
Understanding the Basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
In today’s digital landscape, an online presence is crucial for businesses and individuals. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is pivotal in ensuring your website is visible and easily accessible to your target audience.
For many, SEO can feel intimidating, and implementation can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be! Regarding SEO, there are different pathways, and your work may have varied levels of impact. In the spirit of “done is better than perfect,” let’s break down the basics of SEO so you can find ways that work for you to implement in your, or your business’s, online presence.
What is SEO?
SEO organically optimizes your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal is to increase your ranking on SERPs to garner more interest and traffic to your website. Less than 1% of searchers click on the second page of Google results (Backlinko), so getting to the first page or within the top 10 positions can be a game-changer in visibility.
Why is SEO Important?
Increased Visibility: Organic search (HubSpot) is the top traffic source for all websites. Higher rankings on SERPs mean more visibility and potential website visitors.
Credibility and Trust: Websites at the top of search results are usually seen as more credible because they have been “vetted” by the search engine.
Cost-Effective: Unlike paid advertising, SEO isn’t a pay-to-play strategy. The work involved in optimizing your site also has a longer ROI than paid methods, which stop once a campaign is over.
Better User Experience: Good SEO practices enhance a website’s usability and overall user experience. SEO best practices are often similar to accessibility standards, so it’s a win-win.
Key Components of SEO
Keyword Research
Keyword research identifies the words and phrases potential customers use to search for products, services, or information about your business. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you find relevant keywords with good search volume and low competition.
I recommend starting your strategy development with keyword research to make the process more efficient. Keyword research can help dictate the kind of content you create and your positioning.
Tips for Keyword Research:
- Aim for high search volume and low competition. This will increase the likelihood of ranking for the keyword/keyphrase.
- Focus on long-tail keywords (phrases with three or more words) as they often have lower competition and higher conversion rates.
- Understand user intent behind the keywords to ensure your content aligns with what users are searching for.
- Analyze competitors to identify keywords they currently rank for. These keywords may benefit your business as well. Consider your shared keyword ranking with your competitors and the keyword gap.
- Don’t sacrifice the quality of your content to fit within a keyword. Search engines and users appreciate and value great content.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is optimizing individual web pages and posts to improve their structure, use of keywords, and overall rankings.
Are you Using WordPress? Consider using tools like Yoast SEO, AIOSEO, and Rankmath to help guide you.
Key Elements of On-Page SEO:
Title Tags: Each page should have a unique and descriptive title tag with the primary keyword. Your SEO title tag is different from your page slug (URL).
Meta Descriptions: These appear in your site’s snippet on search engine results. Meta descriptions should accurately describe the page content and include the target keyword.
Headings: Structure your content using proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.). Note that only one H1 heading should be on any page or post. The structure of your title tags helps search engines learn what your page is about and what content is most important. Ideally, your target keywords should be present over many title tags to emphasize their importance on the page.
One of the best examples of how a page should be structured for SEO is Wikipedia. The design is minimal, but the structure is spot on for readability and keywords. Remember that you can stylize your heading titles as needed for your design. Learn more about how to use heading on your site in this Yoast SEO article.
Content Quality:
High-quality, informative, and engaging content that addresses the needs of your audience is essential. It isn’t just good from an SEO perspective; it will garner trust, provide value to your audience, and increase the likelihood of your viewers converting into paying customers. Keywords do matter in content, but they shouldn’t overrule quality.
URL Structure:
Use clean and descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords.
What is URL Structure? A URL is a combination of the following elements.:
- Protocol – Protocol denotes how the browser accesses information on a web page. It is usually http:// or https://.
- Root Domain – This is the primary name unique to your website.
- Subdomain—A subdomain organizes content by separating a section of your site from the root domain. The most commonly used subdomain is www.
- TLD—The top-level domain (TLD) follows the root domain. It can be .com, .net, .org, etc.
- Slug – This is the category under which you place a particular web page. This comes after the domain. For example, “https://yoursite.com/this-is-your-page-slug/”
- Article Permalink– Following the slug, the permalink tells you what the page is about. For example, a blog URL may look like “https://yourwebsite.com/blog/compelling-article”
Internal Linking:
Internal linking links to other pages within your website. This helps guide users on your site and builds and spreads authority to your site pages. When used correctly, internal linking helps search engines understand your website and, most importantly, your content. Learn more about the benefits of internal linking here.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO involves optimizing your website to ensure it can be crawled and indexed by search engines effectively and has an ideal user experience.
