If you want people to find your website through Google, you need to know the basics of SEO. These are simpler than you might think. Keep reading to learn what SEO is, how to set things up for success, and how to get your website found by Search Engines.
Complete SEO Guide – 7 Chapters
- How Search Engines Work
- SEO Basics
- Keyword Research
- SEO Content
- On-Page SEO
- Link Building
- Technical SEO
What is SEO?
SEO means Search Engine Optimization. It is a way to make your website better so that Search Engines like Google can find it easily. When people search for things online, you want your website to show up high on the list. SEO helps with this. It is like making your shop easy to find on a busy street.
Why is SEO important?
SEO is important because many people use Search Engines every day. They look for answers, products, and services. If your website shows up high, more people will see it. This means more visitors for you. It is like having a big sign in your shop that everyone can see.
Who needs SEO?
Anyone with a website who wants more people to visit it needs SEO. This could be a small business, a big company, a blogger, or anyone sharing information online. If you want to be found, SEO is for you.
When should you start doing SEO?
You should start thinking about SEO when you first make your website. It is easier to build a website with SEO in mind from the start. But it is never too late to begin. Even old websites can get better with SEO.
Where does SEO happen?
SEO happens on your website and also around the internet. On your website, you make sure your words and pictures are good. Around the internet, you might get other websites to link to yours. This tells Search Engines that your site is important.
How does SEO work? SEO works by telling Search Engines what your website is about. You use special words, make your website fast, and help other websites link to yours. All these things help Search Engines understand and trust your website more.
Benefits of SEO
SEO brings many good things. Most people click on the first few results when they search. So, if your website is high up, more people will click. This leads to more visitors.
Unlike ads you pay for, traffic from SEO is “free.” Once your website ranks high, it keeps getting visitors without you paying for each click. This traffic is also steady. People search for things every month. So, if you rank high, you get visitors consistently. It’s like having a stream of water that never stops.
For example, imagine a website gets 1.4 million visitors each month from Search Engines. If they had to pay for those visitors with ads, it could cost them millions of dollars! SEO helps you get those visitors without the big cost.
If you are looking to get help with your website’s visibility on Search Engines, consider exploring our Ethical SEO Services.
How Do You Do SEO?
SEO has the main steps. These steps help your website get noticed by Search Engines. Let’s talk about each one.
Keyword Research: Finding the Right Words for Search Engines
What is keyword research? It is like finding the words people use when they ask questions in a Search Engine. If you sell toys, people might search for “best toys for kids” or “where to buy toy cars.” You need to know these words.
Why is it important? If you know the words people use, you can put those words on your website. Then, when someone searches for those words, your website can show up. It helps Search Engines match your website to what people want.
How do you do it? You can use special tools to find keywords. You can also think like your customers. What would they type into Google to find you? Choose words that many people search for but are not too hard to rank for.
Content Creation: Writing for People and Search Engines
What is content creation? This means writing words, making pictures, and creating videos for your website. This content helps people learn and enjoy your site. It also helps Search Engines understand what your page is about.
Why is good content important? Good content keeps people on your website longer. It makes them happy. Happy visitors mean happy Search Engines. When Search Engines see people like your content, they think your site is good.
How to create good content? Write clearly and simply. Use the keywords you found. Make sure your content answers questions people might have. Add pictures and videos to make it interesting. Break up long parts of the text with headings.
If you need help creating engaging and SEO-friendly content, our Blog Writing Services can assist you.
On-Page SEO: Making Your Content Clear for Search Engines
What is on-page SEO? This is about making changes directly on your website pages. It helps Search Engines understand what each page is about.
Why is it important? It helps Search Engines see if your page is truly helpful for certain searches. It’s like putting clear labels on your boxes so everyone knows what’s inside.
How to do on-page SEO?
- Use your main keyword in your page title and the first few sentences.
- Use headings (like H2 and H3) to break up your text. Put keywords in some of these headings.
- Write good descriptions for your pages. These show up in Search Engine results and help people decide to click.
- Use good pictures and give them names that tell Search Engines what they are.
Link Building: Getting Trust from Other Websites
What is link building? This means getting other websites to link to your website. These are called “backlinks.” It’s like getting a vote from another website.
Why is it important? When a good website links to your website, Search Engines see it as a sign that your website is important and trustworthy. More votes from good sites mean your site looks more important.
