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Mobile SEO guide in 2023 – How to Optimize Your Website for Mobile SEO

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In this post, I shall share with you everything you need to know about mobile SEO in 2021.

I shall also tell you why mobile optimization is necessary now?

In addition, I will also help you to ready your website for Google’s mobile first algorithm.

Mobile SEO guide in 2023 – The Definitive Guide

CHAPTER 1: Mobile Optimization 101

In this chapter I’ll help you to learn the basics.

So if your site is not mobile optimized or you are not sure, this chapter will move you to the right track.

In upcoming chapters, you will learn advanced strategies and techniques.

What Is Mobile SEO?

Mobile SEO stands for the practice of optimizing your website for users on tablets and smartphones or android. It also refers to make your site resources accessible to search engine spiders.

Why Is Mobile SEO Important?

In short: the number of mobile searches is increasing day by day.

In fact, 58% of all searches in Google are now done from a mobile device.

1_2_mobile-vs-desktop

This trend is growing rapidly. According to statistics of Google, mobile has 27.8 billion more queries than desktop.

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So the mobile is the future of SEO. This is the reason why Google and its algorithm are focussing on mobile search.

SEO in 2019: The Definitive Guide

Is “SEO” Now About Optimizing for “Mobile SEO”?

Yes, if you want to optimize your site for Google.

Today, 95% of searches are from the search engine of Google.

1_4_mobile-searches-on-google

Google will retain this level of dominance by twisting their algorithm.

So you need to optimize your site for mobile users first.

Firstly, Google launched its Mobile-Friendly Update (which many people called “Mobilegeddon”).

1_5_mobile-friendly-update

This update affected those sites which were not mobile friendly for android or smartphones.

If your target audience does not search using their smartphones, this update was not a big deal for you.

Unless Google made every search a mobile search by implementing its Mobile First algorithm.

What Is Google’s Mobile-First Index?

Google Mobile first index will rank the search results according to the mobile version of the page. It occurs even if you are searching from a desktop as well.

Before this update, Google ran two indexes side-by-side: desktop version and mobile version.

If someone is searching from an iPhone or android, Google will show them results from mobile index. If someone searches on a desktop, he will get desktop results.

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Today, it does not matter what device you use, Google will show you the results from mobile index.

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I shall discuss more about optimization for mobile SEO in chapter 3, 4 and 5.

Is Google’s Mobile-First Index a Big Deal?

It depends.

If your site is optimized for mobile, you are good to go.

If your site….

  • Loads resources across all devices
  • Does not hide content on mobile versions of your site
  • Loads quickly like mobile users expect
  • Has working internal links and redirects
  • Boasts a UX which is optimized no matter what device your visitors use

If all is done, you are good.

If not, Google may drop your rankings.

Therefore, I am making this whole guide for you to optimize your site for mobile.

Firstly….

What Does Google Consider “Mobile”?

1_8_what-does-google-consider-mobile

Most of the people consider “mobile device” a table or smartphone.

Google puts tablets in their own class and states that they do not include tablets in the definition.

In short, according to Google: mobile=smartphones.

The main purpose is to optimize your site and content for every device. It includes tablets, phones and other mobile devices.

Image on right side

CHAPTER 2: How to Implement a Mobile Website That Ranks in Google

To get over mobile SEO, your site has to work on mobile devices at least.

If a visitor goes to a mini version of your desktop site, you will be in trouble.

Luckily, to implement a mobile website is not a hard nut to crack.

So in this chapter, I shall teach you different ways to implement a mobile version of your website by focussing on mobile SEO.

When It Comes to Mobile, You’ve Got 3 Options

There are 3 different ways to configure your site for mobile.

1

First of all, you have got separate URLs which is also known as“m” configuration.

With this setup, you have a mobile version which is “M” version of your site and you also have the “main” means desktop version of your site.

2_2_seperate-urls

In short, your site figures out what type of device your visitor is using and redirects them to optimized URL for that device.

Separate URLs were common in the past but now, not anymore.

Why? It is because they are hard to manage.

“M” version creates SEO problems and you require multiple URLs for every piece of content on your website. It also needs complicated “rel=canonical” and “rel=alternative” tags.

That is why I do not suggest M/separate URLs configuration. It is the worst way to configure your website for mobile SEO.

2

Next, we have Dynamic Serving.

When you serve content dynamically, all of your content is on the same URL. But you show every user different CSS/HTML that depends on the device that they use.

2_3_dynamic-serving

For example, if you visit https://www.greenhatexpert.com/seo-this-year on a desktop, you will see a pre-made desktop version of the site.

desktop version

But if you will visit the page from your iPhone 8, you will still be on https://www.greenhatexpert.com/seo-this-year but you will see the iPhone 8 version of the page.

mobile version

Dynamic serving is a better choice for SEO as compared to “M” version of the site. It has some downsides.

For example, it is notorious for showing desktop version to mobile users.

You need to create different versions of your content for upcoming devices. If you do not do this, your site will not be able to recognize a new device. And will show them the terrible version of your site.

3

Finally, we have Responsive Design.

I saved the best for last.

With the help of responsive design, the content and page’s layout responds to every user.