Key Elements of Technical SEO:
Site Speed: Ensure your website loads quickly; page speed is a ranking factor. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrics can help you identify and fix speed issues.
Mobile Responsiveness: Your site should be fully functional across different devices. A significant portion of web traffic comes solely from mobile users.
XML Sitemaps: XML sitemaps help search engines understand your site structure and index your pages. To learn more about generating, finding, and submitting sitemaps, check out this article from Semrush.
Robots.txt: This guides search engine crawlers on which pages to crawl and index.
SSL Secure Protocol (HTTPS): SSL certificates enable websites to use HTTPS, which is more secure than HTTP. An SSL certificate is a data file hosted on a website’s origin server. It makes SSL/TLS encryption possible and contains the website’s public key, identity, and related information. Learn more about SSL certificates here.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to other sites that link to or are related to your website. This can be directory listings, sites linking to your site (backlinks), and even social media profiles and activity. Off-page SEO is a factor that lets search engines know your site and that its content is reputable. You can gain domain authority through association with other reputable domains.
Key Elements of Off-Page SEO:
Backlinks: Backlinks, or link building, are a key component of off-page SEO and critical to an overall SEO strategy. The number of referring domains (the sites that provide the backlinks) is one of Google’s most important ranking factors.
When building backlinks, aim for high-quality domains from authoritative websites. Be sure to consider the domain’s relevance to your site and industry.
Social Media: How you use social media will vary for each business or industry. While some brands, like Lush, opt out of social media platforms altogether, having a social media presence can benefit your website’s SEO. Optimize your social media profiles, bios, descriptions, website listings, etc. When posting content, provide a link to your website when possible. For example, share your most recent blog articles and the link in the post caption.
Guest Blogging: Writing guest posts for other websites can build backlinks and help establish yourself as an authority in your niche. This also applies to podcasts if the host includes your site information on any episode links.
Online Directories and Citations: Building directory profiles or being included in citations can help build relevant backlinks. Be sure you’re listed correctly in these directories and in a way that best reflects your business.
Content Marketing
Content marketing and SEO go hand in hand. Creating valuable content that addresses your audience’s needs and interests can drive organic traffic and improve search engine rankings. It’s a great way to establish your brand as an authority in your field and build trust and familiarity with your audience.
Tips for Content Marketing:
- Blogging: Creating a blog for your site is one of the best investments you can make in your SEO journey. Each article is an opportunity for growth, like an added root of a tree. It’s content that can be crafted specifically for your audience and optimized for keywords that reflect your product/services. Best of all, it’s yours.
- Your “blog” can be positioned in many ways to suit your needs and preferences. For example, if you don’t like creating long-written articles, use it as a “News & Updates” archive where you post/repost your latest happenings.
- Infographics: Infographics are very popular. They’re created to break down information into digestible pieces visually. If design work is one of your skills and something you enjoy, this could be a great source of content for your business.
- Videos: Video content is very valuable for SEO. When posting videos to YouTube or other platforms, use keyword optimization opportunities via titles, descriptions, and hashtags.
Tip: Consider transcribing your videos and adding the content to your website.
Best Practices for SEO
Stay Updated:
SEO constantly evolves, so stay informed about the latest trends and algorithm updates. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has significantly changed how search engines function and will continue to do so.
Monitor Performance:
Use tools like Google Search Console and Semrush to track your website’s performance and identify areas for improvement.
User Experience:
Prioritize user experience by ensuring your website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and provides valuable content.
Local SEO:
If you have a local business, optimize your website for local search by including location-specific keywords and creating a Google Business profile.
Avoid Black Hat SEO:
Avoid using shady practices like keyword stuffing, cloaking, and buying backlinks, as these can lead to penalties from search engines. The short-term gain isn’t worth the long-term loss.
SEO is a multifaceted process that requires a strategic approach and continuous effort. By understanding and implementing SEO basics, you can enhance your website’s visibility, attract more organic traffic, and build a significant and valuable online presence for your business. SEO is a long-term investment, and the results may take time, but the benefits of a well-optimized website are well worth the effort.
Remember that you don’t need to do everything at once if you’re starting. It’s okay to grow and build as you go. Having a few key-optimized articles or pages is better than having none. However, it’s important to understand and map out how SEO can be implemented in your business’s online presence.
Are you ready to invest in an SEO strategy for your business? Get in touch today!
Check Out More Resources:
