Having a website is one incredible way to reach out to people globally, otherwise, your business, organization, or passion will not get any followers out of your country except those few friends of yours.
Table of Contents
Introduction to SEO
The term Organic traffic refers to the unpaid listings of website content that appear on the first page of a search engine, such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo, when someone types in a keyword.
Why is SEO important?
SEO is very vital because it can help your website to rank higher and the content in your website appears first once keywords are entered in the search engines. This makes you attract more people who browse the internet called traffic, make them to click on the link to the website and see the content of your website, and then might become your customers for your business.
According to research done in 2019 by BrightEdge, organic search can make up to 53% of website traffic compared to 15% from paid search and 12% from social media.
People who visit your website as a result of Organic search are more likely to buy from you than those who visit due to ads run because they have certain specific intentions.
Applying SEO techniques can increase the chances of a website ranking higher in organic search results for relevant keywords and search terms.
SEO optimization can also help your website and business to stand out from the competitors and reduce your dependence on paid advertising.
Types of SEO
There are three main types of SEO: on-page SEO, off-page SEO,
and technical SEO.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the optimization of the content and elements of your web pages, such as titles, headings, meta tags, images, videos, text, keywords, etc.
On-page SEO helps search engines understand what
your web pages are about and how relevant they are to the user’s query
Implement schema markup to add structured data to your web pages that help search engines understand and display your content better.
Schema markup can also enhance your appearance in search results with rich snippets, such as ratings, reviews, prices, images, etc.
Use tools like Google Structured Data Testing Tool or Schema Generator to create and test schema markup.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to the optimization of the factors outside of your website that affect your reputation and authority in the online world, such as links, social media, reviews, etc. Off-page SEO helps search engines evaluate how popular and trustworthy your website is among other websites and users.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to the optimization of the technical aspects of your website that affect its performance and usability, such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, indexing, crawling, etc. Technical SEO helps search engines access, crawl, index, and render your web pages faster and more efficiently.
Ways to Optimize SEO for your website.
Conduct keyword research
Doing Keyword research involves finding out what words and phrases people use a lot to search in the search engines.
Doing Keyword research is important because it can help you to easily optimize your website content and pages for the most relevant keywords.
There are a lot of tools you can use to do keyword research. Good tools like Bing Keyword Planner and Moz KeywordExplorer can help you to generate keyword and analyze their volume, difficulty, and competition.
You can also use Google search to do word search which is 100% free and everyone, including you, can use it to find out common keywords.
This will help you to find keywords people are interested in and constantly searching for in search engines like Google.
If you are a beginner, sometimes you may not have enough funds to commit to competing favorably with super guys who have already been in the field.
I have a free tool for you to do a word search. That is, Ubber suggest.
The website has a free option and I have been using it for over 2 years and really find it very useful. You can try it and see if it can help you.
Optimize your title tags and meta descriptions.
Title and meta descriptions are things that appear in the search results when your website URL is typed. It helps to tell the visitors and search engines what your web pages are about.
Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions will you to increase the click-through rate (CTR) and drive more traffic to your website.
If you have a blogger website or you coded it, you can use tools like Moz Title Tag Preview to check your title tags and see what meta description appears in the search results.
The same tools also work for WordPress but for WordPress, there are many additional plugins like Rank Math SEO or Yoast SEO for you to check your meta description.
Use headings and subheadings on your website.
Headings and subheadings refer to the elements that help organize your website content and make it easier for users and search engines to scan through it and understand it easily.
Using headings and subheadings makes your website more readable and user-friendly.
You do that by using the H1 tag for the main title of your web
page and including your main keyword, and H2-H6 tags for
subheadings that break down your content into smaller sections and include
related keywords.
If your website is a blogger website, you need to use the paragraphing feature.
Write high-quality content.
High quality content is important as it helps to provide value and answers the website visitors' questions and this can help you rank higher in the search results which in turn, attract more traffic to your website.
