SEO is an essential tool for any website looking to rank higher on search engine results pages. This article will walk you through SEO basics so that you can start improving your website’s ranking today.
Introduction to SEO
Did you know that 68% of people’s online experiences begin with a search engine? Or that Google holds 91.94% of the search engine market share? What does this mean for businesses? It means that if you’re not using SEO to improve your visibility online, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities.
Most people think of search engine optimization (SEO) as a way to improve the visibility of their website in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive search engine traffic to their websites. And while that is one aspect of SEO, it’s only a small part of what SEO can do for your business.
In reality, SEO is an ever-evolving complex field that covers a wide range of activities, all designed to help improve the visibility of websites on search engines.
Read on to learn more about SEO, how it can benefit your business, and how to actually achieve SEO success!
What Is SEO?
SEO is short form for “Search engine optimization”. It’s a content marketing strategy used to enhance a website’s visibility and organic search results in Google and other search engines like Bing. SEO isn’t easy, and it often requires the same dedication as you would put into any other type of marketing campaign.
Originating in the late 1990s, SEO has become one of the most important marketing strategies for small, medium, and large businesses that want to expand their reach online.
To put it simply, search engine optimization is a process of making your website “search engine friendly” so that when people use Google or other global search engines to look for products or services you offer, your website is more likely to appear higher up in the search results.
There are 2 types of SEO, on-page optimization & off-page optimization.
“Successful SEO is not about tricking Google. It’s about PARTNERING with Google to provide the best search results for Google’s users.”
Phil Frost
As the name suggests, on-page optimization refers to all the tactics you can employ on your website to help it rank higher, such as using the relevant keywords and structure.
Off-page optimization, in contrast, refers to all the things you can do to help your website rank higher that don’t necessarily have anything to do with your website itself, such as building backlinks and creating social media buzz.
SEO isn’t an overnight success story. It takes time, effort, and dedication to see results.
How Does SEO Work?
SEO works by making your website more visible and attractive to major search engines like Google. When you type search queries into Google, the search engine uses something called an “algorithm” to scour the internet and find websites relevant to your query.
These search engine algorithms take into account hundreds of different ranking factors, such as the quality of the website’s content, the age of the domain, the number of backlinks (links from other websites), the presence of a meta description, and much more.
Based on all these factors, Google then decides which websites to show in the search rankings and in what order.
The goal of SEO is to improve your website’s search engine rankings so that it appears higher up on the first page of search results. Studies have shown that people are more likely to click on a website if it appears on the first page of results and less likely to click if it appears on the second page or beyond.
In other words, SEO is all about getting your website to show up on the first page of Google.
How Do You Measure SEO?
There are many different metrics that you can use to measure the success of your SEO strategy, such as:
● The number of visitors to your website
● The number of organic (unpaid) visitors to your website
● The number of backlinks to your website
● Your website’s position in the search results
● The click-through rate (CTR) of your listing in the search results
All of these metrics are important, but if we had to choose one, it would be the CTR. The CTR measures how many people who see your listing in the search results actually click on it.
A higher CTR means that more people are finding your listing relevant and clicking through to your website.
But how do you find out your CTR and other SEO metrics? The best way is to use Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free keyword research tool that you can use to track all sorts of data about your website, including your SEO metrics.
There are many other tools out there that you can use to track your SEO metrics, such as Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Google Search Console. Each of these tools has its own set of features and pricing plans, so you’ll need to decide which one is right for you.
How Do You Learn SEO?
SEO is a complex and ever-evolving field, and it can be difficult to know where to start when trying to learn search engine optimization.
Luckily, there are many different resources that you can choose from to learn how to optimize your content and improve search traffic to your web pages, including:
● Books: Books are a great way to learn SEO. There are many different books on SEO that you can choose from, and each one covers a different aspect of SEO and search engines in general. If you’re just starting out, we recommend starting with SEO for Dummies. Another great resource is The Art of SEO by Eric Enge.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Kent, Peter (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 478 Pages - 12/17/2019 (Publication Date) - For Dummies (Publisher)
- Enge, Eric (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 773 Pages - 10/03/2023 (Publication Date) - O'Reilly Media (Publisher)
● Websites: While books are a more traditional way of learning SEO, there are also several websites that offer SEO resources. Some good SEO websites to check out include Moz, SEMrush, and Ahref’s blogs. You can also look into the eBusiness Institute and how to make money through websites and good SEO – full review here.
● Courses: Courses, whether free or paid, are another great way to learn SEO. There are a number of different SEO courses available, and they cover everything from the basics to more advanced concepts. Some good examples include Ahref’s free 2-hour long SEO Training Course, Backlinko’s definitive guide to SEO writing, and of course the eBusiness Institute.
● YouTube: YouTube is an excellent resource for SEO tutorials and explanations of how SEO works. If you’re looking for SEO tips and tricks, I recommend checking out SEMRush and Ahref’s YouTube channels. The following is an awesome video from MediaVines ‘SEO like a CEO’ series explaining page rank.
● Twitter: You can also follow some of the best SEO experts on Twitter for advice and tips on SEO. While tweets tend to be short and concise, they can still provide a lot of value. Some good SEO Twitter accounts to follow include Rand Fishkin (@randfish), Neil Patel (@neilpatel), and Brian Dean (@BrianEDean).
As you can see, there are many different ways to learn SEO and come up with an effective SEO strategy. The best way to learn SEO is to use a combination of all of these resources. This will give you the most comprehensive understanding of SEO and how it works.
How Can You Improve SEO?
