All to Know About Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a website through google or other search engines. By using strong SEO practices, a website can show up higher on result pages which will cause more traffic to the site. The goal is to get as many visitors to your site as possible and the best way to achieve that is to make sure your website is one of the first results to show up on different search engine platforms. Crawlers are used to review the website to determine if the website relates to the search which is then sent through an algorithm that chooses the order in which results are shown; it is your job to optimize your chances of the algorithm favoring your site over others. 

Why is search engine optimization important?

According to Google Search Statistics, only 0.78% of google searches click on results from the 2nd page and the #1 result gets nearly 32% of all clicks (Backlinko). With such a small amount of searches reaching beyond the 1st page and the top result getting a significant portion of all clicks, it is very important to optimize your website’s search engine to secure as much traffic to your site as possible. On average, internet users will search google 4 times a day – a website is an incredible way to reach a plethora of people and share your company, product, service etc. and controlling your SEO will make sure you maximize your site’s visitors. 

How to improve your SEO?

Google uses over 200 factors in their algorithm when ranking websites (Backlinko) so it would be impossible to list every single way to improve your SEO, however there are many practices you can add to your website in order to improve your SEO. Some include:

• Include a meta description
• Include Alt tags on all images and videos
• Use keywords and phrases on each page of your site that relates to the main topic
• Use description of each link in page that relates to the link
• Website is Responsive
• Page loading screen speed
• Properly Size Images
• Keep updating Website

Meta Description:

Meta description is a tag in html that allows you to add a summary to your website. This description is often used to decide how relevant a website is to a search made. It can also be used to familiarize visitors with what the site may contain before they actually click on the link. A meta description could make or break whether people decide to visit your site.

Alt Tags:

Alt tags, also called “alternative text descriptions” or “alternative attributes”, are descriptions you can add to all photos or videos present in your site. These tags allow search engines to locate your page better and also aid those who may assistive features on a desktop or mobile device. Since search engines themselves cannot interpret images or videos, alt tags provide a description of what the image or video may look like. By including this, you are giving the search engine one more relation between your site and the search resulting in a higher result position. 

Additionally, including videos on your website statistically has a higher chance of being on the top page. According to Convince and Convert, there is a 53x higher chance of ranking on the top page if your blog post has a video. 

Keywords and Phrases:

The most obvious of practices to be used to improve your SEO score, but one that cannot be taken lightly. Depending on your site topic, it’s important to know what attracts your audience to similar sights. Figure out what common searches and keywords are made that attract your competition and include those keywords in your site, descriptions, alt tags, and links. 91% of content gets no organic traffic from google. More simply, the chances of receiving visitors to your website naturally are very slim meaning its very important to include keywords and phrases to enhance the chances of your website being seen. There are many websites so you have to make sure your website dominates its field. 

Backlinks with Descriptions:

Using links in your site is an important factor in SEO. More specifically, using links with proper titles. Rather than writing about the link then linking “click here” type link rather link the description itself. This leaves another relation between the search engine and your page giving one more reason for your site to be higher on the results list. 

Responsiveness:

A fully responsive site actually increases your SEO score. With a non responsive site, included could lead to faulty links, overlapping text, lost images or text, or disabled features. Not only does this make your site look unprofessional, but it will also take away pieces of your site which loses its connection to the search engine. To maximize your SEO score, your site must fit all screen sizes and be mobile friendly.

Google actually has a mobile-friendly test to check to see if your site is responsive as well as a feature in developer tools where you can see how your site looks on any screen size. 

Page loading screen speed:

A slow loading screen is actually very harmful to your website. Google will want to promote fast loading pages, so google will check how fast your loading speed is and it will have an impact on your rank. 

Also, beyond just harming your rank, according to research by Google “The Need for Mobile Speed, 53% of mobile users will leave a website if it takes over 3 seconds to load the screen.

Properly Size Images:

Images will make your website look visually appealing and attract more visitors, however images must have the correct file format and size if you want to improve your SEO score and receive more traffic. 

Updating your site:

It’s important to continually update your site. This will make sure that your site stays relevant and continually attracts new visitors. Whether it is daily changes in your site or longer spells, your website must continually update and grow. According to ahrefs, 60% of the pages ranking in the top 10 Google results are 3+ years old. This is not mentioned to discourage new websites, however it is a reality and proves that websites need to continue to grow and develop overtime to optimize the amount of visitors to your website. 

Final Words

There is an SEO algorithm that must be taken into consideration when deploying your website; there are so many websites out there, taking advantage of this algorithm can help you gain exposure for your company/product/service and create a following. The internet and websites can be so important in gaining company exposure and the only way to make sure your website is optimizing its visitors is by using performances that play in favor of the SEO algorithm.