Search Engine Optimization- What? How? Why?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the technique of increasing the number of visits to a website by ensuring that it appears at the top of a search engine's list of results. Using SEO helps in improving the visibility of your site in Google’s search results, putting your brand’s website in front of your target audience. It is an essential component of any digital marketing plan.

The Basics of Search Engine

Search engines discover and catalog all available content on the Internet through a process known as "crawling and indexing,” It then orders it based on how well it matches the query in a process called ranking. In the following paragraphs, we'll go into crawling, indexing, and ranking in further depth.

Organic Search

Organic search results are those that are obtained through good SEO rather than paid for (i.e. not advertising). These used to be simple to detect because the advertisements were plainly labeled as such, and the remaining results generally took the form of "10 blue links" listed below them. But, given how search has evolved, how can we identify organic results today?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" (unpaid) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users; these visitors can then be converted into customers.

Search engine optimization (SEO) aids in the creation of material that is easily accessible by search engines and appears in their search results. Only organic search results are affected by SEO, not paid or "sponsored" results such as Google AdWords.

Website Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking In Simple Terms

Search engines use web crawlers to find new content. Search engines don't crawl websites by hand—instead, there's a robot that does it automatically. These crawlers work by following links from page to page. It pulls the text from web pages onto its own hard drive and then crawls around looking for other web pages related to those it already has.

Search spider software helps the robot to find new sites as it probes for new information. Spiders examine the contents of a page and deliver it to a search engine's indexing servers, where it becomes available. The spider recognizes text content and the URLs of previously crawled pages. It then builds a list of URLs that it can follow for future crawling.

Search engines rank websites by assigning them a score using a set of rules. The score is based on variables such as the number of links to your site (backlinks), the number of other sites that link to you (internal links), onsite optimization, onsite user behaviors, the keywords in the URL, and hard-to-quantify qualities like personal relevance and interest level.

Keyword Search Basics

So now you understand how to rank in search results, let's figure out which important keywords to target in your website's content and how to create that content so that both visitors and search engines are satisfied.

The importance of keyword research is from gaining a better understanding of your target market and how they search for your information, services, or items. People are using keywords to search the products, services they are interested in, and other information that they find useful, not more than that.

Keywords can be single or several words long and should be carefully selected as they describe the products and services you offer. The more keywords you use in your website’s contents, the higher your chances of getting found by those who are searching online.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR SITE SEO-FRIENDLY

NOTE: This guide is for manual website creation. When using web development tools like WordPress you can use plugins that provide SEO functionalities.

Make your Page Title Unique and Accurate

You should indicate titles by using title tags. A title tag informs both users and search engines about the topic of a certain page. The <title> tag should be put within the HTML document's <head> tag. Ideally, you should give each page on your site a distinct title.

You can see your title page displayed in search results. When your document appears on a search results page, the contents of the title tag will generally appear in the first line of the results. If a word in the title appears in the user's search query, it is bolded. This can assist users in determining if the page is likely to be related to their search.

PRO TIPS:

● Choose a title that effectively expresses the page's content's theme. You must provide an accurate description of the page's content.

● Avoid using a title that has nothing to do with the page's content.

● Also, avoid using default or ambiguous names such as "Untitled" or "New Page 1.

● Avoid using a single title tag on all or a large number of your site's pages.

● You must choose titles that are brief but descriptive.

● Avoid using titles that are overly long and unhelpful to consumers.

● Refrain from putting unrelated keywords into your title tags.

Using “meta tag” description

“Meta tags” are summaries that define each page. The meta tag description element on a website provides Google and other search engines with a summary of what the page is about. Meta tags may consist of a sentence or two or a short paragraph. The description meta element, like the <title> tag, is inserted within the <head> tag of your HTML content.

Description meta tags are crucial because Google may use them as page snippets. Snippets are text that appears beneath the title of a corresponding web page on a search engine's results pages.

Google may select to use a relevant piece of your page's visible content if it matches up well with a user's query. In case Google cannot discover a solid selection of content to include in the snippet, adding description meta tags to each of your pages is always a smart practice.

When words in the snippet appear in the user's query, they are bolded. This informs the user whether the material on the website corresponds to what he or she is looking for. Another way the snippet appears is when a meta description originates from a deeper page containing an article, which should have its own unique description.

PRO TIPS:

● You should always provide an accurate summary of the page's content.

● If users viewed your description meta tag as a snippet in a search result, provide a description that would both inform and intrigue them.

● It is best to avoid writing a description meta tag that has no link to the page's content.

● Use broad descriptions such as "This is a website" or "Page about baseball cards."

● Never use simply keywords in the description.

● Do not paste the whole document's content into the description meta tag.

Improving the Structure of your URLs

Navigation is critical for search engines. The navigation of a website is vital in assisting users in rapidly finding the content they seek. It can also help search engines comprehend what material the webmaster considers important. Although Google's search results are supplied at the page level, Google also likes to know what role a page plays in the overall picture of the site.

Every site has a home or "root" page, which is usually the most visited page and the starting point for many users' navigation. Unless your site has only a few pages, you should consider how users will go from a generic page (your root page) to a page with more specialized material.

PRO TIPS:

● URLs containing phrases related to your site's content and structure are more user-friendly for people navigating your site.

● Avoid using long URLs with extraneous arguments and session IDs.

● Avoid using generic page names such as "page1.html."

● Avoid inserting too many keywords, such as "baseball-cards-baseball-cards-baseballcards.htm."

