Table Of Contents​​

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• SEO Guide for Beginners

• Why SEO

• Three Types of SEO

• Most Important Steps of SEO

• Keyword Research

• SEO Content Creation

• Link Building

• SEO Dos and Don'ts

• SEO Glossary

• How to Improve Google Search Rankings

• How to Increase Website Traffic

• SEO Myths

• How to Write SEO Meta Tags

• Why My Google Rankings Have Dropped & How to Recover

• What is Local SEO & How to Rank High on Google Maps

• Why My Website Traffic is Not Converting into Sales

The Definitive Guide to SEO 

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SEO is among the most common online marketing approaches for growing businesses today. It has been a mainstay among promotional methods over the last few decades, even with the rise of more advanced digital marketing methods. But SEO changes every year and its methods change with every major search engine algorithm change. Read on to explore a beginner’s guide into the subject of search engine optimisation. 

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SEO Guide for Beginners 

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SEO as a set of optimisation methods has evolved considerably over the years. But its fundamentals remain the same regardless of the type of online resource you want to promote i.e, website, e-commerce store or blog.

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• SEO or search engine optimisation is the process of enhancing the position of a webpage on search engine result pages. Making a webpage (or site) appear higher increases its visibility, and increases the chances of making conversions. 

• SEO helps to enhance the volume and quality of website traffic through online search results. It is a non-paid marketing strategy focused on making information more accessible and useful to those seeking it i.e. a brand’s target audience. 

• Individuals performing SEO conduct research about the keywords or phrases target audiences search for. Using these relevant terms within a webpage makes its content more useful to people, and raises its value for search engines. 

• Performing SEO on a website helps target audiences find answers or solutions to their questions/queries. If a business can fulfil the needs of prospective customers, SEO can give it the desired exposure. 

• If a website’s page appears above competitors, potential customers trust it more. They are more likely to click through and eventually, get converted. 

 

Why SEO 

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Why should a business rely on SEO when there are is a multitude of more current marketing strategies? What makes it such a fundamental strategy for businesses of all sizes? Read on to know. 

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• SEO is important as the majority of online traffic to websites is delivered by search engines

• Potential customers are more inclined towards clicking the top organic search results, compared to the advertised elements at the top. 

• Optimising a website leads to better user experience, which in turn results in improved chances of conversions. 

• SEO improvements of a page/site can result in a business receiving continual benefits for a long time. 

• SEO can help a business take advantage of advanced organic search features like Featured Snippets and Related Questions on Google. 

• SEO is an inexpensive method that can be tried out by cash-strapped businesses, and if done with precision, can lead to high rankings for them. 

• Creating search engine optimised content is not a continual process. Once your website’s pages have been optimised they will keep working in your website’s favour. 

• SEO can be performed on the content of your webpages, and content posted elsewhere to promote your brand. This leads to better brand authority and catapults a business towards greater success. 

 

The Three Types of SEO 

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Search engine optimisation is a lot more than just inserting some high-value keywords and hoping for the best. SEO can be broadly classified into three types - 

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1. On-page SEO - On-page SEO, as the name suggests, deals with optimising the content on a business’s website. It involves improving every aspect of a page, including its title, header tags, keyword density, content length and quality, readability, scanability, and much more.  

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The typical methods or steps of on-page SEO are - 

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• Keyword research - Researching the top target keywords for the content of a particular page 

• Content creation - Writing high-quality content centred around the most relevant target keywords 

• Keyword optimisation - Deals with using high-value target keywords in the right places and the right ratios

 

2. Off-page SEO - Off-page or off-site SEO involves enhancing your website’s impact on external websites, and creating meaningful relationships with them. The techniques of off-page SEO are aimed at solidifying the reputation of a website across the SERPs. Good quality backlinks created through off-page are integral for raising a website’s authority.

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The typical methods or steps of off-page SEO include - 

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• Link building - Deals with the creation and increase of high-quality inbound links (from authority websites) to a business’s webpages

• Social sharing - Sharing content with website page links across leading social media channels 

• Guest posting - Writing informative and insightful guest posts along with linking one’s webpages (where relevant)

• Influencer outreach - Involves reaching out to industry influencers to obtain high-quality backlinks 

• Social bookmarking - An off-page website promotion technique which involves bookmarking your webpage on leading social bookmarking websites 

• Forum posting - Deals with making relevant and informative posts as forum thread replies, answers to questions and recommendations 

• Video submission - Uploading relevant branded video content to popular video networks, along with optimised titles, meta, descriptions and reference links 

• Image submission - Uploading relevant branded image content to image submission websites, accompanied by suitable tags, descriptions, URLs, and titles. 

