What is SEO {Search Engine Optimization}

Search Engine Optimization

Imagine a library with millions of books, but no catalog. Your website is book in this library, and SEO is like crafting an index card for it, so people can find it more easily. Search engines, like Google, act as the librarians. They look at different factors to decide which websites  are  most relevant to someone's search. This helps people to find what they are looking for faster.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a set of practices aimed at helping a website rank higher on search engines like Google, so more people can find it. It involves both creative and technical tasks, with a focus on  on-page SEO

On-Page Optimization

Optimizing your website’s content and structure is key to improving user experience and search engine rankings. This includes organizing content with clear headings, which helps users and search engines understand the information on each page. Using relevant keywords throughout the text ensures your content matches what people are searching for. High-quality content that answers user questions is also important, as it keeps visitors on your site. Technical factors, like fast loading times and mobile-friendliness, make it easier for users to access your site on any device. Together, these on-page optimization elements create a smooth, informative experience that boosts your site’s visibility in search results.

An HTML document has two main parts: the head and the body. The head contains the URL, title, and meta description, while the body holds the main content. google looks at the URL first to understand the page, then reviews the title, meta description, and content to understand its topic and relevance.

Snippet

A snippet is a brief description of  a webpage that appears in search results, helping users quickly understand what the page is about to decide if they want to click on it. It typically includes the page's URL, name, SEO title, and a short description or key content. Advanced snippets may also show additional features such as a search box, site links, star ratings, and bread crumbs, favicon providing even more information to help users navigate and choose the right page

Title optimization

 An SEO title or title tag, is the title of a webpage that appears in search engine results and helps users understand what the page is about. Each page should have unique title that's free of spelling or grammar errors, avoids all uppercase or lowercase letters, and is ideally between 55 to 60 character long. Although Google may display up to 70 characters, titles longer than 512 pixels may be cut off with ellipses, which can look unappealing. A good SEO title is original, relevant and includes key keywords to improve visibility and attract clicks, helping search engines better understand and rank the page.

Meta Description 

Show in the search snippet, the meta description help users understand the page content. If Google finds it irrelevant, it may replace it with the H1or H2 tag text instead. A good meta description should be engaging, relevant, and include key keywords without any spelling or grammar errors. For blogs, it should be up to 155 characters (as Google includes the publish date), while for regular web pages, it can range from 155 to 160 characters, with a maximum width of 1024 pixels. “Robot meta tags” are used to instruct search bots on whether to index or follow a page. The click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of impressions that lead to clicks, indicating how often users engage with a search result.

<meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/>

Anchor Text Optimization

Anchor text, or anchor tags, creates hyperlinks on a page, boosting the page’s crawling process and making it more visible to users. When users click on these links, they are guided to related topics or internal links, enhancing navigation. If linking to another page from our site, be cautious with focus keywords, as linking to a site with similar keywords can be seen by Google as a recommendation, potentially lowering our ranking. Avoid overusing anchor text and ensure links are used meaningfully and sparingly.

Image Optimization

It mainly includes the file name, alt attribute, and content. The file name should match the alt attribute, and if the image name contains two words, use a hyphen instead of a space. For example: image-name.png.