Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to optimizing websites, web pages, and other digital content to increase their visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO aims to improve the quantity and quality of organic traffic to a website from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Nowadays, you are listening to Search engine terms like Search Engine Marketing, companies providing SEO services, and SE Optimization. All these terms are related to Search Engine Optimization or SEO.
This article includes a complete and detailed explanation of the SEO roadmap to optimize your websites or web pages for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Almost every Search Engine has the same tools and techniques for Seo.
How to Start Learning SEO
SEO is a constantly evolving field that requires ongoing effort and investment, as search engines continually update their algorithms and user behavior changes over time.
SEO involves various techniques and strategies, including keyword research, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, technical optimization, and content creation. These techniques aim to make websites more accessible and relevant to search engines, which can lead to higher rankings, increased traffic, and ultimately, more conversions and revenue for businesses.
SEO usually consists of three main parts:
1- On-Page SEO
2- Technical SEO
3- Off-Page SEO
But how and where to start? Below is the information given to start learning Seo and a complete roadmap for learning Seo and becoming an expert in Search Engine Optimization.
1- On-Page SEO
This includes optimizing content, HTML source code, and other elements on the page to make it more search engine friendly and to improve its relevance and user experience for search engine users.
On-page, its name shows that its focus is on the web page you are working on. This focuses on increasing the quality of the webpage to make it visible on Search Results or SERP. On-Page SEO includes:
- Headings and Subheadings
- Internal Linking
- Meta Tags
- Image alt tags
- URL structure
- Schema Markup
On-page SEO includes all of these factors. It is now time to discuss each of the above points, and what they mean.
i) Headings and Subheadings
On-page SEO relies heavily on headings and subheadings to help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of content.
In HTML code, headings, usually denoted by H1, H2, and H3 tags, provide an outline of the page's main points and help organize large blocks of text in a more digestible manner.
A website owner can help search engines rank their pages better by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases into headings and subheadings. Furthermore, properly formatted headings and subheadings can enhance the overall user experience by making the content more scannable and easier to navigate. In short, headings and subheadings let the search engine understand the structure of your page.
ii) Internal Linking
An important on-page SEO technique is internal linking, which involves linking from one page of a website to another. Linking within a website helps search engines understand its structure and hierarchy, as well as users, navigate between related content.
The important thing is to link relevant posts because it increases the chances that the user will be looking for more relevant information and the user may like to read the linked post.
In addition to its SEO benefits, internal linking can also enhance the user experience by helping users discover related content and navigate through a website more easily.
iii) Meta Tags
Meta tags play an important role in on-page SEO by providing important information to search engine crawlers and helping to improve the visibility and click-through rates of pages in search engine results in pages.
Meta tags are of different types like Meta titles, Meta descriptions, and meta tags. Meta title means the title of your post, it must include the primary keyword you want to rank for. Then Meta description is the short description of any webpage you see on SERP.
iv) Image Alt Tags
When an image cannot be displayed on a web page for some reason, the alt text will be displayed in its place, allowing visually impaired users to understand the content of the page.
Additionally, search engines use alt text to understand the content of images and to determine the relevancy of the page to specific search queries. By including descriptive alt text that includes relevant keywords and phrases.
We can say it is image optimization. You use the alt or alternative text to tell the search engine how this image is relevant to the current article. You can add Alt text through your Content Management System (CMS).
v) URL Structure
A well-structured URL can help to improve the visibility and ranking potential of a web page and can provide meaningful context to users about the content they can expect to find on the page.
What is meant by a well-structured URL? A well-structured URL means to make your article's URL understandable, and short.
There are several best practices to keep in mind when structuring URLs for SEO. First, URLs should be concise and should include relevant keywords and phrases that accurately reflect the content of the page. URLs should also be easy to read and understand for both users and search engines and should avoid the use of unnecessary characters, numbers, or symbols.
viii) Schema Markup
Schema markup can be used to provide additional information about a webpage's content, such as the name, type, author, and other relevant details. This information can help search engines better understand the content and context of a webpage, which can in turn improve its ranking in search results.
There are many websites providing schema markup templates for your website. You just need to enter the details and publish this. This can really help search engines in understanding your website.
2- Technical SEO
The goal of technical SEO is to improve the website's usability, accessibility, and performance, thereby enhancing the user experience and making it easier for search engines to understand and rank the website's content.
Technical SEO also involves identifying and resolving technical issues that may be hindering a website's performance, such as broken links, duplicate content, and more. Technical Seo involves all these things.
- Website speed & performance
- Mobile-friendliness
- Security & HTTPS
- Sitemaps & Indexing
- Canonical tags
- robots.txt
Let's see in detail what actually technical SEO is.
i) Website Speed
website speed is an important on-page SEO factor that can impact the visibility, ranking, and user experience of a website. By implementing best practices for optimizing website speed, website owners can improve the performance of their sites and potentially increase traffic, engagement, and revenue.