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3. Technical SEO - Technical SEO has to do with evaluating and enhancing the technical aspects of a web page. It improves readability, simplifies the task of web crawlers, and enhances user experiences. Technical SEO has a direct impact on the rankings of web pages. 

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The factors improvised through technical SEO include - 

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• Website speed - Specific actions can be taken to improve the page load speed of a website, which is one of the direct ranking factors. 

• Indexing - Indexing involves manually adding a page URL to the Google Search Console and sending a request to the search engine for indexing it. 

• Mobile-friendliness - Optimising a page or site’s web design elements to streamline and enhance the experience of mobile users 

• Security - Involves introducing encrypted security for your webpages and performing other key tasks to prevent data loss and breaches 

• Site architecture - It deals with using a simplistic website architecture through improvement of hierarchy, URL structure and internal linking 

• Crawlability - Improving crawlability involves taking steps to make your webpages more friendly to search engine crawlers. 

 

Now that you have a clear idea about the different types of SEO, take a look at how search engines work. 

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Search engines scan webpages to perform - 

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• Crawling - Search engine crawlers or spiders perform in-depth scanning of a webpage’s different sections, keywords, titles, headings, images, and hyperlinks. Crawlers also crawl external websites to discover links leading back to your website. 

• Indexing - The next step after crawling is indexing a website page. One can consider the index as a massive reservoir of relevant webpage links from all corners of the globe. A webpage can take anywhere between a day to more than a week to get indexed. As soon as new changes on a website are crawled, indexing happens again. 

• Selecting results - The search engine uses numerous important algorithms to select, obtain and exhibit search results, when a user enters a search query. Some of the most crucial factors considered for choosing results include - 

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1. Content quality -

2. Website crawlability 

3. Authority and trust 

4. Click-through rate (CTR) 

5. Experience across devices 

6. Content uniqueness 

7. Content freshness 

8. Site speed 

9. Number and quality of links 

 

The methods of SEO are directed towards helping the crawlers, assuring indexing and improving the above-mentioned ranking factors to gain a high position. This is where the knowledge and expertise of proven SEO experts come into play. They can take all the right steps to make your webpage rank above those of its fiercest local (or global) competitors. 

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Most Important Steps of SEO 

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The three main steps of performing SEO on a website are - 

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1. Keyword research 

2. SEO content creation 

3. Link building 

 

Take a more in-depth look into each of these below. 

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SEO Keyword Research

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As mentioned above, identifying target keywords and using them within a page is vital for getting found. But what is the approach followed for SEO keyword research? Gain some idea on how to proceed here. 

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• The very first prerequisite for keyword research is having a thorough idea about the target audience. Knowing this will give SEO professionals some direction into a business’s target market, search preferences, and more. 

• Important factors that need to be considered for keyword research include 

 

1. What terms people are conducting searches for

2. The number or volume of people searching for them

3. What the target audience actually wants when searching with a keyword

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• Keyword research should ideally be focussed around what is useful to the target audiences of a page/site. Keyword data is also important but the priority should be centred around what the audience is looking for. 

• Keyword ideas can be related to the products and services being offered by a business, or relevant information provided through its website. One can then input these keywords into places like the Google Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Research Tool, and SEMRush, among other places. They can then gain an idea about search volume, demographics of searchers, high-value related keywords, the upward and downward swig of a keyword’s popularity, and more. All of this information can help to determine suitable keywords to use in a webpage’s content. 

• Keyword research tools also give you an idea about the most common queries related to keywords and phrases. You can also come across some highly relevant topics related to your search term. 

• Advanced features on some paid keyword research platforms enable users to search what keywords competitor websites are ranking for. Seeking this information can improve your keyword research results. 

• Some other sources of finding keywords including platforms or websites such as Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, Wikipedia, Quora.

