What is SEO? | All About SEO

SEO can be defined as the basic idea of search engine optimization in a way everyone can understand; it can be called “search engine optimization.” In other words, the settings we must make to rank our website on the first page in a search engine are what happens in SEO. Otherwise, the necessary settings are made so search engines can find our website, which is done as search engine optimization. SEO can be classified into three main parts: on-page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO.

Why is SEO important?

1. The paramount importance of SEO is the ability to bring visitors or organic traffic to our website from search engines.
2. We can reach a target audience through SEO. That said, if our website is about Samsung smartphones, people who like Samsung smartphones will come to us through their search engines.

Anyone who makes any website needs a target audience. Those who do business from there are also special. A target audience for a person who runs a company is essential for the visitors interested in their business to come to the website because it is from such people that the industry can get a sale.

3. People who do business and affiliate marketing often bring visitors to their websites by posting ads. There is no need to pay anything for this. If the website is made in a search engine-optimized way, it will likely come up in the rankings with time. Of course, many factors related to SEO affect this.
4. The ability to increase one’s income online. Business and affiliate marketing and those who do ad publisher networks like Adsense can move towards a high income because more than 3.5 billion things are searched on Google alone daily. That is about 40,000 per second.

Google has about 90% of the worldwide search engine market share. That said, almost 90% of internet users use Google search engines, so we have to give more prominence to Google in SEO.

A few words used in SEO that you must know the meaning of

When learning some subjects, words are related to that subject, so if these words are not understood properly, some things will not be understood precisely. Here are some such words.

• Organic Traffic: Here, the traffic is the visitors who come to the website. Organic traffic means visitors who come from search engines like Google to rank. Visitors are people who come after searching.
• Keyword: Any word or phrase searched for various purposes in the search engine can be referred to as a keyword. In some cases, it is also known as a search term. E.g., best Samsung mobile phones, SEO tutorial, YouTube
• Rankings: The place that is ranked in the search engine.
• SERP (Search Engine Results Page): Web pages that contain results related to what you searched for in the search engine.
• Impressions: The number of times your website is displayed in the SERP.
• Meta Title and Description: The title and description of one of the results will be shown in the SERP.
• Organic C.T.R. (Click-through Rate): The number of times the result shown in the SERP is clicked, expressed as a percentage. For example, if 100 people see your website in the SERP and 5 of them click and visit it, your Organic C.T.R. will be 5%.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who come to your website and return to the same page. For example, if 100 people visit your website’s homepage and 60 people return from the same website, your bounce rate is 60%. These value reductions are a good thing.
• Search Intent: The searcher’s intention in the search engine may be to find information, make a purchase, or find an answer to a simple question.
• Algorithm: An algorithm is a program search engine that determines where a web page should be ranked. An algorithm contains hundreds of factors, most of which must be publicized.
• Backlink: A link (hyperlink) directed from one website to another is called a backlink. There are two types of backlinks: internal and external. Internal links are links from one page to another within the same website, and external links are links from one website to another.
• DA (Domain Authority): DA is a metric created by Moz that predicts how likely a website will rank in search engines. Each website has a value from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best level. However, increasing DA does not mean the search engine will rank the website because of it. Things like quality content, backlinks, and trustworthiness affect increasing DA. P.A. (Page Authority) is the metric related only to one URL.
• D.R. (Domain Rating): This metric predicts how likely a website will be ranked in the search engine, just like Moz. Ahrefs created it. Like Moz, every website has a value from 0 to 100 in this metric. Backlinks are the main factor affecting the increase of D.R. in this case. U.R. (URL Rating) is the metric that applies only to one URL.
• White Hat SEO: Doing SEO using ethical SEO tactics used to rank in Google. Google prefers White Hat SEO methods.
• Black Hat SEO: Google doesn’t like these techniques even though they can get quick results. You will receive a Google penalty if the Google algorithm detects that your website has used Black Hat SEO methods. A penalty is like a punishment given by Google. It is a roadblock to a very unfavorable situation and could be better for the website’s future.

How do search engines work?

Search engines are like libraries; it is like finding the book you want from a pile of books in a library. Search engines are a collection of billions of web pages. A search engine always shows the best results that match the search.

