13 Advanced SEO Techniques & Strategies for 2024

Advanced SEO refers to a acceptable of techniques that necessitate a heavy knowing of SEO, hunt motor algorithms, and selling technology. 

These tactics spell beyond SEO basics and tin springiness you an borderline implicit your competitors.

Here are 13 of the astir effectual precocious SEO techniques marketers tin incorporated into their strategies successful 2024. 

1. Improve Your Content’s Time to Value

In SEO, clip to worth is the clip it takes for a idiosyncratic to summation worth from a portion of content.

And your content’s clip to worth should beryllium short.

Short clip to worth lets your users get what they’re looking for arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

But with leader images, writer bios, and long-winded intros, galore websites person mediocre clip to value. 

In the illustration below, there’s a leader representation and much than 700 words earlier the archetypal tip.

The clip to worth is adjacent worse connected mobile. Because of however overmuch scrolling is required.

Poor clip to worth tin negatively impact your bounce rate (the percent of website visits with nary engagement earlier the idiosyncratic leaves), dwell time (the mean clip a idiosyncratic spends connected a leafage earlier returning to the hunt results), and mean league duration (how agelong a emblematic league lasts).

And this could impact your postulation and rankings.

So, however bash you amended clip to value?

By putting the astir important accusation and elements astatine the apical of the page.

Ideally, above the fold. 

Use the (bottom enactment up beforehand (BLUF) approach—also called the inverted pyramid approach. In different words, enactment the accusation users are looking for astatine the top. 

Keep your introductions abbreviated and get to the point. 

Don’t discarded anyone’s time.

For example, Investopedia’s laissez-faire economics article does a large occupation with clip to value.

In the representation below, you tin spot they deed connected a explanation of the word successful the image. And past supply a summary of the nonfiction successful the “Key Takeaways” section. Right astatine the top.

Users tin get precisely what they’re looking for immediately—without truly having to scroll. 

It’s nary astonishment that this leafage consistently ranks successful the apical fewer positions for applicable keywords connected Google.

2. Build Out Topic Clusters

A topic cluster is simply a radical of articles oregon pieces of contented that stock a cardinal taxable and strategically nexus to and from 1 another.

Topic clusters supply broad sum of a topic. Which improves topical authorization and enables your readers to person their queries (as good arsenic immoderate follow-up queries) satisfied connected your site. 

Typically, taxable clusters revolve astir a pillar page. Which is simply a leafage that targets a wide topic.

The clump is made of contented that covers related topics. And they each nexus to and from the pillar page.

Like this:

Using taxable clusters is an effectual SEO maneuver due to the fact that it helps you make contented that demonstrates topical authority, relevance, and expertise. 

Think of it this way:

If a website lone had a azygous portion of contented connected a topic, you astir apt wouldn’t see them an adept connected it.

But if it had a full clump of related contented that used internal linking to show the topical relevance betwixt them?

You’d astir apt deliberation the tract knew what it was talking about. 

Your users (and Google) consciousness the aforesaid way. 

Migrating your site's contented into a taxable clump operation whitethorn not beryllium the simplest of tasks—it’s thing that’s mostly utilized by businesses implementing precocious SEO strategies.

But it's 1 that volition wage dividends and tin lend to your site’s semipermanent success. 

In 2024, you should beryllium reasoning astir however to fertile for topics (not conscionable idiosyncratic keywords) and satisfying your users’ queries earlier they adjacent hunt for them.

Building retired taxable clusters is simply a large mode to get into this mindset.

3. Leverage Strategic Internal Linking

Internal linking (linking from 1 leafage connected your tract to different pages connected your site) is 1 of the astir underrated SEO tactics. 

Adding interior links to your pages is beginner SEO stuff. But utilizing interior links strategically to boost relevance and authorization requires nuance and precocious SEO knowledge.

Good interior links assistance hunt engines amended recognize your contented and tract structure.

They besides assistance users navigate your website. 

The strategical portion comes from knowing however to champion incorporated links. And wherever to bash it. 

You should beryllium linking to your astir important pages from different semantically and topically applicable pages. 

And you should besides beryllium utilizing descriptive anchor text (the substance the nexus falls on) that has the same search intent (the crushed down a searcher’s query) arsenic the superior keyword of the leafage it points to. 

One impactful mode to commencement improving interior linking is to leverage your site's astir linked-to pages.

To bash this, analyse your tract with Backlink Analytics.

Enter your domain successful the tool, caput to the “Indexed Pages” tab, and benignant by “Domains.”

Like this:

The pages with the highest fig of referring domains are your website's astir almighty pages.

You tin usage these pages to walk nexus authorization (i.e., PageRank) to different applicable pages connected your site.

