Top 10 SEO Concepts To Start Optimizing Your Website

 

After writing quite a few articles and blog posts, I was quite satisfied with my writing skills and ability to put my thoughts into words. Actually, I had successfully turned my hobby into a full-fledged work, which I was enjoying to its utmost level. There is no dearth of topics to write in this world, and it is only human to have our own viewpoints on each and every event that is happening around the world. So why not let the world know what I think? 

So this is how I started this blog. But one thing I realized very soon, that is if you want your writing to reach the right kind of people, you need to do SEO. But what is SEO? It is Search Engine Optimization, which refers to a process in which you optimize the website or the blog and its content to rank higher in search engines. This will not only bring traffic to your website but also generate leads for your business by converting potential buyers among the visitors into a solid customer base. However, there are certain important concepts that you should know if you want to use SEO in an optimum manner to generate traffic for your site. Here are some 10 things that you should know so that you can use the process of SEO in the best way possible. 

1. Types of SEO:  Among types, On-page SEO is a process that refers to optimizing the page content that is within your control, which includes the content, the tags, keywords, content image, HTML, and also the URL. Then there is off-page, where you apply the methods that help you rank, but they depend on external factors or elements. They include getting relevant backlinks, branding, advertising, increasing domain authority, social media submission, etc. 
2. SEO Techniques: In this, White Hat is a part of off-page Search Engine Optimization where we employ ethical methods to rank, by following all rules, regulations, and restrictions of the Search Engine. Some examples are the usage of relevant content, keywords, backlinks, etc. Black Hat is typically not Search Engine friendly and not approved by it. Since it does not abide by the rules, it is unethical. Here, there is usually keyword stuffing, using duplicate content or hidden text/ keywords, etc. 
3. Dwell Time and Bounce Rate- All search engines consider the time up to which a visitor stays on a page and then comes back to the search results page to visit some other site, which is the dwell time. But bounce rate refers to instances where the visitor visits the page but does not do any activity, like clicking on a link, making a purchase, watching a video, posting comments, etc. So, from dwell time, we can derive the visitor's satisfaction levels but the bounce rate does not give us any idea regarding that. 
4. Keywords - Keywords inform the search engine and also the visitors, what the page is all about. These keywords help your page to rank on the search engine and when any visitor types those words for searching, your site will appear in the suggestion list. It is important to do proper research and place those keywords within the content. They include long-tail (more words/more specific query), short-tail (less words/less specific query), navigational, transactional, commercial, or informational keywords.
5. Keyword density - This refers to how many times a particular keyword is included within content. Keywords help in optimizing the content to make it SEO friendly, so that it ranks higher in SERP (search engine results page), and gets more visitors.  However, there is no fixed rule or percentage to follow, while placing keywords within content. You can always place them up to a limit, which looks natural and feels interesting to read. A great method is to use synonyms for keywords, which are commonly used for searching, to avoid using the same words repeatedly. 
6. Meta title and description—A meta tag or title tag is the page title visible to visitors when they search for something using keywords. You should use enticing titles to attract visitors to your site, by including the primary keyword and brand name. The meta description will tell your visitors what your site is about, and it should also include the keywords and be attractive and easy to understand. 
7. Anchor text - This is that particular word that will have the link or hyperlink to another page within the same website or blog or the link to any other page or site that has related content. This text on which the link is placed is called anchor text, and it is used for both internal and external linking. 
8. Backlinks - Backlinks refer to a link to your website placed on another domain or website. Basically, another site is linking to your site so that any visitor to the other site can also come to your page by clicking on that link. This gives you more visitors and increases domain authority (as explained below) because other sites trust your content. 
9. Landing and Exit page—The landing page refers to the page on your website that you specifically want to use for marketing and sales promotion and want the maximum number of visitors to see. The exit page is the one from which maximum visitors exit or leave your website. 
10. Domain  Name and Domain Authority(DA) - Domain name is the website address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that a visitor will type in the search bar to come directly to your site and access it. You can purchase it from various sources. Domain authority is the value of the domain, which you can calculate using various tools. More traffic and good content help to increase the DA. 

Thus, the above are some basic SEO concepts that you should keep in mind while optimizing your site for better ranking.