SEO explained for beginners

If we talk in simpler language, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It basically means improving your site’s position by working on its visibility when customers search the products which are related to your brand on various search engine platforms like Google, Bing, etc.

If you have greater visibility in search results, there are more chances that the site will attract more attention from the customers and ultimately increase engagement. This article covers the basic concept of search engine optimization.

HOW DOES SEO WORK?

SEO works by optimizing your site for these variables, as well as getting your site crawled and indexed because search engines employ hundreds of parameters to create search results – Google uses more than 200.

When you understand how SEO works, you may use several strategies to improve your visibility (or how high you rank) in search results, such as keyword research, content production, and page speed optimization.

Search engine optimization is a product of search engine businesses, which create ranking variables and utilize them to find the most relevant material for a given search. However, a search engine must crawl and index material before it can identify which is the most relevant.

• CRAWLING: Crawlers are used by search engines to discover and re-discover new and old and existing webpages on the internet. That is why backlinks are essential in SEO.
• INDEXING: Indexing is used by search engines to store information and content from the web and gets it delivered to you in the form of results.

Indexing is used after crawling.

After these two processes, the search engine will analyze web pages on the basis of their ranking which also depends on some factors like backlink profile, speed, etc.

may appear in search results on the internet and as a result, there can be sufficient traffic on After the search engine analyses your page, there is a probability that it may appear in search results on the internet, and as a result, there can be sufficient traffic on your site.

WHY SEO IS IMPORTANT IN  MARKETING?

It is a very important part of your digital marketing strategy. As everyone on the internet carries out millions and trillions of searches about products and services every year whether, for personal or professional work, it adds up to the traffic on your website. And ultimately it improves your rankings. It also allows greater visibility which means your website is more likely to be shown at the time of the search.

However, during the last several years, search results have evolved to provide visitors with more direct answers and information, which are more likely to retain consumers on the results page rather than redirecting them to other websites.

Also, keep in mind that search results features like rich results and Knowledge Panels can enhance exposure and give users extra information about your organization right in the results.

To summarise, SEO is the cornerstone of a well-rounded marketing strategy. When you know what your website visitors desire, you can use that information for your paid and organic efforts, your website, and your social media assets, among other things.

FACTORS AFFECTING SEO

Google’s and other search engines’ ranking algorithms are continually evolving. Some aspects become more significant or less relevant, while others are added or withdrawn. It’s critical to remain current on the latest ranking criteria and to run an SEO audit tool on your site on a frequent basis to guarantee that you’re following the most current SEO best practices.

OFF-PAGE SEO

The term “off-page SEO” (sometimes known as “off-site SEO”) refers to measures conducted outside of your own website to influence your search engine results page rankings (SERPs). These comprise various basic SEO elements that assist a site’s rank, in addition to on-page SEO.

Improving search engines’ and users’ perceptions of a site’s popularity, relevance, trustworthiness, and authority is part of optimizing for off-site ranking criteria. Other trustworthy places on the Internet (pages, sites, persons, and so on) link to or promote your website, thus “vouching” for the quality of your material.

ON PAGE SEO

Consider some of the most fundamental SEO strategies:

• Including keywords in the title and text of your page
• The meta description should be optimized to stand out on search engine results pages (SERPs)
• Using HTML and alternative tags

THIS IS THE BASE FOR ON-PAGE SEO.

It refers to all of the steps made inside your website to increase its search ranking by making it easier for search engine bots to understand the page and giving end-users a preview of what they’ll see if they click through from the SERP.

It also considers the overall quality of the material, the performance of the page, and the organization of the information.

SPAM OR TOXIN: Google would always want to deliver good content and not at all spam or toxin. So in short, spam is not going to make your rank go up over others. Instead, it will take various forms such as low-quality content or low-quality (auto-generated content), doorway pages and malware, etc.

You know, you do not want to produce this type of content.

CONTENT SEO:

It usually means creating and making content for your web page in order to make your web page rank higher than others in search engines. It includes everything ranging from writing content to structuring it for your website.

There are mainly three elements, you need to keep in mind while producing content for your web page which are site structure, keyword strategy, and copywriting.

Because search engines like Google scan your website, the words you put on it impact where your site will appear in their results pages. Of course, your website should be well-designed and have a wonderful user experience, as well as all the technical aspects that help your site rank in Google. Your site, on the other hand, has no chance in the search engines unless it has high-quality content.