When a person searches for something, the best results that match what he is searching for are displayed in the most suitable order from beginning to end. The algorithm used in search engines for this process is not exactly something we can say, nor is it something easy to think of. However, a search engine like Google has more than 200 ranking factors for positioning the results. Google introduces only a small amount of this as the primary ranking factor.

The ranking is done using these ranking factors. All these things happen automatically by computers or Google bots. Our task should be to create a website based on these ranking factors.

What is an SEO strategy?

Imagine you want to rank your website for the keyword “best mobile phones” on Google. To achieve this goal, you have to understand the competition for that keyword and optimize your website to give it a competition.

Paying attention to more than 200 ranking factors named in Google, it is necessary to create an SEO strategy so that you can fight the competition. Even if Google’s ranking factors only change once they are updated again, we cannot compete with keywords with more competition and with less competition through the same method. Competing in a high-speed car race or a foot-bike race makes no sense.

It is also easier to get successful results when using an SEO strategy rather than just optimizing the facts related to SEO. As always, an SEO strategy can be defined as a collection of many related things.

On-Page SEO

This is the foundation of SEO success. Search engine optimization on your website can be identified as this: Keyword research and optimization, content, meta title and description, URL, image optimization, and internal links. On-page optimization is rightly called Google’s ranking factor. The facts contained here mainly influence whether a website is ranked or not.

Off-Page SEO

The success factor of On-Page SEO can be known as Off-Page SEO. Just doing On-Page SEO can’t guarantee success. However, combining these two is crucial to maintaining Google’s ranking. Backlinks are related to Off-Page SEO. In other words, the optimization is carried out through the website. In my experience, Off-Page SEO is the second most important ranking factor.

Contextual backlinks, guest posts, P.B.N., blog postings, blog comments, article submissions, P.R. submissions, social bookmarks & signals can be introduced under Off-Page SEO.

Technical SEO

This can also be identified as a part of On-Page SEO, but the technical part of the website is often classified under this. Things like Page loading speed, UX optimization, SSL Certificate (HTTPS), and Mobile friendliness can be included in this section. These can be introduced as necessary elements in the present. If there are weaknesses in these parts, it will weaken the rank of the first pages.

Now, let’s talk about some main factors affecting the ranking.

Keyword Research

When an internet user searches for something related to your website on Google, you want your website to show up. This is not something that can be done by guessing the keywords that are searched here.

You have to research the target audience or what keywords your buyers are searching for correctly. Finding keywords in this way can be identified as keyword research.

Although no specific method can be used for keyword research, this is often done through a unique process based on many common issues. Also, it is possible to see famous and not-so-popular keyword research strategies.

Successful keyword research can be identified as a significant factor in creating a successful website. In other words, this is a turning point for a successful website.

We can use various keyword research tools to do successful keyword research. Some tools are free, and some are paid. Free tools often give us limited facilities. To use advanced features, you have to pay.

Quality Content

They provide searchers with the most relevant, reliable, and valuable results Google wants. That is their primary role. Therefore, more attention should be paid to that matter.

Google determines the quality of content based on several factors. That is expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Google (E, A, T)

• Expertise

According to the definition here, you must have a very high level of knowledge about the subject you are writing an article about if you want to write an article that Google approves. But the meaning here is not limited to that.

You must know how to communicate your knowledge in a way that people can relate to. Users can only understand a little expertise because they must write it according to their ideas, and you need to know your audience. How do you get it to people who are the right fit?

Google mainly adheres to the principle that Content is King because Google says that if a website’s ranking is to improve, it must write quality content that people like.

How do you write expert content?

For this, you need to have a good understanding of what your target audience is searching for. This is something that can be clearly understood by keyword research. Also, you have to understand search intent well and write content.

When understanding the search intent, we can identify four main ways.

1) Informational intent

This means searching for something to know some information. It can be identified that someone who searches for a keyword like this is searching for a specific question or what they need to know more about.

2) Navigational intent

You can identify people who search using Google after knowing which website they should visit.

3) Preferential/Commercial Investigation

Keywords that are searched to find out about a product, brand, or service to buy something in the future belong to this category. Sometimes, these can be a comparative study of two types. Even things like product reviews and ratings are directly related to this.

4) Transactional intent

It can be recognized that something is being searched to make a purchase. The purchase can be something like a product, service, or subscription. A person searching for something like this is searching for an action like a purchase, so they already know what they are searching for, so finding a place to make that purchase can be the primary goal.