You should remember that why people search on search engines is because they want help, which therefore you need to offer good-quality content, otherwise it might be misleading to them.
A good-quality content needs to be original, meaning it is not copied and pasted from another website or textbook.
Also, good-quality content needs to be engaging, informative, and relevant to the questions of the visitors. Your content should also include keywords and avoid keyword stuffing.
Optimize your images and videos.
Images and videos are part of the audio-visual learning aids, and they help to make your website content more interesting.
You need to optimize the images and videos of your website so that your website can load faster and excite the user. Remember, no one likes a slow-loading website.
Furthermore, to optimize your images and videos, you need to use descriptive file names and alt texts for your images and videos that include keywords and describe what they show.
Sometimes users type in search engines but check the images instead. So, you need to optimize your images well so that your website can be discovered through images easily.
Lastly, you need to compress your files for images using tools like Tinypng website tool so that the size you upload is small, without compromising the quality of the image.
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| Tinypng for compressing images. |
Use internal links.
Internal links are the links that connect your web pages and create a logical hierarchy and navigation for your website. Internal links help users find more information on your website and stay longer on it. Internal links also help search engines crawl and index your web pages better. You should use descriptive anchor texts for your internal links that include keywords.
Use external links
External links are links that link to authoritative and relevant sources that support your content and provide more value to your users. External links help to establish your credibility and trustworthiness, as well as to improve your ranking and visibility. You should use tools like Moz Link Explorer or Ahrefs Backlink Checker to find and analyze external links.
Improve your site speed
Site speed is a measure of how fast your web pages load on different
devices and browsers. Site speed is a ranking factor for search engines, as
well as a user experience factor for users. Site speed can affect your bounce
rate, conversion rate, and retention rate. You should use tools like Google Page
Speed Insights or GTmetrix to measure and improve your site speed.
Your website should be mobile friendly
Mobile-friendliness is a measure of how well your website adapts to
different screen sizes and devices. Mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor for
search engines, especially after the mobile-first indexing update.
Mobile-friendliness is also a user experience factor for users, as more than
half of the web traffic comes from mobile devices. You should use tools like
Google Mobile-Friendly Test or Responsive Design Checker to test and improve
your mobile-friendliness.
Use HTTPS protocol on your website
HTTPS protocol is a secure version of HTTP protocol that encrypts the data transfer between your website and the user’s browser. HTTPS protocol is a ranking factor for search engines, as well as a trust factor for users. HTTPS protocol can prevent malicious attacks, data breaches, and identity theft. You should use tools like SSL Checker or SSL Labs to check and install HTTPS protocol on your website.
Create and submit a sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists all the web pages on your website and
tells search engines how they are organized and related. Creating and
submitting a sitemap can help search engines discover, crawl, and index your
web pages faster and more efficiently. You should use tools like XML Sitemaps
Generator or Yoast SEO Plugin to create and submit a sitemap to search engines.
Fix broken links
Broken links are the links that lead to non-existent or inaccessible web pages. Broken links can harm your SEO, as they can reduce your crawl budget, increase your bounce rate, and lower your user satisfaction. You should use tools like Broken Link Checker or Ahrefs Site Audit to find and fix broken links on your website.
SEO optimization is a vital process for any online business that wants to succeed in the competitive digital market. SEO optimization can help you improve your website’s visibility and relevance in organic search results, attract more qualified traffic, leads, and customers to your website, and build trust and authority in your niche.
Conclusion
SEO optimization requires constant monitoring, analysis, and improvement of various factors on-page SEO factors (content quality), off-page SEO factors (links), and technical SEO factors (site speed). By following the 15 ways mentioned in this article, you can optimize your website for SEO effectively.
By optimizing your website for SEO, you can increase your chances of appearing in the top positions of organic search results for relevant keywords and queries.
This can help you attract more qualified traffic, leads, and customers to your website, as well as build trust and authority in your niche. SEO optimization can also help you gain a competitive edge over your rivals, as well as reduce your reliance on paid advertising
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