small businesses,” you could add these questions to the FAQ section:
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What are the benefits of project management software for small businesses?
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How much does project management software cost for small businesses?
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What features should small businesses look for in project management software?
Related: 3 SEO Techniques to Help You Rank High on Search Engines
These six tips can help you rank well in 2024, even after the recent algorithm updates. The key is to create high-quality content that provides real value to the readers and answers their search intent. You also need to be proactive with your link building and optimize your SEO content for better results.