Don’t you ever wonder how search engines seem to bring the right answers to you with the top search results? Or how easily your questions are answered such that you forget other search results’ pages apart from the first one?
You most likely ended up here through a search engine, and it’s good to have you here. All these are part of SEO and how search engines connect you to the answers you require.
SEO does more than direct people to the right information. It puts your online brand or presence in front of the audience that requires it the most. When you do SEO right, your customer base increases your brand to more opportunities to scale bigger.
Before we look at how to do SEO the right way, or if it works, let us see what SEO is all about.
What is SEO?
SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization.
Fundamentally, SEO is how you make your website ranks as high as possible on any search engine results page when someone searches for a product or service that you offer. It collects various techniques to ensure your website ranks high on the unpaid results section of search engines. This unpaid section is also known as the organic listings.
Taking it from the name itself, SEO is the art of optimizing your website’s content so that a search engine prefers to show that content as the top result whenever anyone searches for a particular word or keyword.
To go in-depth, SEO involves three major parties:
- You
- The search engine
- The audience or searcher
Let’s say you have a blog about “home decorations” and an article on “how to find the right lamp for your home.” You will want the search engine to show this article among the top results for anyone whose search includes “right lamp for your home”.
SEO consists of the various things you have to do on that article to increase the search engine’s possibility of including it among the top rankings whenever anyone searches for the keyword or phrase.
Here’s the thing. There is no one way to get SEO right. It keeps changing. There are many resources, including books, articles, and even guides, where you will find conflicting information on how to get SEO right. Different strategies keep coming up, and marketers are experimenting with them to see which works. Also, the most popular search engine, Google, keeps updating its algorithm. Hence what would work before changes, and you would have to adapt to a new strategy.
You have to keep working on SEO to ensure your site stays among the top search engine results.
What Matters in SEO?
SEO is continually changing. To keep up with the game, you should be ready to adapt accordingly to new plays as they come along. Although there are a plethora of SEO strategies, few things matter, and these are some of them:
- Links
- Domain name
- Meta description
- Length and consistency of article posts
Links
The links to notable, high-ranking sources and links in other websites connecting users back to your website are essential to ranking high on result pages. Simply put, the higher the quality and quantity of links to your website, the more site traffic it attracts. More site traffic means more customers.
A link can count as votes, letting the search engines know that your content is relevant because of how much or how well other websites refer to you. It is not only the number of links but the quality too. High-quality links increase the relevance of your content such that your site ranks high for related keyword searches.
Domain name
Your website’s domain name plays a vital role in your rankings. Depending on your niche, the right domain name will boost your SEO game and keep you standing strong among the competition. The right domain name also generates high site traffic and puts you in a recognizable brand in your niche.
The domain name must be related to a popular keyword in the niche, as this helps with search engine rankings, links, and customer reach. If you want to get a domain, ensure that you adequately research your options or purchase a seasoned domain based on your niche.
Meta description
Meta description or Metadata refers to the title and texts of a website on the search results page. The meta description serves as a preview, telling users what to expect from your website or article before clicking on it. The way a movie trailer is to a movie is how your meta description is to your content. The better it is, the more users will be interested in clicking.
Here are some best practices for your metadata:
- Ensure that the relevant keywords are included in your title and lines of text.
- Avoid repeating keywords, even if they are relevant.
- Keep your text short, around 160 characters.
- Be straightforward so that users are clear on what to expect from your content.
You can also think of meta descriptions as unpaid ads for your content. Consider using information that tells users why they should click on your content and what you have to offer. Metadata is meant to encourage users to click your content, which generates traffic.
Length and consistency of article posts
Although lengthy articles can be informative, they don’t beat short, exciting, and relevant ones. Relevance is more important than length. Users appreciate content that is straightforward, informative, and answers their questions rather than repeating the same ideas. Relevant articles get linked to more often, showing search engines that your content is high-quality and increasing your rankings. High-quality content plays a crucial part in SEO because, in addition to rankings, it also leaves your customers satisfied and coming back for more.
Keep the following in mind to ensure that you deliver high-quality content:
- Length matters, but make sure your content is relevant.
- Keywords are great, but the context in which you put them matters. Don’t jumble up keywords only because they are relevant. Arrange them in a manner that passes on your information coherently.
- Ensure that your titles, meta descriptions, subtitles, tags, and URLs are keyword-rich.
Conclusion
It is my whether SEO works or not. Instead, it is about whether you are doing it the right way. The results from practicing good SEO take time. However, they are well worth it in the long run. For your content to be relevant and have more views, SEO is mandatory. Be willing to keep with the current best practices, along with your target audience, and you’ll see your content begin to stand out.