Learn Basic Search Engine Optimization In 10 Minutes
Gone are the days when we entirely depended on experts, people who've gone through the real-time experience, or trusted friends and family members while consulting before making a purchase.
Reviews and word-of-mouth still count a lot, but search engines influence our first opinions. Around 68% of online experiences begin with interacting with the search engine.
The internet holds a gigantic amount of information, and these search engines are our gateways to access it. There are an estimated 3.5 billion searches on Google every single day. Whenever unsure, you can tap into your phone and find out what's what in seconds.
Flashy billboards, extravagantly expensive advertisements, and persuasive sales pitches cannot undermine the importance of how good you look on a search engine.
In a digitally revolutionized world like today, where tech giants like Google and Microsoft are building search engines that can chat with the user in context to their specific queries (Bing), search engine optimization is the key to your success in the digital landscape.
In this article, we'll explore how search engines work and look at top SEO tips for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Tip #1: Let The Quality of Your Content Optimize Itself For The Search Engine
Content is king, and proficient SEO content writers are king-makers. No matter how well packaged, how readily available, and how cheap your product is, if it doesn't provide a solution, it's going to fail. Period.
Most content creators focus on all the other elements of SEO religiously and put less effort into the content itself.
If the content you're putting up isn't entertaining the user's inquiry, those metatags, keywords, or backlinks won't protect you.
“Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.”
– Wendy Piersall
Ask any SEO expert, and they'll tell you the same. If you put in well-researched, user-friendly, data-driven, engaging content tailored to your target audience, you won't need to go the extra mile in optimizing it for the search engine playground.
Always remember. High-quality content reoptimizes itself. It doesn't need much to rank on top.
So, spend more time curating content that is better than your competition in every single regard, and you won't need to advertise it to that degree. Good content finds its way to your audience itself!
Tip #2: Understand How A Search Engine Plays Demand vs. Supply Game
Search engines work on the same principles as a market that works in a free economy.
There is a demand for search engine inquiries, and then there is a supply of an insane amount of content to cater to those.
How will the search engine show (supply) your website to the user if it doesn't have what he or she demands?
Your content might be well-researched, solution-oriented, and exactly what the audience needs, but who is going to tell that to the search engine?
Keywords.
There is a reason why we call them keywords. You can only unlock the untapped market potential and the gap with the right key at the right place.
Keywords are highly searched user queries. There are several free and paid tools, like Ahrefs, SEMRush, Google Keyword Planner, and Google Trends, that tell you what the users are looking for.
Ensure your content contains the right keywords so the search engine understands that your content is relevant to the user's inquiry.
Plan an all-encompassing keyword strategy, and optimize your content for the search engine you expect to find your target audience.
If your website is the key to solving a user's problem, it deserves to be out there at the top. But it won't make it there without you understanding what the search engine needs from you.
Tip #3: Facilitate The Search Engine With On-Page SEO
Just like everything else in business, there are some things you can't control in search engine optimization.
What does that mean?
It means that you have to make sure you get everything you can control in order. That is where on-page optimization comes in.
You must optimize your metadata, meta titles, meta descriptions, keyword density, keyword proximity, and keyword distribution to ensure your page is well-optimized for the search engine.
You might not be able to rank due to a factor you can't control, for example, a low domain authority.
But it would break your heart to know that you had everything to be on the top and get the business you need, but you overlooked the factors you could actually control.
Remember, no one cares if you're on the second page. Hell, no one even cares if you're the 7-8th result on a low, competitive keyword.
“The best place to hide a dead body is the second page of Google search.”
You have to be on the top, and though that depends on 200+ other aspects, you would not want yourself to be left behind.
Tip #4: Increase Your Domain Authority By Creating Quality Backlinks
Some SEO experts say backlinking is obsolete. But as far as my experience goes, you must maintain the role of quality backlinks in getting your content to the top.
Yes, quantity doesn't matter more than quality.
You can have 1000 low-quality backlinks that won't bring you any traffic or credibility, but 10 high-quality backlinks can do wonders for you.
Moreover, backlinks boost your domain authority, which is a metric of credibility in the sight of any search engine. Remember, 66.31% of pages have no backlinks, which means you can easily be in the top 40% by having qualitative backlinks!
A higher domain authority lets you compete with the big giants in the competition. Consider your domain authority as that digital goodwill that can help you succeed!
Tip #5: Keep It Fresh, Keep It Updated
Search engines constantly spend millions of dollars researching ways to enrich their users' experience. They value content that is fresh, regularly updated and doesn't lose its value over time.
Ranking at the top isn't the most difficult task. Relevance will get you there. What matters is how you can sustain that spot in years to come so that the traffic keeps on hitting your website.
And that is why regular updates matter a lot. Keeping your content fresh helps you stay relevant.
Tip #6: Focus on User Experience (UX) and Site Speed
In the quest for the top spot in search engine rankings, many businesses forget the most fundamental thing: the end user.
If your website takes more than a few seconds to load, a user might leave before seeing what you offer.
