What is this SEO, you ask? Well…
simply put, SEO is an acronym for “search engine optimization.” It is the art and process of optimizing your website for the best online visibility, which can increase traffic to your website.
Through targeted keywords and outstanding content, interested visitors are drawn to your website looking for information that best matches their search query. Search engines select the most relevant keyword descriptions and content to serve in search engine results.
But SEO is more than just placing keywords on your website. There is a process to follow to get the best results.
This article will cover how SEO influences Google and other search engines to view your website and how your audience finds your website.
What Does SEO Do For Your Website?
SEO accomplishes two critical things on your website.
- Keywords help set the theme of your website. Searchers looking for your site will find it by using related keywords in their search queries.
- SEO helps Google and other search engines, like Bing and Yahoo, to understand what your website is about through the use of keywords. This is important because these search engines analyze searcher queries and results to determine which websites are most relevant for a particular subject. So, they will reward the website that has shown itself to be best for a specific topic and has higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The Role of Keywords In SEO
Keywords are one of the most essential parts of SEO. This is because keywords are how your website or webpage is found in search engines.
People conduct trillions of searches every year for information on products, services, or the latest trends. Whatever they are searching for, their searches start with a keyword.
Organic Search In SEO
Keyword research in this area is of great importance if you are looking to rank higher in search engine page results or SERPs naturally.
Organic search, for the most part, is free traffic. But more than that, it’s directly associated with the search intent of the searcher. It’s keywords and phrases that are very close to what the searcher is looking for, if not exactly. Organic search answers a specific need or problem. Organic search relates exactly to what people are looking for, which increases the likelihood of conversion to your website or paid ads (Google Ads, Facebook, etc.).
Technical SEO: Making Your Site Search Engine Friendly
Technical SEO involves configuring a website to be easily crawled and indexed by search engines to rank higher in search engine results. It’s the process of optimizing your website to help search engines discover, understand, and index your web pages.
Why is this important? If search engines cannot easily access (crawl), read, or understand what your site is about, then your pages won’t be indexed. And if your pages cannot be indexed, your website won’t be found, and worst of all, it won’t even be ranked.
Contributing factors that search engines consider when crawling and indexing your website include things like:
- Robots.txt file – Shows search engines what to crawl and what not to crawl.
- Site Map – Helps to improve indexing.
- Mobile-friendly access – Now required in Google Best Practices.
- SSL Certification – Website trust and safety.
- Site navigation – Providing the best user experience.
These examples are some of the most common items to address when optimizing for technical SEO.
What Is On-Page SEO? Give Your Visitors What They Want
Having good content is what attracts visitors to your website. Optimizing on-page SEO also helps Google to understand what your website is about. This, of course, drives more organic traffic and helps improve rankings.
So, how is this done? It’s done by creating quality content that satisfies your customer’s or visitor’s search intent. Content that appeals to real people but is also optimized for search engines.
Page Titles, Meta Descriptions, and Page URLs
Attention-grabbing page titles and meta descriptions can help convince users to click on your link when they perform search queries.
This is important because Google uses page titles and meta descriptions in its algorithm, which can impact your ranking in SERPs.
Search engines also view page URLs, so your web pages must have compelling URLs that encourage users to click on your link.
Keyword Usage
It’s also essential to optimize keywords in the page headlines, subheadlines, and throughout the body of your content. Keywords are most important throughout the first paragraph of each web page or blog post that you write.
Headlines and Subheadlines
Headlines and subheadlines attract the most attention when they can answer a question or solve a “pain point” your visitor may have.
These headings should be optimized for the keyword phrase you are trying to rank for and best satisfy the user search intent. This helps Google better understand what your content is about so it can index it accordingly for the best user experience.
SEO Copywriting
Copywriting for SEO is about writing compelling copy that attracts visitors while being relevant to search engines through keywords.
Compelling and interesting copy not only attracts visitors but also provides a satisfying solution to the searcher’s query, which encourages the visitor to stay longer on your site.
Providing high-quality content that your visitors find helpful will not only help drive more traffic and boost your website’s rankings and establish authority and build trust and credibility for your brand and business.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to external influences that are “off” or away from your website that can potentially improve your rankings within search engine results.
Off-page SEO is also known as link building.
In short, when your website “links” or is associated with a website that has a high authority or trust in the eyes of Google, your website gains a little more trustworthiness and credibility, thus boosting your website ranking because of the association (backlink) with the higher authority site.
For local businesses, off-page SEO can be achieved by way of:
- Google Business Profile—This is local businesses’ best and most trusted backlink. Reviews on this platform carry a lot of SEO weight.
- Social Media—Having a business page or presence on social media allows customers to interact with shared content posted on your site. Google considers this activity “social signals.”
- Citations—Listing your business on review and directory sites like Yelp, Merchant Circle, and Manta will boost your website.
- SEO Copywriting – Draw in more traffic from the amazing content that your site has to offer!
Wrapping It Up
SEO is about more than just placing keywords on your website. It’s about getting your message out in front of your target audience by providing quality content that answers their questions, addresses their pain points, and satisfies their search queries.
By doing so, your website will gain more traffic, higher visibility through higher search rankings, and the opportunity to persuade your visitors to take action.