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Responsive design gets rid of separate URLs and different HTML for every device.

In case of being SEO friendly, responsive design is the best and perfect option.

Why?

  • All of your content is on a single URL (good for sharing and getting links)
  • Minimal SEO headaches (no “rel=canonical tags”, duplicate content issues etc.)
  • Insanely user friendly (UX is a big part of SEO thanks to RankBrain)
  • No redirects (which cause technical SEO issues and can slow down your site)

Still not convinced? Google recommends responsive layouts.

CHAPTER 3: How to Mobile Optimize Your Site

After going through 2 chapters, your site is configured for mobile users. Now it’s time to do mobile SEO.

In this chapter, I shall show you how to tell Google and other search engines that your site is optimized for mobile.

Use Google’s Mobile Usability Test

This tool is available in Google Search Console and it will let you know the issues of your site regarding mobile usability.

To use it, go to your Google search console account. Click “search traffic”>Mobile usability.

There Google will let you know if your mobile users are facing any problem.

3_3_mobile-usability

(For example, the tool may let you know that you use Flash or that your font is too small for mobile users to read).

You can also use Google’s Mobile-Friendly test.

Just enter your URL into the tool.

3_4_google-mobile-friendly-test

And get a full report.

3_5_mobile-friendly-report

As you can observe, I passed. But it is telling me that mobile Googlebot is having trouble to load all of my resources on my page.

3_6_mobile-googlebot

Desktop Googlebot is having no problems to crawl the resources. But the mobile version is unable to do it.

With Google’s Mobile first index live, it is a serious issue. And this is something which remains unknown without this tool.

Super duper helpful.

Let Google Crawl Everything

Do you block Googlebot from accessing Javascript, CSS or other important parts of your site’s code?

It used to be no big deal. But today, it is a very bad idea.

Until Google cannot fully crawl your page, it cannot tell whether it is mobile friendly or not.

How do you know if this is an issue?

First of all, check your robots.txt file.

This file tells Googlebot to not index or crawl certain parts of your site. This file is usually available at site.com/robots.txt. You can also find it inside of Google search console.

3_7_google-crawl

While you’re there, click on “Google Index” —> “Blocked Resources”. This will let you know if you’re blocking Googlebot from crawling certain parts of your site.

3_8_blocking-googlebot

If you are not blocking anything important, you are good to go.

Put the Kibosh on Interstitial Popups

I know: everyone HATES popups.

Google also hates popups….. especially for mobile users.

Remember: Google #1 priority is to show their users amazing and engaging content. If the content is hidden behind a popup and it is not a good thing.

In fact, Google rolled out an update that specifically targets “Intrusive” popups.

3_9_intrusive-popups

So if you are using popups on your site, it can affect your rankings.

How do you know which popups are OK?

Google gives a few examples of acceptable popups…

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…and popups that can get your site penalized.

3_11_bad-popups

How Does Your Responsive Site Actually Look? Check Out This Cool Tool

It is to see how Google views your mobile site.

But nothing can beat seeing your site on different devices.

If your site is responsive, I recommend checking this free tool.

It’ll show you how your site looks on iPhones, tablets and more:

Image

I love this tool.

Use The Mobile Version of “Fetch as Google”

Like most people, I’m a visual learner.

It is a nice thing to see a list of mobile SEO issues.

Personally, it is more helpful to know how Google sees my page.

Therefore, I suggest spot testing a few pages on your website using Google search console’s Fetch as Google feature.

Just enter a URL of a prominent page of your site into it:

3_13_fetch-as-google

(Make sure to select “Mobile” from the dropdown box)

3_14_fetch-as-google-mobile

And it will show you exactly that same result what Google Bot saw. You can also scroll down to see if Google missed anything like videos, menus and images etc.

Image

Very helpful.

Let Mobile Users See It All

In past, people would block certain resources from mobile users.

(For example, they might block javascript from loading or hide some content)

They were not doing anything suspicious. To block these resources allow them to load their page faster on mobile devices. It also improves the user experience.

Here is an example of what I mean:

3_16_dont-hide-content-on-mobile

See you need to click “read more” to watch the rest of the content. It may be a problem with Google’s first mobile index.

Why?

With Mobile-first, Google will consider the mobile version of your page as the main version.

If the content is hidden from the mobile visitors, it may not crawl or index or affect the weight of this content.

Back in the day, when it came to hiding content for desktop users, Google has said that:

“If something is relevant to the page, then it’s probably relevant to the user too, so I’d recommend showing it to the user.”

But then Google’s John Mueller recently said that, for the Mobile-first index:

“On the mobile version of the page it can be that you have these kind of tabs and folders and things like that, which we will still treat as normal content on the page. Even if it is hidden on the initial view.”

He also said that, when it comes to Mobile First Index:

“If it’s critical content, it should be visible.”

I shall wait for the official announcement on Google blog before saying anything on this.

In the meantime, here’s my take:

If you will hide or block the content for mobile users, Google will put less weight on it or simply ignore it.

So observe your website on different mobile phones. If desktop users can see something and mobile users are missing it. I suggest that fix it asap.

