Mastering SEO: How To Improve Your Website Ranking
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is more than just a buzzword; it’s a crucial element for anyone looking to enhance their online presence. It’s essentially a set of practices that aim to increase both the quality and quantity of traffic to your site through organic search engine results.
The Core Components
There are three big players here: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
- On-page SEO deals with the content and structure of your site, making sure it’s attractive not just to search engines, but to people visiting your site.
- Off-page SEO involves activities outside of your website, like building a strong backlink profile.
- Technical SEO, on the other hand, ensures that your site is well-structured and easily crawlable by search engines, which accentuates the importance of a solid framework for your website.
But this isn’t just about appeasing algorithms—it’s also about enhancing the experience for your users.
SEO plugins can help with understanding the requirements of good SEO on the website and throughout the content.
When you invest in SEO, you’re making your site more navigable, quicker to load, and easier to understand, which are all things real people appreciate. Plus, with search engines constantly evolving, what works today might not work tomorrow, so staying informed is key.
A recent algorithm update saw many websites lose their rankings as the SEO was geared more toward search engine ranking rather than visitor experience.
Regaining rankings once lost is time-consuming as each page and post needs to be reworked and recrawled by search engine bots.
Optimizing Content with the User in Mind
SEO content is a mixture of providing the information the visitor wants while satisfying the search engine crawlers. The focus should always be on the visitor experience first and foremost.
Visitors are usually looking for information before even thinking about buying. The more the visitor stays on your site absorbing information the better their experience and the higher the website will rank.
Think about your experience when visiting a website and it is just a sales page. If you are like me, I quickly go to the next website.
Good content that links to more good content on the website improves the visitor’s experience and will be rewarded with higher rankings.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is your starting block. Don’t worry too much about stuffing your articles with keywords; instead, focus on understanding what your audience is looking for.
Google Search comes in very handy here. Put in a keyword and they will show the most frequently asked questions. Use the questions as a guide to the type of content being most searched and include it in the content.
For example, as I’m writing this blog, I did a search on Google for the most frequently asked questions for SEO Keyword. They were
- What is an SEO Keyword
- How do I get good SEO keywords
- Can I teach myself SEO keywords
- How do I find SEO keywords for free
By addressing those 4 questions the content on this website is likely to rank higher when a question about SEO keywords is asked.
So before we go into more detail about SEO let’s answer the most frequently asked questions
What is SEO keyword?
When a question or word is used on Google, the search engine will look for the content it believes is closest to what the website visitor is looking for. It creates a list of sites it has already crawled that matches words or phrases the searcher has requested. The closer your content to the question the more likely your website will be closer to the top of the search.
How Do I Get Good SEO Keywords
You get good SEO keywords through research. Searching the most asked questions and words used.
I not only use Google for research but also Jaaxy. Jaaxy is a keyword research tool that provides information on the type of words or phrases searched together with details of the competition using the same phrases or words. Refine how you use keywords and Jaaxy gives an estimate of how high you’ll likely rank.
Jaaxy is one of the tools available free through Wealthy Affiliate the platform I use for web hosting. It can be bought separately.
Can I Teach Myself SEO Keyword
Yes, you can teach yourself how to do research which will improve the website and content ranking.
Even with tools an understanding of SEO keyword is essential for the website.
How Do I Find SEO Keywords for Free
Using research such as this example of answering the most asked questions is one way of finding free SEO keywords. Google has a few free tools to help with SEO keywords – Google Console; Google Trends and Google Ad Keywords Planner
There are several other free platforms including – Rank Tracker; Also Asked; Keyword Surfer and more.
By answering those four most frequently asked questions, I’ve already included good SEO keywords in this article.
SEO isn’t Just Keywords
It’s not just keywords that matters. Multimedia is a powerhouse when it comes to enhancing content. Images, videos and even podcasts integrated into a website’s content strategy will help with SEO ranking.
Everyone learns differently. The more diverse the information being provided the easier it will be for users to absorb information.
Remember, you’re writing for humans, but you also need search engines to recognize the value of your content.
A great piece of content is the one that manages to resonate with the humanity of the user and the logic of the algorithms. You can always adjust your approach down the road, but keeping the user’s needs at the forefront is essential for sustainable SEO success.
Enhancing Visibility through Technical SEO
You might think content is king, and you’re right, but technical SEO is the castle that keeps the king safe and sound. It’s all about the backend stuff that, frankly, most users won’t see but will feel. Especially when it comes to site speed.
A slow site can frustrate users faster than you can say ‘bounce rate.’ Speed up your website, and you’re on the right track to keeping visitors around longer.
Here’s a critical piece of advice: go mobile or go home. With more people than ever browsing the web via smartphones, if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out.
Search engines, like Google, prefer websites optimized for mobile users, because that’s what people are using. Don’t just check off a box that says ‘mobile-friendly’. Make sure the experience is smooth as silk.
HTTPS isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a necessity. It encrypts data between your visitor’s web browser and your website, protecting information. Sites with HTTPS also get a nice little boost from search engines because it signals trustworthiness.
Onto structured data and schema markup — think of them as the breadcrumbs that help search engines navigate through your website and understand your content. It’s like telling a search engine, ‘Here’s exactly what this piece of content is all about.’ This clarity can help improve your chances of landing rich snippets on search results, which can seriously boost click-through rates. Your SEO plugin should handle this. Check the settings.
Finally, don’t set and forget. Regular website audits to identify and fix any on-site SEO issues are super important to stay on the good side of search engines. Use tools to crawl your website for errors like broken links, duplicate content, or missed redirects. It’s like a health checkup for your site, and regular checkups are the key to a healthy website that ranks well.
Why You Need 3 Types of SEO Links
Creating links for content is another step on the SEO Ladder. There are 3 types of links every post should aim to create.
- Internal Links – links between other posts that help explain or enhance your post. Such as this blog where you will find more information about SEO Links
- External Links – links to other websites
- Backlinks – links from other websites to the post
The more links created from reputable websites and between content the better your website will be ranked and considered to provide better information for visitors.
There are website plugins to help keep track of the links in your content. Reviewing these regularly with ensure there are no posts without links – Google refers to these as orphaned links and they are a no-no if you want good rankings.
Building Authority and Expertise in Your Niche
Backlinks are considered an important part of building your expertise and reputation as an expert in your field. This can be achieved via guest posting or creating content 100% unique to you such as survey results or data charts.
A website can then link back to the information you’ve created and that helps to establish you as the expert.
Google has established the EEAT guide to building websites that engage audiences.
- E – Experience
- E – Expert
- A – Authority
- T – Trustworthy
SEO plays a major part in helping to support EEAT with user-friendly and search engine optimized content.
Consistent engagement with your community and authentic interactions can solidify your standing as a trustworthy source. Remember, trust is earned with each blog post, comment, and share.
Your first attempt doesn’t need to be your last. SEO is an evolving field, and staying updated and adaptable is key. Always be ready to refine your strategies and pivot when necessary. Choose something that resonates with you and your audience, and the authority will follow.
Monitoring and maintaining your online reputation is just as crucial as any on-page optimization. A well-managed reputation means a consistent message and a clear brand that people can trust. So, it’s important to keep track of how your brand is perceived and actively manage your online presence to ensure long-term success in SEO.
Improve Your Website by Mastering SEO
The more you can learn about SEO strategies the better a website will rank and the more traffic it will attract.
SEO is evolving. Search Engine algorithms constantly change. Keeping up with good practices of providing value content that visitors can read and learn from will help keep a website higher in the ranking.
Analyze everything you do and always look to improve the visitor experience then the website will constantly rank higher.
