Indexing is the process by which search engines like Google organize information before a search to provide fast responses to the users’ queries. As we just mentioned, Google’s algorithm looks at hundreds of ranking factors when deciding which websites to present in the search results and in what order. In my experience, pages with lots of external links on them (like a resource page or list of “best posts”) work best. In fact, I usually don’t even bother with traditional blog posts.
As we’ve mentioned in the previous chapter, the title tag and meta description of a page is a good place to put your focus keyword. Title tag and meta description are HTML elements that represent the title and description of the page. They are displayed in the search results or when the page is shared on social media. A sitemap is a structured list of all pages on a website available to be crawled by search engines. Having one is yet another way to let crawlers find all your pages.
For example, if the term “masks” brings up results about beauty sheet masks, it wouldn’t be the right keyword for you if you sell Halloween masks. One result of that is zero-click searches, where search engines show the complete answer to a search query in the search results. This can lead to fewer clicks to your website, but it still pays off to be the website that provides that answer. In fact, this is a good example of the direction in which SEO is going.
Troubleshoot the performance drops
Addressing these basic technical SEO elements can ensure your website is search engine-friendly, user-friendly, and well-positioned to achieve strong organic rankings. Understanding how search engines work and staying attuned to the factors influencing their processes can help you adapt your SEO strategy as search algorithms evolve. Knowing how search engines discover, evaluate, and rank web content allows you to make informed decisions about optimizing your website and crafting your SEO strategy. Billions of searches happen every day on search engines like Google and Bing. These search engines are the primary way people find products, services, and information online. Additionally, content must be created with search engines in mind, meeting the criteria for ranking high in search results.
An SEO strategy is a plan to create, optimize, and promote content to improve its SEO Anomaly visibility in search engine results, attracting more organic traffic to a website. It involves a variety of techniques, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and link building. SEO refers to a range of processes you can use to increase a website’s search engine rankings, drive more traffic to the site, and improve its visibility.
Specifically, you want to link from high-authority web pages to pages that need more authority. There’s a lot more to on-page SEO than I could cover in a single post. A while ago I noticed more and more bloggers writing about voice search. In this case, you want to publish content that’s 10x better than what’s out there.
Off-Page SEO Techniques
Once you find them, read their guest post guidelines and contact the owner with your guest post pitch. There is no official metric by Google that would represent the authority of a page but there are many metrics by commercial tools that can help you with the estimation. As we’ve explained previously with PageRank, pages with quality links pointing to them also pass more link equity to your page. They are not the same and while the PageRank metric was discontinued, the PageRank algorithm is still a part of Google’s ranking. Another great source of keywords with featured snippets is the so-called “People also ask” box that often appears below the featured snippet.
- Also, add semantic keywords — variations or synonyms of your keyword.
- Black hat SEO is a set of unethical (and usually spammy) practices to improve the rankings of a website.
- Unlike Google Search Console and Google Analytics, rank trackers are usually much simpler but very effective tools.
- Another reason to post content consistently on your site is that your top content is out-of-date.
Make a list of business partners, customers, or other trustworthy websites that allow you to write a testimonial and include a link to your website within that testimonial. Then, write testimonials for these places and include a link to your website. And LinkedIn is one of the best places to search for these people. Coming up with great content isn’t easy but there are ways to generate ideas. You can take high-performing keywords and turn them into a full blog or you can piggyback off what others have written.
As one of the most important ranking factors in SEO, off-page optimization is critical to include in your SEO checklist. Use images, from screenshots to graphics to stock photos, to meet search intent and optimize the user experience. Optimize your images with short, descriptive filenames and alt text.
Indexed pages can appear in search results when users enter relevant queries. Be sure to add internal links to relevant pages on your site in your content. You can also optimize for first link priority by placing internal links to your highest-value pages close to the top of your page. In a perfect world, people read every word you wrote on your website. When people click on your page after finding it in search results, they’re looking for something specific. So, make it easy for people to find what they’re looking for by creating skimmable content.