Google has made some major updates as of this year, most of which are geared towards improving their orgnaic search terms to provide higher quality results for users, not just on desktop computers. This article will let you know what your website should have to get the best possible rank in this search engine. 

1. Responsive, Mobile Optimized Websites Officially Will Out Rank Desktop Only Websites

Having a website that is optimized for mobile devices is now imperative to having your website rank well on Google.  This has become expected by website users and now officially by Google as well as of April 21st, 2015 and is only going to play a larger role in rank. 

You can read more about this here on Google’s Support Page.

If your website does not work on smaller devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptop computers you are going to be docked points from your SEO efforts. It may be time to redo your website to make sure it is accessable.

2. Video Engagement 

Great video content makes it easier to keep users on your website for longer. Make sure that your videos do not auto-play sound right away as that could deters potential users from staying on your website. 

Websites with video embedded within the page tend to rank better than those without. 

According to HubSpot landing pages with a video embeded within them will lead to an 80% higher conversion rate. This strategy of using video to convey a product, service or information about your product, organization or company is a sure way to relay your points across in a manner which the most easily digested amoung users.

3. Content Length Matters

When writing articles for a blog or news page it is very important to generate good quality, unique content. By unique it refers to fresh content that is generated by you and not taken from other websites.  Having articles that are informative and well written will keep users on your page longer, contributing to a higher page retention which tells Google “Hey, people are finding this article helpful” thereby adding to the retention  value of that page. Ideally, articles should be over 500 words whenever possible. These articles will stand a much better chance of ranking well and gaining traction among an audience. 

4. Content Structure Matters

Often times users may come across blog posts on a website that are one big long paragraph of text with no titles, bullet points or other types formatting which help a user scan through information. When users read on the web they read differently then on magazines and book. Users are often looking for specialized information within an website, article or blog post. Organizing your content in an manner that makes sense will assist users in finding this information as well as help with your rank by following this protocol. 

Instead of having a long paragraph of text, break up the articles with headlines for each paragraph, numbered lists, bullet point and images. Keep in mind the object is to make it easy for readers to scan this content and digest the information they are looking for.