Search Engine Optimization

Introduction to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What you think of SEO, What comes to mind? Keywords! while that is an integral part of SEO, there’s a lot more to it. 

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a technique used to increase the visibility of a website on the Search Engine’s result page. SEO is a technique for:

• Designing and Developing a website to rank well in search engine results
• Improving the volume and Quality of traffic to a website from search engines
• Marketing by understanding how search algorithms work, and what human visitors might search

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website or online content to increase the quantity and quality of traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, analysis, and optimization. It can take time to see results, but the benefits of SEO can be significant, including increased visibility, traffic, and revenue.

What are Search Engines?

Search Engine Optimization completely depends on the search engine. So let’s first understand what search engines are:

Search Engines are software designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, MyWebSearch, DuckDuckGo, Blekko, and Contenko are names of some search engines. 

Google is the top search engine and is used by 70% – 80% of people around the world. The rest 30% to 20% use the other search engine mentioned.

Working of a Search Engine

The Search Engine had two major functions – Crawling and Indexing, and providing relevant results. Search engines use programs called crawlers or spiders to reads the source code of the website and store this data on their local servers. This technique is called crawling the website. A website is generally crawled 3 to 4 times a year.

• Crawling – Process of fetching all the web pages liked to a website. This task is performed by software, called crawling or a spider (or Googlebot, in case of Google)
• Indexing – Process of creating an index for all the fetched web pages and keeping them into a giant database from where it can later be retrieved. Essentially, the process of indexing is identifying the words and expressions that best describe the page and assigning the page to particular keywords.
• Processing – When a search request comes, the search engine processes it, i.e. it compares the search string in the search request with the indexed pages in the database.
• Calculating Relevancy – It is likely that more than one page contains the search string, so the search engine starts calculating the relevancy of each of the pages in its index to the search string.
• Retrieving Results – The last step in search engine activities is retrieving the best-matched results. Basically, it is nothing more than simply displaying them in the browser.

After this, Indexing takes the data from the local server of the crawlers and arranges them in categories like hotels, hospitals, schools, restaurants, etc. This indexed data is stored in the main database.

Types of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) : 

There are Three main types of  SEO : 

1. On-Page SEO
2. Off-Page SEO 
3. Technical SEO 

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. This involves optimizing various elements on the page such as content, title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, images, and internal links, to name a few.

On-page SEO also comprises techniques that improve the experience for users who visit your website. Search engines such as Google want to recommend the best websites for searchers, so making your site “delightful” for humans to visit is also a big part of on-page SEO.

Factors that can Impact On-Page SEO Include

1. Core Web Vitals
2. Page Speed 
3. Mobile Friendliness
4. Title Tags
5. Meta Descriptions
6. Content Quality
7. HTML Headers
8. Image Alt Text
9. Internal Linking 
10. Navigation

Here are some best practices for on-page SEO:

1. Conduct keyword research and use relevant keywords throughout the page.
2. Write high-quality, unique and engaging content that satisfies the search intent of the user.
3. Use descriptive and unique title tags and meta descriptions that accurately reflect the content of the page.
4. Optimize header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure the content.
5. Use alt tags to describe images and other media.
6. Ensure that the website is mobile-friendly and responsive.
7. Use internal links to connect pages within your website.
8. Optimize page speed and reduce load time.
9. Use schema markup to help search engines better understand the content on the page.
10. Make sure the website has a clear and organized structure.

By implementing these best practices, you can improve your website’s on-page SEO and increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the actions taken outside of your website that can impact your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes activities that are done to improve the website’s authority, relevance, and credibility in the eyes of search engines.

A Survey of Off-Page SEO factors

1. Back Links
2. Social Media 
3. Unlinked Mentions
4. Google My Business

Here are some common off-page SEO techniques:

1. Link Building: Building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites to your website is a crucial off-page SEO technique. This involves creating engaging content, reaching out to relevant websites, and securing backlinks to your site.

2. Social Media Marketing: Promoting your website on social media channels can increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and improve your website’s authority.

3. Social Bookmarking: Submitting your website pages to social bookmarking sites can also help drive traffic to your website.

4. Guest Posting: Writing and publishing articles on other websites in your industry can help establish you as an authority in your niche and improve your website’s credibility.

5. Influencer Outreach: Collaborating with influencers and bloggers in your industry can help increase your website’s visibility and drive traffic.

6. Online PR: Getting your business featured in online publications can also increase your website’s authority and improve your search engine rankings.

These off-page SEO techniques, when done correctly, can help improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search engines. It’s important to note that off-page SEO takes time and requires consistent effort, but the results can be significant in the long run.

Technical SEO

Basic technical knowledge will help you optimize your site for search engines and establish credibility with developers.

Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website for the crawling and indexing phase. With technical SEO, you can help search engines access, crawl, interpret and index your website without any problems.

It is called “technical” because it has nothing to do with the actual content of the website or with website promotion. The main goal of technical SEO is to optimize the infrastructure of a website.

To understand what is the true meaning of technical SEO, let’s start with some basic terminology.

Technical SEO is a very important step in the whole SEO process. If there are problems with your technical SEO then it is likely that your SEO efforts will not generate the expected results.

Here are some common technical SEO techniques:

1. Website Structure: Creating a well-structured website that is easy to navigate for both users and search engines is an important aspect of technical SEO. This includes organizing your website’s content into logical categories, using clear and concise URLs, and optimizing your site’s navigation.

2. Mobile Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices, it is crucial to have a website that is mobile-friendly and responsive. This means ensuring that your website is optimized for mobile devices, has a fast load time, and is easy to navigate on a smaller screen.

3. Page Speed: A website’s page speed is an important ranking factor for search engines. This includes optimizing images, reducing the size of files, and minimizing the number of HTTP requests.

4. Schema Markup: Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines understand the content on your website. This can include information such as your website’s business name, address, phone number, and reviews.

5. XML Sitemap: An XML sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on your website and provides search engines with information on how to crawl and index them.

6. Canonicalization: Canonicalization is the process of selecting the preferred URL for a webpage when there are multiple versions of the same page. This can help avoid duplicate content issues and improve your website’s search engine rankings.

By implementing these technical SEO techniques, you can improve your website’s search engine visibility and ranking, and provide a better user experience for your website visitors.

Benefits of Technical SEO

• It helps in Achieving Better Rankings
• Improves Page Speed
• Helps Eliminate Duplicate Content
• You can Set Up Structured Data
• Helps Locate Website Structure Issues

Technical SEO Checklist

1. Use SSL
2. Avoid 404 Pages
3. Fix Duplicate Content Issue
4. Ensure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly
5. Registering Your Website with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

Why you should use SEO?

• Brand Awareness: A website having a high ranking means more people see the name of the company and become familiar with the company and its products, even if they haven’t made a purchase.
• Targeted Traffic: Search engine optimization brings paying customers to your door step 
• Your Competitors: Keeping ahead of your competition in the organic search results can help boost the perceived position of your company in your marketplace

While nobody can guarantee top level positioning is search engine organic results, proper search engine optimization can help. Because the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing are so important today it is necessary to make each page in a website conform to the principles of good SEO as much as possible. 

To do this it is necessary to :

• Understand the basics of how search engines rate sites
• Use proper keywords and phrase throughout the website
• Avoid giving the appearance of spamming the search engines