Sunday 8 May 2022

SEO Fundamentals | Basics of SEO |

 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is the abbreviation for "SEO." It is the skill of ranking high in the unpaid area of a search page for a certain term, often known as organic listings.

How does SEO work?

People use search engines when they have a question and want to find an answer on the internet. Search engine algorithms are computer programs that explore for cues in order to provide searchers with the exact results they want. Algorithms are used by search engines to identify websites and determine which ones to rank for each given keyword. Crawling, which is the discovery stage, indexing, which is the filing stage, and ranking, which is the retrieval stage, are the three stages of how search engines function.

Step 1: CRAWLING

Crawling is the first step. Web crawlers are sent out by search engines to locate new pages and gather data about them. These web crawlers are also known as 'spiders' or 'robots.' Their goal is to find new web pages and to review the content of pages they've already visited to see whether it's changed or updated.

Search engines scan web pages by following previously found links. When a search engine scans your homepage, it will hunt for another link to follow and may follow the link to your new blog post if you have a blog post connected to your homepage.

Step 2: INDEXING

Indexing is the next stage. When a search engine determines whether or not to use the material it has crawled, it is called indexing. A search engine will add a crawling web page to its index if it is judged worthy. This index is utilized in the last step of ranking. When a website or piece of material is indexed, it is filed and saved in a database from which it may be accessed later. The index contains the majority of web pages with unique and important material. A web page might not be placed in the index if: 
Its content is considered duplicate
Its content is considered low value or spammy
It couldn’t be crawled
The page or domain lacked inbound links

Step 3: RANKING

The third, and most essential, step is ranking. After the crawling and indexing stages are completed, ranking can begin. Your site can be ranked once it has been crawled and indexed by a search engine.

Search engines utilize over 200 ranking signals to categorize and rank material, all of which fall under the three pillars of SEO: technical optimization, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. Some examples of signals that search engines use to rank web pages are: 
Keyword presence in the title tag – Whether the keyword or a synonym was mentioned on the page and within the title tag
Loading speed of web page – Whether the web page loads quickly and is mobile-friendly
Website reputation – Whether the web page and website are considered reputable for the topic being searched for

Remember, Google’s top three ranking factors are: 
Links
Content
RankBrain

What are the types of SEO?

1. ON-PAGE SEO
This category includes all of the steps you take to improve your website's search engine ranking. On-page SEO entails writing high-quality content with the sole purpose of being useful to your website visitors, including adding meta tags to help Google bots better understand your content, using HTML tags to highlight headings and other content elements, and checking for broken links and duplicate content/pages. Other on-page SEO tactics include cleaning up the URL structure and having an organised naming system for many related sites that belong under one category, picking pictures that are not too large while creating descriptive file names, and so on.

2. OFF-PAGE SEO
Off-page SEO refers to everything you do outside of your website to improve your ranking in Google's search results. It entails focusing on external ranking variables such as obtaining connections from reputable sites within your domain, effective social media marketing, and having consumers leave favourable reviews on various internet forums, among others.

Off-page SEO strategies also include cultivating strong connections with bloggers, journalists, social media influencers, and the owners of related websites. Making comments on other blogs might be beneficial. Off-page SEO techniques like guest blogging are still prevalent.

3. TECHNICAL SEO
The goal of technical SEO is to assist Google bots in successfully crawling, interpreting, and indexing all of your site's pages for future usage. Some of the tactics employed include creating a detailed XML sitemap, making your site mobile-friendly, and adding structured data to help web spiders classify and categorise your pages depending on the type of material they contain.

4. LOCAL SEO
One of the essential types of SEO is for local businesses. For example, making sure that you've claimed your Google My Business page, which ensures that your name, address, phone number, opening hours, reviews, and other useful information is prominently displayed in search results and on Google Maps. Other things like embedding a Google Maps marker in your homepage, adding a region or city to your page titles, descriptions, and keywords, and displaying awards and trust symbols can also make a big difference not only in being found by local leads but also in getting turning those leads into customers.

5. APP STORE SEO
Your app title and icon are the first two things that anyone will see, so they have to be descriptive and attractive. The description needs to be accurate and includes the keywords your users are likely to be searching for as well as related ones. The meta tags in your description should include those keywords as well. If you're able to build a lot of links to your app, it's possible that the app store will rank it higher in searches.

6. YOUTUBE SEO
Many people don't realize that YouTube is one of the world's most popular search engines, and that ranking for a popular search there is absolute gold. And if you can also rank one of your videos for a standard Google search, you can get an even bigger boost. 

First and foremost, your video must be excellent. It must provide answers, solve issues, or be more enjoyable than what is now available. If your video is excellent, it will keep viewers on the website longer, generate more comments and subscriptions, and receive more likes and favourites. All of these are YouTube ranking signals.

Your video title and description, like your page titles and introductions on text-based sites, should be descriptive. A lengthier, keyword-rich description (without keyword stuffing) will aid Google in determining the topic of your movie. It's also a good idea to include relevant keyword tags.

What are the types of SEO strategies?


Every SEO guide should go through the many sorts of SEO tactics, which include: 

WHITE-HAT SEO: To improve your site, a white-hat SEO approach employs approved best practices and user-centric methods. A white-hat SEO approach may include things like creating useful content, increasing website speed, and naturally introducing keywords.

4 ways to optimize your site with white hat SEO


1. Focus on building your brand

2. Focus on long-tail keywords when conducting keyword research

3. Create content that is unique and valuable to your audience

4. Build quality internal links to increase dwell time

BLACK-HAT SEO: A black-hat SEO approach optimizes your site by employing unethical and spammy methods such as buying backlinks, duplicating material from other websites, and even putting keywords into the invisible text.

4 ways to optimize your site with black hat SEO

1. Cloaking

2. Reporting competitors

3. Link farming/buying

4. Keyword stuffing

5. Duplicating content

Invest in a white-hat SEO plan if you want SEO to succeed for your company in the long run. While black-hat SEO may produce rapid results, it will eventually result in penalties, such as lower ranks or removal from Google's index.

Top 5 SEO Blogs

1. Ahrefs Blog

2. Search Engine Journal

3. Neil Patel Blog

4. Buzzstream Blog

5. Yoast Blog










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