Search Engine Optimization Basics

Search Engine Optimization Basics

If you have been trying to earn a living online or get traffic to your website at any time, you’ve likely heard of this mysterious thing called search engine optimization or SEO. In short, learning and implementing Search Engine Optimization basics is one of the smartest ways to market your website so that you get more traffic, more subscriptions for your email list, and ultimately make more sales.

When we talk about SEO, we must acknowledge that the number one search engine is Google Search. There is no way around it. With over 2 trillion searches happening every year, 100 billion per month, and 2.3 million per day, they cannot be ignored. Google’s job is to deliver quality information to their audience, and they’re serious about it.

Therefore, when you think about SEO you must think about Google and what Google teaches as best practices for webmasters, to ensure that your audience can find you. If you think you can reinvent the wheel here, or trick the system, you’re wrong.

But, thankfully, you can use good SEO practices to get found. The great thing is, this makes the internet better for everyone because their goal is to deliver top-notch results to please their customers.

Two Types of SEO

We mentioned the two types of search engine optimization basics. On page, SEO consists of anything you do on your website to help search engines differentiate between important content and unimportant content. Things like the content itself, how you format the content, the titles you give the content, and more, all matter.

Off-page SEO concerns itself with anything you do off your site to help your website look more attractive to search engines and your audience, gaining backlinks to your site that help your audience and the search engines know that your site is knowledgeable about the topic you cover.

On-Page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Basics

On page, SEO is a way to make the site more accessible, usable, and findable. There are many ways to use SEO tactics right on your website which will not only help the search engines find the content that your audience wants, but will also make the website more attractive to users.

After all, users are the most important factor when it comes to your website. Here are the main factors affecting on-page SEO.

• Page content – All the content on your page and keywords
• Page and content formatting – How you format the content
• Smart URLs – Choosing the right URL structure
• Internal linking – How and what you link to within your site, internally
• Image alt text – The description within the alt text of all images
• Navigation – How users navigate your site and allow search engines to crawl your site
• Meta descriptions – How each page is described in the meta description
• Keyword density – This describes the ratio of keywords to other content
• Site map – Helps search engines index your site and (if public) helps users find things
• Site speed – How fast your site loads each page that your audience clicks on
• Usability and accessibility – How easily your users understand and use your site

Paying close attention to these parts of your website will improve your traffic, help you get more sign-ups for your email list, and hopefully make more sales. It’s one of the most important aspects of building an effective website that works for your business.

Off-Page Search Engine Optimization Basics

Off-page SEO are techniques that you use off your website to improve search engine results so that you can get more traffic. Using off-page SEO tactics can help build your brand, build connections with your audience, and send traffic to your website.

Using the right tactics depending on your goals, as detailed below, can improve your traffic and authority factor substantially.

• Social media platforms – Using the platforms your audience uses can gain you some respected backlinks to your website
• Discussion participation – Commenting intelligently on discussion boards, forums, blog posts, and on social media
• Guests blogging and writing – Submitting original and unique blog posts and articles to high-ranking authoritative websites and blogs
• Branding – Your branding should be consistent with all things you do on and offline
• Trusted directories – Use association directories like the Chamber of Commerce or well-known directories
• Apps – Offering your customers an app is another way to get them to come back to your site
• Press releases – Sending out press releases is a legitimate way to get attention and links
• Speaking – Whether it’s in person, in public, or on an online show, it’s a great way to build your brand
• Q & A sites – Getting a link back to your site by answering questions about your niche can make you an authority
• Video marketing – Using video through Facebook Live, Zoom.us, YouTube and other mediums to spread awareness
• Customer service – Providing amazing customer service
• Email marketing – Getting people on your list and then marketing to them via the list
• Influencer marketing – Using popular influencers to talk about your products and services

There are so many things you can do off page to enhance awareness and improve your image to customers and search engines. The more authoritative inbound links that go to your website, the better you look to not only search engines but also to users.

The best place to start with search engine optimization basics is with on-page strategies and tactics.

I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you are new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my comprehensive training on how to set up Funnels That Click and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.