RESOURCE GUIDE
Search Engine Optimization
Rank High, Be Found
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SEO 101
A Complete Guide To Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In today’s digital world, it’s essential for companies to have a strong online presence, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key component of that. By optimizing your website and its content for search engines, you can improve your visibility, attract more qualified leads, and drive more organic traffic to your site.
In digital marketing strategies, SEO plays an important role that cannot be ignored.
Research shows that 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, with Google holding the biggest chunk of the market share, followed by Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, and Baidu, respectively.
What Are The Most Important Things I Need To Know About Search Engine Optimization?
1. SEO Is a Long-term Journey, Not a Quick Fix.
It takes an average of 6-12 months of strategic optimization to see a measurable traffic and conversion rate increase.
2. Search Engines Are Constantly Evolving, and So Do Best Practices.
The algorithm and bots that rank and index web pages are becoming more efficient and smarter as days go by.
For example, keyword stuffing, a practice once common in the world of SEO, is now heavily discouraged by search engines. It involved the excessive and unnatural use of keywords in a web page or website’s component to manipulate search engine rankings.
In the past, search engines were not as sophisticated as they are now and relied heavily on the presence and repetition of specific keywords to determine a web page’s relevance to a particular search query. As a result, some marketers and website owners would stuff their content with as many keywords as possible to trick search engines into ranking their pages higher.
However, as search engines have become more advanced, they are able to better understand the context and meaning of the content on a web page rather than relying on the presence of specific keywords. As a result, keyword stuffing is no longer an effective SEO strategy and can actually harm a website’s ranking. (Google lists keyword stuffing as one technique that violates their policy as it is seen as a manipulative tactic.)
Instead of keyword stuffing, focus on creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that naturally includes relevant keywords. This is why at LOJO, we ensure that our content has real value to our audience.
3. Website Loading Can Affect Your SEO.
A slow-loading website can be frustrating for users and lead to a high bounce rate (when users leave the site quickly). This can suggest to search engines that the website is not providing a good user experience, which can negatively impact its ranking. Statistically speaking, 37% of your visitors will bounce if your site takes longer than five seconds to load.
Not only that, if your website loads slow, this can decrease the chance of users completing a desired action on the site, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
Google considers website loading speed as a ranking factor. A slower website may rank lower in search results, leading to fewer organic visitors and potential conversions.
4. Content Is King.
With SEO, content is king. In fact, high-quality, relevant content is one of the most important factors that determine the success of an SEO campaign.
You see, search engines like Google are constantly crawling the Internet and indexing websites to deliver the most relevant and valuable results to users. To do this, they use complex algorithms to understand and analyze the content on a website. The more valuable content a website has, the more likely it is to rank well in search results.
This is why it’s important to focus on creating great content when optimizing a website for search engines. It’s not enough to simply stuff a website with keywords and hope for the best. Instead, you should provide value to your audience by creating informative, useful, and engaging content.
5. SEO Is a Must for Local Businesses.
In a survey conducted in November 2021, it was found that 21% of the consumers in the US used the Internet to find a local business on a daily basis, while 35% used it for this purpose multiple times per week.
Given that a significant portion uses the Internet to find local businesses on a regular basis, it is clear that SEO is a must for your business. By ranking well in search results, you can increase your visibility and reach and attract more potential customers to your website.
Therefore, Search Engine Optimization is an essential part of your digital marketing strategies that can boost your brand and online presence. At LOJO, our brand specialists achieve that goal by using branded keywords, which are queries from consumers that include your brand, competition, and industry; on-page SEO strategy to optimize your actual website; and off-page SEO tactics to improve traffic by placing links from other sites, sharing on social media platforms, and putting “citations” across the web.
How Does Search Engine Optimization Work?
Before we explain how SEO works, first, let’s look at how search engines like Google and Bing function.
Search engines use bots, also called web crawlers, to index hundreds of billions of pages by collecting information from websites. These automatic robots use page speed, internal links, backlinks, title tags, social signals, keywords etc., to determine your ranking on search engine results pages or SERP.
Google uses more than 200 ranking factors in its algorithm to determine your rank on SERP.