You can check your website at: page speed insights
Make your website load fast by decreasing unused javascript in your website's code, reducing the heavy loading inputs, and other things by decreasing the website's loading speed.
ii) Mobile Friendliness
According to research, almost 60% of internet users visit websites and scroll everything on the internet through mobile devices. This tells the significance of mobile-friendly website design.
Your website should take a decent look or adjust the web element in such a way that it is easily understandable when it is visited through a smartphone. This thing is done when developing a website using HTML, CSS, or javascript, but as an SEO you should know that mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor.
iii) Security & SSL
SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, is a technology that encrypts the connection between a web server and a user's browser, ensuring that any data transmitted between the two is secure and protected from interception or hacking attempts.
From an SEO standpoint, SSL can play a role in improving a website's search engine rankings. In 2014, Google announced that it would use HTTPS as a ranking signal in its search algorithm.
iv) Sitemap & Indexing
Once your website is created and live on the internet, now you want people to visit the website. This can be done when the search engine shows your website in search results and the search engine will show your website in search when it is properly indexed.
You need to add the sitemap (that is an XML file) of your website in Google Search Console or Bing search console to let the search engine crawl it.
v) Canonical Tags
Canonical tags, also known as rel=canonical tags, are HTML elements that can be added to a webpage to indicate the preferred or canonical URL of that page.
You should learn about these as small things like these play an important role in SEO and can show positive results in long run.
vi) Robots.txt
Robots.txt is a file that webmasters create to instruct search engine robots or crawlers which pages or sections of their website should or should not be crawled or indexed. An SEO expert must have knowledge.
3- Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO involves activities that help increase your website's visibility and reputation online, such as social media marketing, influencer outreach, content marketing, and online PR.
The ultimate goal of off-page SEO is to drive more traffic to your website, increase your website's domain authority, and ultimately improve your website's search engine rankings. What are the main things you should learn in off-page SEO are given below:
- Link building
- Social media marketing
- Citations
Let's go deeper into off-page SEO to know fully about this.
i) Link Building
Link Building simply means your website has its links (main link + post links) in other relevant websites. Why is this important and why other websites will give you a link?
Link building is an important aspect of SEO because it plays a significant role in determining the authority and relevance of a website in the eyes of search engines like Google. The more high-quality links a website has, the more likely it is to rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Link building can help to:
- Improve search engine rankings: When a website has more high-quality backlinks pointing to it, search engines see it as a valuable resource for users and tend to rank it higher in search results.
- Drive more referral traffic: Backlinks can also drive traffic to your website from other sites, especially if those sites have a high traffic volume.
- Establish authority and credibility: High-quality backlinks from reputable websites can help to establish your website's authority and credibility in your industry.
- Boost brand awareness: Link building can also increase your brand's visibility by exposing your website to a wider audience.
However, it is important to note that not all links are created equal. Quality is key when it comes to link building, and it is crucial to obtain links from reputable, high-authority, and relevant websites rather than low-quality, spammy sites.
ii) Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can play a significant role in SEO by indirectly affecting a website's search engine rankings through its impact on user behavior and engagement metrics. Here are some ways social media can impact SEO:
- Driving traffic: Social media can drive traffic to your website, which can indirectly impact your SEO rankings. The more traffic your website gets, the higher your website will rank in search results.
- Creating backlinks: Social media can help create backlinks to your website. When you share content on social media, other users may link to it from their websites or social media profiles, which can improve your website's backlink profile and boost its authority.
- Enhancing brand visibility: By promoting your brand on social media, you can increase its visibility and awareness. When people recognize and trust your brand, they are more likely to search for it by name, which can boost your SEO rankings.
- Improving engagement metrics: Search engines use engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and followers as signals of a website's authority and relevance. By increasing engagement on social media, you can indirectly improve your website's engagement metrics and therefore its search engine rankings.
By incorporating social media marketing into your overall SEO strategy, you can improve your website's visibility, traffic, and authority.
iii) Citations
In the context of SEO, a citation refers to any mention of your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another website or online directory. Citations can appear in a variety of formats, such as in the footer of a website, within an article, or on a business listing page.
Citations are important for local SEO because they help search engines verify the accuracy and legitimacy of your business's information. The more consistent and accurate citations your business has, the more likely it is to rank well in local search results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, developing a well-defined SEO roadmap is critical for the success of any website or online business. Understanding the three main pillars of SEO - on-page, off-page, and technical - is essential to create a comprehensive strategy that drives traffic, improves rankings, and ultimately leads to increased revenue.