Why do we optimize a site for search engines? We will answer this question as we define what SEO means but before we go there, let’s start from the Fundamentals; Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing follow links from one web page to another on a given site. Basically, a search engine consists of a crawler, an index, and an algorithm. A crawler follows links on the web, and saves the HTML-version of a page in a large database, called the index. This index is updated every now and then as so long as you keep producing new content or revising the old stuff. Note that search engines like Google must know that your site exists before they index it. You can fast track this by:
Google Algorithm determines which site shows in the search results. The Google’s results page shows 7 to 10 links to sites which fit your best search i.e. the organic search. You will also notice 1-3 paid links (ads) above these 10 blue links; they also appear on the right of the search result pages.
So back to our question, why do we optimize a site for search engines?
Search Engine optimization (SEO) is the process in which a site is optimized in order to have it appear high in position in organic search engines results.
SEO Can is divided into two categories:
On-Page SEO are key factors that determine ranking of your site basing on the structure of your site i.e. Internal Linking, Design of the site with respect to users navigation, the Text, how words have been used & the quality of the content and also Technical factors like the quality of the site’s code.
Recommended: Internet Marketing Resources for Content Creators
Off-Page SEO factors include presence on social media networks, links to your site, and also links to other sites. These factors all put together determines the Ranking in Search Engines
Keyword research can be defined as the process through which you come up with a list of keywords that you would like to rank for. A good keyword research ensures that you select the words your target audience uses. To get the right keywords, you need to put yourself into your audience minds and ask yourself what kind of terms and related words will they use to search for your site, how do they do the search, what kind of questions will they ask etc.
We have several tools to help you do keyword research with ease:
You can also read:
Understanding SEO as a blogger and all related tasks like using Keyword Research Tools makes it easier for you to create content that can appear high in Rank in Search Engines. When your site is in high rank position, then you stand high chances of benefiting from the free traffic from Search Engines, and your site will also be looked at as having an Authority in its niche.
Do you have any questions or comments with regard to SEO, feel free to post them in the comments below.
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You can also check: The Ultimate Guide to SEO for Beginner Bloggers
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Great information about SEO for beginners! I've been looking into it more recently. I still have questions about it, but it seems less daunting. One of the questions I have is: What's the best platform for keyword research? I've heard of Semrush, Ahrefs, Google Keyword planner, ubersuggest, rankiq, and keysearch. I look forward to reading more articles!
Hi Julie, personally I use SEMrush. I find it simple to use, additionally you can create a free account with them to test their services. So I will definitely recommend SEMrush and Google Keyword planner.
This post was so helpful! I just checked the site and saw that my search console was running! I also downloaded the plugin
Hi, am happy to learn that you found this post helpful.
Hi John,
Great post explaining the basics of SEO. It's not always that I find bloggers going back to the basics to help other new comers. This is very good. I notice you haven't discussed much the off-page and linkbuilding aspect of SEO. I think it is important too. And maybe it deserves its own long form article to explain it as well.
Thanks again for writing this. I loved it.
Hi Stefan, Thanks for those insightful comments. That is just an introduction article on SEO, I have several posts with more details on SEO, Here is a link to one of them. Ultimate Guide to Content SEO
Thanks for the update and YouTube training videos. I''ve finally worked out why my attachment sitemap disappeared and how to reinstate it, as a photographer I''m in the 0.5% for whom it''s relevant. The URLs in this sitemap have approximately trebled since Yoast 6.X, leaving a huge delta between submitted and indexed URLs on Google Search Console. Is this normal, I''ve not uploaded that many new images this month? generic cialis
Is not a must you use Sitemaps from Yoast. In case you are using WordPress, the Jetpack plugin if installed on your blog, can also generate sitemaps for your site. You can check them out, and upload them manually to Google Webmaster. I hope this helps.
Great information! I definitely need to up my game when it comes to the tech side of blogging! Thank you for sharing at Words on Wednesday! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Again, thanks for visiting and commenting on this post.
Hi, thanks for reading.