Meanwhile, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of strategies that ensure high ranking in search engines for relevant keywords and phrases.
To put this in perspective, imagine you have an article about “cheap travel destinations.” Your goal is to make this content accessible and visible to anyone who is searching for “cheap travel destinations.”
This is where your SEO campaign comes in handy.
A highly effective SEO strategy would include publishing link-worthy relevant content, updating the site regularly, having appropriate alt tags and metadata, and using the right keywords and phrases.
Indexing and Sitemaps
Search engines systematically browse the World Wide Web to index and rank websites. They scan not only the written content but also the images and their embedded information, the site’s code, and the inbound and outbound links, just to name a few.
Your sitemap plays a critical role in your SEO campaign. In essence, it acts like a guide or directory that carries all the information about your web pages.
The web pages within the sitemap are listed in a hierarchical order in which the most relevant ones are at the top, whereas the less significant ones are at the bottom. For users, this “directory” can help them navigate easily across the website.
Aside from enhancing the navigation capabilities of your website, sitemap has another critical role: it allows search engine bots to crawl and index your web pages.
At LOJO, our digital marketing experts can optimize your sitemap to allow the bots to crawl, index, and ultimately, rank your web pages at the top.
Ranking Factors
When someone types into the search box “cheap travel destinations,” Google will show all the relevant sites and rank them accordingly—from the highest quality sources to the least relevant web pages.
It is important that your web pages rank high, or to be exact, they should not go past the first five listings on SERP. This is because studies show that more than 67% of all clicks go to the top five pages.
Another thing to keep in mind: More 90% of Google users don’t go past page one.
For this reason, our SEO experts employ multiple strategies to ensure our clients enjoy high rankings on relevant keywords and phrases. The list below explains the main factors that affect your search engine ranking:
1. Content Quality
This means that each individual page of your site should carry relevant keywords and phrases and at the same time, provide real value to the readers.
2. Crawlability
This is where a good sitemap comes in handy. The goal here is to allow the bots to scan and review the contents of your site.
3. Page Load Speed
Websites with slow page load times may be penalized in search results, leading to a lower ranking, while websites with fast page load times are more likely to rank well.
4. User Engagement
Search engines take into account the following:
-user engagement, such as the bounce rate (the percentage of people who quickly leave the site after viewing just one page)
-time on site or the amount of time users spend on a page
-click-through rate, which is the percentage of users who click on a search engine result when the page is presented to them.
5. Mobile-Friendliness
About 90% of global online users access the internet via mobile devices.
For this reason, our team of IT experts will ensure that your website looks good and functions well on a mobile gadget.
6. Backlink
If your site contains high-quality backlinks, Google will interpret it as a sign that you are credible and authoritative, and thus, you must be propelled to the top rank.
To achieve this, our SEO experts recommend guest posting, digital PR, link acquisition, and other link-building tactics.
7. Business Listings
Having a consistent business listing is particularly important for local SEO ranking. A good rule of thumb is to have a basic citation setup and management that includes a Google My Business page, business name and contact details, and business profiles on industry-related directory sites.Aside from the factors stated above, Google uses other criteria (a total of 200) to determine your relevance and ranking. However, the three most important pillars are:
-The quality of your content
-The quality of your backlinks
-The relevance of your page based on a user’s search intent
On-page SEO vs Off-page SEO
SEO strategies that are used to improve the ranking of a website in search results can be categorized into two main types: on-page and off-page.On-page SEO refers to optimization techniques applied directly to the website, such as optimizing the content, titles, and tags of web pages. The aim is to make the website more attractive to search engines by improving the relevancy and quality of the content.
On the other hand, off-page SEO are applied outside the website, such as building links from other websites, social media marketing, and online reputation management. Increasing the credibility and authority of the website by building a strong online presence and reputation is the goal of these efforts.
What is Covered by On-page SEO?
Page Titles
Also referred to as the title tag, this is the main heading you see in SERP. Our SEO experts recommend keeping it under 60 characters to ensure that they are fully displayed in search results.