So you can get a proper understanding of such matters through keyword research; if a good competitor analysis is done in keyword research, you can write complete content successfully.

Furthermore, by using a language style suitable for the target audience in the content and images and videos appropriate for the content, it is possible to write content that people like and that will reach people.

You can gain more success by answering the questions that arise in the content using your knowledge in a way that is easily understood from the content itself. Because sometimes people only search for specific questions, it is more effective to answer them as questions.

Many people reassemble some of the information on the Internet and write content. Still, it is challenging to introduce this method as successfully compared to original content written by collecting one’s knowledge and experience.

• Authority

Writing content with the knowledge of an expert in a particular field is unique, but it is only the basic foundation. When you become a website with a good source of knowledge in the scope you are talking about, when other experts give your website the same kind of attention, and when you or your website becomes a brand name among people, you are not only an expert but also an authority in your subject. Is appointed. This is an essential factor for being successfully ranked in Google.

Authoritativeness is the main factor affecting growth.

Increasing your website’s authority backlinks from relevant and authoritative websites is easy. Backlinks can always be considered a ranking factor, directly impacting the website’s ranking. The content of an authoritative website may gain more prominence from Google.

Being mentioned by News & Authoritative websites causes you to be noticed by Google because Links are the main factor.

One of the main factors that can be used to measure authority is the domain authority introduced by Moz. I need help to recommend Ahrefs Domain Rating for this.

• Trustworthiness

The reliability of a website is a significant factor nowadays. As Expertise and Authority directly affect your website’s ranking boost, so does trustworthiness. Trustworthiness makes ranking easier by making it a website with content that can be ranked successfully by avoiding all shortcomings.

Especially for this, you have to do it without negatively impacting your website. On a website where business-related things happen, there are more chances of having these problems because of some customers. In those cases, you have to make sure to complete the transaction without damaging your brand name.

If creating a business-related website, always try to increase positive reviews. For this, it is essential to use websites that have won Google’s trust, like Google My Business, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot, and Facebook.

Circumstances where trustworthiness may be damaged

As with wrong customer reviews, Google’s penalties can negatively impact the website’s trustworthiness. A hostile SEO attack can also cause this damage in some cases.

Other factors that can have an impact on trustworthiness

• We are contacting the owner of the website clearly and easily.
• Mentioning the address related to the website is exceptional if the business is under. It is necessary to mention the address of the office or store.
• It is necessary to enter the pages required for your website, such as privacy policy, terms and conditions, terms of business, disclosure, and disclaimer related to the website. These are mentioned in the website’s footer so they can be accessed easily.
• If it is a website where transactions take place, refunds and returns policies must be mentioned. It can be used as a separate page as required.
• Nowadays, the most important thing is whether the domain name is secure. This can be identified as an HTTPS or SSL Certificate, which can be easily obtained from a web hosting provider.
• If a website sells products, it is important to mention safety advice related to the products to build trust.
• If you are creating a blog-type website to share your knowledge, you must include an author biography. Meanwhile, linking to others’ authority sites is good.

Trust flow provided by Majestic SEO is a recognized factor for measuring this.

Suppose you want to share knowledge about a particular subject on your website, especially related to medicine, health, and finance. In that case, you must make the website so that Google can feel your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

No matter what subject you discuss, Google must minimize the possible harm caused to the user by the information and advice you provide. That’s why Google puts more weight on the topics discussed above. Google’s goal is to give users the most accurate and reliable information, so writing content and maintaining a website that cares more about E.A.T is necessary.

Backlinks

PageRank is the primary name of Google’s algorithm for ranking a website.

Backlinks are one of the main factors that influence the rise of PageRank. As mentioned earlier, backlinks are links to our website from other websites.

In this way, the links to our website are treated as a vote for us. In other words, it is like a particular website recommending our website. This recommendation comes from websites with the highest expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, which can significantly improve our website’s ranking. In this way, increasing backlinks implies that the ranking will improve, and the web traffic to our website will also increase.

We can identify backlinks in several ways. The quality of those backlinks and the effect they can have on our website will change according to the backlink.

Link building refers to the creation of backlinks. There, it is often possible to identify the creation of backlinks using various strategies.

Crawlability

The storage of the pages of your website in Google or the addition of your website to Google can be known as indexing. You can find out about this through the Google Search Console after adding your website to the Google Search Console. However, to be indexed, Google needs to know about your website. It doesn’t happen just because you create a website.

