Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
Google is undeniably the world’s largest search engine. Whatever the query might be, you will most likely turn to Google to do your work. As it is slowly tending to seize our assistant’s role, it has also triggered the urge to stand higher on the Google Discover page. So, how do you succeed in Google Discover? And, how do you optimize your website’s Google discover feed? If these are some of the questions you have, this is the right article for you.
Before that, you may have looked up the right keyword, obtained a trusted SSL certificate, and might have hired the right team too, but still, you do not see yourself ranking well on the search engines, especially not as a Google Snippet. So, where are you going wrong?
Google Discover helps you out by recommending content to mobile users based on their interaction with Google apps. Therefore, this increases the flow of engaging traffic, which is more likely to convert to potential customers. Although it might seem tough in the beginning, soon, you will have a hang of this. Today we are talking about eight great strategies that will help optimize your website for Google Discover.
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What Makes Google Discover Special?
Google Discover stands out since it displays material to customers based on their interests and the themes they are interested in. This can help you reach more people with your message since it can show them content that they are interested in. Additionally, Google Discover is constantly updated, so you can be sure that your content will be seen by as many people as possible.
What Are The Differences Between Google Discover And Google News?
Google Discover and Google News are both news aggregators, but they work in different ways. Google Discover shows you content based on your interests and the topics you are following. Google News shows you the latest news stories from around the world.
Google Discover is more personalized than Google News. It shows you content that is relevant to you, while Google News shows you articles that are popular worldwide.
Google Discover is also updated more frequently than Google News. It refreshes every day, while Google News only refreshes once a day.
Create Quality, Engaging Content
Do you want to get more traffic and attention? Let your content do all the talking. Engaging content has the power to influence a successful SEO strategy. One of the greatest reasons behind pushing your pages to rank higher on the search engine is to have quality content that answers all your users’ needs. On a similar note, your content should be equally enriching and loaded with information as well. That is what will set you apart from your competitions with a stark difference. So, how do you make that happen?
First of all, make sure that you analyze your page from top to bottom and check your strengths and weaknesses. Pay extra attention to the title tags and meta description of your pages. See that they align with the tone of your article and are all relevant to the context. Top that with crystal clear readability. Keep the sentences short and concise. Try not to bombard with too much jargon or heavy words that a user might not be able to understand. Plus, share links that direct to your site’s pages and connect with your customers regularly with the help of your content. Keep it niche-specific as well.
Don’t Neglect Security – Add An SSL
SSL or Secure Socket Layer is a protocol that stands for optimal website security. When it comes to your site’s security, make sure that your security aspect takes no backseat, no matter what. When enabling an SSL certificate it will stand as a testament to protect your online communications that take place on your site and add an extra layer of security to the transactions by deploying the strongest form of encryption available. Hence, an SSL-certified site is seen with a lens of protection that shows the customer that they can trust your site indefinitely. Good web hosting will provide a powerful SSL.
So, how do you check whether the site you are using is SSL certified or not?
It is simple. Just look for the green padlock sign at the top of the URL. This symbol denotes that the site encrypts each byte of its information. Aside from this, look for the HTTPS URL denotation instead of the HTTP one.
The extra ‘s’ stands for security and shows your customers an indicator of trust and security. Also, note that customers love to do more business with a site that sorts the security aspect. The second they see an HTTP URL, there is every chance that they will stop doing business with you and instead choose a site that has HTTPS. So if you wish to engender customer trust in your website, buy the cheapest SSL certificates from ClickSSL today where you will get all kinds of SSL certificates at a very reasonable price.
The Subtle Art Of Choosing Your Keywords
Gone are the days when your content was just about the usage of generic keywords. That is when the subtle art of choosing the right keywords kicks in. If you wish to rank higher on the SERPS, you will have to play around with which keywords to use organically and which to steer clear from.
On that note, using long-tailed keywords can be your best friend. So, long-tailed keywords are the ones that have at least 3 to 5 words stacked together. By using some long-tailed keywords in your article’s content or the title or meta description, you stand a chance to receive more targets and traffic as well.
And just in case you are wondering how you get to know which keywords to use, you can get this assistance from many free tools available on the Internet. They can notify you about the volume of searches too. Doing this exercise will give you a precise idea of what your niche customers are looking for. However, do not stuff the keywords with an attempt to entice Google’s algorithm. It does not work that way. Your content must always be consistent and organic to be caught by Google’s lens.
