Still trying to wrap your head around search engine optimization (SEO) and how it works? Whether you’re a seasoned webmaster who owns a portfolio of 100+ websites, or if you’re looking to launch your very first website, you’ve probably heard of SEO before. But what exactly is SEO? And why is it important? These are just a few of the many questions that we’re going to answer in today’s blog post.
SEO: The Basics
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the act of optimizing a website so it ranks higher in the search engines for one or more keywords. When a website ranks higher in the search engines, it typically receives more traffic. That’s because most people click on the first few listings instead of scrolling through multiple pages. As a result, it only makes sense for webmasters and Internet marketers to optimize their sites for higher rankings.
Beware of the Bots!
Search engines work by crawling websites with an army of unmanned robots (bots), scanning sites’ content to determine what they are about. Whether you realize it or not, your website is probably being crawled on a daily, possibly hourly, basis. This is a good thing: the more a search engine crawls your site, the greater your chances of achieving a top search ranking.
Inexperienced webmasters, however, may unknowingly prevent search engines from crawling their sites by blocking their bots. This can be done in the robots.txt file or in certain content management systems (CMS). So if you’re struggling to achieve a top search ranking, check to make sure you aren’t blocking search engines from crawling your site.
Search Ranking Factors
When crawling a website, search engines look for hundreds of different factors to determine an appropriate ranking for it in their index. Known as “ranking signals,” these consist of both on-page and off-page signals. On-page factors, as the name suggests, consists of optimization techniques that are performed directly on the page itself, such as publishing high-quality, content, using a relevant title tag, optimizing images, adding links, subheadings, etc. Off-page factors, on the other hand, are optimization techniques performed elsewhere, such as commenting on relevant blogs, posting links on social media networks, publishing press releases, creating brand name mentions, etc.
How to Perform SEO
We could write an entire series on how to optimize a website for higher search rankings — and we may later — but here are some general tips to help you succeed:
- Choose the keywords for which you want your site to rank.
- Publish content around those keywords, including them in the content when relevant and applicable.
- Avoid buying links, instead focusing on high-quality content that attracts links naturally.
- Don’t publish the same content in multiple locations.
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly.
- Reduce load times so visitors can access your site more quickly.
