Short of paying for Google Ads, having a great SEO score is the only way to ensure that your website’s page rank high up in search engine results. After all, the higher up the result, the more likely a person is to click on it. So, how do you move your SEO scores from being good to being great? Any website owner can use the tips below to not only improve the website’s SEO scores but also stand out from the competition.

Check Google Trends

As any seasoned article or blog writer will tell you, keywords are the keystones to having a great SEO score. While any keyword (or string of words in a keyword phrase) can be used to determine an SEO score, it is important to keep in mind that not all keywords are created equally. So, how do you know which keyword or keyword phrase you should be using? Checking Google Trends results is a great place to start.

Google Trends can be used to compared two or more keywords or keyword phrases. By doing this, you can see what people actually search for online. Usually, the more specific your keyword is, the more likely you are to have a higher-ranking SEO score. This is because the keyword will have less competition. For example, if you are writing about handmade wooden bowls, there will be much more competition for the keyword “bowls” than for the keyword phrase “handcrafted wooden bowls.” Knowing this, it will then be up to you to decide which keyword or keyword phrase to use.

Research the Competition

Being better than your former self, or former website in this case is the surest sign of growth. However, being better than your competition is a great sign of success. The best way to become better than the competition is to research the competition. After all, how are you supposed to best your competition if you don’t know anything about them?

This tactic works best when you already know which websites you are competing with. If you don’t already know, do a quick Google search for your keyword. Any websites that pop up on the first page or two of the search results are your competition. From there, you can use various websites (free and subscription-based) to find your competition’s SEO scores. From there, you can work to make your scores even better in hopes of literally rising above the competition in search engine results.

Use these two tips to discover what keywords work best for your posts, as well as what keywords your competition is using. These two things can help to boost your website’s SEO score and conquer the competition.