If you are new to SEO (search engine optimization) and don’t exactly know what is it and where to start? Don’t be worried; with fundamental “Search Engine Optimization” techniques, you can significantly improve your website’s ranking. We will cover all of these top 20 SEO tips for you.
What Exactly the Search Engine Optimization Is?
SEO stands for search engine optimization and ensures that your site and contents have the best chances to rank high on the search engine result page. Said, it means that you want to optimize your website and content so that search engines such as Google can understand what your website and content are about to rank them high for specific keywords.
Why do you need this? Well, do you ever go further than the second or third page on Google’s result page? No? That’s your answer right there.
The higher your website and content ranking on Google, the more people will click on it. Accordingly, the more sales or conversions you will likely get. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Top 20 SEO Tips For Beginners
1. Try to Write Longer Posts
According to SEO ranking factors for 2017, content is still a significant factor in SEO ranking next to other factors like backlinks and RankBrain. Ultimately, it is content in blog posts or videos that attract users and customers in the first step of the acquisition funnel.
2. Top essential tips for writing perfectly SEO friendly content
From an SEO point of view, longer content is more powerful as it includes more keywords and provides more information that is beneficial to the user. Neil Patel mentioned that content should be longer than 2,000 words while at the same time being of high quality.
Your content quality is essential because users look for unique and exciting content that they find worth sharing. So, if you want users actually to be interested in your content, it has to be of high quality.
Longer blog posts also help with dwell time. Dwell time is the amount of time that passes before a user returns to the search engine results page. Longer content engaging and high in quality will make people stay longer on your website and read more. At the same time, a longer dwell time is very beneficial for your ranking because it is a sign for Google that people enjoy your content.
3. Always Publish Fresh Content
Next to longer posts, you also want to be aware that Google loves fresh content. This is not only because new content is more relevant to users, but it also lets Google know that you are still active.
This being said, we all know how difficult it is to produce new high-quality content constantly. So, instead of coming up with recent super excellent high-quality posts all the time, you can make use of your already existing content.
Check out: What is Proofreading? Basic Techniques and Tips
One easy tip is that you can update one of your popular but older posts. Simply add some current and relevant information and re-publish the post with the current date. A perfect opportunity for these basic SEO technique posts that have a year in their title. A good example would be “Best SEO Tips 2018”.
Blog posts like that can be updated easily by adding relevant information and changing the title to “Best SEO Tips 2020”. Don’t forget to re-publish the post with a current date.
There are many other ways to repurpose your existing content. Find out more about easy ways to reach your content marketing goals without generating new content.
4. Always Use Specific Keywords for better SEO
Using the right keywords is essential! While you need to use the right keywords that properly define what your content is about, you also need to consider what your users and potential customers are looking for.
The keywords you want to use should be relevant to your content’s topic so that search engines can index your website correctly. You probably don’t want to confuse search engines by focusing on keywords that are entirely irrelevant to your actual products or services or your blog’s main topic.
However, you also want to focus on keywords that your customers are searching for. You might rank number one for a specific keyword, but you will end up with zero people visiting your site if no one is searching for that. It is like selling a product that no one asked for and no one wants.
Several keyword tools out there can help you find out what your users and customers are searching for. You can check out tools such as Ubersuggest or Kwfinde etc.
You should look for key indicators such as search volume (average monthly searches) and competition scores that show how easy or difficult it is to rank for a specific keyword. Of course, keep in mind that the keywords must be relevant to your website, product, or service.
Additionally, you can use long-tail keywords and LSI keywords to improve your site’s ranking and give more information to search engines to figure out what your content is about.
Long-tail keywords are more specific terms. If you use more specific keywords in your content or your website, you increase the likelihood of receiving more qualified visitors. Long-tail keywords are keywords like “The 10 Most Important SEO Tips You Need to Know”. They usually contain four or more words that specify what the consumer is looking for and their intent.
As mentioned, if your keywords are particular, you might get less traffic but more visitors looking precisely for what you offer and are therefore more likely to purchase. Quality over quantity, so to say. It is usually easier to rank for particular keywords, as fewer websites are targeting them. So, why not give it a try?
LSI keywords (latent semantic indexing) are keywords that are related to your primary keyword. They are not synonyms but homonyms (similar in meaning) and will help search engines to understand what your content is about.
