After all, who wouldn’t want to show up within the top organic search results on Google?

It’s where users find the most visible links, as well as those most frequently accessed by users.

Having a good SEO strategy can get you there! 

Your site, blog, or eCommerce business becomes more well-known, resulting in authority in the market, a greater number of visitors, and increased conversion opportunities.

Best of all? You can achieve all of this without having to invest in paid advertising. 

Through optimizations on your own pages and connecting to other sites, you can improve your users’ search and navigation experience.

With this complete guide to SEO, you’ll learn all you need to know to reach the top results on Google. We’ll cover the following topics:

Ready to get started? The time has come to master SEO!

What is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a set of optimization strategies for sites, blogs, and pages on the web, which aim to improve your position in organic search engine results.

Every second, millions of searches are being processed by search engines — mainly Google, the most popular search engine around the world.

Users are looking for answers to an incredible range of questions in their daily routine – from the best-rated hotel for an upcoming trip to an explanation of the theory of evolution.

For every search, Google organizes the results by ranking the best answers first. The numbers below show just how much users trust the judgment of search engines:

• The first three organic links receive approximately 30% of all click-throughs.
• Only 0.78% of users access a link on the second page of the results.

Take a look at the graph below to see the correlation between position ranking and the number of clicks:

Every search presents the opportunity for your brand to offer the best response to what users are looking for. 

With this as your focus, you have a better chance to increase your visibility and clicks, receive more organic traffic, and escalate results with your online presence.

But, to achieve this, you need to prove to Google that you have the best answer and deserve to show up in the first position on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

This involves not just having great content, but offering usability, communicating marketplace authority, and helping Google read your pages. 

These are the goals of an SEO strategy.

SEO also plays a role in SEM (Search Engine Marketing), which covers all search engine strategies, including paid ads and sponsored links.

On the other hand, SEO only makes use of organic strategies and doesn’t encompass media purchases. This results in a higher return on investment (ROI) and lower customer acquisition cost (CAC).

What are Search Engines?

Search engines are systems or algorithms used to crawl, index, and rank web content to display it in an ordered way based on user searches.

When we refer to search engines, we’re not just talking about Google, but also Bing, Yahoo!, Baidu and others. 

Even YouTube and Pinterest can be thought of as search engines since they’re often used to discover content.

But Google is the clear category leader, with almost 92% of the search market share.

Each search engine has its own methodology and ranking criteria. But in the end, the goal is always the same: offering the best results for what users are looking for.

How do Search Engines Work?

Have you ever considered exactly what Google does when you search for something? Despite only taking milliseconds, there’s a long process to be able to display a list of results that answer your question.

In general, search engines have three stages:

First, search engines crawl through web content using bots, also known as spiders. At Google, it’s known as their Googlebot. These bots follow the connections of links across the web, searching for new and updated pages.

After that, the crawled pages are added to the search engine’s index, which serves as a vast library for the web’s content.

There, pages are organized according to the information the bot collected about them, such as loading time and keywords.

These processes of crawling and indexing are continuously taking place.

The bots are always finding and organizing the content on the web. But the order in which they display their results to users is defined through ranking.

Ranking occurs every time a user searches for something — this is the focus of SEO.

According to the keywords used in the search, Google quickly goes through its index to find pages that coincide with those terms and respond to the question.

Thus, classification is determined by the best relationship between keywords and a series of ranking factors that make up the search algorithm. 

They serve to offer a better user experience and, as a result, increase your page’s position in the search results.

We will focus on these factors in detail below.

Google’s Algorithm and Updates

Google’s algorithm is the combination of operations that define how links are classified on the organic search results page. Its function is to create a hierarchy of pages to provide results in the most relevant order for each user.

The algorithm adopts a series of criteria to achieve this and is continuously updated to become more and more relevant.

Through these updates, Google aims not just to improve the classification of results but also to eliminate or decrease the position of malicious and low-quality content, which can harm the user experience.

Thousands of updates occur every year, but several stand out for their impact on the SEO market.

