- Make the URL shorter: URLs ranking #1 have 50 characters on average.
- Add content types they haven’t: Include graphics, animations, interactivity, and / or video. Interactive content converts 2x better than static content.
- Create a better title: CTR has a .67 correlation with ranking.
- Make it simpler to read: The average Flesch Readability score of content ranking #1 was 76.5 (easily understood by 13- to 15 year old students).
- Make it better structured: Users want their answers fast. Content ranking #1 had a bulleted list 78% of the time.
- Make the font bigger: Pages ranking #1 had 15.8px font on average.
- Make it faster: On average, pages ranking 1 – 2 had the smallest max image file size of the top 30 results.
- Make it more visual: The average article ranking #1 has 9 images.
- Source professional photos: High quality images get 121% more shares.
- Include an image every 75 – 100 words: These articles get the most shares.
- Use floating share buttons: Floating share buttons increase social traffic by 27%.
- Include a tall image: The average page ranking #1 has 12,000 pins, and 800px tall images get 57% more pins than average. Also, tall images (infographics) make it easier for outside sites to link to your content.
- Make it more linkable / shareable: Pages ranking #1 have more links and shares than competing pages.
- Link out: Sites ranking #1 link out 50% more than position 10. Reaching out to 3 – 5 people mentioned on your post can increase shares by 3 – 5x
- Make it longer: The average resource ranking #1 has 2,416 words.
Share socially at the optimal times:
- Facebook: Thurs – Sun, 1 – 4pm
- Twitter: Mon – Thurs, 12 – 3.5pm
- LinkedIn: Tues – Thurs, 5 – 6pm
- Pinterest: Sat – Sun, 8 – 11pm
Do better cold outreach:
- Send emails on Monday and Tuesday (Monday converts 80% better than Thursday).
- Send emails from 9am – 2pm PST to catch people at work.
- Don’t share the link in the first email to bloggers (this increased conversion by 63%).
- Keep your emails around 80 – 90 words (short, but not too short).
- Pitch at least 30 days in front of popular holidays (bloggers schedule 30+ days in advance).
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
