5 Underrated SEO Techniques To Rank on Google

Alright, let's dive into some underrated SEO techniques that can give your Google rankings a boost.

1. Optimizing for "People Also Ask" (PAA) and Related Searches:

   • Many SEO strategies focus solely on primary keywords. However, the "People Also Ask" box and related searches offer a goldmine of long-tail keywords and topic clusters.

   • Why it's underrated:

     • Captures user intent more effectively.

     • Provides opportunities for featured snippets.

     • Expands your content's topical authority.

   • How to implement:

     • Use tools like AnswerThePublic or alsoasked.com to discover PAA questions.

     • Create content that directly answers these questions concisely.

     • Incorporate related search terms into your content naturally.

     • Structure your content using H tags. For example, use the question that appears in the PAA as a H2 or H3 tag, then answer it directly below.

2. Internal Linking with Contextual Anchor Text:

   • While most understand the importance of internal linking, many overlook the power of contextual anchor text.

   • Why it's underrated:

     • Helps Google understand the relationship between pages.

     • Distributes link equity effectively.

     • Improves user navigation.

   • How to implement:

     • Use descriptive anchor text that reflects the target page's content, rather than generic terms like "click here."

     • Link to relevant pages within your content, providing context for the link.

     • Create topic clusters and pillar pages to establish a strong internal linking structure.

     • Avoid over optimization, do not link the exact same anchor text to the same page every time.

3. Leveraging Structured Data (Schema Markup) for Niche Features:

   • Beyond basic schema markup for articles and products, explore niche schema types that are relevant to your industry.

   • Why it's underrated:

     • Enhances your content's visibility in search results.

     • Qualifies you for rich snippets and other special features.

     • Provides Google with explicit context about your content.

   • How to implement:

     • Identify relevant schema types on schema.org. For example, if you're a local business, use LocalBusiness schema. If you provide recipes, use Recipe schema.

     • Implement schema markup using JSON-LD.

     • Test your schema markup using Google's Rich Results Test tool.

     • Use tools like google's structured data markup helper to help create the code.

4. Optimizing for Visual Search:

   • Visual search is gaining traction, especially with Google Lens and image search.

   • Why it's underrated:

     • Opens up new avenues for traffic and visibility.

     • Caters to users who prefer visual content.

     • Improves user engagement.

   • How to implement:

     • Use high-quality, descriptive alt text for all images.

     • Optimize image file names with relevant keywords.

     • Use structured data for images, such as Product schema for product images.

     • Create image sitemaps.

     • Ensure your images are mobile friendly.

5. Analyzing and Optimizing for Topical Authority, Not Just Keywords:

   • Moving beyond keyword-centric SEO, focus on establishing topical authority by creating comprehensive content around specific topics.

   • Why it's underrated:

     • Demonstrates expertise and trustworthiness to Google.

     • Attracts a wider audience by covering all aspects of a topic.

     • Increases the likelihood of earning backlinks and social shares.

   • How to implement:

     • Conduct thorough topic research to identify all related subtopics and questions.

     • Create pillar content that covers the main topic comprehensively.

     • Develop supporting content that explores subtopics in detail.

     • Use internal linking to connect related content and build a topic cluster.

     • Use tools that help analyze topic clusters.