A Beginner’s Guide to SEO
When I started writing professionally a couple of years ago, I didn’t know a thing about SEO. I would wonder why certain pages were ranked at the top and why others could not even make it to the first page. Whether you are creating your own blog or working in corporate sector trying to prove yourself as a content/copy/article or blog writer, one thing you need to know is SEO. It is the magic wand; a flick of which can make a huge difference.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “search engine optimization”. While shopping you must have noticed that the hottest, trendy and worthy items are displayed in the top racks. Search engine optimization is the process of making your content show-worthy. It is a way to improve your website’s ranking and increase the number of visitors (most commonly called traffic). It improves the visibility of your website and makes it approachable to the targeted visitors.
Here are some basic SEO practices for beginners to help optimize the website for search engines.
Basic SEO practices for beginners
Any website can be optimized for search engines by following some simple but significant practices which include but are not limited to:
1. Using relevant keywords
When someone searches for something on the internet, which words and terms do they use? What is the exact thing they are looking for and where? The keywords are relevant answers to all these questions. Keywords can be generated by making a list of all the elements related to the industry. You can either generate these keywords through brainstorming or use keyword generating tools.
When you type something in Google search bar, it auto suggests certain relevant keywords as you type.
Keywords also appear at the end of each Google search page.
For “A beginner’s guide to SEO” the keywords can be:
· What is SEO
· SEO practices for beginners
· Basic search engine optimization practices
These keywords will help rank this article for a wide range of possible search terms over the internet.
2. Page Title and Meta Description Optimization
Website isn’t all flashy and colorful; some part of it is rough, boring and black and white. I am talking about HTML; the back end, the control panel. Title: The title of the page is where the game begins. The best practice is to begin the title with the target keyword. Since it is the title of the page that ends up in search results, we need to make it accessible by correct and most relevant keywords. Keywords answer what, where and who questions, it is better to address them in the title. For example, if someone is looking for kitchen cleaning services in city X, your title should be “Kitchen Cleaning Services in [City X]”. The information in the title should be highly descriptive and accurate.
Meta Description: The Meta Description is a supporting line that convinces the reader to click the title. You find Meta description just below the title and it further explains the purpose of the write-up. For example, in this article, the title is “A Beginner’s Guide to SEO” and its Meta Description is “All you need to know about SEO and its practices to rank your website high up in search engines”. If someone didn’t understand the title, they will definitely understand after reading the Meta description about the contents of the article.
3. Page Content Optimization
Any great content will lose its value if it is not well optimized. Content optimization is the process of making content useful and attractive for the users. The process involves stuffing the content with keywords in a natural way and making it rank better on search engines. When it comes to page content, there are three main elements of a page:
i. Headings — it includes H1, H2, and H3 etc. These are the sheadings and sub-headings consisting of keywords
ii. Body content — the main content/text on the page. It consists of majority of keywords spread throughout the content in a natural way. Using shorter sentences and making the content more attractive through headings makes it readable even for skim readers. You can share unique ideas, opinions and fun element in the content to attract traffic.
iii. Images — relevant pictures to support/enhance the value of your content.
4. Building Backlinks
Backlinks can help build your website but if not used cleverly they can negatively affect your website’s visibility. Although link building is a basic SEO practice, it is the hardest of all for the beginners. Link building allows visitors navigate between pages. Search engines utilize these links to discover new pages and evaluate where a page should rank in the search results. Backlink is like an endorsement or a vote, the more the people vote, the higher your website will rank in search results.
In this article, we have talked about SEO and some basic SEO practices for beginners. In our upcoming posts we will talk in detail about advanced keyword research, on-page and off-page SEO, and best practices to help improve website’s ranking on search engines and make it pop.
