When talking about SEO, you are inherently talking about search engine optimization. Something that is crucial to significantly increase traffic and brand awareness within digital environments.
Right now, thousands of people are looking for content like yours. You can help them find it by becoming an SEO expert and ranking your website or blog in the top search results.
According to experts, 80% of a website’s traffic begins with a search query . That is why search engine optimization is so vital if you want to make a name for yourself on the Internet.
Appear on the first page
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Every day, people use Google to perform more than 3.5 billion searches. In international markets, 78% of people use the Internet to research products and services before buying .
Once your website begins to appear on the first pages of Google search results, it will get much more visibility. This is precisely the goal of search engine optimization. A better position equals more traffic , more conversions, and ultimately higher revenue.
Being on page one of the search results has to be the goal of your entire SEO strategy. But the higher up, the better. Did you know that 75% of users don’t even click all the links on the first page?
8 factors influencing SEO
As you already know, there are more than 200 positioning factors that make our page appear in one position or another on the pages of Google results. These factors are constantly changing and are divided into two main types: internal factors (on-site) and external factors (off-site).
1.- Optimization from the on-site
The on-site factors are those that can be controlled directly. For example, the quality of the content , the web architecture and the HTML code are the most relevant factors of a website.
- Content: To optimize for search engines, the content offered by your site must be original, have a minimum of 300 words and have the presence of a main keyword or keyword throughout the text.
- Structure: It is the composition of the URL that gives body to your site. When working on search engine optimization, you should try to present Google spiders or bots with an easy-to-digest platform for them. They should be able to track your content in the background. They do this from HTML codes or HTML tags.
These HTML tags make search engine optimization possible. They include the title tag, the blue title that Google first finds, the “meta description” tag and the header tags . Also known as <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc. that hierarchically show the different titles that can be found in a content. In this way, they allow the optimization of your content.
The key to search engine optimization is in the structured data. Well, these offer search engines more detailed information about the content of a website.
The most widely used protocol for structured data is Schema.org . On its website you can find a very complete catalog of structured data, as well as how to implement it on your website.
2.- Optimization from the off-site
They are those that you cannot directly control. However, what is known is that they are the ones that point the search engines to the authority that a website has . That is, whether it is trustworthy or not. Among the optimization factors for search engines are user behavior, the quality of external links and social signals .
3.- The keywords
The selection of keywords or keywords are the basis of optimization for search engines. Thanks to them you can know first hand the reason why users clicked on our website.
What the terms entered in the search engine reflect is the user’s search intention . These are searches that are defined by the objective that the user has when performing them. It is divided in turn into three:
- Informational: Looking for information. Example: SEO techniques, such as optimizing my website for search engines , etc.
- Transactional: The purpose of the search is to complete a transaction, which can be to buy something or download an e-book.
- Navigational: The search is aimed at finding a specific website.
It is also possible to detect keywords that work according to the volume of searches. These can be:
- Head: They are very wide with a lot of search volume and a lot of competition. Ahem: Cats, Houses, SEO, etc.
- Middle Tail: Searches where more is specified, but still very general.
- Long Tail: This is where the real opportunities are, as they make up 70% of the total. They are very specific searches, with little competition and that are mostly transactional.
The first thing you have to do when generating a list of keywords that is according to your website, is to know what you offer, who you offer it to, where you offer it to and what it is that sets you apart. These questions could work as a guide:
After you have answered these questions, you will surely come across a word that repeats itself constantly. There you have your first keyword. But if what you want is to generate better results, you could investigate the behavior of your keyword. Tools like Google Trends can be a saving table in this case.
4.- Generate links for search engine optimization
As you may have already heard, the authority of a website depends directly on the number of pages that link to it and if they have a good reputation. That is, search engines always verify the characteristics such as the authority of the pages that link to you, and the location within the content of those links.
That is why, much of the optimization work on the pages is directed towards generating links with the intention of improving the authority of a website. This strategy is known as link building . The most common practices for this are:
- Through content: If you have valuable content, you will be linked. A variant, link baiting , involves generating concrete content for the purpose of generating attention and links.
- Through social bookmarks: These are pages that are dedicated to trying to cure the contents of the web, either through the vote of the users, popularity on social networks or other factors.
5.- Search engine optimization tools
Experts always say this: 90% of SEO is about clearly establishing your objective and the target audience. The other 10% are responsible for search engine optimization tools. If you want some information, these are the essentials:
- Google: It is the most basic tool for SEO. From getting familiar with algorithm changes, to getting keyword ideas or analyzing your competition.
- Google Webmaster Tools: Fundamental to indicate to Google how to interpret your website. This platform notifies you about errors on your website, penalties, and even links detected by Google.
- Google Analytics: Knowing what your users do on your website and how they get to it is vital from all possible points of view.
- Excel: A fundamental tool for data analysis, link building, competition, reporting … The most useful tool for SEO after Google.
- Adwords Keyword Planner: In Adwords, go to “Tools and analysis” and then ” Keyword Planner “. It is not comparable to previous Google tools, but it is very useful for finding keyword suggestions.
- Übersuggest: Übersuggest gives you suggestions around a term you start from, based on Google autofill. It is useful because it gives you very varied combinations that you could not have thought of.
- Wordle: Useful to get an idea of the map of terms of a website, both to have a visual approach to its keyword density and to make a report or brainstorming.
6.- Analysis of the competition
On the Internet there are millions of proposals like yours. In SEO it is essential to be attentive to the behavior of the competition. Discovering new competitors has to be a constant process.
You may discover them after a long time knowing the market. When locating them, check the content they generate, the format and how it works.
7.- Rankbrain
Specialists define it as the third most important element classified and indexed by search engines . And it is in charge of understanding the context in which some searches are carried out through artificial intelligence .
8.- Always think responsive
Although there are some dissertations in which the significance of the browsing experience from smartphones has not yet been defined, it is a fact that the highest index of searches currently carried out from a mobile device.
So it is not unreasonable to think about optimization for search engines by creating content that improves the user experience . A good responsive design will ensure that users can consume your content from any device.