• The objectives of keyword research include - 

 

1. Finding relevant keywords with high-enough search volume

2. Ascertaining the difficulty level of a keyword to understand which should be realistically targetted 

3. Finding keywords which your page can rank for, given the level of competition 

4. Finding relevant long-tail keywords and middle-tail keywords, as they engage readers better despite low search volumes

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• Short-tail keywords tend to have higher search volumes in most cases, but often fail to generate substantial engagement. More specific long-tail keywords are better at bringing in high-value leads, effectively raising conversion rates.

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Creating SEO Content

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The content of a webpage can be considered as one of the key factors that dictate where it can rank in the SERPs. Over the years, the definition of what is high-quality SEO content has changed radically. 

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The main dilemma many SEO professionals face is whether to create content for the search engines or the readers. Whilst both the arguments can be justified, writing for SEO should be focused on appeasing both the readers and search engine crawlers. 

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The types of content relevant for achieving SEO rankings include - 

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• Webpage content

• Sales or landing pages 

• Blog posts

• E-books, case studies, white papers, reports 

• FAQs

• Brochures

• How-to guides 

• Images, videos, and infographics 

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Optimal SEO content creation tips - 

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• Target keyword within the first 100-150 words - Any target keyword of any page with content should be within the first 100-150 words of the content. Doing so signifies to search engine crawlers that you consider the keyword as important. It gets more emphasis and the chances of ranking improve. However, including the keyword more than once in this section is spamming, and should be avoided. 

• Maintaining the keyword frequency balance - It is true that the target keyword should not be used in a spammy way within a page. But including it a few times in a proportionate and intelligent manner can vastly improve SEO ranking potential. By including the keyword at different points throughout the content you are signalling Google (or other search engines) that it is your focus for the page. Keep in mind that how many times you can use a keyword depends on the length and type of the content. Going overboard can result in spamming. 

• Use the relevant header tags where necessary - Using relevant H1 and H2 tags in your page content are recommended. Include focus keywords in your headers and place them appropriately to section (segment) your content. This is an important consideration for SEO content. Sectioning your content aids Google (and other search engines) understand how your page is structured i.e. which part talks about what. Enclosing your target keyword(s) in header tags can prove beneficial for on-page SEO. 

• Optimise content with visual elements - The importance of high-quality and engaging visual elements within a page of content cannot be understated. You can rely on visual elements such as high-definition images, relevant HD or 4K quality videos, informative infographics, and even GIFs (wherever applicable). Visual media forms tie in well with text content and drive engagement through the roof. Each media element you use can also have optimised alt-tags. Titles and descriptions, which all work to enhance SEO results. 

• Using outbound links in content - Linking to external pages of authority websites is a good way of optimising content for SEO. But, users must keep in mind that any such outbound link has to be a credible source of information. It should also not look out of place and be aligned with your keywords. Outbound links aid search engines to pinpoint what your page is about after they have been analysed by the crawlers. This has positive impacts on ranking for your targetted keyword. 

• Create informative long-form content - Getting highly engaging yet informative long-form content written should be a key focus of every professional performing SEO. Search engine algorithms now value content that simply provides more ‘value’ to readers. So, the content you use should dissect its topic thoroughly and not just scratch the surface. Keeping readers engaged for a longer duration is the goal, along with reducing bounce rates. Posting high-quality, information-rich content less frequently is better than publishing filler content just for the sake of it. Quality SEO content strongly signifies intent and can offer solutions to the most vital reader queries/questions.  

• Internal linking is also key - Internal linking also plays an instrumental role in maximising a webpage’s SEO potential. The content on your pages should link to other relevant services or landing pages. This is a great way of getting visitors to follow through into your targetted or less frequently visited pages. It also helps search engine crawlers do a better job of navigating your website. But, as with any SEO technique, exercising restraint is important as you do not want to go overboard with internal linking. 

• Optimise page titles and meta descriptions - The title is often overlooked but it is one of the most important components of any website page. Meta descriptions are equally important and should be optimised too. SEO professionals should use titles with 60 characters, and place their main keyword at the start of the title. Optimising meta descriptions helps in raising click-through rates (CTR) on SERPs. The trick is to use the keyword naturally and keep your descriptions under 160 characters.

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Do you want to improve your website sales & traffic! Get in touch

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Link Building

 

What it is 

 

Link building refers to a set of methods used for creating links to raise the visibility of a website page. The process involves SEO professionals doing the needful to obtain backlinks from an external website. These backlinks are used by search engines to discover new websites/pages. The search engine scans fresh content on a page and assigns authority to quality links to another website found on that page. 

