The world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can often feel filled with business or niche jargon, making it seem overwhelming. However, understanding the core concepts of SEO is critical for improving your organization’s visibility. This article defines and discusses the key terms and practices necessary to adapt your strategy and increase your online presence.
At its foundation, SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the effort of modifying your website to increase organic traffic on the search engine result page (SERP). Essentially, SEO involves working on your website so that you appear in the resulting list when someone types a search term (like “digital marketing company” or “digital marketing specialist near me”) into a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Keywords are one of the foundational elements of SEO and will connect people’s search terms to the terms on your own website.
——————————————————————————–
1. SEO vs. Local SEO
While SEO is a broad term encompassing millions of websites, Local SEO is distinct because it focuses specifically on geographic locations relevant to your organization.
Focusing on local SEO is particularly advantageous for local businesses as it narrows the competition and brings local visitors to the website. Even national organizations benefit from concentrating on local geographic locations to reduce competition.
A main objective of local SEO is finding your organization within the local pack. The local pack is the map profile page listing presented by Google in response to a local-specific search. Any organization that provides services or products to people can potentially appear here.
Critically, Google’s local pack is always first in local SEO, placing the normal organic results page below its own mapped business listings. Therefore, having a Google Business Profile is essential. If you do not have one, you should set one up by visiting google.com/business.
——————————————————————————–
2. On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the work accomplished on a website to improve its searchability and, consequently, its position in search rankings. It is often referred to as optimizing a website.
Examples of on-page optimization efforts include:
• Optimizing the content.
• Focusing on Hot Topics.
• Adding videos and great images.
• Using alt tags for images (a technical aspect).
• Improving the meta description and page titles.
These efforts are driven toward the search terms users are looking for, aiming to make your page the solution to their search.
The overall title or main topic of your page, which Google uses for categorization, is the H1 font within your code. This operates like the main title of a document, followed by H2s (subtopics) and paragraphs (P tags).
To facilitate these complex tasks, organizations using WordPress utilize SEO plugins. These software pieces grade the webpage based on its chosen search terms and provide a score, along with a list of tasks needed to optimize the page for search results. Some organizations focus on the All-in-One SEO plugin because it is comprehensive, unlike others that charge extra for modules like video SEO or local SEO.
The meta description, which appears as the small descriptive paragraph underneath a search result, is also addressed and optimized within these plugins.
——————————————————————————–
3. Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is best defined as building trust and authority for your website. This work, accomplished off your website, increases its search engine ranking and the overall authority of your domain name.
The primary effort in off-page SEO is building backlinks. A backlink occurs when another website refers to your website by including your URL in its content. Larry Page, when developing Google, established a “democratic system” where websites are ranked based on the number of people who refer to them.
The value of a backlink is increased if it comes from:
• A website that receives a high volume of traffic.
• A website that already has a high ranking.
• Highly valued sites like government websites (.gov) or university websites (.edu).
• High-profile news channels (like ABC or CNN), which would radically increase your ranking.
Practical ways to produce these links and increase ranking include:
1. Guest Posting: Writing great, original content for other individuals or business associates in your niche and asking them to refer back to your website within the content (e.g., in an author section). Developing campaigns where you create specific articles for outreach is recommended.
2. Social Media: Developing a following on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube also builds authority and trust for your domain, which is classified as off-page SEO.
The result of successful off-page efforts is increased traffic and trust for your domain, regardless of the direct content of your own website.
——————————————————————————–
4. The Critical Role of Reputation
Reputation is critical to the entire SEO process. While it may not affect national or global ranking, reputation directly affects your local SEO.
Your ranking within the local pack (Google’s map profile page) is influenced by your geographic location, the keywords in your profile, and your reputation/rating within your reviews. When a visitor finds you in a search result and sees many five-star reviews, it helps them continue the process of pursuing your organization or services.
Gathering reviews and feedback should be a part of your standard operating procedure after completing business or providing services. Not only does this help your ranking, but listening to feedback helps your organization adapt and address any customer concerns.
Reviews can be expanded into testimonials and featured prominently on your website. Another valuable element of reputation building is developing case studies. Case studies utilize empirical evidence to prove that your efforts, services, or products produced an amazing result, and these studies can be published as blog articles on your site or others’ sites.
Click here to learn more: SEO Fundamentals For Beginners Webinar