White hat SEO refers to the use of techniques and strategies approved by search engines and aligned with their guidelines for improving the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). These tactics are designed to enhance the user experience and provide valuable, high-quality content to users.
White hat SEO tactics are considered safe and ethical and will not result in penalties or negative consequences from search engines. They can help you rank in Google and other search engines and still allow you to observe sound SEO practices.
40 White Hat SEO tactics that work
Here are the top white hat SEO tactics that will surely deliver.
1. Proper use of keywords
Keyword research is the process of identifying the keywords and phrases that users are searching for and incorporating them into your website’s content in a natural and relevant way.
By including keywords in these areas and throughout the content of your website in a natural and relevant way, you can help search engines understand your site’s content and improve its visibility in the SERPs.
2. Keep users on your website
Search engines use a variety of metrics to determine the quality and relevance of a website, and one of these metrics is the “dwell time,” or the amount of time users spend on a website.
The content on your website should be perfectly written, user informative, and engaging. This will keep users interested and increase their time on your site.
- Improve website speed: Slow-loading websites can frustrate users and cause them to leave quickly. Optimizing your website’s loading speed will help keep users engaged and on your site for longer.
- Improve website navigation: A logical and user-friendly structure will make it easy for users to find the information they are looking for and navigate your website.
3. Use longtail keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that are less common and more targeted than general, short-tail keywords.
For example, “best running shoes” is a long-tail keyword, while “shoes” is a short-tail keyword.
4. Gert rid of zombie pages
Zombies pages are pages that are no longer useful or relevant but are still indexed by search engines. These pages can be detrimental to a website’s SEO as they can create a negative user experience, dilute the link equity, and be seen as duplicate content.
5. Conduct industry research to generate backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites to your website and are a significant factor in determining a website’s ranking in search engine results.
Conducting industry research can help you identify opportunities to generate backlinks by identifying influencers in your industry, finding link opportunities, creating shareable content, networking, and monitoring competitors.
6. Use appropriate keywords
Using appropriate keywords in your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs can help search engines understand what your website is about and improve its visibility in search results. This is known as “on-page” SEO.
When choosing keywords, selecting terms that are relevant to your business and have a high search volume is essential. Also, use long-tail keywords, which will increase the chances of your content being found. In addition, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to research and identify the best keywords for your website.
7. Add text to videos, pics, and infographics
Adding text to videos, pictures, and infographics is another tactic that can improve your website’s SEO. This technique, known as “image optimization,” involves using relevant keywords in your website’s file names, alt tags, and captions of images and videos.
8. Update your web pages
Keeping your web pages updated is essential for improving your website’s SEO. Search engines favor websites with fresh, relevant content, and regularly updating your pages can help ensure that your website stays relevant and continues to rank well in search results.
Updating your web pages can involve adding new content, revising existing content, or removing outdated content. It’s also a good idea to check for broken links, spelling and grammar errors, and other technical issues that could negatively impact your website’s SEO.
You can also use tools like Google Analytics to track the traffic and engagement on your website and use that data to identify which pages are performing well and which ones need improvement. This can help you focus your efforts on the pages that will significantly impact your website’s SEO.
9. Remove lags from your website
Speeding your website is an essential tactic for improving your website’s SEO. A slow-loading website can negatively impact user experience and lead to a high bounce rate, harming your website’s ranking in search results.
10. Learn how to use Google Search Console
With the GSC, you can submit your website’s sitemap, which helps Google understand the structure of your site and find new pages more quickly. You can also check for crawl errors, such as broken links, and submit your website’s URLs for indexing. This can help ensure that your website’s pages are included in Google’s search results as quickly as possible.
11. Create content for related or complementary topics
“Shoulder niches” are related topics closely connected to your main niche but not as competitive. Creating content around shoulder niches can attract a wider audience and increase your website’s visibility in search results.
12. Acquire backlinks by utilizing your visual assets
By adding a link to your website in the description or caption of your visual aids, you can encourage other website owners to share your content and link to it from their sites.
13. Include brand-specific keywords in your content and meta tags
Creating branded keywords is a tactic that can help improve your website’s SEO. Branded keywords are search terms that include your company or product name. By including branded keywords in your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs, you can help search engines understand that your website is associated with your brand and improve its visibility in search results.
14. Include definitions for key terms in your blog content using “What is X.”
This involves including definitions of essential terms or concepts related to your niche in your blog posts, which can help search engines understand your site’s content and improve its visibility in search results.
15. Aim to have your website’s content appear in Featured Snippets
To rank in the featured snippets, you should create high-quality, informative content that answers the user’s query clearly and concisely. Your content should be well-organized and formatted, using headings, bullet points, and other elements to make it easy to scan and read.
16. Seek out additional opportunities to publish guest posts
Guest posts are articles you write and publish on other websites in your industry. They can help you build your website backlinks, improving your website’s visibility in search results.
17. Increase the click-through rate (CTR) of your website
Organic CTR refers to the number of clicks your website receives from non-paid search results. A high CTR can indicate to search engines that your website’s content is relevant and helpful to users, improving your website’s visibility in search results.
18. Include relevant keywords in your website’s headers
Headers, also known as “headings” or “subheadings,” are used to organize and structure your website’s content. Including keywords in your headers can help search engines understand the main topics of your website’s content and improve its visibility in search results.
19. Include a variety of media types
Headers, also known as “headings” or “subheadings,” are used to organize and structure your website’s content. Including keywords in your headers can help search engines understand the main topics of your website’s content and improve its visibility in search results.
20. Include links within your website or platform
Internal links connect one page of your website to another page within the same website. They can help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your website’s content and improve its visibility in search results.
Using internal links can also help visitors navigate your website more efficiently, improving their user experience and increasing the time spent on your site.
