As a beginner, the virtual world can prove very intimidating. There are strong brands that have existed a long time, some having unmatched domain authorities that can be impossible to beat. While you can easily get stuck in this place of confusion, you can choose a different path for your brand. SEO is the ultimate secret to taking your site to the next level. For you to understand how to get it right, you must first know a thing or two about Google ranking factors, and how they can affect your performance online. Here is a guide to all you need to know:
Keyword optimization
Keyword optimization is one crucial aspect of SEO that matters to Google. Your intention as a website owner is not just to get as many people as possible on your site, but to get the right kind of audience attending to your posts. For this to happen, you must be intentional in your keyword use. The keyword research process today is easier with the help of tools like Google keyword planner.
However, the technical part is incorporating the keywords strategically within your copy. To do it like an expert, here are some tips to follow:
- Meta descriptions and titles – these are one of the strongest relevancy signals for a search engine. Ideally, when your titles are linked to your target keywords, you increase your visibility on Google, as you do your click-through rates.
- H1 tags – segmenting your copy into sections helps improve readability. In the H1 tags and subheadings, use up some of your targeted keywords.
- Sparingly and strategically – the worst mistake you can make with your keywords, other than targeting the wrong terms, is stuffing them in your copy. Make sure the keywords fall naturally within your article, encouraging readability.
- Keywords in URL – Include the keyword in the URL slug.
High-quality content
Even while you are new online, you must have heard that content is king. However, not all type of content merits the first position on Google’s SERP. High-quality material provides a lot of value to the audience, which is something that Google values. To ensure your content is of high-quality, observe the following tips:
- Originality – as a beginner, you cannot afford to have duplicate content on your website. This means that the material you share should not be found anywhere else online, even from your website.
- Lengthy material – the length of your articles does matter in the practice of SEO today. The more words you have, the more information there is for your target audience and search engines to cover. This means that your audience will hang around your website for long, and search engines will have enough material to rank your site. Keep your content between 1000-2000 words.
- Content updates – Google algorithm prefers freshly updated material. Since you are a beginner, you may not have a lot of pages to update, so it should not be that difficult to keep them fresh are current. However, it does not mean you keep doing it all the time, rather, when necessary.
User experience
The best way to be on Google’s best side is to keep your audience happy. User experience is what the visitors on your site get to enjoy when they click on your platform. Technically, there is a lot involved in great user experience, including the following:
- Speed – site should take at most 5 seconds to open
- Navigation – make it easy for people to move from one point to the next on your site
- Readability and quality content – your content should be worth people’s time
Internal Linking
Your material deserves the attention of an audience, and unless you share it, the people may never get to read it. Technically, some of your web pages will receive more traffic than others. Internal linking allows you to present more of your work within on web page. This is a plus even for your SERP on Google because Google bots will always have more content to crawl from your site. However, be careful that the links are natural, and relevant to the current page.
