General

What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your website to improve its organic (non-paid) search engine ranking. It is a powerful way to drive quality traffic to your site and increase conversions.

SEO works by making sure that your website is easily accessible to search engines, and that the content on your website is relevant and popular to user search queries. It also involves link building and utilizing best practices to enhance your website’s rank on search results pages.

Keyword research

Keyword research is the process of identifying keywords that people search when they’re looking for information online. It’s a fundamental practice for SEO that helps websites and content get found by search engines and boost their traffic.

The first step in this process is brainstorming what terms your target audience would use when they’re searching for something. Then, plug those ideas into a tool like Ahrefs Keywords Explorer to find thousands more keyword possibilities.

A good SEO tool will also help you determine how popular a particular keyword is by providing you with MSV (monthly search volume) data. Once you know how popular a keyword is, you can determine whether it’s worth targeting and if you need to expand your keyword list.

Keyword research needs to be a continuous process that’s aligned with your SEO strategy and objectives. It should also be based on what your buyer personas are actively searching for and what they’re looking for on your website.

On-page optimization

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to improve their rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves implementing keywords, internal links, and high-quality content.

The most important on-page SEO elements include a page’s title tag, headings, and meta descriptions. These elements are all crucial for increasing your page’s ranking on the SERP and attracting high-quality traffic to your site.

Headers, or h1> through h6> tags, are the HTML elements that define the top level of your content. They help search engines differentiate between different sections of your page and determine what content is most relevant to the user’s search intent.

When incorporating your targeted keywords into the headings of your pages, make sure they are relevant to the content. It’s also a good idea to avoid keyword-stuffing, as search engines are more than ever alerted to unnaturally stuffed content. This makes your site look spammy to users and may negatively affect your search engine rankings.

Link building

Link building is a technique that search engine optimization (SEO) professionals use to build relationships with other websites and increase the amount of high-quality inbound links a website has. When it comes to SEO, the quality of a website’s links is one of the most important ranking factors for search engines such as Google.

In addition to external backlinks, SEOs also try to get links from authoritative sites within their niche. This helps to establish the site as an authority in the field and boost its reputation.

The key to successful link building is to ensure that the links you get are relevant and credible. This means that the websites that link to your page should have a Domain Authority and Page Authority that are higher than your own.

Ideally, you want to avoid using low-quality link building techniques such as buying links or submitting your site to web directories. These tactics are against Google’s guidelines and will have a negative impact on your overall SEO.

Conversion rate optimization

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a process of increasing the percentage of users or visitors who take a desired action on your website, social media channels, or other online marketing campaigns. This can include anything from adding a product to their shopping cart to becoming an occasional customer.

CRO is a critical component of any SEO strategy because it helps to ensure that your website is accessible and engaging for users, while also improving your search engine rankings. It can also help to increase the number of conversions on your website, such as newsletter sign-ups or purchase orders.

A conversion can be defined in many different ways, but the most common are opt-in forms, sign-ups, downloads, and purchases. The most effective CRO tactics improve your site’s user experience and the flow of your content, making it easier for visitors to convert into leads or customers.