How to build links? You can create great content that other people want to link to. You can also reach out to other websites and ask them to link to you if your content is helpful for their readers.
Technical SEO: Helping Search Engines Find Your Site
What is technical SEO? This is about making sure your website works well behind the scenes. It helps Search Engines easily find, read, and understand your website.
Why is it important? If Search Engines cannot easily get to your website or understand its structure, they might not show it to people. It’s like making sure your shop has a clear path for customers to walk in.
How to do technical SEO? This involves things like making sure your website loads fast, works on phones, and has a clear map (called a sitemap) for Search Engines. We will talk more about some of these things next.
These five steps are the main parts of our beginner’s guide to SEO.
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Setting Up Your Website for SEO Success
Doing SEO is much easier when your website is properly set up for SEO success. Let’s look at a few ways to do that.
Get a Good Domain
What is a domain? It is your website’s address, like ukseoservices.com.
Most domains are fine for SEO, so don’t worry too much if you already have one. But if you are still choosing one, keep these two parts of a good domain in mind.
- Domain name: Choose something short and easy to remember. Don’t try to force keywords into it. Your business name without dashes or special marks is usually a good choice.
- Top-level domain (TLD): This is the part after the name, like .com. Your choice of TLD makes no real difference for SEO. However, .com is usually best because most people know it and trust it the most. For charities, .org or your local country’s equivalent works well. If you only do business in one country outside the U.S., your country code TLD (like .co.uk) is also good. Try to stay away from TLDs like .info or .biz as some people link these to spam. But even with these, you can still build a good website that ranks.
Use a Website Platform
What is a website platform? These are tools that help you create and manage your website easily.
Why use one? They make it simple to build a website without needing to know special computer code.
There are two main kinds:
- Hosted platforms: These do everything for you. They host your site, give you ready-made designs, and let you add and change content without touching any code. Examples are Wix and Squarespace.
- Self-hosted platforms: These also let you add and change content without code. The difference is that you have to host them and set them up yourself. WordPress (the free open-source version) is a popular example.
Many SEO experts suggest a self-hosted platform like WordPress because:
- It is easy to change: You can change its code if you want. Many developers know it well.
- It can grow: There are millions of extra tools (called plugins) that add features, including many for SEO.
But if you like things simple and want lots of help, a hosted solution might be better. Most big hosted platforms have enough SEO tools for most people.
Use a Good Web Host
What is a web host? If you use a self-hosted solution, you need a web host. They store your website’s files on special computers that everyone with the internet can access.
Why is a good host important? A good host makes your website fast and safe. This is important for both people and Search Engines.
When picking a host, think about these three things:
- Security: Make sure you get a free SSL/TLS certificate. This makes your website safe for visitors. It shows a padlock in the browser. Learn more about HTTPS and security from Google.
- Server location: It takes time for information to travel. So, pick a host with computers in the same country where most of your visitors are. This makes your site load faster for them.
- Support: Good help is key. Choose a host that has help ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Test their support before you sign up by asking them questions.
DID YOU KNOW? You can make your server location better with a Content Distribution Network (CDN). A CDN makes copies of your website and stores them on computers all over the world. So, your website is always served from a place close to the user. Don’t worry too much about server location at first. If your site is slow later, you can get a CDN.
Create a Positive User Experience
What is user experience? It is how people feel when they visit your website. Do they find it easy to use? Is it pleasant?
Google wants to rank pages that give visitors a good experience. Google cares about user experience as a ranking signal. Let’s look at ways to do this.
- Use HTTPS: Nothing is worse than personal information being open to bad people. Always protect your site with SSL/TLS. This is the ‘S’ in HTTPS.
- Choose a good design: No one wants to visit a website that looks very old. Your website should look nice and match your brand. You don’t need to change it every month, but it should be clean and easy to look at.
- Make it mobile-friendly: More people now search on their phones than on desktop computers. It is very important that your website works just as well and looks just as good on a phone as on a computer. Test your site’s mobile-friendliness with Google.
- Use a readable font size: People use all kinds of devices to look at websites. Make sure your words are easy to read on all of them.
- Avoid annoying pop-ups and ads: Everyone dislikes annoying ads. But sometimes, you need them. If so, try to avoid big pop-ups that cover the whole screen and are hard to close. Pages with these might not rank as high. Google’s guidelines on intrusive interstitials.