● Use a directory structure that organizes your information well and allows people to easily navigate your site.

● Avoid deep subdirectory nesting, such as ".../dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4/dir5/dir6/page.html."

● Avoid employing directory names that have nothing to do with the content contained within them.

Planning your Site Structure for Easy Navigation

Every site has a home or "root" page, which is usually the most visited page and the starting point for many users' navigation. Unless your site has only a few pages, you should consider how users will go from a generic page (your root page) to a page with more specialized material.

PRO TIPS:

● Make a web hierarchy that flows naturally.

● Make it as simple as possible for users to navigate from general content to more specific content on your site.

● When it makes sense, include navigation pages and incorporate them into your internal link structure.

● Make no intricate webs of navigation connections, such as tying every page on your site to every other page.

● Avoid excessive slicing and dicing of your content.

● For navigation, rely primarily on text. Avoid relying solely on drop-down menus, graphics, or animations for navigation.

Using anchor texts to your advantage

Anchor text is the clickable text that users will see as a result of a link, and is placed within the anchor tag <a href="...">description text/image</a>. This text informs users and Google about the website to which you are connecting. Internal links on your website may refer to other pages on your site, while external links may lead to information on other sites. The better your anchor text is in any of these situations, the easier it is for users to browse and for Google to comprehend what the page you're linking to is about.

PRO TIPS:

● Do not use generic anchor language such as "page," "article," or "click here."

● Use text that is off-topic or has no relevance to the content of the linked page.

● In most situations, avoid using the URL of the website as the anchor text.

● Aim for brief yet descriptive language, such as a few words or a short sentence.

● Avoid using extended anchor text, such as a long sentence or a short paragraph of text.

● Avoid using CSS or text styling that make links look just like regular text.

● Paying closer attention to the anchor text used for internal links may help people and Google browse your website more effectively.

● Do not create superfluous links that don't assist the visitor navigate the site and use excessively keyword-filled or long anchor text only for search engines.

Create High-Quality Contents

Creating interesting and helpful content will most likely have a greater impact on your website than any of the other criteria listed here. Users recognize good content and will most likely want to direct other users to it. Organic or word-of-mouth buzz is what boosts your site's reputation with users and Google, and it seldom occurs in the absence of great content.

Consider the terms that a user could use to discover a piece of your material. Users who are well-versed in the subject may use different terms in their search queries than others who are unfamiliar with the subject. Preferences play a great deal when it comes to searches and queries. Anticipating variations in search behavior and compensating for them while producing your content (using a decent mix of keyword phrases) may provide beneficial results.

PRO TIPS:

● Avoid producing sloppy content with numerous spelling and grammatical errors.

● Do not embed text in pictures.

● It's usually a good idea to organize your material so that readers can tell where one content subject begins and another finishes.

● Do not slam a big quantity of content on a variety of themes into a page with no paragraph, subheading, or style distinction.

● Create original and distinct material.

● Do not rehash (or even copying) existing content that adds no value to customers.

● Never have duplicate or near-identical versions of your content on your site.

● Inserting a slew of superfluous keywords that are intended for search engines but are irritating or incomprehensible to people.

● Avoid fraudulently concealing text from users while still exposing it to search engines.

Optimizing Images for Faster Indexing

Images may appear to be a simple component of your website, but you can maximize their utilization. You should take advantage of the fact that all pictures can have a unique filename and "alt" property. You can use the "alt" property to supply replacement text for an image if it cannot be shown for whatever reason. If a person is accessing your site on a browser that doesn't support pictures or is using other technology, such as a screen reader, the alt attribute's contents give information about the image.

Another reason is that if you use an image as a link, the alt text for that picture is handled in the same way that the anchor text of a text link is. However, we don't suggest utilizing too many images for links in your site's navigation when text links can do the same thing. Finally, optimizing your picture filenames and alt text helps image search initiatives such as Google Image Search better comprehend your photos.

PRO TIPS

● Filenames and alt text (for ASCII languages) are ideal when they are short but descriptive, as are many other elements of the page targeted for optimization.

● When possible, avoid using generic file names such as "image1.jpg", "pic.gif", and "1.jpg".

● Avoid using overly long filenames.

● Do not cram keywords into alt text or copy and paste entire lines.

● If you do decide to use an image as a link, filling out the alt text helps Google understand more about the website you're referring to. Assume you're writing anchor text for a text link.

● Keep in mind that creating too extensive alt text might be regarded as spammy.

● Never utilize solely picture links for your site's navigation.

● Instead of having picture files scattered over your domain in several folders and subdirectories, try unifying your photos into a single directory.

There are other optimization processes that you need to learn such as proper use of robot.txt and being aware of rel=”nofollow” links. Also, because more and more people are using mobile devices, optimizing your website to be mobile-friendly also helps in optimizing your website in search engines. But those discussed above are the fundamentals and most common strategies when applying SEO to your website.

SEO- Why bother?

While paid advertising, social media, and other online channels can drive visitors to websites, search engines drive the vast bulk of online traffic.

When done effectively, SEO can continue to pay off in the long run. If you create quality content that deserves to rank for the relevant keywords, your traffic will grow over time, whereas advertising requires ongoing spending to send traffic to your site.

Optimizing your site will assist in providing better information to search engines, allowing your material to be properly indexed and presented in search results.

If you want to learn more about website management and more SEO techniques, you can send me a DM on my LinkedIn account.

You can download this in PDF Format, also in my LinkedIn account on the Featured list.