KEYWORD SEARCH:

Keyword research is the process of compiling a comprehensive list of keywords for which you want to rank. Every content SEO plan should start with keyword research since if you want to drive traffic, you need to know what your audience is looking for. Keyword research may assist you figure out which terms you should try to rank for.

Keyword research involves four steps:

• Firstly, jot down the motive of your business.
• Secondly, list the keywords you want your webpage to be found for.
• Next, focus on Search Intent.
• And lastly, create landing pages for all the keywords you used.

If you conduct your keyword research well, you should have a good understanding of the phrases people use and the terms you want your site’s pages to be discovered for. This summary may be used to help you write content for your website.

WHY KEYWORD RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT FOR SEO CONTENT?

Correct Keyword Research will help you to know what are the search terms that your users often use.

It is very essential. It’s pointless to write and optimize SEO content for terms that aren’t often used. Proper keyword research ensures that you are utilizing the same phrases as your target audience, making the entire process of website optimization profitable.

SOME TERMS USED IN KEYWORD RESEARCH

KEYWORDS AND KEY PHRASES:

We frequently use the term “keyword,” but this does not imply that it must be a single word. ‘WordPress SEO’ and ‘Google Analytics plugin’ are both keywords. As a result, you can have keywords that include numerous words!

LONG TAIL KEYWORDS:

The more detailed (and lengthier) a search phrase is, the simpler it is to rank for that keyword. Long-tail keywords are more specialized (and typically longer) versions of short-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are more focused on a niche and are more precise.

SITE STRUCTURE:

The structure of your site is the second key part of content SEO. First, I’ll explain why site structure is important, and then I’ll show you how to create an ideal site structure. I’ll also offer you some pointers on how to (fast) modify your site’s structure without causing major disruptions to the site’s essential functionality.

WHY SITE STRUCTURE IS IMPORTANT FOR CONTENT SEO?

There are mainly two good reasons why site structure is an important ranking factor:

A well-organized structure helps Google bots to understand your site:

The structure of your site provides Google with a lot of information on where to go for the most crucial material. The structure of your site impacts whether or not a search engine knows what it’s about and how easy it is for it to identify and index information related to your site’s goal and aim. As a result, a solid site structure will result in a higher Google ranking.

A NICE SITE STRUCTURE ENSURES THAT YOU ARE NOT COMPETING WITH YOUR OWN SEO CONTENT:

Even on your own website, you will have different articles on almost similar articles. For example, if your site contains 4-5 articles related to SEO, Google will not know which ones are more important. So in these cases, if we don’t make it clear with site structure, we will end up competing with our own articles for the top rank. So, if we resolve this kind of issue using Internal Linking Structure, our overall ranking will improve.

IDEAL STRUCTURE OF A SITE:

Actually, you should build your website in the shape of a pyramid. Your homepage is at the top of the pyramid, and it contains links to other pages (such as category pages). These pages, in turn, have links to further pages.

Your keyword strategy and the way you build your site should work together in an effective content SEO plan. You’ll have considered both common, competitive keywords and more long-tail specialty search terms in a proper keyword plan. In your site’s structure, you should create a similar dichotomy. Sites focusing on more common search terms should be placed near the top of your pyramid, while pages optimized for long-tail keywords should be placed near the bottom. These long-tail pages at the bottom of the pyramid must link to sites higher up in the pyramid correctly.

COPYWRITING FOR CONTENT SEO:

Copywriting is the third and final component of a great content SEO strategy. The most important thing is to develop articles that are appealing to read and encourage your visitors to stay on your website. At the same time, you want your SEO content to be appealing to Google. However, some people over-optimize their content to the point where it is difficult to read.

CONTENT DESIGN AND CONTENT SEO:

Material design is a method for creating content that is based on genuine user demands. It not only assists you in determining what your user desires, but it also focuses on what the user truly needs. This approach of thinking about your content will assist your users get it when they need it, in the language and format they want.

Content design isn’t just a method for creating better content; it’s a new way of thinking about it.

SEO HTML CODE

Any website’s goal is to increase traffic. And search engines account for a large share of those visitors. Using HTML tags for SEO is perhaps one of the best ways to engage an audience.

These small coding snippets are significantly more important to your success than you would believe.

WHAT ARE HTML TAGS FOR SEO?