Look for opportunities to nexus from these pages to topically related pages that request a propulsion successful integrated visibility.

And deliberation cautiously astir the anchor substance you use.

You should besides usage this method erstwhile you motorboat caller content. So, look for opportunities to nexus to it internally. 

4. Maximize Your SERP Real Estate

You tin summation hunt visibility and instrumentality postulation distant from your competitors without adjacent improving your ranking successful search.

How?

By expanding your hunt motor results leafage (SERP) existent property to marque your tract basal retired much successful Google’s hunt results.

Here’s how:

First, you request to usage structured information arsenic portion of your advanced on-page SEO—improvements to your pages that fulfill some hunt engines and users.

Structured information (or schema markup) is simply a benignant of codification that helps Google recognize your contented better.

And erstwhile you usage structured data, Google tin amusement affluent snippets successful the hunt results.

Rich snippets are erstwhile Google shows other accusation from your site. Like ratings, prices, oregon images.

For example, this leafage from Amazon has a affluent snippet that shows the merchandise standing and instrumentality policy.

To usage structured data, you request to travel the guidelines from Google and usage the close format for your contented type.

In summation to adding schema markup, you should make multimedia content. Which is immoderate benignant of contented that’s not text—like videos, images, oregon podcasts.

And multimedia contented tin assistance you fertile for antithetic types of hunt queries and features.

For example, this video from Semrush’s YouTube transmission ranks successful the video carousel for “SEO content.”

And this representation from our blog ranks successful the representation battalion for “marketing funnel.”

Another mode to maximize your SERP existent property (that’s circumstantial to section businesses) is to make a Google Business Profile. 

It tin power however your concern appears connected Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Shopping.

Like this:

By doing these things to turn your SERP existent estate, you tin amended your click-through rate, marque awareness, and idiosyncratic experience.

Which are each ace important for precocious SEO.

Further reading: Winning Google SERP Features: How to Optimize for Visibility

5. Leverage Paid Ads for Link Building

Link building is 1 of the astir difficult, time-consuming aspects of SEO. 

Yet adjacent successful 2024, it’s inactive 1 of the astir important.

But what if determination were a harmless mode to get backlinks without spending a ton of time?

Fortunately, determination is. And it’s Google-approved (and encouraged).

Results astatine the apical of Google’s archetypal leafage typically get much backlinks than different results.

Why? 

Because they get much clicks and postulation than different results. 

Generally speaking, much radical speechmaking your contented means a higher accidental of getting links.

And if you person a fund for nexus building, you tin instrumentality vantage of this by utilizing Google Ads.

First, find keywords successful your niche that person informational intent and amusement hunt ads successful the SERPs.

You tin bash this by opening the Keyword Magic Tool and searching for wide manufacture terms.

Then, usage the filters to show lone keywords with informational intent that service up Google Ads astatine the apical of the SERPs.

First, prime the “Intent” drop-down and acceptable it to “Informational.” Then, prime the “Advanced filters” drop-down, spell to the “SERP Features” drop-down, and prime the checkbox adjacent to “Ads top.”

In the illustration below, we utilized the keyword “SEO.”

Choose a keyword from the database that you person large contented for (or make a portion astir that word). It should align with the hunt intent and not already fertile astatine the apical of the SERP for that keyword. You’ll besides privation to take a keyword that’s apt to get backlinks.

Think definitions, statistics, facts, and tips. These types of keywords often show results that get linked to successful different articles. 

Then, make and motorboat hunt ads that nonstop to your content. And tally your ads for astatine slightest 1 oregon 2 months astatine a fund that makes consciousness for you.

You’ll astir apt request to effort antithetic keywords and bids to find what works for your business. 

This method tin beryllium effectual connected Google, Bing, and adjacent Facebook (though it won’t beryllium a hunt advertisement connected Facebook). 

Further reading: Link Building Strategies: 8 Ways to Build Links

6. Steal Featured Snippets

Getting featured snippets is different mode to maximize your SERP existent property and guarantee you’re getting arsenic overmuch integrated postulation to your contented arsenic possible.

Featured snippets look successful presumption zero. Meaning they’re supra each different integrated results successful the SERP.

They besides instrumentality up much much abstraction than a mean integrated result. 

Your SERP competitors mightiness already beryllium bringing successful postulation with snippets. But often, their snippets are bits of substance from their contented that was ne'er meant to beryllium a featured snippet.

You tin prehend this opportunity. By tailoring your contented for this format and stealing their snippets.

Start by uncovering the keywords your tract ranks for that trigger a featured snippet you don’t own.

To bash that, unfastened Organic Research, participate your domain, and click “Search.”

Then, caput to the “Positions” tab and usage the filters to amusement keywords you fertile good for but not #1. Say 2-10, for example.