LSI stands for latent semantic indexing and simply means keywords related to the topic that your page is about. Including LSI keywords in your content will help Google and other search engines understand your topic’s relevance.
You want to include LSI keywords because more and more search engines are looking for more of a topic match than a keyword match when returning search results. And how they do that is by looking for LSI keywords.
The idea is that when writing about a specific topic, you would naturally include related words. Say, for example, if you have an SEO consulting agency, you would naturally include the following associated terms on your website.
Consultant internet marketing SEO
- SEO marketing consultant
- SEO Consultant Company
- Top SEO consultants
- SEO internet marketing expert
- SEO internet marketing services
These keywords are relevant and helpful for Google to extract information. With this information, search engines can ensure that your content talks about the topic you want to rank for. Even though you technically would be using LSI keywords already just by writing your content, it doesn’t hurt to see if you might have missed a few good ones. A good keyword tool will be able to help you find both long-tail keywords and LSI keywords.
5. Optimize the Title, Meta, Heading, and Subheading Tags
You already have long and high-quality content, and you are a pro at including keywords? Then what about your title, meta, heading, and sub-heading tags?
Title Tags:- The title tag is the strongest on-page tag indicator and carries significant weight for your SEO ranking. In case it is your first encounter with the title tag, this is an example of how users see it:
Refer to this brief checklist to optimize your title tags.
- All titles need to be unique per page.
- The length should be no more than 60 characters (space included)
- The title tag should contain target keywords.
If you create a title without considering your keywords, you are missing out on ranking opportunities. The title tag should contain keywords that are relevant to the webpage and your content. This tells search engines what the website or page is about and indexes your site according to those keywords.
Google determines the content of pages from the title tag, so make sure to describe your range accurately. Recall your search behavior on Google. As soon as you hit “enter” or “search,” you probably skim through the first three results taking a closer look at titles. The more targeted and thrilling the title is, the higher the chances for a click.
Use modifiers in your title. Modifiers are descriptive words that are used with primary keywords. This lets search engines know to return the most relevant web pages that contain related content. Some examples of modifiers are titles that start with “how-to,” “solutions,” “best,” “guide to,” “of the year,” or “review of.” You can use a keyword tool with a pattern filter to quickly get keyword suggestions that follow those patterns.
Remember to optimize your title to resonate with what users are looking for, rather than stuffing it with keywords! You can use tools to help you brainstorm the most appealing titles.
7. Meta Tag Or Meta Description
A meta description is a short paragraph of text (snippet of information) under the URL to preview the search results. The meta description should be placed in the <head> tag of your page’s HTML and should typically be up to 160 characters long.
It is essential to have a good meta description because it is what the users see when deciding whether or not to click the link to your site. Google may or may not choose to use your description and may even alter it. Nonetheless, this is one of the places you want to pay attention to, as Google will use it to understand what your page is about.
You also want to include your keywords in the meta description to appeal to actual readers skimming the search engine result pages.
8. Headings And Sub Headings (Like This One)
Headings and subheadings are <h1>, <h2>, and <h3> HTML tags. These are the section titles or that users see on the page.
There should only be one <h1> tag per web page, and this heading should contain the primary keyword your content is focusing on. Google checks these tags the same way it fits title tags, so be ready to optimize this part of your page. Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress often include an <h1> identification for you with the page’s title or article. In this case, there is no need to have another one.
The subheadings <h2> and <h3> should also include your target keywords. However, always write for the reader and use headings that help your visitors navigate your page.
9. Use Optimized URLs – Search Engine Optimization
While most users will pay little attention to your URLs, they are essential for your basic SEO. The best practice is to keep your URLs as simple as possible. Google wants you to have readable and straightforward URLs to provide a logical URL structure.
This pretty much just means that instead of numbers, you should use text in your URLs and that the URL should describe what the content is about while being as short as possible. Yes, it is as easy as that. Just try to be logical and user-friendly with your URLs. Website
Next to that, you can use your URLs as a place to put your main keywords. Of course, no keyword stuffing is allowed! Remember, as short as possible. However, setting your main keyword into your URL should be no problem.
For example, if you are writing about the Best Games of all time, your URL could look something like this: “yourdomain.com/best-games.”
But, don’t start changing all of your previous URLs. It is better not to change URLs as it can be confusing for Google and your users. Therefore, it is probably better to start optimizing your URLs for your new content. However, if you have to change your current URLs to provide a better URL structure, don’t forget to do a proper 301 (permanent) redirect.
