Search Engine Optimization
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of making web pages rank higher in search engine results to increase website traffic. SEO analyzes the algorithms that control search engine behavior, what people are searching, and the search terms used. SEO targets unpaid traffic referred to as "organic" or "natural" search traffic to distinguish it from paid search traffic.
Why is SEO important?
Since search engines are one of the main ways users navigate the web, SEO is vital to online marketing. Websites receive more visitors from search engines when sites rank higher on the search engine result page (SERP). The first list result receives over half of the total inbound traffic for a typical search query, with the second and third results receiving significantly less. Fewer than three percent of searchers click past the first search results page.
Search engines use algorithms to decide which results to show in a search query, which accounts for thousands of ranking factors in SERPs. In 2016, Google opted to make their index mobile-first, meaning the mobile version of a site is the foundation for what Google includes in its index.
Google search for "writer gone rogue"
White hat versus black hat
White hat SEO techniques conform to search engines' guidelines and do not involve deception. This includes ensuring the content a search engine ranks will be the same content a user will see. Creating content for users, then making the content easily accessible to the search engine "spider."
Black hat attempts to improve search page rankings with disapproved methods and deception. These techniques can include hidden text, text with a color similar to the background, an invisible div, off-screen positioning, or changing the features of a page depending on if a user or a search engine requests the page (also called cloaking).
Grey hat methods avoid the site being penalized but don't produce the best content for users. Search engines may penalize sites using black or grey hat methods, either by reducing rankings or deleting the listings from their databases.
SEO Best Practices:
There are several ways to increase the prominence of your website's visibility in search engine results. Backlinks from other sources are like votes of quality since website owners aren't likely to link to a poor-quality website. Sites with multiple links from other sites gain authority, thus improving their search ranking. Crosslinking between pages of your website to provide more links to important pages can also increase SEO.
Google Search information overview
Search engines also examine page content to determine its relevance for any given search query. A majority of SEO is creating content targeted toward the keywords searchers already use. Creating content with frequently searched keywords, updating content regularly to keep search engines crawling back, and adding relevant keywords to the metadata are a few SEO opportunities.
The HTML code structure impacts a search engine's ability to evaluate a page properly, so this structure could make or break how your site is indexed. Including relevant keywords in the title, URL, and headers of the page, as well as making sure the page is crawlable, improves SEO. Google also prioritizes secure sites (HTTPS), page speed, structured data, and mobile compatibility for search engine results pages.
View of my Google Search Console
SEO can produce a significant return on investment; however, search engines routinely change their algorithms and have no guarantees for visibility from organic search traffic. You can use Google Search Console to analyze your website performance.