- Make it load fast: How fast your page opens is important for ranking on both computers and phones. But your site does not need to load super fast. It only affects pages that are very slow for users. Learn about page experience and Core Web Vitals from Google.
Create a Logical Site Structure
What is site structure? It is how your website pages are organized and linked together. It should be easy for people and Search Engines to find content on your site.
Why is it important? A good structure helps visitors find what they need. It also helps Search Engines understand all your pages.
How to do it? You can draw a map of your website. Each line on the map becomes a link from one page to another on your website. These are called internal links.
Internal links are very important for both people using your site and for SEO for a few reasons:
- They help Search Engines find new pages. Google cannot list pages it cannot find.
- They help pass “PageRank” around your site. PageRank is a basic part of how Google search works. It judges how good a page is by looking at how many good links point to it. Google still uses PageRank today. More about how PageRank works.
- They help Search Engines understand what your page is about. Google looks at the words you click on in the link (called anchor text) for this.
Use a Logical URL Structure
What is a URL? It is the web address of a specific page, like ukseoservices.com/blog-writing-services/.
URLs are important because they help people understand what a page is about. Many website platforms let you choose how your URLs look. For example, in WordPress, these are common options:
- website.com/?p=123 (Plain)
- website.com/2021/03/04/seo-basics/ (Day and name)
- website.com/03/04/seo-basics/ (Month and name)
- website.com/865/ (Numeric)
- website.com/seo-basics/ (Post name)
If you are setting up a new site, choose the clearest structure. The “Post name” option is often best as it includes keywords and is easy to read. If you have an old website, it is usually not a good idea to change your URL structure. It might break things and make your pages hard to find.
Install an SEO Plugin
What is an SEO plugin? If you use WordPress, an SEO plugin is a tool that helps you do basic SEO things easily.
Most website platforms handle basic SEO tools on their own. But if you use WordPress, you should install an SEO plugin. It is hard to do even basic SEO well without one. Yoast SEO and Rank Math are two good choices. These plugins help you with things like adding good titles and descriptions to your pages.
Getting Your Website Found by Search Engines
Having a website set up for SEO success will help Google “crawl” and “index” your pages. This means Google will visit your site and add its pages to its big library of websites. But you can sometimes make this process faster by telling Google about your site. This helps Google find your website even if other sites don’t link to it yet.
Finding or Creating a Sitemap
What is a sitemap? A sitemap is like a map that lists all the important pages on your website that you want Search Engines to find and add to their index.
Why have one? It makes it easier for Search Engines to see all your pages, especially on a new or very large website. Learn more about sitemaps from Google.
How to find or create one? If you already have a sitemap, it might be at one of these web addresses:
- yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml
- yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml
If you cannot find it there, check your website.com/robots.txt. It is usually listed there. If you still cannot find it, you probably do not have one. You will need to create one, often with the help of an SEO plugin if you use WordPress.
Submitting Your Sitemap to Search Engines
What is submitting your sitemap? It means telling Google where your sitemap is so it can easily find all your pages.
How do you do this? You do this through a free tool called Google Search Console (GSC). It is very easy and takes only a few seconds. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
By taking these steps, you help Search Engines like Google discover and understand your website faster.
Tracking Your SEO Progress
Before we dive deeper into how to do SEO, it is good to know how to check if your SEO work is helping. This can be tricky, but we will give you a simple overview.
Organic Traffic
What is organic traffic? This is the number of visitors who come to your website from Search Engines without you paying for ads.
Why track it? If more people are coming to your site from Search Engines, it means your SEO is working.
How to track it? You can check this for free in Google Search Console (GSC). If you don’t have GSC, you can sign up for a free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) account. Then, put your website name into Site Explorer to get an idea.
Keyword Rankings
What are keyword rankings? This is where your website shows up on Search Engine results pages for certain keywords. If your website is moving up for the words you want to rank for, that is a good sign.
Why track them? Better rankings usually mean more visitors.
How to track them? You can see average keyword rankings for free in GSC. If you want more exact tracking, you might need a special tool that tracks rankings.
DID YOU KNOW? Organic traffic and keyword rankings are good to look at, but they don’t always tell you how well your business is doing. It’s better to track things that truly help your business. We will talk about one of these below.