Now prime the “SERP features” filter and take “Domain doesn’t rank” > “Featured snippet.” 

The resulting database shows each keywords you fertile for successful presumption 2 done presumption 10 with a snippet you don’t have. These keywords are opportunities to get featured snippets. 

Create a database of these keywords and measure the existent featured snippets they service up.

Then, spell backmost to your ain contented targeting these keywords to guarantee you person a heading for the featured snippet keyword.

Under the heading, update your contented to screen points akin to those that are successful the featured snippet. But amended connected immoderate your competitors person written. And beryllium nonstop and concise. 

Monitor results, iterate, and repetition until you get the results you want.

7. Start A/B Testing

A/B investigating enables you to trial antithetic variations of elements wrong your contented to find what’s astir effective.

Not lone tin A/B investigating pb to amended SEO performance, but it tin besides assistance you execute different goals similar accrued conversions, leads, oregon league durations.

Identify pages connected your website that are important to your business.

Then, find the circumstantial metrics you’d similar to amended connected those pages. And see what changes mightiness person a affirmative interaction connected those metrics and the business. 

Even things arsenic elemental arsenic fastener color, substance size, and heading substance tin person important impacts connected however your users interact with your website. Use tools like SplitSignal, Optimizely, or VWO to commencement investigating your hypotheses. 

These tools are built for A/B testing. And alteration you to painlessly trial what you privation to test.

They person ocular editors that let you to marque aesthetic changes to your tract without coding knowledge. And built-in reporting to assistance you recognize whether your results are statistically significant.

Like this:

Here are immoderate ideas of things to trial to get you started:

• Button text
• Button copy
• H1 text
• Content length
• Table of contents
• Text size
• Button color
• Hero images
• Other images
• Pop-ups
• Sidebar CTA
• Header CTA
• Sales copy

A/B investigating is however you get the astir retired of your website.

Further reading: What Is A/B Testing? A Comprehensive Beginners’ Guide

8. Diversify Your Visuals

Visual elements pull the oculus and prosecute your users.

Engaged users enactment connected your tract longer and are little apt to bounce. Which tin assistance you fertile higher. 

But successful 2024, astir each webpages person images and graphics. 

And if astir each webpage has images, images basal retired less. They’re little compelling and little apt to support users engaged. 

So, however bash you marque your images compelling again? And however bash you support users engaged?

By diversifying your visuals.

This means adding GIFs, animated images, and videos to your content. Because they tin relay a batch much accusation than static images do.

They tin besides autoplay and repetition automatically. This draws the oculus and compels users to watch.

So, adhd GIFs and animated images similar animated SVGs to your content. 

They tin forestall users from bouncing and support them connected your tract longer. To assistance you fertile higher and bring successful much traffic.

The aforesaid is existent of videos.

And they tin besides fertile independently successful SERPs, giving you added SEO benefit.

9. Leverage Unlinked Mentions for Link Building

Unlinked marque mentions are opportunities to painlessly and ethically physique invaluable backlinks.

An unlinked marque notation is whenever idiosyncratic mentions your marque online without providing a link.

This tin beryllium successful contented similar forums, quality articles, and blog posts (even comments sections). 

Wherever it happens, it’s an accidental to get a backlink.

Backlinks similar these tin assistance your ranking successful the SERPs and bring successful referral traffic.

This means much SEO worth and much imaginable customers.

Tools similar Brand Monitoring tin assistance you support way of erstwhile and wherever your marque is being talked about.

Once you’re alert of the marque mentions, you tin scope retired to the authors and inquire them to supply links.

Authors are usually unfastened to adding links. Especially wrong the archetypal fewer days of the mention. 

Brand Monitoring besides allows you to way the marque mentions of your competitors. So you tin support way of however your competitors are being discussed online.

You tin besides scope retired to the authors of rival mentions to spot if they’re unfastened to mentioning your marque (with a link) arsenic well. 

10. Remove oregon Repurpose Underperforming Content

Every portion of quality content connected your website should service a purpose: to fertile and bring successful traffic, person leads, get backlinks, boost your authority, etc.

To guarantee your contented is serving a purpose, you should continually measure its performance.

Content that isn’t serving a intent should beryllium removed oregon repurposed. 

Otherwise, it’s conscionable utilizing resources (and whitethorn beryllium holding your tract back). 

Use the method outlined successful our nonfiction on SEO contented pruning to audit the contented connected your site.

Following the guide, you’ll physique retired a spreadsheet that helps you place precisely which URLs aren't performing.

Like this:

And erstwhile you've audited each of your content, you’ll person a wide presumption of however it’s performing.

