Search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing technique that helps businesses show up at every stage of a customer’s journey, from first discovery to conversion. By creating content that matches users’ search intentions, businesses can reach prospects at every stage of the marketing funnel. Without SEO, businesses miss revenue opportunities such as selling more ecommerce products, building brand awareness, and capturing traffic from TV ads.
Google calculates the distance between a user’s location and relevant search results and uses this information to rank pages. Another part of SEO is using keywords in content. Keywords are the words users enter into search engines, and they should be relevant to your business and have a high search volume. Tools like the Keyword Magic Tool or the Keyword Overview tool can help you find the right keywords for your content.
What core on-page elements should you focus on?
Search algorithms change often, but a few on-page attributes stay important over time.
Write a clear title tag
The title tag is the first signal Google uses to judge relevancy, and Google cuts titles off after 60 characters in search results. Aim for a title that covers your main keywords and gives enough context for the page to be indexed. Add alt text to every image you include in a blog post.
Pay attention to navigation
Navigation helps visitors find what they need and helps search engines understand which pages matter most. More inbound links point to a page, the more likely it is to appear in search results. Google uses navigation cues to figure out the role each page plays on your site.
Produce content your audience wants
Google tries to give users the best experience, so high-quality content is a central part of SEO. Focus on your audience, write what they want to read, and publish. Pages that match user intent are the ones that rank for your chosen keywords.
Test changes with A/B testing
A/B testing shows which page changes lift your conversion rate. SEO can be time-consuming, but tools like Optimizely make testing easier with a visual editor that lets you make changes without writing code. Even a small investment in SEO can lead to large growth.
Use structured data alongside keywords
Use heading tags and URLs in a consistent way, but avoid overusing them so readers can still scan the page. Add structured data to give search engines useful information about your content. These signals work together to push your pages higher in the rankings.
How is Google changing the way it understands queries?
Google announced the BERT model for English language search queries. The goal of BERT was to help search engines better understand user intent and return more relevant content. Google says the aim is to make search results more useful. Improving your site’s ranking takes patience, some creativity, and a steady focus on the basics above.
FAQ
What is SEO in simple terms?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a marketing technique that helps your business show up in search results. It involves creating content that matches what users are searching for so you can reach them from first discovery through to conversion.
What on-page elements matter most for SEO?
The basics that stay important over time are a clear title tag with your main keywords, alt text on images, clean navigation, high-quality content aimed at your audience, structured data, and A/B testing to improve conversion rates.
How does Google decide which results to show?
Google calculates the distance between the user’s location and relevant businesses and uses that information to rank results. With the BERT model, Google also works to better understand the intent behind English language search queries so it can return more useful pages.
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- How Search Engine Optimization Can Help Your Website Rank Higher in SERPs
- What Is Search Engine Optimization?