URLs
Also referred to as web address, they are located at the top of the browser window in the address bar. At LOJO, we structure this in a way that the users and the search engine bots will know what’s inside your page.
Easy-to-understand URLs that contain relevant keywords are more likely to earn clicks, which can further boost your SEO campaign.
Meta Descriptions
This is a short description that appears below the URL on a search results page or below the headline in a social post.
When writing meta descriptions, our content writers ensure that they contain the relevant keywords and are describing the purpose of the content. The optimal character count is 120 to 156 to ensure that the entire description is visible in search results.
Internal And External Links
Internal links are links that point from one page on a website to another page on the same website. They can help search engines understand a website’s structure and hierarchy and help users navigate it more easily. Further, they can help distribute link equity, or the value that search engines assign to a link, within a website.
External links point from one website to another. They can be used to help search engines understand the relevance and authority of a website and help users find additional resources related to the content on the website. They increase the visibility and reach of a website as they can bring traffic and attention from other websites.
Unique And Valuable Content
Our content writers and SEO specialists have set a high standard for every content that we produce; specifically, they should be:
-unique, valuable, engaging, and easy to read;
-genuinely helpful;
-has minimal fluff;
-properly laid out; and
-not auto-generated or spun.
Page Load Speed
Slow-loading sites mean a bad user experience; that’s why Google has started using page load speed as one of the ranking factors, especially for mobile searches.
Mobile Friendliness
Your site should have a responsive design that adjusts to the content when viewed from a smartphone or any mobile device. This encourages users to stay longer on your website, resulting in a higher ranking on Google and other search engines.
What Is Covered by Off-page SEO?
Because Google accounts for the vast majority of search results, let’s focus on how it treats backlinks.
External links from sites that scored high in domain authority and page authority can drive your ranking.
Relevant, high-quality backlinks send a strong signal that your website is authoritative. You can earn these links through guest blogging, press releases, participating in forums, event hosting, etc.
Links from spammy, low-quality sites can hurt your SEO campaign.“No follow” links, which tell search engines not to follow the destination website, are less valuable than “follow links.”
The use of review sites like Yelp, Google My Business, Amazon, and Trip Advisor can boost your local SEO. Also, take note that responding to customers also shows that you value their feedback.
Note:
On-page and off-page strategies complement each other in that they often overlap. And when these two are combined with technical SEO, which relates to site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, etc., you sure can compete with more established companies with a bigger marketing budget.
On-page SEO vs Off-page SEO
SEO strategies that are used to improve the ranking of a website in search results can be categorized into two main types: on-page and off-page.
On-page SEO refers to optimization techniques applied directly to the website, such as optimizing the content, titles, and tags of web pages. The aim is to make the website more attractive to search engines by improving the relevancy and quality of the content.
On the other hand, off-page SEO are applied outside the website, such as building links from other websites, social media marketing, and online reputation management. Increasing the credibility and authority of the website by building a strong online presence and reputation is the goal of these efforts.
What is Covered by On-page SEO?
Page Titles
Also referred to as the title tag, this is the main heading you see in SERP. Our SEO experts recommend keeping it under 60 characters to ensure that they are fully displayed in search results.
URLs
Also referred to as web address, they are located at the top of the browser window in the address bar. At LOJO, we structure this in a way that the users and the search engine bots will know what’s inside your page.
Easy-to-understand URLs that contain relevant keywords are more likely to earn clicks, which can further boost your SEO campaign.
Meta Descriptions
This is a short description that appears below the URL on a search results page or below the headline in a social post.When writing meta descriptions, our content writers ensure that they contain the relevant keywords and are describing the purpose of the content. The optimal character count is 120 to 156 to ensure that the entire description is visible in search results.
Internal And External Links
Internal links are links that point from one page on a website to another page on the same website. They can help search engines understand a website’s structure and hierarchy and help users navigate it more easily. Further, they can help distribute link equity, or the value that search engines assign to a link, within a website.
External links point from one website to another. They can be used to help search engines understand the relevance and authority of a website and help users find additional resources related to the content on the website. They increase the visibility and reach of a website as they can bring traffic and attention from other websites.