CHAPTER 4: How to Optimize Your Mobile Sitefor UX Signals

As you know, SEO today is less about focussing on meta tags and more about building an awesome website.

In fact, Google’s RankBrain algorithm is paying attention to Google searchers and how they interact with your site.

If RankBrain observes that your is frustrating for mobile users, it will drop your rankings like a stone.

In this chapter, I shall show you some tips that make sure that mobile users love your website.

Master Mobile Sitespeed

Does Google care how fast your mobile site loads?

Yes.

In fact, they recommend that your site should load under a second for mobile users.

That is a hard nut to crack. Luckily, there are some free tools on the market to help you to reach Google’s guideline.

First of all, we have Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.

This tool allows you to know the time of site load on mobile.

In addition, it also gives you suggestions that you can use to speed up.

4_2_google-pagespeed-insights

You can also check out WebPageTest.org. By default, it will load your site on a desktop browser. You can select a mobile browser from the menu:

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And it will give you a list of suggestion which are for mobile browsers:

4_4_adapted-for-mobile-browsers

If you are really interested in pagespeed, check out this excellent resource.

4_5_speed-test-big-g

This guide will help you to load your site like lightening.

Make Your Content Insanely Easy to Read on Phones

Do users have to pinch, scroll or squint to read your mobile content?

So they will press the ‘back’ button.

For example, you don’t want your content to look like this:

4_6_legibility-on-mobile-devices

Yes, this page is optimized for mobile. But it is hard to read.

You need your font to be big, bold and legible:

So:

How can you make your mobile content more readable?

  • Use at least 14px font (I prefer 15 or 16)
  • Use short paragraphs (1-2 lines per paragraph)
  • Go with a line length between 50-60 characters
  • Make sure there’s tons of contrast between text and background (people use phones outside, which can make low-contrast text harder to read)

It is also helpful if your content is good and interesting but that is another thing.

Use HTML5 For Video and Animated Content

Do you embed videos in your content?

Does your page perform all sorts of fancy animations when people visit?

If the content is coded in flash, it will not work on mobile devices.

Instead, you need to code that up in HTML5.

Don’t Forget the “Viewport Content” Tag

Do you use responsive design?

If yes, do not forget the viewport meta tag.

This tag changes the size of your page based on the device of user.

Google also suggests that you setup your viewport meta tag like this:

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If you will forget this tag or you will not configure it correctly. Your site will look funky to mobile users.

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You have double check it to know that you have set this up.

Implement These 3 Quick Mobile UX Hacks

These are 3 quick tips designed to boost the usability of your site for mobile Google searchers.

1

Make Header Images Really Small

Mobile Google users want to get answer now.

It means you do not have to use giant header images like this:

4_10_mobile-ux-hacks

So delete them or make them smaller for mobile users or visitors:

Use Lots of “Negative” Space

Negative space is the space between buttons, text and design elements. It is really important for mobile websites.

On a desktop, you can use a covered page.

But on a phone, you cannot get away with a covered page.

4_12_negative-space-on-mobile

It is very important for content which you want to rank in Google. If a Google visitor is having trouble to read your content or finding what he needs. He will bounce your site and will return to search results.

And using a lot of negative space, like this, is another way to reduce the bounce rate and improve the dwell time:

4_13_negative-space-improves-dwell-time

Put Social Share Buttons as a Tab Bar

The fact is: social sharing buttons can increase the amount of shares of your content.

Social share buttons work well when they are in a sidebar:

They do not distract but if someone wants to share, the buttons are right here.

The problem is: the setup is not possible on mobile.

Therefore, I suggest using a tool like Sumo that shows the social icons as a tab bar at the bottom of the page.

Image

Simple.

CHAPTER 5:Advanced Mobile SEO Tips and Best Practices

Now your site is mobile optimized, it’s time to take things to the next level.

In this last chapter of my guide, I shall give you an advanced mobile SEO tips, strategies and best practices.

Fix Your Mobile CTR, Get More Traffic

I do not need to tell you that your organic click through rate is a Huge Google ranking factor.

If Google will observe that the mobile users do not click on your result, it will downrank you.

But how do you know that your CTR is up to the mark? Here is the process:

First, go to the Google Search Console’s Search Analytics section.

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Next, click “Compare Devices”.

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And choose “Desktop” vs. “Mobile” and hit “Compare”:

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Now, take a look at how your desktop and mobile CTR size up.

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It is a normal thing for your desktop and mobile CTRs to be different here.

If you notice that your desktop CTR presses your mobile CTR for a certain keyword, search for that keyword in Google using your phone.

It can be that the mobile SERPs have more ads which are crowding organic results.

Or it can be your title tag is cutting off.

Either way, you will come with an insight which you can use to increase your mobile CTR.

Turn Mobile Donkeys Into Unicorns

Google’s Mobile first index means that Google will put more weight on mobile UX signals.

In simple words, if mobile users bounce from your site like crazy, it will put a negative effect on your rankings.

Therefore, I suggest compare your desktop vs mobile bounce rate and dwell time using Google analytics.

It is very easy and well worth.

To do it, login to your Google analytics account. Click Site Content>Landing Pages.

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It will show you the most popular pages on your website. Click on a page which you want to get more traffic to.

