What is SEO | Tips For Beginners

SEO is a very important part of blogging. Do you wish to know what is SEO and the basics? In this article, you will learn what search engine optimization is all about and the types. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

What is SEO?

SEO is search engine optimization, it can also be referred to as site optimization. it is a set of measures to raise the site’s position on search engine results page for certain user queries (keywords). The result of search engine optimization promotion is an inflow of targeted visitors to the site, who can be potential buyers/customers.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing your website to increase its ranking in search engine results and generate more organic (unpaid) traffic. The history of search engine optimization goes back to the 90s, when search engines first appeared. Today, this is the most important aspect of marketing and is a constantly evolving industry.

Search engine optimization focuses only on organic search results and does not include SEM optimization. Both SEO and SEM are part of search engine marketing. Search engines are used by Internet users when they search for something.

Whether you’re selling a product or service, writing a blog or something else, search engine optimization is a must for every website owner. In short: SEO is a science that studies how to make sure that the search query “whatever you think” can find your site. For example, if you type Ideapify on Google, this site will show up.

SEO in a nutshell

You don’t need to know ALL the ranking factors and accurate algorithms that Google uses to rank Your site. But to be successful, you need to know and understand the key components of SEO.

Recommended>>> Link Building Services to Increase website Traffic

Types of SEO

1. On page

This is also known as on-site optimization. It is the optimization that is done on your site. Examples are:

1. content optimization;
2. Optimization of meta tags;
3. pages, tags and categories
4. Internal linking and so on.

 

2. Off-page

This is also known as off-site optimization. It is the optimization that is done outside your site. Examples are:

1. Business directory submissions
2. Blog directories
3. Article directories
4. Forum signatures
5. Posting to forums
6. Link inserts
7. Guest blogging
8. Care studies
9. Link exchanges
10. Image link building
11. Broken link building
12. Unlinked mentions
13. Web 2.0

All the aforementioned can be summed up as backlinks or link building

 

3. Technical

This is the most important aspect of search engine optimization. it is a set of all the technical optimization that you need to implement on your site. Without technical your site can’t be crawled and indexed by search engine spiders. That means your site won’t be found on search engine result pages even if you submit your site to search engine webmaster. Technical SEO isn’t just limited to crawling and indexing, it also involves page speed and so.

 

4. Local SEO

This is location-based SEO for businesses in a particular area. For example, if you type “restaurant near me” on Google, those recommendations of restaurants you see are examples of local search engine optimization. Part of it involves adding your business or site to Google Maps.

 

5. White Hat

It is the improvement of a site ranking on SERPs by using approved methods or guidelines. On-page SEO ( quality content, internal linking, and so on), sponsored posts, paid adverts, and sharing your links on social media are white hat SEO practices.

 

6. Black Hat

Black hat is the opposite of white hat SEO. It is a practice which is against search engine guidelines, used in making a site rank higher in SERPs. Examples are:

1. The use of invisible text,
2. Keyword stuffing
3. Hidden Text and Links
4. Using Misleading Redirects
5. Over-optimization of anchor text

These methods can quickly get you to the top of the SERPs, but search engines are likely to penalize and block your site sooner or later.

7. Grey Hat

It is the combination of White Hat and Black hat SEO in order to increase web traffic and rank. Examples are,

1. Creating multiple social media accounts and adding your links is a Grey hat practice.
2. Using expired domains: As the name indicates, they are simply expired domains. Using expired domain with quality link profile, that’s links from top sites are pointing to it.
3. Reciprocal links: This is, I link to you, you link to me. Site A links to Site B, so in return Site B links to Site A.
4. Use of PBN (Private Blog Network): it is a group of blogs solely created with the aim of linking to a particular blog to improve the blog ranking. Expired domains are used for PBNs.
5. Spinning content: This is the use of software in changing content copied from another site.
6. Creation of many web 2.0 sites (Tumblr, WordPress, Blogger, Weebly, etc)
7. Duplicate content: it is copying from one site to another site. It is also the creation of multiple pages with the content, what differs is the title.

As a beginner, concentrate more on on-site optimization in the first 3 months of starting your blog because it is easy, cheap and effective when done well.

5 SEO Tips For Beginners

1. Always target keywords with lower competition
2. Do not get obsessed with DA and DR of your site. Always build links to increase traffic and not DA.
3. Do interlinking pointing to your target post (most important)
4. Create social media account for your site in order to increase online presence.
5. Optimise your image by the use of Alt attribute.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do SEO on my own?

SEO is not easy. But at the same time, this is not rocket science. There are things that can be implemented immediately, and there are concepts that will require much more time and effort. So yes, you can do Search engine optimization yourself.

The only question is whether you’re willing to spend some time learning all aspects of search engine optimization, or whether you’ll hire a professional and spend your time doing something else.

 

How Can I Learn SEO?

To learn search engine optimization, you need to do a few things::

1. Read reliable resources;
2. Get hands-on experience;
3. Don’t be afraid to experiment;
4. Be patient (Search engine optimization is a marathon, not a sprint).

 

How Long Does it Take to Learn SEO?

It depends on the circumstances. While it won’t take you more than a couple of weeks to understand the basics, the actual mastery of this skill largely depends on practice, and it’s a matter of months or even years.

Last but not least, SEO is constantly changing. You should always learn and keep up to date with the latest updates, experiments, and results.

 

Do I need SEO tools?

If you are serious about search engine optimization, you should not neglect the useful data and knowledge provided by various SEO tools. They give you a great competitive advantage and save you time.

Here are some important SEO tools that every website owner should use:

1. Google search console;
2. traffic analysis (for example, Google Analytics)
3. a keyword research platform (for example, Wordtracker,ahref)
4. a tool for analyzing backlinks
5. a service for auditing internal site optimization

Is SEO dead?

When people use the phrase “SEO is dead,” they usually mean that ” spam attempts to trick the Google algorithm that was used 10 years ago are dead.”

In addition, search engine optimization is an important marketing strategy and a constantly evolving industry.

 

What is Google SEO

This is simply search engine optimization for the purpose to rank on Google. Google holds 91.9 percent of the market share as of January 2022 (GS Statcounter, 2022).

Can I do SEO on my own?

How do I boost my Website on Google?

Start by doing On-page which involves doing key research, content optimization, technical search engine optimization on your website and build backlinks.

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