SEO is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for marketers only if they learn how to do it right.
The goal of search engine optimization is to provide more visibility to a company, brand, or individual by giving them priority on the top pages of search engines like Google. In short, it is a battle for attention.
SEO basics work in various situations and help you adjust to constantly shifting digital marketing conditions.
By learning the SEO principles, you can be informed on what is forbidden by Google.
In this SEO basics guide, let’s learn to increase web traffic and grow a loyal customer base.
SEO Basics: An Overview
The distinction between principles and rules may seem confusing, but there is a clear contrast between the two.
Both can have significant importance depending on the time, place, and situation. The principles of an SEO strategy can be applied without strict adherence to a particular set of rules.
In other words, the basic principles of SEO are flexible and adaptable to constantly changing circumstances.
Content producers can use SEO to position their brands or keywords better.
SEO basics refer to a series of actions used to enhance a website’s ranking in various search engines, with the goal of outperforming rivals when visitors perform a certain search.
6 SEO Basics for Beginners
These are the SEO basics everyone should know for a solid online presence:
1. Keyword Research
In the simplest terms, keywords or search queries are user inputs that direct users to your website via organic search results.
As you can’t perform SEO without a keyword, it is the first important one from SEO basics.
When someone uses a search engine to look for a phrase, Google gives them a list of privileged pages that address their query or need.
If you think Google would make you a part of the privileged list as easily as it shows the result, you are mistaken.
As you can see, certain keywords are more well-liked than others.
There are mainly two reasons for that:
(i) More people are using them to search for them.
(ii) There are a lot of websites vying for the top spot on search engine results pages.
Typically, search volume and keyword difficulty are used to describe these two aspects of keyword popularity.
Consider looking at some long-tail keywords if you operate in a competitive business and are trying to increase the amount of organic traffic coming to your website.
These considerably lengthier but frequently ignored terms might have a respectable search volume with somewhat less difficulty.
Furthermore, you’ll see that the majority of these phrases contain shorter, more competitive terms that people search for.
This allows you to concentrate on the long-tail keyword and still have a chance to rank for the competitive query.
Another strategy that you can use for SEO is known as keyword mapping. It requires you to add the keyword in the URL to help with rankings.
If you want to learn more about keywords, here are our tips on creating the best keyword strategy.
2. Content Creation For a Great Campaign
An essential part of your SEO campaign is content marketing, whether B2C or B2B; producing content brings valuable visitors to your page.
Additionally, by learning this one from the SEO basics, you can keep leads on your website longer and give Google a signal of approval.
Selecting your format will help you get started with content creation. SEO content has many types, among which blogs and articles have a significant impact.
To keep your audience interested in your content, use a mix of these forms. When you write, concentrate on issues linked to the industry.
A great way for your company to impart knowledge to your audience is through content marketing. You position your company as an authority in your industry by sharing your experience.
Relevance is a factor that you’ll come across several times when learning SEO basics.
Whatever content you choose to share will only be rewarding if it is relevant to the business.
A wedding planner will not be hired by someone looking for advice about home improvement. Selecting the appropriate keywords is essential if you want your content to draw in relevant visitors.
To drive traffic through blogs, here is our guide.
3. Internal Linking Using Content
One of the SEO basics that affects how long visitors stay on your page is internal linking.
By adding internal links, you help visitors to your page get to other pages that cover related subjects. Internal links help visitors stay on your page longer.
They assist in directing your viewers to informational pages that deepen their understanding of a subject they are already curious about.
The audience gets to learn new skills and becomes aware of your company at the same time.
Whenever you link, you should select the appropriate anchor text. The text that contains the link is called anchor text. It makes the context of your link easier for users and search engines to grasp.
Read More: How to Get Top Backlinks for Your Website: The Ultimate Guide
4. Write a Title Tag
The use of title tags is another SEO basics.
Your title tag appears in the search results when users search on Google; in fact, it’s the first thing people see when they reach your listing.
Making the most of your title tags is one of the most important SEO principles.
You want to establish a solid first impression and demonstrate to your audience that your page is relevant to their search query, as it is the first thing they will see.
5. Make the Meta Description More Effective
Optimizing your meta description is just as important as optimizing your title tag when it comes to fundamental SEO principles.
Another important element of your SEO listing that viewers see before visiting your website is your meta description. A brief description of your meta tag follows your title tag.
You can provide a brief overview of your page to your audience in this little text block to aid in their decision-making regarding the relevance of your website.
Your description is limited to 150–160 characters before it is cut off.
To make sure that you’re giving your readers more information that will be valuable to them, use these characters carefully. Your meta description is a preview of your article, much like its title.