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Then click “Secondary Dimension”> “Device Category”.

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It will show you how your UX signals compare on desktop vs mobile.

For example, for this page, my bounce rate and dwell time are almost similar. So this page is probably optimized well for mobile users.

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But if Google analytics shows you the big difference between mobile and desktop users, then visit the page on your own phone.

You may find something bad that is causing mobile users to bounce your page.

When you are done, move to the next tip.

Boost Your Mobile Page Speed With These 3 Tips

After Google’s mobile-first update, Google will look into the mobile page speed. Will my desktop speed will still matter? Maybe.

But it will not get that importance as how your website loads on mobile.

Here is how you can skyrocket the mobile loading speed of your site.

First of all, do a mobile speed test at ThinkWithGoogle.com:

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This tool is similar to any other speed testing tool. It even loads your site on 3G to create the mobile environment.

It will give you a helpful report that will tell you how long your site takes to load on a mobile device.

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And also how to remove the speed breakers.

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Here are some other quick tips to try out:

  • Smash your images: If you use WordPress, I suggest installing an image optimizer, like Smush Image Compression. These SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the file size of your images, which can speed up load times dramatically.
  • Implement Browser Cache: Google themselves suggested caching your site to make your site load faster.
  • Get a CDN: CDNs can make page elements (especially images) load 2-3x faster.

Optimize Title and Description Tags for Mobile SERPs

Do you get the majority of the organic traffic from mobile?

Then you need to optimize your title and descriptions tags according to the mobile search results.

Here’s how:

Google provides more title tag characters to work on mobile. But your meta description is short.

(Go figure)

Here’s the exact breakdown:

Desktop
Title: Approximately 70 Characters
Description: Approximately 300 Characters

Mobile
Title: Approximately 78 Characters
Description: Approximately 300 Characters

In short words, if your title tag is 69 or fewer characters, it will not get cut off on mobile or on desktop.

But let’s suppose you get more traffic from mobile. You may want to expand the title tag and take advantage of the extra space. Even if you exceed the desktop characters limit.

For example, your title tag looks like this:

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That’s 66 characters. So this title will show in-full on desktop and mobile.

Now suppose you wanted to use a word or phrase that can increase your CTR. Your title tag will be look like this:

Image

That’s 78 characters.

Yes, 78 characters mean that Google will cut your title tag on desktop searches. But it will show up just fine on mobile.

If you have small traffic of desktop users. It may be worth making your title tag longer to increase the CTR.

Should You Implement AMP?

Accelerated Mobile Pages are designed to load quickly on mobile devices. In fact, AMP pages load 4 times faster than non-AMP pages.

As you may know, Google has led the charge on AMP.

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As AMP is a Google project, that is why a lot of SEO experts are implementing AMP on their client’s sites.

(It is due to the fact that Google will reward AMP-friendly sites with higher rankings)

Apart from higher rankings, Google also shows a little icon in the search results that may boost your CTR.

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The question is:

Does it make sense to use AMP?

The choice is yours, I do not recommend it.

Here’s why:

First, AMP puts SERIOUS limits on your page’s functionality.

Want full control of your ads? Not happening.

How about a lightbox or popup? No.

AMP also puts serious restrictions on CSS. This makes your site load faster but makes your content look like generic.

Secondly, AMP can hurt your link building efforts.

When someone links to your content, those links point directly to your site.

But here’s the deal:

When someone links to your AMP pages, this link will give a link to Google.com domain

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In other words, AMP can cost you in the link department as well.

So links to your AMP pages will boost Google domain authority, not yours.

Finally, AMP may not last.

LTE is already SUPER fast. And 5G is just around the corner.

So the idea of jumping through a thousand methods to increase in mobile loading speed can make sense. But moving forward makes more sense.

Bottom line? Unless you have a compelling reason to do so, I do not suggest AMP for most publishers.

Use Schema Structured Data To Stand Out in Mobile SERPs

As you may know, mobile SERPs show the search results like cards:

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And these cards make Schema.org structured data super effective.

Why?

Well structured data can hook you up with recipe images, review stars and event dates in SERPs. It can increase your organic CTR.

For example, look at the downshiftology mobile results from ToddyCafe.com. this contrast is not powerful on desktop:

Image

In a nutshell, if you want more clicks from mobile Google searchers, implement well structured data.

Now It’s Your Turn

So that’s it for my guide to mobile optimization.

I hope you enjoyed it.

What are you doing to get your site ready for mobile SEO?

Or maybe you have a question about something from today’s guide.

Either way, let me know by leaving a quick comment below.

Do not forget to share this post.

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Best Online Grammar Checker Tools for WordPress in 2023

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In this post of Green Hat Expert, we shall discuss the best online Grammar Checker tools for WordPress in 2023.

Best Online Grammar Checker Tools for WordPress

Are you searching for the best online grammar checker tools for WordPress this year? There are several browsers that support built-in spell checking but they do not check grammar and readability. In this post, we are sharing the best grammar checker tools (2023) which you can use with WordPress.

Why Add a Grammar Checker Tool for WordPress?

It is due to the fact that most experienced writers also make mistakes while writing.

