What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is optimising a website or web page to position higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This practice is an integral part of any digital marketing strategy.
Search engines like Google work in real-time to generate relevant results for your query. They survey hundreds of billions of web pages to find the best matches.
Keywords
A good SEO strategy starts with choosing the right SEO keywords. Keywords are the words or phrases people search for online to find your website. The more relevant keywords you obtain, the higher your web page will rank in search engine results. This will lead to more traffic and potential customers or clients. Using the right keywords can also help you avoid competition from similar websites.
The first step in choosing the right keywords is understanding your target audience or market. This includes demographics, psychographics, and pain points. Knowing this will allow you to identify what types of content to create. Once you have your list of keywords, start creating content aligned with those keywords. This can be new pages, blog posts, or articles on your site.
When writing your content, it is essential to include the keywords naturally. Try not to overdo it, as this can be off-putting for visitors and may count against your search engine ranking. Instead, focus on the keywords that make the most sense to your audience.
You can use free tools or paid software programs, such as Semrush, to find the best keywords. These tools can provide a variety of metrics associated with each keyword, including the number of searches, average monthly searches, and competition levels. You can even see how your competitors are doing with the exact keywords.
Once you have a list of keywords, it’s time to implement them on your site. The best place to start is with your product pages. You can add the keywords in the title tag and meta description, as well as in the body of the page. You can also include them in your internal links and your h1 tags.
Once you’ve determined the keywords you want to use, tracking how they perform over time is essential. This will help you determine if your changes are working. You can use the Google Search Console to check which keywords drive traffic to your site. This information will help refine your keyword strategy and improve your overall SEO performance.
Meta description
Meta descriptions are short text paragraphs appearing in search engine optimization results pages (SERPs). They’re often the first thing users see when searching for something, so optimising them for click-through rates is essential. A well-written description can help you stand out from competitors and convince more people to click on your page.
A meta description should be concise and clearly describe the content of your page. It should also include a call-to-action (CTA) encouraging searchers to visit your site. You can use expressions like “discover,” “learn more,” and “try it free” to boost CTR and increase your website’s traffic. However, don’t trick searchers into clicking on your page using misleading descriptions. Google will catch on to this and punish you.
Ideally, you should create a unique meta description for each page. This will ensure that Google uses the most relevant and valuable snippet for each search query. It will also prevent Google from rewriting your meta description to match searcher intent.
When writing a meta description, ensure it matches your target keyword’s search intent. This will help you convince searchers that your page is the best answer to their question or need. For example, if you’re selling shoes online, your meta description should clearly state what type of shoe you sell and include any stand-out features.
You can use a meta description generator if you can’t write a meta description for a page. These tools are easy to use and provide a wide range of options. However, they can be unreliable and may not always match your goal. You can also try using a free LOCALiQ website grader to get SEO recommendations and find out what needs improving.
Whether using a LOCALiQ website grader or writing your meta description, you should always check it for readability and relevance. It’s recommended that your meta description be around 160 characters or less since Google tends to truncate descriptions over this length. It’s also a good idea to test your meta descriptions by searching for your keywords in Google and looking at the snippets that appear.
URL
A URL is the address of a website on the internet. Search engines look at it when they index pages and rank them in a search engine optimization results page (SERP). Search engines use complex algorithms to determine whether a webpage should appear on the first page of a search result or even a search results page. The algorithm looks at the page’s content, the keyword it targets, its authority, and other factors.