The "cool kids" guide to Onsite SEO
Unlike some of the guys here at Organic Development, I'm not overly technical or geeky! And like some of you, I like things to be plain and simple! Understanding SEO doesn't always need to be so confusing! I know it can sometimes feel like a mine field of technical jargon, which may leave some of us baffled.
So let's skip all that and get down to the basics that even us ' Cool Kids' can grasp...
Sit back, stay calm and read on...
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO has 2 main parts: Onsite & Offsite. To avoid bombarding you with reams of information for all aspects, this blog will only focus on Onsite SEO.
SEO involves designing your website to improve its ranking in organic search results on search engine results pages (SERP's). Some of the key concepts which should be considered throughout creating and optimising your website include relevance, discoverability and crawlability.
One of the first areas to focus on is the technical set up of the website (don't be afraid!). It's inevitable you'll need to know about this, so let's get your head around the terminology.
Technical Setup
This is usually taken care of by your web developers or your expert SEO team but it's important for you to understand the basic set up.
Crawlability - Making the site accessible. Search engines send out automated programs called web crawlers or 'spiders.' These crawlers will visit your site and try to understand your content. Help the search engine spiders find every page on your site and make sure they can understand what they're seeing.
HTML Sitemap – Is a page on your website that outlines the structure of your site and that links to all the important pages of your site. It is useful for both search engines and visitors.
XML Sitemap – The HTML sitemap can also be created in a XML version. Adding an XML file to your root directory allows search engines to easily index your website. The file points crawlers to all the pages on your website. If your site does not have the function to generate an XML site map then you can use an online XML site map creator, which do this automatically.
Robots.txt - Your Robots.txt file tells the search engines which pages to access and index on your website and which pages to ignore. It is not essential, but it's worth checking that it is properly constructed so that it is not telling search engines to ignore important content.
Friendly URL's – Well-structured and short URL's including relevant keywords to your site are liked by users and search engines.
Custom 404 page – This comes up when a user requests a page which doesn't exist. You should provide a user friendly 404 page, which directs them back to your homepage or suggests other pages for them to view.
Page load time – Having a fast website satisfies users and is an importing ranking factor for Google.
Once the basics of your website have been constructed, you need to begin carrying out your SEO...
This is the SEO work you carry out on your website.
It sounds simple enough, but there are a number of elements you need to understand and focus on when optimising your webpages.
Title Tag – One of the most important factors! It should contain specific keywords or phrases to direct the right target to your website. It will usually appear on the clickable link on search engine results pages.
Meta Description –A brief and concise summary of your page's content. It gives you the chance to advertise content to searches and let them know what the page is about. This is often displayed in the search results. It should include keywords and an interesting description a user will want to click on.
Header Tags (H1 & H2 tags) – They show search engines the main subject of that page and should be keyword focused.
Image Alt Tags – If an image does not load, the image alt tag loads in its place. The text should be keyword focused and very brief. They shouldn't be used to try and fool search engines as they may decide you're trying to fake your results and remove you from their listings.
Content – Your content should be unique, up to date and have a keyword density of about 8%. You shouldn't include too many keywords as this can seem spammy. Since the Google Panda Update search engines are trying to combat spammy sites and boost sites with unique high quality content. You should also try to include as few pages with low text as possible for optimisation.
Outbound links – The links you have to external websites. You should research and build relationships with other sites that aren't direct competition. They should be relevant and respected with the aim to boost your page rank by linking to them.
Always make sure you're carrying out on-going analysis of your onsite SEO, which will help you to keep improving and to identify problem areas.
SEO is a complex art and is constantly changing so the learning never ends! If your mind isn't too frazzled, I hope my 'non-geek' guide has helped you understand the basics of onsite SEO.
It's not over yet. Stay tuned for my blog to learn more about offsite SEO...
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