If you will do proofreading of your articles before publishing them, it will lead to small careless errors.

There is another way to get over this problem if you read your articles loud.

If you listen to your own voice, it will help you to find mistakes and you can also improve the readability score of your articles.

You need a grammar checker tool if you want to get help with spelling and grammar.

These tools can detect your grammar and spelling mistakes instantly.

So it will also save your time from proofreading and it will also improve your content.

Let’s take a look at the best grammar checker tools for WordPress which you can use.

  1. Grammarly

grammarly for wordpress

Grammarly is a professional grammar checker tool that you can use as an addon. The addon is available for Google Chrome and Firefox.

Grammarly checks your spelling and grammar errors when you compose your post.

You will find an indicator at the bottom right corner of the writing area. When you click the indicator it will show you the number of errors you make while writing.

It will highlight grammar, spelling and contextual errors with an underline when you write.

I am also using Grammarly for grammar checking.

There is a downside of Grammarly, you have to go to the text editor in order to proofread it. If you do not like it, you can always go for the best Grammarly alternatives.

  1. Ginger

ginger grammar checker tool

Ginger is another best online grammar checker tools for WordPress which improves your writing skills and also boost your productivity.

It is also available as a browser addon that gives good user experience.

It shows a tiny icon at the bottom right corner of writing areas including Gmail, Facebook and WordPress post editor etc.

Ginger starts checking your mistakes when you write content and highlights errors with context.

Additionally, it also has some few drawbacks, you have to go to the text editor in WordPress.

For better experience, you need to click on the icon (edit in ginger).

  1. After the Deadline

After the Deadline WordPress Plugins

After the deadline is a Google chrome extension which is another grammar checker tool.

It has built-in spelling checker along with readability and optional grammar check.

After the installation of the addon in your browser, you need to go to the options.

It will take you to the addon settings page where you can check the options of your choice.

The spellcheck icon of this tool is available at the bottom right corner of the editor and you can run it while writing your content.

  1. Hemingway Proofreading Tool for Writers

Hemingway Editor Proofreading Tool for Writers

Hemingway is another web based grammar checker tool or text editor. So it will not work in your WordPress post editor.

It is free web based editor which enables you to check grammar, spelling and readability of your articles.

Additionally, do not consider it only a grammar checker but also a style checker.

It shows you your readability score so that you improve the readability score of your content.

Hemingway app also suggests improvements in your content and it is the best grammar checker app.

It has distraction-free and clean layout that helps you to assess your content quickly before publishing your content on WordPress.

Hemingway app is also available in paid version for both Windows and Mac.

These versions allow you to post content directly to WordPress.

  1. Language Tool

LanguageTool Style and Grammar Check
LanguageTool Style and Grammar Check

Language tool is also available as a free addon for Google Chrome, Firefox, Libre office and Google Docs etc.

It is also a web based editor and we can also call it a complete desktop app.

Language tool has more than 20 languages including English, German, Polish and Russian etc.

So you can use this tool for various languages and correct your spelling and grammar errors.

In addition, this feature makes it beneficial for multilingual websites and multilingual writers or authors.

Note: The free version of this tool is limited to 20,000 characters per check. If you want to get more features, you need to switch or upgrade to paid plans.

  1. Jetpack

jetpack for wordpress

Jetpack is a WordPress plugin that has a number of modules.

You can add proofreading feature to your WordPress post editor using this plugin.

Go to Jetpack > Settings page for extended grammar check. You will find spelling, grammar and style section under the writing tab. You can enable different options for proofreading such as style rules.

The user needs a WordPress.com account if he wants to use Jetpack which is a downside of this plugin.

Additionally, you also get a number of features that you may not require.

I hope that after reading this post, you will get the best grammar checker tool for WordPress.

You may like our post on Best Managed WordPress Hosting.

Do not forget to share this post.

SEO in 2023: The Definitive Guide

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Guide to SEO in 2023

We are going to share with you the ultimate guide to dominating Google search results in 2023.

I want to make something clear about something.

It is not a lame post for SEO in 2023 because it is based on reality.

I am going to share those SEO strategies which are working right now and will become more useful in 2023.

If you are researching an SEO guide in 2023, you will love my guide.

Let’s go.

1st Chapter: RankBrain & User Experience Signals

2nd Chapter: Become a CTR Jedi

3rd Chapter: Comprehensive, In-Depth Content Wins

4th Chapter: Get Ready for Google’s Mobile First Index

5th Chapter: Go All-in-with Video (Or Get Left Behind)

6th Chapter: Pay Attention to Voice Search

7th Chapter: Don’t Forget: Content and Links are Key

Bonus Chapter: Quick Tips for Seo in 2023

CHAPTER 1: RankBrain & User Experience Signals

Last year Google Announced that RankBrain was the third most important ranking factor:

So in the few months it has been effective, RankBrain has become the most important factor that contributes to the search results or search query.

Google changes its algorithm, RankBrain will become an important factor in 2023.

Now, what is RankBrain and how to optimize for it?

Google RankBrain: a Dead-Simple Explanation

RankBrain is a machine that assists Google to sort out their search results in search engine.