It is said that Google uses several methods to find new websites. The primary method of searching is crawling. Following the links in the websites is simply what happens here. This is done using a computer program known as Google Spider.

This crawling is done after adding your website to the Google Search Console. Also, if you receive a backlink to your newly created website from an indexed website, Google will come to your linked website through that link and crawl your other websites.

Crawlability is very important because no matter how well you optimize your search engine, it won’t work if Google can’t see your website. Google cannot rank something that it can’t see.

Reasons why Google crawler can’t find your website.

• One of the main factors that facilitate crawlability is the internal links silo on the website, so many people don’t think much about internal links due to ignorance. But if that happens, it will be a significant loss. Having a silo of weak internal links significantly reduces crawlability.
• If there are no followed internal links, they will not be crawled. Take care of it.
• If there are no-indexed pages, they will not be crawled, so putting no-index on the pages you want will also be a problem. In WordPress, this can be done through the SEO Plugin.
• Through the text file called Robots.txt, we can create permission or ban to crawl the website. You can easily use a WordPress plugin for this.

If you pay attention to these factors, you can remove the obstacles to crawling.

Page Loading Speed

What will you do if the loading icon of your web browser keeps spinning and takes a long time to load when you visit a particular website? Most likely, you will back off or close it. The same thing happens if your website takes too long to load. People like to start immediately.

Page speed has become a significant factor nowadays. Google wants your web pages to load quickly, and the user experience can be brought to the maximum level if they load quickly. If the page speed is too low, you cannot stay there permanently, even if you are ranked on the first page. If the people who come to your website turn away on their own, it will negatively affect the website.

You can use various tools to measure page speed and fix defects. Among them, Google can use page insights. You can also do this using a site like GTmetrix. After putting in their website and searching, it is necessary to fix the defects that are shown.

Mobile Friendliness

Nowadays, it is common for users to access a website from various devices, but mobile devices are gaining more prominence. Meanwhile, more searches for some topics are already coming from mobile devices. If your website’s mobile friendliness could be improved, it would significantly reduce your mobile web traffic. Also, if the mobile-friendliness is in good condition, it affects the ranking.

You can also check mobile-friendliness from Google by visiting the Mobile-Friendly Test website.

SSL Certificate (HTTPS)

A secure site means that the website users’ information is safe. Google has paid more attention to user safety. Therefore, if you have an idea to create a website, think only once and get the SSL certificate for the domain.

This can be done through your hosting provider. Because many hosting providers now provide SSL for free. Although this is not a major ranking factor, SSL is indispensable if a website is to be ranked in Google. Even many online buyers consider SSL a seal of credibility for the website.

UX optimization

The user experience on your website is considered here. It can be known as user experience optimization.

At the beginning of the last decade, website ranking was limited to the few keywords used. However, SEO can be done other than following the current Google updates. Therefore, you must pay more attention to the user to make a successful website by SEO.

1. Time On Site

A visitor stays on the website for a long time. This happens quickly on web pages, with content matching the user’s intent for quality. It changes depending on how a user engages with the content. Using videos, images, and short

By writing content through paragraphs, you can make the website stay longer.

2. Pages Per Session

To make a visitor to one web page use more web pages, it is necessary to write many articles on a specific target topic. To do that, internal links should be improved.

3. Bounce Rate

Reduce the bounce rate; this is also a good signal about the user experience. As before, it is essential to prepare more articles with a good structure for internal links. Visitors will stay put when we have created a website that meets their needs.

Local SEO

One of the main tasks performed here is to enter the details related to your business into Google My Business. It can be confirmed that the future of business will be Google My Business.

Local SEO is directly vital for those doing business. This makes it possible to turn the person who comes to your website after searching a keyword into your customer. When a keyword like “near me” is searched for something related to your business in the area where you do business, there is a greater chance that the details of your business and your website will be shown at the top.

e.g.

• SEO agency near me
• Cyber security degree USA
• buy a laptop in New York

Final Thought

As we have discussed what SEO is, it is clear that although it is called SEO by a single name, it is a collection of many parts. So, to succeed in SEO, you must pay attention to all these parts because you need more than one part. Therefore, pay attention to all the points discussed above and further study SEO. Then, you will be able to know the things that I have yet to talk about that need to be paid more attention to.