SEO stands for search engine optimization, a marketing strategy that improves your website’s organic visibility in search engines like Google and Bing ¹. Here are some key aspects of SEO ² ¹:
SEO basics:
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Crawl accessibility so engines can read your website
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Compelling content that answers the searcher’s query
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Keyword optimized to attract searchers & engines
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Great user experience including a f
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ast load speed and compelling UX
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Share-worthy content that earns links, citations, and amplification
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Title, URL, & description to draw high click-through-rate (CTR) in the rankings
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Snippet/schema markup to stand out in SERPs
Crawl Accessibility: Ensure that search engines can read your website and find the content.
Compelling Content: Provide content that answers the searcher’s query and meets their needs.
Keyword Optimization: Use relevant keywords to attract searchers and search engines.
User Experience: Ensure a great user experience with a fast load speed and engaging UX.
Link Building: Build high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites to increase credibility.
Title, URL, and Description: Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, and URL slugs to draw high click-through rates.
Snippets and Schema Markup: Use schema markup to provide additional context and make your content stand out in search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO categories:
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On-page SEO: This includes all the actions you can take within your website to optimize it for search engines.
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Off-page SEO: This includes all the actions you can take outside of your website to optimize it for search engines.
Goals:
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To harness the traffic source’s potential by ranking higher in search engines.
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To appear in the top search results for your target keywords.
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To create relevant content that is literally among the top 10 pieces on a given topic.
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To rank well in Google by creating content that is high-quality, unique, and relevant.
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To provide a great user experience by making sure your website meets usability standards.
Here are some steps to follow for SEO for beginners ¹ ²:
Step 1: Learn the Basics
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Learn about SEO and its importance.
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Learn about the different types of SEO: On-page SEO, Off-page SEO, White-hat SEO, and Black-hat.
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Learn about keyword research and its importance.
Step 2: Understand Your Audience -
Identify your target audience.
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Understand their search intent.
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Learn about E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust).
Step 3: Optimize Your Website -
Make sure your website is crawlable.
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Use relevant and high-quality content.
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Optimize your website’s structure and design.
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Use meta tags and structured data.
Step 4: Build Links -
Learn about link building and its importance.
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Build high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites.
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Use internal linking to help search engines understand your website’s structure.
Step 5: Monitor and Analyze -
Use analytics tools to track your website’s traffic and engagement.
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Monitor your website’s ranking and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly.
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Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to monitor your website’s performance.
Step 6: Stay Up-to-Date -
Keep up with the latest trends and updates.
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Learn about the latest algorithm updates and how they affect your website.
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Stay up-to-date with the latest best practices and guidelines.
Step 7: Use SEO Tools -
Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz to help with your SEO strategy.
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Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to monitor your website’s performance.
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Use tools like Keyword Tool and Ubersuggest to help with keyword research.
Step 8: Learn from Competitors -
Analyze your competitors’ websites and identify areas for improvement.
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Learn from their strengths and weaknesses.
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Use tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush to analyze your competitors’ backlinks and content strategy.
Step 9: Create High-Quality Content -
Create high-quality and relevant content that resonates with your target audience.
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Use content marketing to attract and engage with your target audience.
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Use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor to help with content creation.
Step 10: Be Patient -
SEO is a long-term strategy that requires patience and persistence.
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Don’t expect overnight results.
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Keep working on your SEO strategy and adjusting it as needed.
How to do SEO in marketing?
SEO in marketing involves the following ¹:
Understanding how search engines work
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Crawling: Search engines use crawlers to discover pages on the web by following links and using sitemaps.
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Rendering: Search engines generate how the page will look using HTML, JavaScript and CSS information.
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Indexing: Search engines analyze the content and metadata of the pages it has discovered and add them to a database (though there’s no guarantee every page on your website will be indexed).
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Ranking: Complex algorithms look at a variety of signals to determine whether a page is relevant and of high enough quality to show when searchers enter a query.
Researching
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Audience research: It’s important to understand your target audience or market.
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Keyword research: This process helps you identify and incorporate relevant and valuable search terms people use into your pages – and understand how much demand and competition there is to rank for these keywords.
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Competitor research: What are your competitors doing? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What types of content are they publishing?
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Brand/business/client research: What are their goals – and how can SEO help them achieve those goals?