It may seem complicated but it is not.

RankBrain measures the interaction of users with search results and it ranks them according to this user interaction.

For example, I say you are searching for “cold brew coffee” on Google.

cold brew coffee

The #4 result seems to be attractive and you will click on it quickly.

When you reach there, you find that you have got the best article or post about coffee. So you read eagerly every word of that post.

RankBrain is going to notice that and will give boost in rankings to that #4 result.

On the other hand, you search something and click the first result without looking at it.

But you find that content is awful and you bounce that first result within seconds. When you go to the result #4 and find the best article and attractive information about coffee which is worth reading.

RankBrain will also notice this and if the people keep bouncing the first result, Google will throw him from 1st ranking.

So, RankBrain focuses on 2 things:

1: (Dwell Time) the amount of time one spends on your page

2: (CTR or click through rate) the number or percentage of people who click on your result.

RankBrain and Dwell Time

Dwell Time= how long a reader or user spends time on your page or post.

It means that RankBrain pays a lot of attention to dwell time or amount of time.

The head of Google Brain in Canada has also confirmed that Google uses Dwell time as a ranking signal now.

It is also a SEO trend to watch in 2023.

dwell time

RankBrain pays heed to “when someone clicks on the page and stays on that page and when they go back”

A recent study by SearchMetrics also support this statement and they also tell the average dwell time. They are of the view that average dwell time for a top 10 Google result is 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

If you have gone through Google Analytics, you will come to know that 3+ minute dwell time is legal.

There is no coincidence that pages have good dwell time rank higher in Google search results. RankBrain is upranking them due to this reason.

It makes sense when someone likes the content then he will spend a long time on that page.

Additionally, if there are some people who feel the same way, Google will rank that content and make it easier to find.

If you want to improve or increase the Dwell time so check this video:

RankBrain and Organic Click Through Rate (CTR)

The engineer of Google Paul Haahr put a slide in the conference and it says:

interpreting live experiments

RankBrain sometimes ranks pages higher up than they “should” rank.

If that page is getting more than average CTR, it means that this page should get a permanent ranking boost in Google.

Do not consider it as a surprise because if no one is clicking on your result, why would Google keep your site on the first page?

If you want to know the strategies that how to increase CTR, check this infographic

CHAPTER 2: Become a CTR Jedi

You have to become a CTR Jedi in order to become the master SEO in 2023.

Yes, it is due to RankBrain.

But also because of:

And:

And most deadly of all:

In fact, the study of industry found that organic CTR is down to 37% since 2015.

There is no secret in why Google is building organic search results with Ads, answer boxes. Carousels, “people also ask” sections etc.

And to survive it, your result should shout “click on me!” otherwise, it will be ignored.

This video will help you to improve CTR and I call it “the click magnet method”.

CHAPTER 3: Comprehensive, In-Depth Content Wins

In the old days, Google was analyzing your page to see how many times you are using the specific or focus keyword.

They were focussing 100 percent on page’s content. So Google spider will visit your page in order to check if your keyword is present in:

  • Title tag
  • URL
  • Image ALT text
  • Description tag
  • H1 tag

They still consider this stuff and Google has become more smarter than ever.

So now they do not only measure content but they also focus on context as well.

Who do I mean?

The first job of Google is to show the best result to its users. And in most of the cases, the best result is not a piece of keyword stuffing content.

The best pages consist of in-depth analysis of an entire topic.

When the user finds in-depth content, he gets everything he wanted to get in one place.

In SEO in 2023, in-depth content ranks the best in Google search results because it is a recent ranking factor.

How To Write Comprehensive, In-Depth Content

The question is, how can one write an in-depth content that Google needs or wants to see?

First of all, the length of your content is at least of 2000 words. When you will write in such a manner, Google searcher will get what he wanted to know about the topic.

In fact, the studies of Backlinko also shows that longer content can outrank short articles in Google.

Add LSI Keywords to Your Content

When you complete 2000 words article, you need to add LSI keywords to it.

LSI keywords and phrases are linked to your topic or post.

For example, you have written an article about the Paleo diet.

LSI keywords would be terms like:

  • Nutrition
  • Caveman
  • Weight loss
  • Recipes
  • Grains

When Google observes LSI keywords on your page, it considers it an awesome topic.

The question is how to find LSI keywords.

There are three simple ways to find them.

First of all, you can use a free tool that is LSI Graph.

You need to enter your focus or target keyword in this tool and it will give you a number of LSI keywords which are linked with your term:

Select and add any of these keywords to your content it is also one of the SEO strategies in 2023.

Secondly, you can search your keyword in Google search engine to get search trends of your keyword in 2023. Check related searches to your keyword which are available at the bottom of the search results.

Bold words in these related terms are LSI keywords.

Lastly, you can use Google Keyword Planner for LSI keyword ideas, take a look:

Enter your target keyword in Google Keyword Planner and click get ideas.

Get the results and there are several LSI keywords available.

Just like other SEO strategies, you need to focus on Google keyword planner too for your content.

CHAPTER 4: Get Ready for Google’s Mobile-first Index

Last year, Google also announced that they are moving to “mobile first index”

Precisely, Google will consider the mobile version of your website as the real version and same is the case if a user searches from a desktop too.