The Importance Of Backlinks
Backlinks are the links that aim back to your site. This is an essential step to optimize for Google Discover and also for higher ranking effectively. These are the traffic-generating links that allow Google to notice you and keep you above the rest in your industry. For doing this, the search engine’s algorithms analyze the number of links automatically that point to a specific page. Long story short, the more quality backlinks you happen to have that point to your site, the higher your chances are to rank better on Google Discover. So, how do you make that happen?
One of the easiest ways of doing that is by writing guest blogs for other websites. As you publish these blogs on other websites, you indirectly make your site popular. Also, you get to promote your site for free by accepting backlinks onto your pages. By doing this, you indirectly gain more traction and receive more visitors as a result. But note that you wisely play around this whole process. To be noticed by Google Discover, add only backlinks with a domain authority of at least 30.
Use Images And Video To Rank In Google Discover
To optimize for Google Discover, blog posts should not be your only option. A millennial customer today would be equally interested in images and videos to stay connected. Over and above, the visual additions have the extra advantage of being more fascinating than chunks of text and are basically what the people wish to look at. No one has the time and patience to go through a long piece of content with no visual elements in between. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
Videos:
- It is a given that the conversion rate from a video is way higher than simple text. Therefore, it is vital to put some extra effort in this regard and accentuate your video. Begin with a relevant video that adds value to your context.
- The titles should be clear and concise. Also, you may wish to opt for a description box that contains the specific keywords that we just talked about. Plus, brownie points for keeping up with the meta tags as well.
- Opt for a thumbnail that will trigger a user to click on the video. It is the first thing your viewers wish to see in a video – be it on YouTube or your site.
- On that note, transcribing helps the search engines to understand the video better. If you have the bandwidth to add a transcript, that is even better for your business.
Images:
- Try to save the image file name as something relevant to the image. Let’s say the image is about a branded concealer, do not save it as XYZ123 Concealer. This is something that Google Discover checks and pays extra attention to for the rankings.
- Also, the name of your file should be descriptive and concise as well.
- The alt tag annotation of the HTML code should also be checked since it allows you to be analyzed by the search engines to ascertain the context of the image from the blog.
- You can always try to compress the image before uploading it. A file that is too large might hamper your page’s speed, thereby adding more seconds to the buffering time.
AMP & Knowledge Graph To Cover The Basics
As stated earlier, most of your clientele base will be millennials. And the thing with Google Discover is that they mostly cater to mobile visitors rather than desktop visitors. On that note, web designers should pay extra attention to overcome browsing shortcomings via a mobile device. And one of the easiest ways of doing that is by Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP. So, what you can do is add a plugin to your WordPress site and allow the page to load faster on mobile devices, thereby increasing your chances of being ranked higher and getting more traffic.
Follow Google’s Best Practices For Publishers To Optimize Your Website’s Google Discover Feed
To rank better and get noticed by Google Discover, you need to follow the rules set by Google – it’s that easy. While you wish to make your site one of Google’s “good” sites, you will have to follow their specific guidelines without taking a backseat. To begin with, put out fresh, organic, and non-plagiarized content, no matter what. Copying chunks of text from another competitor’s site can damage your website. Aside from that, zero in on the keywords and know which words you should be aiming for and which keywords to stay away from. At the same time, ensure that you give equal emphasis to the security aspect as well.
Adding an SSL certificate might help you with steering away from malicious activities by cybercriminals. To add to the website health factor, see that you have excellent readability on your site. Take a break from blocks of text by adding relevant pictures, videos, or infographic material to enlighten your readers. Following these best practices will easily get you noticed by Google and give you the spotlight as a publisher.
Say Yes To A Responsive Design
Most of your customer base will be millennials, so you know your target. You also know that they will most likely browse your site from their smartphones rather than their desktops. More than half of the visitors coming from organic search use a mobile device – a tablet or a phone. Therefore, to better adapt to your site’s interface, it is more than necessary to be responsive and user-friendly for mobile users. This will allow them to view your pages as comfortably as possible as if they were on a desktop.
Also, make sure that the need to zoom in and zoom out unnecessarily is minimized. Plus, there should always be an option to switch to landscape mode to view the entire page on mobile devices. This will allow visitors to browse better and not miss out on getting the best customer experience. That is why having a responsive design on both your desktop as well as your mobile device is not only a reasonable expectation but also a necessity for today’s customers. So, try to incorporate that no matter what.
That’s A Wrap
Optimizing your website has become easier than ever. See that you are always on the ‘dos’ track and not the ‘don’ts’ track. We hope these eight strategies will help you pack a punch and set the right tone for an influential position. Remember that all of these things will take time. Rome was not built in a day, and neither are your Google rankings or Google discover feed. You might not see the shining results in a month or two. But practicing these will help you optimize your website’s Google discover feed and get you to your target in time.
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