Do these simple SEO hacks and your website will rank higher in Google. Updated for 2019!

I get it. We all want our website to be ranked number one in a Google search for the product we sell or the service we offer. When clients request that from me when we design a new website, I tell them it is feasible, but it does take time. As long as the website is built properly from the ground up anything is possible.  Just be wary of website designers / SEO "experts" who promise you those coveted positions on Google. No one can deliver overnight.

So the other day I was doing some research on the latest guidelines as proposed by Google's Console, the authority in SEO regarding all things Google, and was planning on sharing what I found.  However it was a little too technical to share for the average non-techie business owner, so In digging deeper, I stumbled upon this other checklist which I found could help most website and business owners as it was simpler and devoid of jargon.  A list of actions you can take which if you adhere to and build upon and maintain, your website will soon be ranking higher and higher in your preferred search terms. Again, I preface that ranking #1 on Google is NOT an overnight solution, but it certainly is helpful. So here it goes. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

• Add a site title -  Keep the title under 60 characters and include one or more keywords.
• Add a site description - Add a short (50-300 characters)  that is a relevant and readable description of your site. This text appears below your site title in search results.
• Add your location - Your site has a better chance of appearing in searches in your area if Google and customers can see your location. If you have a physical location, create a Contact Us page with your address clearly labeled with zip code and a map. 
• Connect to Social Media - Set up and connect all your profiles top your website and push content as you publish it.
• Add SEO descriptions - Ensure each of your pages has a unique SEO description, the text should be short and readable (50-300 characters) and clearly and succinctly describe the content of the page.
• Add a blog to your site if you do not already have one - And write. Regularly.
• Verify your site with Google Search Console - once verified you can manage your site's presence in Google search results and see how visitors find you.
• Request Google index your site - click here to view the guidelines.
• Verify your site with Yahoo and Bing - It is a Google world and we live in it but don't forget there are more search engines out there.
• Connect your site to Google Analytics - track visitors and other reporting through this most important tool.
• Make updates regularly - continue optimizing your site strategically with proper keywords and always adhering to Google's best practices
• Give your images readable file names - images maybe used as Alt text so it's important not to miss out on those searches.
• Make sure your website loads fast - keep images smaller and overall page size should be below 5MB
• Be patient - it's normal once you make these changes to your website for your ranking to drop a little as the search engines are indexing the new changes. You will be back ranking higher and better!

Written by Christos Joannides, creative director of FLAT 6 CONCEPTS, a luxury branding agency located in Beverly Hills. His website usually ranks in the number 1 position in organic Google searches in Los Angeles. Just for fun, if you happen to be reading this in Los Angeles, go ahead and try it, search "luxury branding agency" in Google and see what comes up. Flat 6 Concepts is also recognized as a top California Web Design Company on DesignRush”