So it is due to the fact that 60% of Google searches or visitors are from mobile devices. This percentage will increase in the future.

So it will be live any day so prepare it for now.

How to Prepare for Google’s Mobile-First Index: 3 Simple Steps

1: Make Your Content Consistent Across Desktop and Mobile

Sometimes people hide content on the mobile version and we share with you an example:

Here’s an example:

It will become a big problem for people when Google will unveil its mobile algorithm.

Once Google will launch mobile first version, it will be the true version. Google will ignore the hidden content.

Therefore, you need to display 100% of your content on mobile and desktop version.

For example, when you visit this post of Backlinko from android phone, you will get the same content like desktop users.

There is nothing hidden behind buttons such as expendable or menu.

2: Move From m. to Responsive Design

If your site has “M” version, Google recommends to switch to responsive design.

3: Make Sure Your Site Kicks Butt On Mobile

We can see that there are several websites which are painful to use.

So, you need to recall my first point of RankBrain in which Google measures users interaction with your site.

If the people will get a hard time using your site with their Android, they will press the “back” button without thinking again.

How to Know your Site is Mobile Friendly or not?

Use Google Mobile friendly test tool. You need to enter your URL and tool will tell you whether your website is mobile friendly or not.

They will tell you the recommended settings to optimize your mobile version.

CHAPTER 5: Go-All In With Video (Or Get Left Behind)

According to Cisco’s opinion, online videos will get 80 percent of all online traffic in 2023.

Despite the fact that there are more than enough videos but according to HubSpot 43% of the people still want to watch more video content.

If you are not creating videos, you are losing. There are several advantages of making videos in Seo in 2023.

Tap Into YouTube

YouTube is world’s 2nd largest search engine and it is growing rapidly. According to Huffington post, the spend time on YouTube has increased to 60% as compared to last year.

In short, people are searching things on YouTube and skipping Google.

If you want to get traffic from Search Engine Optimization this year, I recommend optimizing and creating content using YouTube videos.

It is also a search engine which we cannot ignore.

Most of the people are not making videos due to laziness. So it is an easy task for you until you know what you are doing.

For example, if a channel has fewer than 20 videos and they generate 100,000 views per month.

When you will launch SEO optimized videos on YouTube, you will get more space on Google.

The question is why? For start, 55% of Google search results consist of at least one video.

Almost all of those videos are from YouTube.

As you know Google owns YouTube, so you should expect more YouTube videos in 2023 in search engine results.

Additionally, Google is also adding Youtube results into Google image search.

Embed Video Content Into Text-Based Blog Posts

If people want to watch more videos, why not give it to them?

Therefore, you should use video content on your blog posts.

In my opinion, it will also give you dwell time.

Here’s an example of this in action:

CHAPTER 6: Pay Attention to Voice Search

The voice search has become the big thing in SEO now because it is growing day in day out.

For example, check out these eyebrow-raising facts:

  • 40% of adults perform at least one voice search per day (source)
  • Voice searches performed in Google are up 35x since 2008 (source)
  • 20% of all searches on mobile are voice searches (source)

So Seo masters are optimizing some of their content for voice search as well.

Including me.

How to Optimize for Voice Search

There are few things we know about voice search and how it works and how to optimize for it.

1: First, your content needs to be on the first page.

First of all, your content should be on the first page and it is necessary.

2: Next, it helps A LOT if your content appears in a Featured Snippet, like this:

Google’s algorithm is already giving the snippet for users.

After testing Google voice search, I have come to know that Google spits the text inside of featured snippet.

3: Finally, include a question (and answer) in your content.

The vast searches on mobiles are question based. We can quote examples from our content

“How to do SEO in 2023” or “What are the SEO tips for 2023”

Google picks the page which has questions and answers.

For example:

When I search something and go to that page.

It has my question with a short answer.

That is what Google’s voice search algorithm wants to observe.

CHAPTER 7: Don’t Forget: Content and Links are Key

After doing all the discussion, we cannot neglect the value of content and links.

If you do not have an amazing content, you will never get backlinks.

And without backlinks, you will not reach the first page.

You have to be on Google’s first page to worry about RankBrain, Mobile-first algorithm and Voice search.

These things matter when you get rank.

In fact, Google recently said that links and content are their #1 and #2 ranking factors.

So question is, Are backlinks still useful for rankings in 2023?

The answer to this question is backlinks and content are still the foundation of SEO in 2023.

BONUS CHAPTER:Quick Tips for SEO in 2023

In this bonus chapter, I shall give you some tips that will work well in 2023.

Create Visual Content (Especially “Embeddable Images”)

Visual content is growing rapidly like video.

Almost 37% of the marketers stated that visual marketing is an important form of content in order to grow business.

Thanks to Instagram and Pinterest and visual content will also grow in 2023.

How to get advantage of Visual content?

You need to create visual content like embeddable images.

It gives fancy infographic and looks better.

People can easily embed images which are embeddable into their content. And they will link back to you as well.

It is nice and simple.

A single embedabble image can generate high quality backlinks to your site.

Publish Unique Data

Journalists and Bloggers like unique data.