21. Develop a strong presence on well-respected social media platforms
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., are powerful tools for promoting your brand and building relationships with potential customers.
A strong presence on social media can help you establish your brand as an authority in your industry and improve your website’s visibility in search results. You can attract a large following and increase engagement with your brand by consistently posting high-quality, relevant content.
22. Improve indexing by deep internal links
Indexing refers to the process by which search engines discover, crawl, and process the pages of your website. By using deep internal links, you can help search engines find and index the important pages of your site more quickly and easily.
23. Increase website traffic by updating older content
When updating old content, you should focus on improving the quality of the information, making sure it is accurate and up-to-date. You can also add new information, images, videos, or other media to make the content more engaging and informative.
24. Use guest blogging to gain more visibility
Guest blogging involves writing and publishing articles on other websites in your industry. You can increase your visibility by building blogging, relationships with others, and driving leaders and traffic to your website.
25. Optimizing the website for better indexing
Indexing refers to the process by which search engines discover, crawl, and process the pages of your website. Optimizing your website can help search engines find and index the important pages of your site more quickly and easily.
26. Be innovative in your outreach approach
Outreach refers to reaching out to other websites and building relationships with them, and link building is acquiring backlinks to your website, which can improve your website’s visibility in search results.
27. Leverage influencer marketing
Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals with a large following and a high level of engagement on social media or other online platforms. These individuals, known as “influencers,” can help you to promote your brand and increase the visibility of your website.
28. Request websites to include image credits
By giving image credit to your website, other websites effectively create a link back to your website, improving your website’s visibility in search results.
29. Interact with influencers
When engaging with influencers, it’s essential to reach out to them personally and honestly. This can include thanking them for mentioning you, asking them questions about their content, and offering to collaborate on future projects.
You can also use tools like Google Alerts, Mention, and Buzzsumo to monitor mentions of your brand and identify influencers who have recently mentioned you. This can help you quickly identify opportunities for engagement and build relationships with influencers who are already interested in your brand.
30. Utilize commenting as a marketing strategy
Comment marketing is a tactic that can help generate leads for your business. It involves engaging with potential customers by commenting on relevant blog posts, articles, and other online content. By leaving thoughtful and appropriate comments, you can establish yourself as a subject matter expert and build relationships with potential customers.
31. Issue press releases for significant events
Press releases are official statements issued to the media and the public about a specific event or development related to your business. Press releases can increase your brand’s visibility and improve your website’s visibility in search results.
When using press releases, it’s essential to focus on high-quality, relevant content that will appeal to your target audience. Press releases should be well-written and include all the essential information about the event or development you are announcing.
32. Avoid cannibalization
Cannibalization refers to the situation where multiple page pages target the exact keywords, which can cause confusion for search engines and dilute the authority of those pages.
By targeting one keyword per page, you can help search engines understand the focus and intent of that page, which can improve its visibility in search results. This approach can also help you to avoid competing against yourself and increase the chances of multiple pages from your website ranking for different keywords.
33. Use multimedia
Multimedia is any form of content that combines text, images, audio, and video. By incorporating multimedia into your content, you can make it more engaging and interactive for your audience, which can help increase engagement and drive more traffic to your website.
34. Link out to authority websites
This means including links to reputable sources within your content to support your claims and to demonstrate that you have done your research.
When linking out to authoritative sources, choosing sources that are relevant to your content and have a good reputation in your industry is essential. You should also use descriptive and suitable anchor text when linking out, which will help search engines understand the link’s context and improve your website’s visibility.
35. Use the table of contents
When creating tables of contents, it’s essential to use clear and descriptive headings and subheadings, which will help users understand the structure and organization of the content. You should also use anchor links to allow users to jump directly to a specific content section, improving the user experience and reducing bounce rates.
36. Go for heatmap tracking
A heatmap is a visual representation of data that shows how users interact with a website, such as where they click, scroll, and move their mouse.
Using heatmap tracking, you can track how users interact with your CTAs, such as how often they are clicked and where they are placed on the page. This can help you to identify which CTAs are most effective and where they should be set for maximum visibility and engagement.
37. Use 404 pages
A 404 page is displayed when a user tries to access a webpage not found on your website. A high bounce rate occurs when users leave your website after only viewing one page, indicating a poor user experience.
38. Avoid unnatural links
Unnatural links are links acquired through manipulative or unethical means, such as buying links, participating in link farms, or using automated link-building software. Search engines can identify these links as low-quality and penalize them, which can negatively impact your website’s visibility in search results.
39. Capitalize on social proof
There are several ways you can show social proof on your website, such as:
- Displaying customer testimonials
- Including a customer count or the total number of products sold
- Showing the number of social media followers or likes
- Including badges from industry associations or certifications
- Displaying media coverage or awards
When showing social proof on your website, using natural, specific, and relevant examples that align with your target audience is essential.
40. Use diacritics
Using diacritics, also known as accent marks, is a tactic that can help improve your website’s SEO by allowing you to perform to a specific level in terms of search engine result pages (SERPs) in particular languages. Diacritics are symbols that are added to letters to indicate a different pronunciation or to differentiate similar words.
Takeaway
SEO is constantly evolving, and many tactics can be used to improve your website’s visibility in search results. The 40 tactics provided in this list are all white hat SEO tactics, which means they are ethical and compliant with search engine guidelines. These tactics include using appropriate keywords, optimizing your website’s speed, using internal links, creating tables of contents, and using social proof.
By combining these tactics, you can improve your website’s visibility in search results, drive more traffic to your website, and increase the chances of your website ranking higher in search results. It’s important to note that SEO is a long-term process, and staying up to date with the latest trends and best practices is essential to keep your website’s white hat SEO strategy effective.