Search Engine Optimization or SEO has become an important part of hosting a business or website online. If you want your website to perform better and rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), then you must incorporate SEO into your everyday marketing strategy. We’ve created this guide to help you understand everything about SEO from start to finish. By the end of this guide, we hope you’d have learned how to navigate the world of SEO.
Who is this Guide for?
We have created this guide for anyone who manages, promotes, finances, or deals in any way with online content or business using Google search. You can utilize this guide whether you’re the owner of a profitable business, an SEO specialist, a DIY SEO expert, or even someone who’s just curious about learning with workings of Search.
You are in fact in the ideal place if you’re looking for a thorough understanding of SEO’s fundamentals as applied to our best practices. You won’t be learning any tricks with the help of this tutorial such as how to trick search engines or attract traffic using wrongful tactics. However, we ensure that by implementing our best SEO practices, you will be able to make it simpler for search engines to crawl, index, and interpret your website content.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization or SEO is the process of enhancing non-paid, often referred to as organic, search engine results to increase both the quality and quantity of website visitors as well as exposure for your business. It involves comprehending what people are looking for online, the solutions they need, the language they use, and the kinds of information they want to consume. Now, whether you’ll be able to connect with the audience that’s looking for these solutions online depends entirely on you having the correct answers to the questions they’re asking.
In simpler terms, the process of SEO involves a business having to adopt certain measures and apply a set of techniques to increase their website’s ranking on Google or other search engine results pages (SERPs).
People often confuse SEO with paid advertising or PPC, however, both these methods of content marketing are quite different. The key difference between the two is that when you’re opting for SEO, which is an organic form of ranking your content on Google, then you’re not paying for the views or the audience that you get to your website. PPC, on the other hand, is a paid form of marketing your content. Search engine optimization is primarily used to increase the likelihood of your content showing up at the top of a SERP.
In order to achieve this there are two main ways that an SEO strategist can take- one is to understand the goal of your audience. To understand what your audience wants to see and then structure the website content around it. And the other is to present your business information in a way that allows the search engine crawlers to access and comprehend it easily.
Now, you can expect to learn how to apply both with the help of our SEO guide.
Core Elements of SEO: On and Off-Page SEO
| On-Page SEO | Off-Page SEO |
| The main aim of building content for on-page SEO is to raise your ranking in the SERPs. On-page SEO requires a business to include relevant keywords in their content and pages, making sure that their metatags and titles are written effectively and include plenty of keywords, and then create high-quality content regularly. | Building backlinks is an example of off-page SEO, which is optimization that takes place outside of your website. For this part of the equation, you need to develop connections and provide content that others want to share. It takes a lot of work, yet SEO success depends on it. |
Basics of Search Engine Optimization
Have you ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? This is the psychology theory that explains the whole priority of human fundamental needs over other advanced needs. For instance, according to this theory, some needs are more important than others. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs gives more priority to needs such as water, air, and physical safety over other advanced needs such as social belonging, esteem, and more.
We can also use a similar theory to understand what needs to be given priority when it comes to SEO.
Source: MOZ
According to our theory for good SEO, we ensure the utmost priority is given to crawl accessibility, and then it moves up from there to other elements such as-
- Crawl Accessibility- It allows search engines to read and index your website.
- Compelling Content- Make sure you’re producing content that helps you answer the searcher’s query.
- Keyword Optimization- you need to optimize your keywords to attract search engines and audiences.
- User Experience (UX)- you also need to ensure your website is providing a good user experience such as compelling UI design, fast load speed, better usability, easy navigation, and more.
- Share-worthy Content- You need to create content that helps in earning citations, links, and amplification.
- Title, URL, and Description- You need to focus on these three elements in order to draw a high CTR in the search engine rankings.
- Schema Markup/Snippet- You need to pay special attention to snippets in order to stand out in SERPs.
Throughout this guide, we’re going to focus on all the elements mentioned above. Now let’s move toward the structure of the SEO Guide.
Explore the Chapters:
Basics of SEO Marketing
You can learn the basics of SEO marketing with the help of this chapter. Here we have briefly touched upon the important elements of SEO Marketing such as Content, Keyword research & selection, HTML, Site architecture, Trust, Links, Personal, Social, and Google EAT Guidelines.
Chapter 1: SEO 101- Beginner’s Introduction to SEO
As the name suggests, we’re going to focus on the fundamentals of SEO that you need to understand before embarking on your SEO journey in the coming chapters. Even if you understand all the basics of SEO, it is a good idea to go through this chapter to brush up on your knowledge and fully understand SEO. Here, we’re going to cover topics such as- What is SEO, the Basics of Search Engines, why is SEO Important, your website’s objective, and more.
Chapter 2: Understanding How Search Engines Work- Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking
In this chapter, we’re going to focus on an in-depth understanding of how search engines work. We’ll be covering three main elements- crawling, indexing, and ranking, that play important roles in search engines.
Chapter 3: Keyword Research- Understand What Your Audience Wants
In this chapter, we’re going to determine which strategic keywords to target in the content of your website and how to create that material in a way that will appeal to users and search engines alike. We’ll be covering topics such as what search terms people are using, how to make smart use of search volume, tools for calculating a keyword’s value, and more.
Chapter 4: On-Page SEO- Learn How to Craft Web Pages that Matter
In this chapter, we’re going to cover a very important element of SEO i.e., On-Page SEO. We’ll be covering topics such as Content creation, Header tags, Internal Links, Image Optimization, Title tags, Meta Descriptions, HTTP vs HTTPS, and more.
Chapter 5: Technical SEO- Learn How to Optimize Your Site with Technical SEO
In this chapter, we’re going to discuss how you can utilize technical SEO to optimize your site so that it’s understandable by both humans and search engine crawlers. We’re going to cover topics such as- How websites work, how a website travels from server to browser, what components make a website, how search engines understand websites, how users interact with websites, international SEO, and more.
Chapter 6: Learn Link Building and Establishing Authority for SEO
If you want to surpass your competitors, it’s important to establish authority. You can achieve this by earning links from authoritative websites, creating your brand name, and nurturing a loyal audience base that will boost your content reach. In this chapter we’re going to cover topics such as- what are links (external & internal), EAT, followed vs nofollowed links, Link profiles, how to create high-quality backlinks, and more.
Chapter 7: Learn How to Measure and Track SEO Success for Your Brand
It is critical for your SEO success, value, and client retention that you measure the impact of your work & continue refining it over time. With tracking your SEO progress, you also have the option to change or pivot from your SEO plan if things are not going your way. In this chapter, we’re going to cover topics such as- Engagement metrics, how to use Google Analytics to uncover traffic insights, SEO website audits, and more.
Quick Start SEO Guide
Although SEO isn’t difficult, many of the more complex aspects can take some time to learn. With the help of this Bonus SEO Quick Start Guide, you should make sure you are set up with all the necessary SEO foundations in the interim so you are in the greatest position to take advantage of your results as soon as possible.
SEO Glossary
Learning SEO can sometimes feel like learning a new language with all the jargon, terms, and abbreviations. This SEO glossary is your one-stop solution to understanding all SEO-related terms. Have a look!
To Sum it Up!
SEO not only helps your website to rank higher on SERPs but also makes your content more accessible to relevant customers. SEO is now more important than ever if you want your business to have a footing in the cutthroat online world and attract the right kind of audience. With the help of this guide, you’ll be able to do both.
So, what are we waiting for? Begin your SEO journey with eSearch Logix today!