Tags are little pieces of HTML code that inform search engines how to “read” your material properly. In fact, by using SEO tags in HTML, you may greatly boost your search engine presence.

When a crawler from a search engine comes across your page, it looks at the HTML tags. This data helps search engines like Google figure out what your content is about and how to categorize it.

Some of them also improve how visitors in those search engines perceive your material. This is in addition to how social media displays your articles based on content tags.

Finally, how your website performs on the Internet is influenced by HTML tags for SEO. You’ll have a much harder time connecting with an audience if you don’t use these tags.

Let’s have a look at my list of SEO HTML tags. These are some of the most essential components for your website.

USE TITLE TAGS:

The title tag is perhaps one of the most significant HTML tags for SEO. This is the label for your content and how Google and Bing see your page. The title tag is the source of every search engine results you see.

Is it necessary for the article title to match the tag? Not at all. However, you must ensure that your potential visitors are not confused.

The argument is that your title tag is critical for both SEO and human search. When searching for specific topics, search engines, and others will use this information.

It’s well worth the time and effort to improve your title tags. Make it easier for humans and search engines to find your information.

DESCRIPTION TAGS:

The meta description is another important HTML tag for SEO. This information appears in Google search results, just like titles. For every search, look under the link. The content that appears beneath the title is normally taken from the description tag.

It’s great if your keyword appears in both the title and the meta description tag. It boosts the ranking of your content in search engines.

BUILDING LINKS:

The acquisition of high-quality backlinks is only one aspect of SEO. You should also pay attention to internal links as well as exterior links.

Links are crucial in today’s SEO…

Especially when it comes to your own stuff. Consider it a kind of “vote” for articles. Simply ensure that you’re connecting to content that complements and expands the post.

Search engines may penalize you if you link to something that isn’t related to your topic.

You might want to think about using “no-follow” links. This establishes a link to a webpage while also instructing search engines to ignore it. In other words, you won’t be able to help an external site boost its domain authority.

“EAT” SCORE IN SEO:

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. EAT was introduced back in 2014 and become well-known in 2018 August from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. E-A-T is one of the important factors that Google uses to judge the overall quality of a webpage.

It is not a ranking factor but it can affect the overall ranking of web pages

HOW DOES GOOGLE DETERMINE E-A-T?

Let’s speak about how Google evaluates a page’s E-A-T now that we’ve addressed the question What is E-A-T? The Google search quality evaluator guidelines describe major components at a high level:

• The knowledge of the Main Content Author
• Content should be helpful to the readers visiting your website
• Link to a valuable source

In short, the credibility of the Main Content Creator, the Main Content itself, and the Website.

E-A-T is one of the ways Google seeks to ensure that it offers accurate, truthful, and valuable information to searchers. Anyone can make a website and put anything they want on it. To launch a medical information website or write about investment, you don’t need to be a doctor or have a financial degree, but you should know what you are sharing with the readers, and that information should be factually correct and helpful to the visitor.

Of course, this is beneficial in certain ways. It does, however, pose an issue for Google. People make significant judgments depending on the information found in search results. As a result, Google strives to guarantee that such decisions are based on the most reliable data available.

As a result, Google examines the individual developer of page content, the material itself, and the entire website’s competence, authority, and trustworthiness. For a deeper understanding of E-A-T, you can refer to What exactly is E-A-T & Why it is important.

PENALTIES IN SEO

A Google Penalty is a ranking penalty imposed on a website as a result of changes to Google’s search algorithms. Penalties may be imposed as a result of an algorithm change or suspicions of black-hat SEO methods like questionable links or keyword stuffing.

1. CLOAKING: This penalty may be imposed if your website presents distinct content to consumers and search engines. Both people and Google bots should see the same content, according to Google.

2. STUFFING: The technique of stuffing keywords or numbers into a webpage in order to affect its placement in Google search results is known as “keyword stuffing.” These terms are frequently found in a list or a group, or in an unrelated context (not as natural prose). Filling pages with keywords or numbers creates a poor user experience and can lower your site’s ranking. Concentrate on developing helpful, information-rich material that incorporates keywords in a context-appropriate manner.
3. PIRACY: This form of “SEO Piracy” raises the risk that your consumers’ search results will lead them to a site that isn’t only yours, but also contains any type of material. Let’s face it, the typical individual has no idea how Google functions; all they know is that it does.

I hope this helped you understand the basic concepts of SEO.