To master SEO, you need to know the basics first.
Why do you need SEO?
Let’s assume you have a website that either
- Sells a product or service.
- And provides information.
And the basic purpose of a website, be it product- or service-based, or information-based, is to generate revenue.
Now, to generate revenue from a website, you need people to visit it; in other words, you need traffic.
Here comes the role of search engine optimization (SEO).
Let us continue then with Essential 1: Search Engine Optimization.
Page Contents
What is search engine optimization in digital marketing
Search Engine Optimization = Optimization of Search Engines.
What are Search Engines?
Search Engines can be understood as mini bots that, when a search request is made, crawl through billions of web pages and then evaluate which content will be best suited for the search request that is made, and they do it by the process of Crawling and Indexing.
What is Search Engine Optimization
SEO is a method that is used to make your website worthy of the search engine’s mini bots so that your site can be ranked on the organic search results section.
In other words, it is the practice of attracting targeted traffic to your website, when a search is made in your website’s niche.
For example, your website is about mobile reviews. So, when a search is made about the specifications of an XYZ handset, you want your website to rank higher than thousands of other websites in a similar niche, which is achieved by SEO.
A Good Search Engine Optimized page has three essential qualities-
- High-Value Content
- The Content is optimized around a set of keywords.
- Built inbound links or backlinks.
So, you’ve got a basic idea of the function of SEO.
Why Is Search Engine Optimization Important in 2021
Search Engine Optimization is important for two major reasons —
- Digital Marketing is exponentially rising in India and worldwide. The rise of the digital marketing industry is because more and more users are shifting towards online trade.
- With the availability of customers online, those websites will attract more traffic that has higher search engine ranking, where Search Engine Ranking is directly correlated to better SEO.
- It must be noted that the majority of online traffic is directed by search engines. SEO is far superior to paid advertising, hence, SEO when executed properly on a web page that has high-value content, which is optimized around the right keywords, and backed by backlinks, will generate traffic organically in the long run, in contrast to the advertised websites that require continuous funding to keep the traffic.
Knowing the importance of SEO, now let us dive into the basic SEO practices that every Webpage with the potential to rank on Search Engines has.
Basic SEO Checklist [2023]
If your webpage has the following search engine optimization properties, then you are good to go.
1. SEO Optimized Web Page.
To SEO optimize your page, you must have 3 essential SEO tools and plugins.
- The Google search console is used to track your website’s performance on Google. You can check the technical SEO problems that are hindering your site’s performance and can also check the ranking of your site for the keywords used
- The Google Analytics tool is used to find how people find and react to your website. You can find the pages on your site that attracts traffic, identify the websites sending you traffic, your site’s bounce rate, and many more.
- The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress allows you to do SEO on your site as per the highest SEO standards. It allows you to set up your focus key phrases, helps to improve the readability of your page, adds meta description, and gives you the overall analysis of SEO for your page.
2. Optimize The Content Around Your Keyword
Find keywords that your potential customers will search for and optimize your content around them.
How to find the right keywords?
There is no fixed method to find the right keywords. Here are some of the methods that you can use to find the best keywords for your page.
- Use Google Suggest to know what your target audience is searching for.
Here is an example-
- You can also use a free tool named Answer The Public, where you can find low competition, long-tailed keywords that people, in general, are searching all over the internet.
3.Include target keywords in few important places on your page.
For better results, use your target keywords in
- Your Title
- First 100 words of your article
- Alt text of your image
- In your H2, H3, H4 headings, etc.
4. Create content that has high utility and quality in it.
Your content should be information-rich and provide clear, actionable takeaways.
How to create high-value content?
Again, there is no fixed steps or formula to do that.
Here are some good practices that you can incorporate into your webpage to create better content.
- Make sure that your headline is SEO optimized and compels the reader to click on it. ( No clickbait obviously).
- Add a hook to your introduction. Your hook should create curiosity in the reader’s mind to read your blog further. A hook can be anything from Stats to case studies or infographics.
- Break content into smaller chunks instead of writing in long paragraphs.
- Cover everything in-depth about the topic that you are writing for.
- Make sure your post’s structure is clean and well organized.
- Use high-quality and unique images in your post. Don’t forget to add alt text to it.
5. Last but not least, build links to your site i.e. backlinks.
Backlinks are the links on other websites that link to a page on your website. A good number of backlinks ensures high traffic to your website.
How to Build Backlinks?
There are a few tried-and-true methods that you can use to create backlinks.
- Use Broken Link Building Method.
- Go for guest posting to build successful backlinks and expand your audience.
- Promote your content across different mediums to earn backlinks.
Where To Learn Search Engine Optimization
To learn SEO, you can follow any of the two paths below.
- Learn it by yourself.
- Learn it from a Digital Marketing Institute.
Whatever path you choose is solely up to you.
SEO is a large subject, and search engines change the guidelines for good SEO every month. When learning by yourself, you will invest time and resources just to get the content in an organized way for you to process.
When you join a Digital Marketing Institute, you will need to do only these two things,
- Study and implement what your digital marketing institute teaches you.
- Take regular classes.
Taking a Digital Marketing Course would be a feasible option to go for when learning SEO from basics to advance.
Why Go For Samantus Web Training Institute?
Samantus Web Training Institute is a trusted digital marketing institute founded in 2012 in Delhi, India.
Our goal is to deliver quality education in digital marketing through real-time projects.
We have the expertise, dedication, and passion to provide training in real-time to make you ready for a job, an online business, or entrepreneurship.
Our student-friendly, experienced trainers will help you learn the subject with enthusiasm and passion.
