Once you have a firm grasp on how to do SEO, you will understand how to be heard on the internet.  Nothing exists or matters online if people cannot easily stumble upon its content. Here are a few helpful hints towards mastering Google’s search technology that will help you design a much more effective website, blog, or social media profile. The quest for achieving high ranking in the search engines to increase the number of visitors to your site, or as it is known, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is crucial in online marketing. Cracking how SEO works calls for a lot of effort and time. Many website owners find it hard to drive traffic to their sites naturally and resort to buying visits to their sites. They ask other website owners to feature their site through pay-per-click (PPC) ads. It has led to the emergence of small-business PPC management experts to help small firms manage such issues. Here we are covering the tips to improve search engine ranking of your website. Search engine optimization is the trickiest digital marketing strategy. It is necessary for stable organic traffic, but you can easily overdo it and make mistakes that could completely ruin your website. How to do search engine optimization (SEO) the right way, you need to understand its foundation and stick to some simple yet efficient rules. So, learn here how to do SEO. Let get started.

How to Do SEO – Search Engine Optimization?

So, what strategies can website owners adopt in 2020 and beyond to generate high traffic to their sites? How to do SEO to dominate the SERPs? Here are some rules you need to follow to improve the search engine ranking of your website.

1. Google Search Algorithm

First, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.  It is the art of working with Google’s search algorithm to rank higher in the results that pop up after a web user searches relevant keywords. The object of the game is to grab that coveted top ranking spot when a web user searches terms that apply to the content of your website, blog, or social media profile. SEO is all you really need to achieve that objective.

2. Keyword Research

Keyword research is the foundation of a good SEO strategy. A webpage is never going to rank itself. To have a good ranking, it must appear relevant for search engines, and this starts with choosing the most relevant keywords for your website. To find the right keywords, you must put yourself in the shoes of your audience and consider the phrases that they might use to describe your products, your services, or your content. If you don’t have solid marketing knowledge, you might want to work with an organic SEO consultant until you get the hangs of things. For quick results and a transparent strategy, we recommend Jimmy Huh, one of the best SEO consultants in L.A. He will help you find a relevant main key phrase on which you can rank with ease. The main key phrase should have a high volume of searches, and it should be relevant for your website. Once you choose your main keywords, you should try to expand your keyword list with related keywords. This research will not only help you find the words that best describe your website, but they will also help you get ideas for new content. You can use a wide range of tools for keyword research, the most relevant tool being AdWords keyword planner.

3. Quality Content

When you present your digital presence, you should always remember that the content you choose to display represents who you are as a person, blogger, business, etc.  Quality content will produce more favorable results for your digital identity. Look to create first-class content that is of help to the users. Material that is full of substance will generate traffic to your site by giving it a sense of authority on its subject matter. Superb content will keep visitors coming to your site and share your content on social media. Google’s algorithms reward websites, blogs, and other digital displays for containing high-quality images, videos, and other multimedia.  Make sure your images, in particular, are always high quality.

4. Multimedia Content

Search engines and specifically Google, lay emphasis on the time users spend on your site. Having engaging material by use of audios, videos, or podcasts to supplement good content will increase the time users spend on your site.

Allow your visitors to carry on with their discovery journey by having appropriate or relevant outbound links in your content. Aim for at least two links in every blog post. Choose quality over the number of links. Be sure that all linked content is of a high standard. Readers will associate the poor quality of linked pages with your site, so beware of this.

6. SEO Strategies

There are two major strategies when it comes to SEO: White Hat and Black Hat. In simple terms, White Hat SEO means doing everything by the books, the way search engines recommend it, to bring real value to your readers. Black Hat SEO, on the other hand, focuses on breaking the rules and trying to trick search engine algorithms into doing a few quick bucks. It usually involves duplicate content, stuffed keywords, invisible text, irrelevant links, cloaking techniques, and so on.  As search engine algorithms have gotten a lot smarter than they used to be, Black Hat SEO is no longer a very tempting option. It might work in some scenarios, but only for a short time, and eventually, it will get your website penalized, and it could even impede you from building other websites in the future. So, stick to the good side and try to do SEO the right way.  

A backlink exists when some other source links to your website as a point of reference for the information they are displaying.  When someone shares your blog post on their social media profile, you gain a backlink.  Google sees backlinks as a way for web users to digitally state that your information is valid and useful. Use your blog to build an intricate weave of backlinks to your digital home base, by adding social media share buttons to every post.  Whatever your “home base” maybe, utilize the power of social media to expand your collection of backlinks. Use sites that command authority to market your content even when the content is on great or reliable domains. Do not at any time think of employing any underhanded strategies to optimize your site’s visibility. Stick to and play by the rules of the game.

8. Mobile-friendliness

One of the many ways to please Google’s search algorithm when you are designing a website is to make sure your site is optimized for mobile users. Google gives props to those who understand that people no longer access the internet from their computers or laptops as often as they do from their tablets and smartphones. Each year is seeing dwindling desktop searches which are giving way to mobile device searches. You need to make sure that your site is responsive and usable on mobile devices and all platforms.

9. Page Loading Speed

Increasing the velocity of your page will lead to more visibility.  You can make use of tools like Page Speed Insights from Google,  GTMetrix, or Pingdom to check out your weak domain areas that need improvement. One of the areas to look out for and enhance as needed includes the time taken by the server to respond to requests.

10. CDN

Employing content-delivery networks (CDN) is essential to be in a position to provide your content to users irrespective of their location. The principle here is the spreading of material across a number of servers all over the world, and then allowing the user to access the content from the server closest to them. Domain Name Server (DNS) should be moved to a configuration that has good DNS propagation times.

11. User Experience

Go out of your way to make your site as user-friendly as possible. Ensure users can easily navigate, search, get the right content easily, and generally have an easy time on the site. Some tips for enhancing user-experience include having an easy-to-use main menu, employing a quick site search, and minimizing pop-ups.

12. Above the Fold Ads

Minimize the number of ads you have above the fold to avoid having a large chunk of the header taken up by ads. It will distract the users and get down-rated by the search engines, particularly Google.

How to Avoid Google Penalties?

There are two main types of Google penalties: manual penalties and algorithmic penalties. Manual penalties occur when a Google reviewer manually checks your website and finds it problematic (usually on account of irrelevant content). Algorithmic penalties happen when the Google algorithm undergoes an update, which means that the old rules no longer apply. There are a few things that you can do to avoid Google penalties:

Make sure that the only websites that link to your website are niche related and have a good trust rank. Keep in mind that your competition might try to ruin your reputation with spammy links, so make sure to disavow such links as soon as you see them.

2. Never compromise your content

Your website’s content should always be unique and relevant. Make sure it is not too stuffed with keywords, and it doesn’t feature click-bait titles.

3. Use smart anchor texts

Anchor texts used to be all about keywords, but lately, Google tends to penalize websites with too many keyword related anchor texts. Instead of your main keyword, try to use anchor texts featuring synonyms, brand name, domain, or webmaster name.

4. Keep an eye out for hackers and spam

A hacked website can easily be penalized if the hacking is not dealt with in due time, so make sure to improve your website’s security. Moreover, if you allow users to post comments, always check the comments, and remove the spammy ones.

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