Unique And Valuable Content
Our content writers and SEO specialists have set a high standard for every content that we produce; specifically, they should be:
-unique, valuable, engaging, and easy to read;
-genuinely helpful;
-has minimal fluff;
-properly laid out; and
-not auto-generated or spun.
Page Load Speed
Slow-loading sites mean a bad user experience; that’s why Google has started using page load speed as one of the ranking factors, especially for mobile searches.
Mobile Friendliness
Your site should have a responsive design that adjusts to the content when viewed from a smartphone or any mobile device. This encourages users to stay longer on your website, resulting in a higher ranking on Google and other search engines.
What Is Covered by Off-page SEO?
Because Google accounts for the vast majority of search results, let’s focus on how it treats backlinks.
External links from sites that scored high in domain authority and page authority can drive your ranking.
Relevant, high-quality backlinks send a strong signal that your website is authoritative. You can earn these links through guest blogging, press releases, participating in forums, event hosting, etc.
Links from spammy, low-quality sites can hurt your SEO campaign.“No follow” links, which tell search engines not to follow the destination website, are less valuable than “follow links.”
The use of review sites like Yelp, Google My Business, Amazon, and Trip Advisor can boost your local SEO. Also, take note that responding to customers also shows that you value their feedback.
Note:
On-page and off-page strategies complement each other in that they often overlap. And when these two are combined with technical SEO, which relates to site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, etc., you sure can compete with more established companies with a bigger marketing budget.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable materials, such as blogs, social media posts, videos, infographics, etc., to generate interest and engage with the target audience.
Here at LOJO, we make sure that our content marketing adheres to the principle of inbound marketing, or the process of attracting, engaging, and delighting customers through various online marketing tactics.With our customer-focused marketing strategies, we create valuable content and experiences tailored specifically to the target audience. This makes the recipient more receptive both to the “subtle” marketing message and the more upfront sales pitch.
The list below shows some of the most commonly used content marketing end-products:
-Blog posts
-Guides and how-to’s
-Resource pages
-Surveys, reports, whitepapers, and case studies
-Research papers
-Infographics
-Webinars
-Interviews and transcripts
-Press releases
-Advertisements (on radio, TV, film, or print, as well as online)
-Magazines and other trade publications
-Brochures, flyers, leaflets, and pamphlets
-Outdoor signage
-Direct mail and door drops
-Branded merchandising
People love free stuff that’s why giving valuable, free content to your target customers is one of the most effective SEO strategies.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical Search Engine Optimization focuses on improving your ranking by making it “friendlier” to the search engine bots or crawlers that index your website.
While on-page SEO focuses mostly on content, and off-page SEO deals with promoting your site through backlinks, technical SEO is about tech-heavy processes to further boost your search visibility.
In a nutshell, technical SEO deals with the following:
-Domain and hosting setup/issues
-SitemapsRobots.txt files
-Redirects
-Schema, structured data, and rich snippets
-Site navigation and architecture
-Meta tags
-JavaScript indexing
-Link structures
-Keyword research
-Analytics
-URL structures
How Does Social Media Fit Into SEO?
While social media has no direct impact on SEO, it remains a powerful platform to help you boost your SEO campaigns.
The list below explains the indirect impact of social media on your SEO strategies:
-Increases your online visibility
-Drives brand awareness and exposure
-Promotes customer engagement through shares, likes, and comments.
-Brings in high-quality traffic to your website
-Builds your brand and your perceived expertise, authority, and trustworthiness
-Improves your SEO local rankings
The number of your Facebook and Instagram followers and fans has no impact on your Google search rank. But once they visit your site, engage with your content, and share it, the search engine will propel your website to the top.
To recap, social media and SEO strategies are part of a solid inbound marketing campaign.For more info, check out our different SEO packages that meet your unique business needs and budget.
What Can LOJO Do For You?
At LOJO, we can help you propel your site to the top through quality content creation, SEO techniques, on-page and off-page optimization, and social media management.
In essence, we are a team of SEO space cadets who have mastered the art of propelling websites to the top using data and technology.
Get in touch with us now, and let’s discuss how our SEO services can help your business.
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