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Why use it 

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Link building is one of the fundamental steps of SEO campaigns, as high-quality backlinks are considered as an important ranking factor. Websites with more quality backlinks are considered more valuable by Google (and other search engines) and can lead to them achieving better search ranking positions. 

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It is time-consuming but rewarding

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Quality link building is not a quick-fix method and requires a great deal of effort on part of SEO professionals. Obtaining a backlink from a high authority website requires professionals to approach its owners and do what’s necessary to earn it. But, if you manage to get the backlink, it can prove quite beneficial for your ranking results. 

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Backlinks signify popularity 

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Google considers backlinks as a key ranking factor and a differentiator between close industry competitors. The business with a better portfolio of quality backlinks may be considered as more popular, and having greater authority. More authority translates to greater search engine trust, which can be instrumental for rankings. 

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How to build backlinks 

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• Creating and sharing content - One of the most practical link building methods is creating unique and engaging content, and sharing it across the Internet. High-quality and informative SEO content has greater chances of being accepted by leading platforms and websites. Promoting your content is a good approach for obtaining a substantial amount of quality backlinks. 

• Asking/requesting for links - Business owners can ask their associates, industry peers, and even independent publishers or acquaintances to link to their site. But, the links should not come from completely unrelated sources. The goal is to get backlinks from sites that are in your niche or closely related to it. 

• Mentions and reviews - Online and social influencers are excellent choices to help your business gain some valuable backlinks. They can be approached with industry-related products and service offerings. Reviews and brand mentions with backlinks can be quite beneficial for emerging businesses.

 

Factors of link building for ranking 

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• The page being linked back to - Getting a backlink is not so useful if the page being linked back to is not the one you are targetting. For instance, you want to get a backlink for one of your product pages but get one for the home page. The ranking of this page will not improve just because visitors come to your site. 

• Linking page quality - Where your page is getting a link back from matters quite a lot. The backlink will be valuable only if the linking page is high-quality and has substantial authority. In general, an SEO professional should aim to get backlinks from trusted websites rather than new or relatively unknown ones. 

• Anchor text of the link - What the anchor text link says has to be relevant to the page being linked to. This is a factor search engines observe keenly, and one that has a definite impact on rankings. As a rule of thumb, anchor texts should be indicative of what people can expect by clicking on the associated link. 

 

Backlink types 

 

Backlinks created through link building can be divided into two main categories based on how they impact rankings. These are - 
 
No-follow backlinks - Any backlink with a rel=”nofollow” HTML tag is known as a no-follow link. Using this tag tells search engines not to follow a link to where it leads i.e. a page on another website. Search engines do not assign any authority to no-follow links, and they do not have a direct impact on search rankings.

 

No-follow backlinks are important as they - 

• Can boost traffic 

• Build some authority 

• Can improve Domain Authority

• Can improve Page Authority

 

Do-follow backlinks - Do-follow backlinks are the one followed by search engine crawlers, to assign authority to the linked website. The authority given by search engines is referred to as ‘link juice’. Link juice is the currency that contributes to search engines trusting a website more. 

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Do-follow backlinks are important as they - 

• Boost search engine authority 

• Positively impacts page rankings 

• Encourage mutually profitable link exchange  

• Raises popularity of a website/blog

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Link building guidelines, useful information, and best practices

 

SEO professionals should follow the best practices and guidelines for link building to achieve the best ranking results -

 

• Links from a page must always be relevant to the content on it i.e. in the same niche or related niches 

• Links to the target webpage/site should be within the body of content, as opposed to the sidebar, header or footer sections. 

• Any link included within the content (and its anchor text) has to be relevant and placed naturally

• Link building has to be done regularly as it is not a one-time or quick fix method. This is integral to maintain (or improve) site rankings. 

• A few high-quality backlinks are better than many low-quality links. 

• Obtaining backlinks from low-quality and spammy sites should be avoided as it does more harm than good.

• Link building can be utilised for getting some high-quality referral traffic.

 

Link building techniques

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• Making guest posts 

• Analysing and using competitor backlinks 

• Social content sharing 

• Paid blog posts 

• Unique content creation and promotion 

• Q&A sites and forum comments, posts, etc.

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