Visibility
What is visibility? This is a special way to see how much of all the possible clicks for your keywords your website is getting.
Why track it? If your visibility is going up, it means your SEO is on the right path.
For example, imagine you track one keyword. If your website takes up all the top spots in Google for that word, your Visibility is 100%. But if your website only has one spot, and other websites take the rest, your Visibility will be lower.
Tracking these numbers helps you see if your SEO efforts are making a difference and guiding you toward SEO success.
Local SEO: Getting Found in Your Area
What is Local SEO? Local SEO is a special kind of SEO that helps businesses get found by people searching for them in a specific area. If you have a shop or service that people visit in person, local SEO is for you.
Why is it important? When someone searches for “coffee shop near me” or “plumber in [your city],” you want your business to show up. Local SEO helps with this. It brings local customers to your door.
How do you do Local SEO?
- Google Business Profile: This is a free tool from Google. You make a profile for your business with your address, phone number, hours, and pictures. This helps your business show up on Google Maps and in local search results. Set up your Google Business Profile.
- Local Keywords: Use keywords that include your city or town, like “best pizza London” or “dentist Manchester.”
- Online Reviews: Ask happy customers to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile. Good reviews help your ranking.
- Consistent Information: Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are the same everywhere online (on your website, social media, and other listings).
If your business serves customers in a specific area and you want to attract more local clients, our Local SEO Services can help you achieve this.
Why SEO is Crucial for Your Overall Online Presence
Understanding SEO is not just about getting more traffic. It is about building a strong online presence that lasts. When your website ranks well on Search Engines, it builds trust with potential customers. They see your website as a reliable source of information or a trustworthy business.
SEO also works hand-in-hand with other ways you reach people online, like social media or email marketing. When people find you through Search Engines, they might then follow you on social media or sign up for your emails. It creates a complete picture of your online efforts.
Think about how often you use Search Engines yourself. When you need information, a product, or a service, Google is often the first place you look. By focusing on SEO, you are making sure your business is there when people are actively looking for what you offer. It’s an investment in your future online success.
For comprehensive support and to ensure your website is fully optimized for Search Engines, consider our range of SEO Services.
Key Takeaways
Let’s quickly remember the main things we learned about SEO:
- SEO is how you make your website better so more people find it through Search Engines.
- You do this by making your website rank higher in Search Engine results.
- SEO is very important because, without it, your website might not be seen by many people.
- When your website ranks high, you get free, steady visitors month after month.
- SEO involves finding keywords, making good content, making your pages clear (on-page SEO), getting links from other websites, and making sure your site works well technically.
- Having your website set up correctly from the start makes SEO much easier.
- Google usually finds your website by itself, but you can sometimes make it faster by sending your sitemap to Google.
- Always try to make your website great for people who visit it. This helps Search Engines too.
By following these basic SEO steps, you are well on your way to helping your website grow and succeed online!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does SEO mean?
SEO means Search Engine Optimization. It helps your website get found easily by Search Engines like Google. It makes your site show up high when people search online.
Why is SEO important for my website?
SEO is important because many people use Search Engines every day. If your website shows up high, more people will see it. This brings more visitors to your site.
Can I do SEO by myself?
Yes, you can do SEO by yourself. Our guide shows the main steps. Even big websites can get better with good SEO.
How do Search Engines find my website?
Search Engines find your website by “crawling” and “indexing” its pages. This means they visit your site and add its pages to their big library. A sitemap helps them find all your pages.
What is keyword research in SEO?
Keyword research is like finding the words people type into a Search Engine. If you know these words, you can use them on your website. This helps Search Engines match your site to what people want.
How long does it take for SEO to work?
SEO takes time to work. You might see small changes in a few months. Bigger results can take longer, often between 3 to 6 months, or even a year.
What is a sitemap for my website?
A sitemap is like a map for your website. It lists all the important pages you want Search Engines to find. This helps them crawl your site well.
Is SEO free?
Traffic from SEO can be “free” once your website ranks high. You do not pay for each click, like with ads. This saves you money in the long run.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google. It helps you see how your website is doing in Google Search. You can use it to tell Google about your sitemap.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO helps businesses get found by people in their area. If you have a shop, it helps customers near you find your business. You use tools like Google Business Profile for this.