Now that you know what SEO is and how it works, you’re probably wondering how you can improve your own SEO efforts.
There are several different things that you can do in order to improve your SEO, such as:
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the first step to improving your SEO. You need to find keywords that are relevant to your business and that people are actually searching for. You can use a keyword research tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer to help you with your research.
Optimize Your Website
Once you’re done with keyword research, you need to optimize your content for those keywords. This means including the keywords in your website’s title, meta description, header tags, and content.
Build Backlinks
Backlinks are the links from other websites that point to your web page. They act as proof of your website’s quality and can help improve your SEO. You can build backlinks by creating high-quality, relevant content and reaching out to other websites in your industry to ask them to link to your website.
Monitor Your SEO
Finally, you need to monitor your SEO to see how your efforts are paying off. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to track your SEO progress. Google Analytics will show you things like how much organic traffic you’re getting from search engines, what keywords people are searching for, and where they’re coming from.
Online SEO Tools
Online SEO tools such as Surfer SEO can help to optimise your website and your SEO by using a data-driven analysis tool and by analysing SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
What Is Black Hat vs White Hat SEO?
You may have heard of black hat and white hat SEO when researching SEO best practices. Both black hat and white hat SEO are methods used to improve a website’s ranking in search engines, but they differ in terms of their approach.
Black hat SEO is a more aggressive approach that focuses on getting results, even if it means breaking the rules. This approach can get you quick results, but it can also get you penalized by search engines.
White hat SEO is a more ethical approach that follows the rules set by search engines. This approach involves writing well-optimized content packed with a meta description and internal/external links. This approach takes longer to see results, but it’s more sustainable in the long run.
So, which approach should you take?
Ideally, you should take a white hat SEO approach. While black hat SEO can get you quick results, it’s not worth the risk of being penalized by search engines. Plus, white hat SEO is more sustainable in the long run, which means you’ll be able to maintain your rankings even after algorithm updates.
Keywords, Content and Links (Breaking It Down)
When it comes to SEO, there are a lot of key factors that come into play. But if you break it down, SEO really comes down to three main things: keywords, content, and links.
Let’s take a closer look at each one:
Keywords
When it comes to SEO, keywords are still important. But you can’t just stuff your content with keywords and expect to rank. Search engines are getting better at identifying keyword stuffing, and they will penalize you for it.
Instead, you need to focus on keyword research and finding high-volume, low-competition keywords. Next, you need to add those keywords to your content in a way that feels natural. This means using them in a way that makes sense for the user and the search engine.
Content
Content is still king when it comes to SEO. But in order for your content to be effective, it needs to be high-quality and informative. It also needs to be keyword-optimized so that it can rank in search engines. Ideally, you should aim to create content that’s better than what’s already out there.
Links
Links are important for SEO because they help search engines understand how your website is connected to other websites. When it comes to links, quality is more important than quantity. So, it’s better to have a few high-quality links than a bunch of low-quality links. You can get high-quality links to your own site by creating great content that other websites will want to link to, by being featured in the news, or even by doing backlink outreach (and asking people to link to your content where relevant). Don’t ever be tempted to buy backlinks, which is a violation of googles terms and can lead to a manual penalty.
Internal links are just as important too, so make sure you include several internal links for each page you have.
What Is EEAT?
EEAT stands for Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a Google ranking factor that was first introduced in 2014.
Basically, EEAT is designed to help Google identify websites that are high-quality and trustworthy. This is important because Google wants to provide its users with the best possible results.
You can improve your EAT score by:
● Creating high-quality, well researched, and informative content
● Ensuring that your website is accurate and up-to-date
● Building trust with your audience through your branding and reputation
Remember, Google loves websites that are high-quality and trustworthy. So, if you can improve your EAT score, you’ll likely see a boost in your SEO rankings.
How Long Does SEO Take Before You See Results?
This is a difficult question to answer because SEO results can vary depending on a number of factors.
For example, if you’re just starting out with SEO, it will take longer for you to see results than if you’re already familiar with the basics and are implementing an SEO strategy on an ongoing basis.
Additionally, the competitiveness of your industry can also affect how long it takes to see SEO results. If you’re in a competitive industry, it will take longer to rank in search engines because there are already a lot of websites competing for those top spots.
Generally speaking, SEO can take anywhere from 3-6 months to start seeing results. But remember that SEO is not a one-time thing, it’s a continuous process, so you need to be patient and consistent if you want to see long-term results.
“The best place to hide a dead body is the second page of Google search.”
ANONYMOUS
Can You Hire an SEO Consultant?
If you’re serious about SEO, you might want to consider hiring an SEO consultant. SEO consultants are experts in the field of search engine optimization and can assist you to implement an effective SEO strategy that will improve your ranking in search engines.
Keep in mind that SEO is an ever-changing field, so it’s important to hire an SEO consultant who knows the ins and outs of the latest SEO trends and changes.
An SEO consultant can also help you to identify any areas where your website needs improvement and can offer suggestions on how to fix them.
Overall, hiring an SEO consultant is a great way to get expert assistance with your website’s SEO and can help you to achieve better results in search engines.
Conclusion
SEO is an ever-changing field, but the basics remain the same. If you want SEO success, you need to focus on keyword research, quality content, and links. Additionally, you need to make sure that your website is high-quality and trustworthy. Patience and consistency are also key if you want to see long-term SEO results. Happy optimizing!
You might also want to look at my articles on:
Flippa Review; Buying And Selling Websites
Captain FI is a Retired Pilot who lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is passionate about Financial Independence and writes about Personal Finance and his journey to reach FI at 29, allowing him to retire at 30.
