7 SEO Basics Everyone Should Know
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the foundation of any successful website. Considering that most traffic to websites originates from organic search, it is evident that where a website ranks on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) can greatly impact the overall traffic success of the site. If done right, SEO has the potential to drive engagement, boost conversions, and increase revenue.
The 7 SEO basics below are an excellent way to start your journey towards success in your online marketing efforts:
1. Quality Content
Content is still king when it comes to SEO success. It attracts customers since it is the first step of the acquisition tunnel. With vast amounts of content available freely online, users only look for unique and shareworthy content.
Studies show that the higher the quality and length of the content, the more engagement it is likely to enjoy and the better it is for SEO. If users like your content, they are also more likely to share it on social media, which is good for SEO.
2. Keywords
Keywords are topics used to define what your content is all about. Using the right keywords in your content and website will help you rank higher on the SERPS. The reason for this is that if your chosen keywords are relevant to what users are searching for, the search engines will try to ensure that those people see your web page.
Use a mix of both long-tail and LSI keywords to improve the ranking of your website and provide search engines with more information to determine what your content is all about. However, content is not all about keywords, so always write for the reader first before the search engines to ensure maximum engagement.
3. Backlinks
A backlink is when one website mentions a different website by linking to it. High quality backlinks are key deciding factors that help increase your website’s ranking in the SERPs. The backlinks should also be on websites with related content.
Search engines believe that the higher the quality and the more relevant the backlinks you have the more useful your website must be for users. Having high quality backlinks should be one of your main priorities since they influence your search engine ranking. This applies especially if you are in a really competitive industry such Healthcare Digital Marketing & SEO or lawyer SEO type fields.
4. Website Loading Speed
One of the factors that search engines look for when ranking websites is your website’s loading speed. In fact, Google has already stated that it uses page loading speed as a ranking signal. Studies also show that the vast majority of users would not revisit websites that take longer than 4 seconds to load. You can check your website’s load speed you can use the free mobile speed tester provided by Google.
5. Mobile Friendly
Mobile friendly means that a webpage or website is adaptive to mobile devices. If your website is not mobile friendly, you should ideally have a separate website for mobile users to avoid alienating them. Google actually penalizes websites that are either not mobile friendly or responsive.
If your website is not properly optimized for mobile users, it could lead to a bad user experience, which is not good for SEO. Mobile traffic is responsible for 52.2 percent of all Internet traffic at the time of this writing and you don’t want to lose out on such a huge percentage of Internet users/traffic.
6. Social Media
Being active on social media can be very good for SEO. It is actually advisable to have multiple social media accounts such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook since it is one of the basics of promoting your website.
Social media works best with shareable content that you can use to promote your product or service. Since it can be challenging to keep track of multiple social media accounts, you should consider investing in tools created specifically for this purpose such as Hootsuite.
7. Google Analytics
It is important to have a tool that analyzes and keeps track of your website data. Google Analytics is not only used to track where users come from but also how they get there. The tool is also used to create custom reports for you when you analyze your data.
Google Analytics lets you measure the results of your webpages using real-time data. Data is shown from different channels such as paid search, organic search, direct traffic, social media, and referrals. Google Analytics helps you make better business decisions regarding where to invest your resources and can guide you on your SEO efforts.
Final Thoughts
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is incredibly vast and has multiple aspects. However, the 7 SEO basics discussed here are exactly what you need to get started. It is also important to realize that SEO is continually evolving, which means that you must keep up with all the changes. If you are unable to implement any of the SEO basics discussed here or any other aspects of SEO, you should hire a professional to do it.
Related Information:
2019 Search Engine Optimization Techniques
How to Use Press Releases For SEO
7 SEO Basics Everyone Should Know
How SEO Can Help Your E-commerce Site
9 Search Engine Optimization Techniques That Really work
Digital Marketing & SEO (What’s the difference?)
SEO Vs Print Advertising
7 Quick SEO Tips To Help You Rank
Excel Healthcare Marketing Agency