If you give them surveys, stats and industry study, they will throw links at your feet like rose petals.

Encourage Comments on Your Site

Do blog comments help your rankings or are blog comments improve your rankings?

Yes!

Last year, Google said that blog comments are helpful in rankings.

This year Google said that “Comments are better on-site for engagement signals for SEO than moving to social.”

Google will acknowledge that you have an active community on your site. So it will be a ranking signal in 2023.

Go On Podcasts

Podcasts are another way to build backlinks.

They are like guest posting. Just show up, give value and you will get a backlink.

Now It’s Your Turn

That is how I prepare for SEO in 2023.

Let me know your tips and tricks to rank in 2023.

Do not forget to share this post.

Top 5 Google Keyword Ranking checker tools of 2023

Last Updated on By

In this post of Green Hat Expert, we shall discuss 5 excellent websites for checking Google Keyword Ranking.

Websites for Checking Google Keyword Rankings

How to Check Google Keyword Ranking or Keyword Ranking in Google

First of all, you need to pick the right keyword which is a necessary element of SEO. After the selection of the right keyword rank them and track the keyword position in search engine.

It is essential for an SEO professional or a blogger to keep an eye on their Google Keyword Ranking. There is another problem with the bloggers and website owners that they start writing and publishing articles without focusing on any keyword.

It will take 10-15 minutes to do a keyword research and SEMRUSH or the Google keyword search tool will help you to find keywords. You have to ensure that you take the benefit of these tools if you want to complete this very important step.

Once you have finished composing an SEO-optimized post by using your focus keywords. Then your next mission is to keep in view the search engine rankings and start building backlinks using the proper anchor text.

**Again, we want to remind that a proper keyword selection is one of the main factors involved in order to get a better ranking in Google’s search engine.**

A piece of advice: every blogger should use the keywords that users search frequently. Especially, you should use those keywords which will show your website in the first three pages of search engine results.

If you are following the proper on-page SEO, it means that there is a great chance that you will appear in the top 5 pages of Google

If you want to improve SEO, you need to manage the keywords and also find out which keywords will be helpful for your domain and which are not. It is a good information which can help you to work on strongest keywords and it will also boost your ranking in Google and other search engines.

If you want to get Google keyword ranking, you need a tool which can give you ranking position in Google search results. It will save you from manually checking of hundreds of search results and pages.

We have created a list of some excellent free online tools to check your Google keyword ranking or target keyword position in Google.

5 Useful Google Position Checker Tools:

1: SEMrush

Google Keyword position checker in Semrush

 

SEMrush is our favorite tool on this list because it gives a complete solution for keyword checking.

You just need to enter the URL of a website or a single URL of a blog post. It will show you your Google keyword ranking or your rank keywords. Additionally, you can also click on keyword result to check keyword competition and further details.

It includes Google and Bing and you can select search based on your target geographical region.

SEMrush is a professional software or tool which is easy to use. If you want to try it for two weeks for free before making any decision of subscription.

  • You can use this linkto get a free 14-day trial of SEMRUSH.

Generally, SEMRUSH is one of the amazing tools to check the position of keywords in search engine results.

2: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Keyword Rank Tracker

We are happy with SEMRUSH but in any case, you want to replace the first option. You should consider Ahrefs.

It is replete with features and it can detect your Google keyword ranking of your website automatically. Additionally, you can also separate your ranking based on country.

Check out Ahrefs

3: SERP Watcher

We support SEO tools of Mangools which work great and give great UI. SERPWatcher is the latest tracker of Google keyword ranking and position of any domain. You can get keyword position based on devices and Geo location. There are several paid plans to track more and more keywords. The price of the tool is reasonable and you can get the paid tool at affordable price.

Track Keywords of a domain

Join SerpWatcher

4: Google Rank Checker

Google rank checker is another SEO tool which is free and it will also help you to track Google keyword ranking. You can also check the keyword position in Google search engine.

Google Rank Checker

If you want to use this service, you have to put a keyword in the search bar. Additionally, you have to put the domain name too then it will show you the position of the specific keyword in Google.

It is very easy.

Check out Google Rank Checker

5: SERP’s Keyword Rank Checker

It is another famous free keyword rank checker tool that gives more than search engine positions. In addition, it also shows the CPC of the keyword and its volume data.

SERPs Keyword rank checker

When you check the Google keyword rank and you can also choose the search engine location along with desktop and mobile device. So this tools is ideal to check one or multiple keyword ranking.

Check out SERP’s Rank checker

Bonus 6: SEOCentro Rank Checker

Rankchecker by seo centro

SEOCentro is another best Google keyword checking tool which we have found. This tool will help you to check the performance of specific keywords in different search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo etc. Additionally, it will also give you the complete report of a specific keyword such as it’s ranking in different search engines and its history.

Check Your Keyword Rank

To conclude this discussion, we want to tell you that SEMrush is our best choice on this list. You can use these tools to track Google keyword ranking not only in Google but also in Bing. In addition, they also offer backlink checker along with site audit with some really cool features.

If you are using any other keyword position checker tools which work well for you, let us know by commenting below.

Do not forget to share this post.