Search engines like Google value site speed and UX when determining site rankings.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your site's speed. Also, ensure your website is mobile-optimized.
With a significant chunk of users accessing websites via smartphones, having a responsive design is non-negotiable.
Remember that only 33% of websites pass the Core Web Vitals threshold, which means that you can easily overcome 67% of the websites by just having a better loading time and page speed.
“My rule of thumb is build a site for a user, not a spider.”
–?Dave Naylor, Managing Director, Bronco.co.uk
Also, please keep your website's navigation intuitive. If users can't find what they're looking for quickly, they'll exit, increasing your bounce rate.
A high bounce rate can be a negative signal to search engines about your site's quality.
Tip #7: Use Schema Markup for Better Visibility
Schema markup, a form of microdata, is added to the backend of a website to give search engines more informative results for users.
When you see ratings, reviews, or timings next to a website on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page), that's schema markup at work.
By integrating schema markup, you can help search engines understand your content better and ensure they present it in the most appealing way possible to users.
For instance, if you run a local bakery, schema can display your operating hours, top reviews, and even pricing for unique items on the SERP.
Remember, the more detailed and enticing your search result looks, the higher the chances a user clicks on it.
Tools like Google's Structured Data Markup Helper can help you implement schema.
Tip #8: Engage in Voice Search Optimization
Voice search has been gaining traction with the increasing popularity of voice-activated devices like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple's Siri. Around 48% of consumers are using voice for general web searches.
Instead of traditional two or three-word search queries, users are now asking complete questions.
To optimize for voice search, consider the natural language patterns. People speak differently than they type.
Your content should answer common questions related to your industry, products, or services in a conversational tone. FAQ sections can be particularly beneficial in this regard.
For instance, if you sell organic skincare, instead of just focusing on keywords like "organic face cream," think about how someone might ask Siri or Alexa:
"What's the best organic face cream for sensitive skin?"
By catering to these voice search queries, you position yourself as a direct answer to potential customers' questions.
Tip #9: Prioritize Image Optimization for Faster Load Times and Increased Accessibility
In today's visually-driven digital age, images play an integral role in website content.
"One of the often-overlooked SEO opportunities has to do with images."
– Mindy Weinstein. Founder of Market MindShift
However, high-resolution images can often slow down your website. Here's how to optimize them:
Moreover, before uploading any image to your website, make sure the file name is descriptive of what the image represents and not a random string of numbers or generic names like image1.jpg.
For instance, if it's an image of a sunset over the Grand Canyon, a name like grand-canyon-sunset.jpg is ideal. This can aid search engines in understanding the image content and context, potentially boosting image search rankings.
Tip #10: Leverage Passage Ranking Through FAQs or H2s
Search engines have become more sophisticated. 12.29% of all the search queries have featured snippets in their search results, which is a quite significant number.
Google's Passage Ranking allows it to index not just entire pages but specific passages from those pages, making it easier to pull relevant content for nuanced queries.
Incorporate FAQs
By including a Frequently Asked Questions section, especially on longer content pages, you not only provide quick answers to users but also make it easier for search engines to pick out and rank those passages for specific questions.
Optimize H2s for Context
H2s (subheadings) structure your content and give search engines context about what each section entails.
Ensure they're relevant, descriptive, and, if possible, designed to answer potential user queries directly.
For instance, if you're writing an article about coffee brewing methods, instead of a vague H2 like Popular Methods, use more specific subheadings like "How does the French Press method work?" or "Benefits of Aeropress brewing."
Tip #11: Heading Optimization for Clarity and SEO Impact
Headings play a pivotal role in organizing content, guiding readers through your text, and aiding search engines in understanding the structure and context of your page.
Here's how you can optimize your headings for maximum effectiveness:
Use a Hierarchical Structure
Always start with an H1 for the main title of your page, followed by H2s for subheadings, and then H3s, H4s, and so on, for subsequent layers of subtopics.
This hierarchy helps search engines determine the primary focus of the page and the breakdown of its content.
Incorporate Target Keywords
While it's essential to keep your headings natural and reader-friendly, try to incorporate your primary or secondary keywords where they fit organically. This sends a strong signal to search engines about the topic and relevance of your content.
Keep It Descriptive and Concise
Your headings should give readers a clear idea of what the following section is about. Avoid being overly vague or using clickbait-style headlines that don't deliver on their promise.
Avoid Overusing the Same Headings
Using the same heading multiple times can confuse search engines and users alike. Each heading should offer a unique value and indicate a new section of content.
Utilize Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords
LSI keywords are related terms to your main keyword. Incorporating these into your headings can enhance content relevance and context.
For instance, if your main keyword is "apple pie recipe," an LSI keyword might be "baking instructions" or "apple pie crust."
The Ending Note
SEO is vast and long-term. It isn't a sprint. It's a marathon that takes time for you to get there. Though there is so much more you can do and work your way around, have patience.
Moreover, SEO is all about experimentation. Remember that Google has 200+ factors that determine which content to rank. So, you can always find something others haven't and capitalize on that.
See you at the Google top 3 for the keyword your customers/visitors love the most.