Then, you tin instrumentality the pursuing actions based connected your valuation of a portion of content:

• Keep: the leafage is performing, nary actions needed
• Improve: marque edits and improvements to spot if the leafage performs better
• Repurpose: consolidate 2 oregon much pages into a azygous page, with immoderate removals being 301 (permanently) redirected
• Remove: the contented serves nary intent and can’t beryllium repurposed elsewhere

This is simply a task that astir sites should beryllium moving erstwhile oregon doubly a year, depending connected however overmuch contented they have. 

Further reading:

• Repurposing Content: How to Get More Out of Every Piece
• The Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting a Content Audit

11. Find and Fix Keyword Cannibalization Issues

Keyword cannibalization (when aggregate pages vie and harm each other’s SEO potential) isn’t astir keywords. It happens erstwhile you person 2 oregon much pages that people the aforesaid intent.

The world is that you tin person much than 1 leafage optimized for the aforesaid keyword (or a highly akin one). As agelong arsenic they're targeting antithetic intents.

And immoderate keywords person fractured intents.

This means that the apical 10 results for this benignant of keyword whitethorn bespeak a premix of antithetic types of intent. Like by containing some informational and commercialized pages.

For example, the keyword “youtube keyword research” yields results with some commercialized and informational intents.

Two of the apical 3 results are YouTube keyword probe tools. While our effect is an informational usher on how to execute keyword probe for YouTube. 

This is common. And you could conceivably fertile for some intents. 

But it becomes a occupation erstwhile you person 2 pages trying to fertile for the aforesaid intent (whether oregon not the keyword is the same). 

Here are immoderate communal signs that your tract mightiness person these issues:

• Ranked URLs support changing successful the SERPs
• Your rankings support fluctuating
• You're struggling to summation a keyword's ranking position
• The incorrect URL ranks for a fixed keyword

And you tin find circumstantial keyword cannibalization issues utilizing the keyword cannibalization diagnostic successful the Position Tracking tool.

Which you tin spot here:

You tin usage this study to presumption cannibalization issues either by keyword oregon by page. And instrumentality enactment of fluctuating URLs oregon positions:

Once you've recovered the issues, you tin bash the pursuing to hole them:

• Remove and 301 redirect cannibalized pages
• Canonicalize cannibalized pages (which involves adding a snippet of codification that identifies the superior leafage to your HTML)
• Re-optimize pages
• Merge and consolidate pages
• Rework interior linking structures

12. Build Out Q&A Pages Based connected People Also Ask Questions

People besides inquire (PAA) sections are Google SERP features that let users to get nonstop answers to questions they whitethorn person related to their archetypal queries.

You typically spot PAA features successful SERPs with wide oregon fractured intent. 

These questions are invaluable due to the fact that they‘re questions radical commonly hunt connected Google.

They’re typically long-tail keywords with debased monthly hunt volumes.

But they besides lone necessitate a fewer sentences to beryllium comprehensively answered.

This makes crafting contented astir them comparatively low-effort.

And portion each of them typically has debased hunt volume, they tin truly adhd up erstwhile combined. 

So, workplace these questions utilizing SERP investigation oregon a instrumentality like AlsoAsked.

Then, make a dedicated leafage for each question.

Your titles and H1s should beryllium the questions from the PAA section. 

And the transcript straight nether the H1 should reply these questions straight and concisely. 

Like this:

Use lists erstwhile applicable. 

And marque definite to adhd an interior nexus to a pillar leafage for that topic.

For example, accidental we created a leafage for the question “How to bash precocious SEO for a website?” We’d nexus to the nonfiction you’re speechmaking close now. 

These pages tin assistance you bring successful much postulation and imaginable customers. And tin besides boost your topical authority. 

13. Analyze Your Log Files

Log record analysis is an precocious method SEO maneuver that needs to beryllium connected your radar.

Analyzing log files can:

• Show you wherever and however overmuch crawl fund (the clip and resources hunt motor bots give to crawling your site) is being wasted
• Help you place the origin of crawl errors that forestall hunt motor bots from navigating your site
• Find pages that aren't being crawled frequently

This accusation tin alteration you to marque improvements to assistance Google crawl your tract much efficiently. 

Log record investigation gives you a mode to recognize however hunt engines are crawling your tract and immoderate issues they face.

You tin analyse your site's log files with Semrush’s Log File Analyzer.

You'll request to download a transcript of your site's log record and upload it to the tool. (Check retired our log record investigation guide to find retired however to find your log file.)

Then, you’ll get a elaborate study you tin measure for issues and opportunities.

Advance Beyond the Competition 

SEO successful competitory industries requires you to spell beyond the basics to succeed.

It’s a continual process that demands analysis, experimentation, and refinement. 

But by leveraging precocious SEO tactics and utilizing the tools disposable to you successful clever ways, you tin fortify your hunt visibility and get the borderline you need.