1. Figure out how search engines work
Whenever you search for something on Google, it scans through trillions of web pages and pulls out the most relevant results. How did Google’s index build such a massive library of web pages? It’s by crawling the web.
Since Google has to scan through trillions of web pages, it uses an algorithm to rank the pages according to various factors. Although no one knows about all the factors, experts cite a few that you can keep in mind.
Side note: SEO is influential in producing organic results and doesn’t affect paid ads.
2. Learn about the three key ranking factors
When it comes to SEO, people tend to focus on ranking factors that aren’t as important as relevance, authority, and utility.
Relevance
Relevance refers to how well a webpage matches the query.
If you want to know the process to make lavender oil, Google wouldn’t come up with an irrelevant result, such as how to fix car dents.
In fact, relevance in SEO goes far deeper. Apart from the relevant search result, your webpage has to match the content that your audiences want to see.
For example, if you search online for a tutorial on “how to make lavender oil,” Google will show blog posts on its first page instead of lavender oil product pages because the latter isn’t relevant to the query.
This is called optimising for search content where you cater to the “why” behind the respective query.
Authority
Authority is primarily about backlinks.
Google has high regard for websites with high-quality backlinks. If your site has multiple high-quality backlinks, it has better chances of achieving a higher rank.
According to experts, high-quality backlinks have two qualities: authority and relevance.
Authority boils down to the relation between the linking website and webpage.
On the other hand, relevance refers to the significance between the linking website and web page. Suppose you find two backlinks for a blog post on lavender oil – one links to a health website and the other to a tech blog. In this case, the one that links to the health website may be more relevant. Page relevance is also crucial in determining the quality of a backlink. If the health website provides information about bodybuilding and the tech website talks about the best diffusers, then the latter is more relevant.
Utility
Google always tries to show the most relevant search results on its first page. That means, your website’s content is equally important as matching the search intent.
The best way to assess the quality and utility of your website is by reviewing a few top-ranking pages. Check what makes them stand out from other websites and whether your site has any drawbacks.
3. Master the four main buckets of SEO
If SEO is a puzzle containing multiple pieces, you need to figure out how to put those pieces together. The four essential pieces are keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, and technical SEO. If you are in need of SEO services then see here.
Keyword research
It involves researching the words and phrases that your audiences are more likely to use while searching for relevant products on Google.
You should target three types of keywords: one that has “traffic potential,” meaning they can ramp up your site’s organic traffic. Two, that has “business value,” meaning they have more chances to grab the attention of your target audiences. And finally, keywords that your competitors are already using, thus reducing the competition.