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Website research: A variety of SEO audits can uncover opportunities and issues on a website that are preventing success in organic search.
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SERP analysis: This will help you understand the search intent for a given query (e.g., is it commercial, transactional, informational or navigational) and create content that is more likely to earn rankings or visibility.
Planning
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Setting goals and expectations.
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Defining and aligning meaningful KPIs and metrics.
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Deciding how projects will be created and implemented (internal, external or a mix).
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Coordinating and communicating with internal and external stakeholders.
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Choosing and implementing tools/technology.
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Hiring, training and structuring a team.
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Setting a budget.
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Measuring and reporting on results.
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Documenting the strategy and process.
Creating and implementing
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Creating new content.
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Recommending or implementing changes or enhancements to existing pages.
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Removing old, outdated or low-quality content.
Monitoring and maintaining
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You need to know when something goes wrong or breaks on your website. Monitoring is critical.
Analyzing, assessing and reporting on performance
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If you don’t measure, you can’t improve it. To make data-driven decisions about SEO, you’ll need to use website analytics tools.
Tools
Here are some SEO tools that you can use ¹:
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Google PageSpeed Insights: Check the speed and usability of your site on multiple devices
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Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: Run a technical audit of your site
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Answer the Public: Hundreds of keyword ideas based on a single keyword
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Google Analytics: Complete web stats and search insights
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Google Search Console: Constant website analysis, alerts, and error reports
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Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker: Comprehensive link analysis
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Google Ads Keyword Planner: Know what people search for with this free keyword research tool
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SERP Snippet Optimization Tool: Preview how your web pages will look in Google’s search results
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Google Trends: See the relative search popularity of topics
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Ahrefs’ SEO toolbar: Check the broken links, redirect chains, nofollow links, and on-page elements for any webpage
On-page SEO tools
Here are some on-page tools that can help you with your website ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵:
SEMrush
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Best all-inclusive on-page SEO platform
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Robust software suite
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50+ intelligent data-driven tools for both on-page and off-page SEO
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PPC advertising, social media management, plus market research
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Features: Keyword analytics, Site audit, Position tracking, Log file analyzer, SEO content template, Content audit, Content writing assistant, User experience analysis
Google Search Console
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Best free on-page tool
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Provides on-page SEO metrics
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Formerly known as “Webmaster Tools”
Screaming Frog
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Best site audit tool
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Robust crawling capabilities and extensive analysis features
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Identifies issues that affect on-page SEO
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Generates detailed and customizable reports
SE Ranking
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Best on-page checker
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Compares web pages to 94 different parameters
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Provides practical suggestions to fix issues
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Presents the backlink profile of the site
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Features: Website audit, Competitor analysis, Keyword suggestions, Local Marketing Tools
Jetoctopus
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Best log file analyzer
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Analyses site’s interaction with different search engine crawlers
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Delivers critical insights, including optimization strategies, crawl inefficiencies, and how they affect site’s performance
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Features: Real-time log file processing, Crawler tool, Simulates search engine crawling with a high degree of accuracy
Ahrefs
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Best broken link checker
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Features: Site audit, Keyword explorer, Content explorer, Rank tracker
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Support system: Robust, offers assistance through various channels
Microsoft Clarity
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Best heatmap tools
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Generates detailed heat maps, which visually represent where users are clicking, scrolling, and interacting the most on a webpage
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Features: Session recordings, Privacy-friendly, Responsive support team
Which SEO tool is best?
The best SEO tool is subjective and depends on individual needs, but here are some popular SEO tools ¹ ²:
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Google Search Console: Free, comprehensive tool for website analysis, alerts, and error reports.
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Ahrefs: Paid, robust tool for technical SEO audits, backlink analysis, and keyword research.
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SEMrush: Paid, all-in-one SEO tool for website audits, competitor analysis, and content optimization.
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Moz Pro: Paid, comprehensive tool for keyword research, link building, and content optimization.
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Surfer SEO: Paid, intuitive tool for content optimization and comparison with top-ranking pages.
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Google PageSpeed Insights: Free, tool for website speed and usability analysis.
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Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: Free, tool for technical audits and website analysis.
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Answer the Public: Free, tool for keyword research and content ideas.
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Google Analytics: Free, powerful analytics tool for website traffic and behavior analysis.
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Google Trends: Free, tool for analyzing search trends and popular topics.
