SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is
the process of optimizing your website to get un-paid traffic from the search
engine results page. In other terms, SEO involves making certain changes
to your website design and content that make your site looks more attractive to
a search engine. You do this so that the search engine will display your
website as a top result on the search engine results page.
Though search engine optimization
can get quite difficult when it comes to all the different factors that impact
your ranking, the basic process is not as difficult to understand. Search
engines want to provide the best facility for their users. This means
delivering results on the search engine pages that are not just only high
quality but also relevant to what the searcher is looking for.
In order to do this,
search engines will scan, different websites to better understand what the site
is about. This helps them deliver relevant results to those who are searching
for certain keywords or topic. The search engines will scan the site to decide
how easy it is to navigate and read, rewarding user-friendly sites with higher
rankings on the search engine results page.
SEO is the method that organizations go through to help
make sure that their site ranks high in the search engines for relevant
keywords and phrases.
By improving your SEO, you can work to increase your
visibility on the search engines. This helps you reach and engage more
potential consumers. By creating more engaging and effective SEO-focused
content, you can boost your chances of bringing in more targeted organic
traffic.
Now that you simply know what's SEO and the way it works,
let’s take a glance at a number of the factors that can impact your search
engine optimization ranking.
Search engine giant, Google will never give away the
accurate algorithm they use to rank sites. However, we do have a pretty good
knowledge of some of the factors that impact search engine results page (SERP)
rankings. These factors include both on-page and off-page factors, which we
will explain below.
Before we jump into some of the factors of on and
off-page SEO, let’s talk about content. Content
is powerful in both attracting the search engines and helping your
organization make connections with site visitors.
The more quality, relevant content pieces that you have
on your site, the more possible search engines will be to rank your pages
higher on the search engine results page. The more engaging and powerful
content you have on your site, the more likely your visitors will be to spend
some quality time on your website and maybe even make a purchase.
On-Page SEO
The on-page SEO factors
are those factors that happen on your website. These are the things that you
have total control over, it means that you can work to improve these factors
over time by following best practices for SEO.
This goes beyond just your content marketing to the deeper levels of your
website’s HTML.
Title Tag – The title tag on each page describes the
search engines what your page is about. This should be 60 characters including
both the keyword your content focuses on and your business name.
Meta Description – The Meta description on your website
describes search engines a little more about what each page is about. This is
also used by your human visitors to quite understand what the page is about and
if it’s related. This should include your keyword and also provide enough details
to tell the reader what the content is on.
Sub-headings – Not only do sub-headings make your content
easier for visitors to read, but it can also help
increase your SEO. You can use H1, H2, and H3 tags to help search engines
properly understand what your content is about.
Internal Links – Building internal links, or hyperlinks
to other content on your site can help search engines discover more about your
site.
Image Name and ALT Tags – If you are using images on your
website or in your blog content, you will also want to include your keyword or
phrase in the image name and alt tag. This will help search engines better
index your images, which may appear when users perform an image search for a
specific keyword
Off-Page SEO
In addition to the on-page
SEO elements that your organization has control over, there are also off-page SEO factors that can affect your
ranking. Though you do not have direct power over these off-page factors, there
are ways that you can increase your chances of having these factors work out in
your favour.
Here are various off-page SEO factors that can impact
your search engine rankings:
Trust – Trust is becoming a more important factor in a
site’s Google ranking. This is how Google determines whether you have a
legitimate site that visitors can trust. One of the best ways to develop trust
is by building quality backlinks from sites
that have authority.
Links – One of the most common ways to build off-page SEO
is through backlinks. You want to be cautious here as spamming sites with your
links is a fast and simple way to get your site banned from the search engines.
Instead, take the time to form relationships
with influencers and fans who create quality content and will link back to
your site in their content.
Social – Another important off-page SEO factor is social
signals, such as likes and shares. When it comes to increasing SEO, you want to
look for quality shares from influencers. The more quality content you publish,
the more likely you will be to get people to share your content with others.