Create Backlinks for your Website – Search Engine Optimization
10. Backlinks for your website
Another essential part of basic SEO is backlinks. A backlink is when one website mentions another website by linking to it.
While backlinks are a major deciding factor that helps your website increase its rank, those backlinks should come from high-quality websites related to your content’s topic.
For example, if your blog is about SEO marketing, you want to get backlinks from marketing-related sites. Also, the quality or website ranking of the website giving you the backlink indicates how powerful that backlink is for you. Search engines think that the more relevant and high-quality backlinks you have, the more valuable your site must be for users.
Google sees backlinks as users voting that your content is helpful. The higher the website’s domain ranking, the more power their backlink or “vote” has because they have established themselves as reliable sources.
High-quality backlinks should be one of your main essential SEO priorities because they can quickly skyrocket your ranking. With backlink tools, you can quickly get started and hunt down some of those precious backlinks.
11. Outbound linking (External Linking): Search Engine Optimization
Outbound links are links on your website that point to other domains. An example of an outbound link is this example website, which you can click. When you link to other domains in your content, it helps search engines understand what your page is about.
Having more related and high-quality outbound links on your website can increase your rank by having your site be recognized as trustworthy and of high quality by search engines.
Here are some things you should consider while doing outbound linking
- Link to relevant blogs,
- No link farms (part of a private blog network),
- Avoid too many outbound links.
When you include links to other sites in your blog article, you can also contact those sites to let them know that you gave them a backlink. In doing so, they may find ways to include a link to your site on their page as well. Linking to other websites can be beneficial to both you and your competitor.
Here we have a big question. Does linking to other sites help SEO?
When you link to other relevant and high-quality pages, it shows Google that your content is valuable and valuable for users. Hence, linking to other sites helps SEO as long as you link to high-quality and relevant pages.
Also, the owners of those web pages you link to might check out your website and generate additional traffic for your content. As mentioned, they might even return the favor and give you a backlink in the future. Linking to other high-quality pages certainly won’t hurt your SEO ranking as long as you don’t overdo it.
12. Use inbound Links (Internal Linking) – Search Engine Optimization.
While it is important to receive backlinks and link to other people, don’t forget to link yourself. Internal links are links that go from one webpage to another within the same domain. These links are handy because they allow users to navigate through a site. An example of an internal link would be linking to our website, blog, and articles.
Internal links can help you promote your content and your other products or services. So, don’t pass on this opportunity!
13. Image Optimization – Search Engine Optimization
Images are essential for content optimization, so we decided to include image optimization in this essential SEO guide. We all know that visual materials, such as pictures, are quicker and easier to process. They simply are more appealing than endless paragraphs of text.
While images are excellent for the reader of your blog, search engines can have trouble understanding ideas. To make it easier for search engines to index your images correctly, you can use alt text. The alt text is used within HTML code and describes what the image shows. Every image should have a detailed and accurate description in its alt text.
Next to the benefits for search engines, alt texts are also crucial for the blind or visually challenged as they require a particular computer or software that reads text aloud. Besides, if the image is not seen or loaded, your alt text will be shown and lets the reader know what the picture is supposed to show.
HTML code that includes alt text for an image should look like this: <img src=” photos.png” alt=” polaroid pictures”>. In this example, the alt text says, “polaroid pictures.”
While it is good to write your alt texts very descriptive, be careful to include truthful descriptions and avoid keyword stuffing.
14. Avoid Flash – Search Engine Optimization
Adobe Flash is an app within a web page that allows multimedia streaming and user interaction. Having Flash on your webpage can be a good and a bad thing. However, if your page is made up mainly of Flash, it will run slower than usual and take time to load. Also, Flash isn’t accessible on most mobiles, which neither the reader nor Google will be happy about.
Jakob Nielsen said that about 99% of Flash websites had lower usability and a significant hindrance to good design. So, the best solution is to avoid using the Flash simply. Many websites, tools, and plugins can check if you are using Flash or not.
15. Use the Power of Social Media – Search Engine Optimization
As you probably know, social media accounts can be a powerful tool for your website, and have a Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Reddit, and an Instagram account is one of the basics of promoting your website.
While social media does not directly contribute to your ranking or SEO, it will bring you more exposure and traffic to your site, indirectly improving your site ranking on Google. In other words, while social media signals are not a direct ranking factor on Google, it certainly impacts the ranking indirectly.