6. Using Alt Tags for Images
Alt tags are integral to practising SEO basics.
Make sure your images can always be read when you are organizing your pages. Alt tags give your audience useful information.
Alt tags provide your photos more context and aid Google in determining how relevant your images are to your website.
Sometimes, the images won’t load properly on the page.
It is crucial to include alt tags with your photos so that both Google and users can understand what the image is showing.
One of the best SEO principles for assisting Google in reading and indexing your website is tagging.
Top 5 Principles of SEO for Designers
Following are some SEO basics that every designer and developer should know:
1. User-Friendly Design
Numerous websites lack mobile optimization in terms of design, loading speed, and other aspects.
Nonetheless, mobile-friendly design and performance significantly impact SEO and user experience.
Since 2019, Google has mostly used mobile versions of websites for indexing and ranking. This implies that your website’s performance in organic search will be determined by how it runs and looks on mobile devices.
To get some useful tips on mobile-friendly websites, read The Dos and Don’ts Of Building A Mobile-Friendly Website.
2. Site Navigation & Architecture
Search Engine Optimization is a tool that content producers can use to better position their brands or keywords.
Generally, this step from the SEO basics processes improves a website’s position in different search engines.
It classifies the content based on the hierarchical levels, making the page clean and relevant to the user and the search engine.
Make sure your architecture guides guests in the direction they wish to go. Crawlers will likely struggle to browse to another page or interact with your website if a visitor struggles with it.
Ensure that every page you want search engines and users to be able to access is connected to another page. Internal links are the means by which crawlers find information and by which people go through your website.
Organize your website’s structure according to information and subjects. Keep the homepage for the main goal of the website and divide other topics into subpages.
3. Optimize the URLs
According to some, URLs make up the third most significant component in search engine ranking. Hence, it deserves to be counted as an element of SEO basics.
No matter the precise rank, having concise, readable, and semantically correct URLs is crucial. Stated otherwise, the URL should appropriately convey the content of the page.
Here are some points to think about:
Keep your URLs as brief as possible while maintaining readability and making sense of the page’s hierarchy.
For easier reading, hyphenate words when separating them. For example, https://www.thedreamsagency.com/blog/seo-vs-sem/ is the URL of an article about SEO vs. SEM.
As you can see, hyphens are used to separate the terms “seo” and “sem” while maintaining proper structure and readability.
4. Use Enticing Visuals
Visitors get a richer experience when websites have images and search engines take note of user behaviour.
Blog posts featuring graphics receive up to 94% more views than those that are without them.
When properly optimized, images can aid in search engine optimization as well.
Here are some considerations for optimizing and adding photos to your website.
For your image files, give them titles that are packed with keywords and separated by hyphens. Using pertinent keywords in the file names of your images will help crawlers understand what’s inside.
Enhance the user experience and contribute valuable content for search engines by including picture titles and alt text.
Your website’s visuals are an essential component. Your readers will become disinterested if they visit your website and discover a wall of text.
Looking at a page with unique visuals and photos is considerably more fascinating.
Photos, videos, and infographics are some examples of these visuals.
When a visitor hovers over an image, the alt attribute reads aloud to them, and screen readers and other accessibility aids can also display the picture title. In addition to being accessible and accurate, descriptions should ideally contain keywords.
Learn More: 16 Common SEO Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
5. Boost the Speed of the Page
When it comes to your audience’s experience on your website, page speed is a crucial component of SEO basics.
The information on your page shouldn’t have to wait for your audience to load. If it takes too long to load, people will visit a competitor’s website instead of yours.
An eCommerce website that loads in one second has a 2.5x better conversion rate than a site that takes five seconds to load. You run the risk of losing out on important business visitors if your website loads slowly enough.
If you found this SEO basics blog interesting, you should take a look at 10 SEO Examples to Implement in 2023.
FAQs
What is the best page score to achieve?
On Google’s page speed insight tool, if your performance score is 90, you are on the right path.
Is it okay to buy links for SEO?
No, it is not allowed, as mentioned in Google’s link spam guidelines. It is better to stick to the SEO basics rather than find shortcuts.
How long would it take for a website to rank if I use the SEO basics?
If you have a new website, it may take up to 12 months. Even if you use the SEO principles correctly during this time, the rankings may fluctuate.
The Bottom Line
The takeaway from this blog on SEO basics would be to focus on the demands of the users and give them what they want.
By comprehending visitors’ search intent and providing outstanding information, you may make your pages extremely user-friendly and offer them genuine value. Google will have no reason not to rank your website if the users like it.
To make your brand one of the celebrated top-ranked pages on Google, reach out to The Dreams Agency. Since we stepped into the game, we helped numerous businesses prosper with our SEO marketing services.