Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is a long-term process with results that are rarely immediate. For many newcomers, it can often be intimidating as there are many factors that go into its success. However, if you are able to master the basics of SEO it can have a large impact on your website or video’s rank on a Google Search when people search for a query relevant to your content. If you are able to master the basic SEO strategies it can help bring in traffic, leads and sales. Here are 11 SEO fundamentals you can start with:
1. Make sure your website content is structured with target keywords
The structure and flow of the content on your website has a huge impact on its Google ranking. You need to optimise the structure of each page so it targets keywords and attracts users looking for a specific section of your website. Breaking down the pages on your website into different categories allows you to target keywords better so each page can be optimised for a Google ranking.
2. You should know how links pass the authority test
Most link-building today should be earned rather than built. When you write content pieces that are original, well-researched and contain relevant information, it can attract numerous readers who will share your post or use your content as a reference on their website. But the chances of external websites sharing your content is not always guaranteed so another option is to create relevant content for other websites. You can be a guest contributor to a high authority website that is relevant to your industry to help with link building.
3. Add relevant and attractive meta descriptions
A meta is the snippet that appears below your website’s link on a Google search. Although Meta descriptions don’t help your Google search ranking, it is important that the relevant keywords are present in the description. This is because meta descriptions can affect your website’s click-through-rate if the description is more engaging. This can increase the total number of shares and search impression of your website.
4. Improve your content marketing skills
You need to decide what niche your website is going to target and tailor your content accordingly. Your strategy can include a combination of on-site and off-site content that caters to the needs of your target audience while remaining original and insightful. In addition this, you should post content regularly to gain a loyal following and increase engagement. Create content that will provide your readers with value- remember quality over quantity.
5. Learn more about your domain authority and page authority
Your domain and page authority is an important factor in deciding your website’s ranking. Domain authority is a score developed by Moz that has the ability to predict how your website will rank on a Google search. The higher the score, the greater your rank. While the domain authority measures your website rank, the page authority measures a specific page’s rank.
6. Optimise your title tags
The title tag is the main title Google will display when a person enters a search query relevant to the content on your website. The title tag should accurately describe what your website is about while containing your target keywords. The keyword should be at the beginning of the title description to maximise your SEO.
7. Have a schema markup
Research has shown that pages that have a schema markup can rank four times higher than pages that don’t and can make a website stand out on the search engine results page (SERP). It is a rich snippet as it provides more specific information about the content on your website which can help increase the traffic to the website when people enter a relevant search query.
8. Build links externally
Building links on external websites is a great way to improve SEO. You can reach out to websites with a high domain authority to write a guest post for them. This can help create powerful backlinks and give you access to a wider audience reach. Alternatively, engaging with other members on social media can help drive more direct traffic to your website and improve your SEO ranking.
9. Make sure to increase your site speed
Google aims to deliver results to their users as fast as possible so there is a good chance that webpages that take time to load will rank lower on a Google Search. In addition to this, people are less likely to visit your page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Hence, if your site speed is optimised it can improve your site’s search engine ranking and reduce bounce rates.
10. Fix any technical issues on your website
Fixing any technical issues or errors your website may have is one of the most important ways to improve your website’s SEO. These errors create bad content management on your website, create duplicate content and affect site-wide navigation that is not traceable by search engines. These technical issues on your website can result in bad user experience and reduce the search engine ranking.
11. Learn how to measure your results
Once you implement all your SEO strategies, you need to be able to measure the results of all your hard work. An excellent tool for this is Google Analytics. Analytics can help you gain insights into the type of audience that visit your website as well as the sources of traffic. These numbers can go up if you execute your SEO strategies in the most effective way.
When earning Google’s trust to improve search engine optimisation your content needs to have quality over quantity. When you stuff your content with keywords, Google will identify this and rank your page lower on the search engine. Your goal should be to create relevant information that your users will want to read. The high-quality, engaging content can help your site build authority while increasing its page ranking. The strategies listed above can help you improve your website’s Google ranking while gaining a solid foundation in the basics of search engine optimisation.