SmartBomb Creative understands the ins-and-outs of what makes search engines tick. It truly can be boiled down to a few fundamental components.
1. SITE SPEED
There are defining factors that are going to allow you to rank on Google's SERPs (search engine results page) and the site speed is among those factors. Ensure that your site loads quickly, not just where you're located but from anywhere around the planet.
2. USER EXPERIENCE
Google is acutely concerned about the user's experience. Many of those algorithm adjustments recently were focused on ensuring a high-quality experience for its users.
3. DOMAIN AUTHORITY
The authority of the domain is important, but the domain's authority (aka the importance of the domain) isn't quite that simple. So this isn't just about the number of links that are going to a domain, but about the quality of those links. The domain's authority is built up over time. Try to focus on the quality of inbound links rather than the quantity of those links.
4. CONTENT QUALITY
The quality of the content is immensely important to SEO. How well-written is what you’re putting out there? Is it riddled with spelling and grammatical errors? Does the content add an enormous amount of value or is it thin and veiled in an attempt to merely rank for a keyword? Is the content unique? You should never skimp on quality!
5. CONTENT LENGTH
The length of the content is important. It is about creating content that visitors are going consume. We're talking 2,000 words and up. Not less. Less than that is largely a waste of time. Now, if your domain authority is very high, you can get away with shorter content. Studies have shown that rankings are often in the 2,000 word range and higher.
6. KEYWORD FOCUS
Integrate keywords, not only into the content itself, but also into the title, the meta description and even the canonical URL. You should definitely be using canonical URLs with keywords and a relevant directory structure that also includes keywords. You should also avoid using too many page variables after the URL.
7. MULTIMEDIA PRESENCE
Podcasts and videos are all the rage. While the written word will always be important, due to the increase in Internet speeds around the globe, these faster mediums are becoming easier to implement. Plus, Google is now looking for ways to improve its understanding of non-written words such as through videos and audios, and of course, images. One central thing is to use high-quality images that go along with your content. Audio and video, when done in the right way, delivers value to the end user, and that's what's important. Don't skimp on written word. Add multimedia the right way to give your content a polished presence.
8. ENGAGEMENT
How engaging is your content? Does it keep people reading, or do people read a few paragraphs then leave? Google knows the difference. You need to focus on keeping that content engaging. There are a number of ways to do that, but keep in mind that you need users to stick around for several minutes consuming your content.
Utilize numbered lists and bullet points whenever possible (makes the content easier to consume).
Make the content flow easily to keep people intrigued and reading.
Keep the content focused and on-topic without veering off on tangents.
Section off the content with headings.
9. PAGE READING LEVEL
You don't need to write at a PhD level to rank high with Google. You simply need to write at a higher reading level than average. Content that's more personal (maybe even at a lower reading level) can rank, but when we're talking about competitive keywords, you need to write a higher level. This means that you need to have diverse word usage. Think college level rather than high school level.
10. MOBILE RESPONSIVENESS
If your site doesn't load properly on mobile platforms, then you're wasting your time with SEO. You need a site that's responsive. It needs to work properly on desktop and mobile, and it needs to load quickly. You can use a framework like Bootstrap for this or if you're on WordPress, select a theme that's mobile responsive.