Therefore, don’t neglect your social media when doing basic SEO. It is best to optimize your social media posts and to distribute your content among your channels. With some easy tips and tricks, you can leverage the full power of your social media accounts to the max.
For example, you can customize your shareable links and add a Twitter card to your website to promote your products or services. A Twitter card (or Facebook Open Graph code) included in your web page will allow you to control the text and images that show up when people share a link to your page on social media. This will make your posts more noticeable on social media and present your content more professionally across all your channels.
There are different types of cards, but they all allow you to go over the 140-character limit and attach media screenshots when you share a post. You can also see how your Twitter card looks by searching your URL on the card validator tool.
Also, don’t forget those keywords and hashtags. We already talked about keywords for your titles, Meta description, and content. But don’t make a mistake to neglect keywords in your social media content and hashtags. The same rules apply; they should be relevant to your content, and it’s best to have a high search volume that indicates that people are searching for those keywords.
A keyword tool can help you find that search data. However, beware of keyword stuffing and only include keywords where it makes sense and is natural.
A tool called Hootsuite can help you keep track of multiple social media accounts. Through this tool, you can manage different social media accounts on one single platform.
16. Speed up your website
Website speed is a critical factor that search engines look for when ranking websites. Google itself said that page loading speed is an SEO ranking signal, and MunchWeb found that 75% of users would not re-visit websites that took longer than 4 seconds to load.
If you want to know your website’s load speed, you can use Tools to check. You can quickly check your website’s speed and errors with online tools like GTMetrix, Pingdom, and PageSpeed Insights – Google Developers.
17. Make your Website Mobile-Friendly
What does it mean to be mobile-friendly? It means that the website or webpage is responsive or adaptive to mobile devices. Sometimes if the webpage is not responsive, there will be a separate mobile website (e.g., “m.mywebsite.com”). In 2015, Google started penalizing sites that were not mobile-friendly. So, don’t waste any time and make your website mobile-friendly.
Next to Google’s penalty, it is also essential to have a mobile-friendly website because most consumers browse the internet with their phones nowadays. If your site is not optimized, it will lead to a horrible user experience. Statistics report that in 2018, up to 52% of global website traffic comes from mobile devices.
18. Create the XML Sitemap & Submit it to Search Engines.
Having an XML sitemap makes it easier for search engines to find and rank your web pages. Sitemaps let search engines know when changes have been made and page that they may have missed. It doesn’t hurt to have a sitemap, and it also improves your basic SEO. Basically, with a sitemap, you can make sure that your pages get updated faster and that Google can find all of your pages.
19. Write Robots.txt
Robots.txt file tells search engine web crawlers which page to include in their index and which not. For example, if you do not want a specific page or image crawled by a bot, you can restrict or “disallow” that bot from access. This keeps test pages and pages not meant for users from being included in search results.
You can make a robots.txt file from scratch, but there are many tools out there that can make it for you if you do not have time. Indeed, something you should look into if you have pages that you don’t want Google to consider.
Check out: How to Create an ideal Robots.txt File for SEO
- Analyze Your Results
- Google analytics
To know if you’re basic SEO is helping your website, you should start tracking your data. Google Analytics is a great tool that can analyze and save all your data. It doesn’t only tracks where users come from but also how they are getting there. This tool also creates custom reports for you when analyzing your data. Google Analytics allows you to measure the results of your web pages via real-time data. Data is shown from different channels like organic search, paid search, referrals, social media, and direct traffic.
Having Google Analytics will help you make business decisions on where you should invest your resources, and it can guide you on your SEO efforts.
20. User Targeting
Last but not least, thinking about your users are the essential primary SEO tactic. As mentioned, there are numerous ways to increase traffic to your website: be it referrals, monthly email campaigns, or social shares on Facebook, and so on.
While SEO is an entirely different story with its strengths and weaknesses, you can already achieve many basic SEO improvements to your website. However, the main idea of SEO in today’s digital age is putting the user first.
Always try to think about what your users are looking for, their wants, and their needs. When you write content to fulfill your customers’ needs or answer one of their questions, you have the best chances that Google thinks your content is valuable.
So, make sure that your content is helpful for your users and customers, and apply the basic SEO tactics we have mentioned to have the best chances that Google will rank you high.
Check out: A Must-Have Keyword Research Process for Winning SEO