These were the key updates to Google’s algorithm in recent years:

• Panda (2011): penalized pages with low-quality content that made use of bad practices, including excessive keywords and link farms.
• Penguin (2012): penalized sites with low-quality backlinks and began to value those receiving contextualized links from high-quality and authoritative sites.
• Hummingbird (2013): improved results classification by focusing on the exact match between the keyword and the search intention.
• Mobilegeddon (2015): mobile-friendly became a ranking factor.
• RankBrain (2015): added artificial intelligence and machine learning to the algorithm to better understand users’ search intentions.
• Mobile-First Index: began to consider mobile pages as the main version for ranking.
• BERT (2019): incorporated an artificial intelligence system specialized in natural language processing to understand how humans search.
• Page Experience Update (2021): Added three new ranking factors connected to overall page experience – first input delay, largest contentful paint, and cumulative layout shift.
• May 2022 Core Algorithm Update (2022): Updated and revamped major aspects of Google’s core algorithm and ranking factors for the first time since November 2021.
• September 2022 Core Algorithm and Content Update (2022): The second broad core update of 2022 – implementing more major changes to Google’s ranking system, rewarding sites that produce helpful content, and underscoring the importance of reviews.

Ranking Factors

It’s estimated that Google’s algorithm involves more than 200 ranking factors. The relationship between them determines the position on SERPs.

Google doesn’t publically share these factors but has made some statements that reveal some secrets. Moreover, the market itself performs studies to determine the impact of specific actions on-page ranking.

In general, we know that there are two types of ranking factors: on-page and off-page.

On-page ranking

On-page ranking factors are located on their own pages. When on-page SEO is mentioned, it’s referring to the optimization of these elements.

Some examples:

• Content
• Title and meta description
• Heading tag
• Images
• URLs
• Rich snippets

Google evaluates these factors to understand what information the pages offer and, therefore, how to index them correctly.

In addition, the search engine analyses if the page is offering a good user experience with relevant information.

Off-page SEO factors

Off-page factors, on the other hand, are elements that demonstrate the page’s status as a reference but are not located in the content of the page.

Off-page SEO consists of optimizing the site’s authority to users and other websites, with a focus on acquiring backlinks.

Some examples of these factors are:

• Number of backlinks
• Diversity of backlinks
• Context of backlinks
• Brand mentions
• Social signs
• Direct search

For Google, factors along these lines reveal a site’s level of authority.

If a page receives many visitors via direct searches for a brand name and many backlinks or mentions from trusted sites, it’s considered more authoritative in the market.

Black Hat SEO vs White Hat SEO

Google’s algorithm is always improving the search experience for users. 

This means that it is not just continually improving search results, but also combating dubious and low-quality content, known as Black Hat SEO.

Black Hat strategies have been a target of Google since the early days of SEO.

When the algorithm was still new and had a lot of loopholes, it was easy to cheat the system to get a higher ranking, even if you had nothing to offer. 

Common Black Hat strategies included:

• Doorway pages: pages optimized to redirect users to malicious pages
• Cloaking: pages that present different content to real users and bots
• Link farms: pages that only contain backlinks to other pages
• Keyword stuffing: pages excessively repeating keywords
• Hidden texts and links: pages hiding text and links from the user, but not from bots
• Comment spam: pages that comment on blogs to gain backlinks

In the example below, you can see code configured to hide keywords by using text set to a font size of 0 and the same color as the background:

Strategies like these still exist. However, Google’s algorithm is increasingly complex and more intelligent at identifying Black Hat SEO.

For example, a massive increase in backlinks from suspicious domains over a short period of time is an indication of Black Hat techniques.

When this happens, pages are penalized, which can range from a temporary drop to a complete ban.

So, avoid Black Hat SEO. 

If you want to earn the trust of search engines to guarantee a safe and sustainable position on SERPs, follow Google’s SEO guidelines.

These guidelines coincide with White Hat SEO. These are acceptable SEO strategies recommended by search engines.

These can include, improving site usability, natural use of keywords in the content, and receiving backlinks from trustworthy partners, among other strategies we will introduce in this guide.

Why is SEO Important?

These days, the average Google search is about a lot more than just finding facts and quick answers on the fly. 

People turn to search engines for all sorts of information — everything from Billy Joel song lyrics to relationship advice, to directions to the nearest Chinese takeout.

In other words, the reasons behind search engine users’ collective queries are varied and complex. Google and the rest of the search engines are evolving exponentially to stay up-to-date with this reality. And the more this becomes apparent, the more important SEO also becomes.

Without SEO, it ultimately won’t matter how well your website answers a searcher’s questions or how beneficial your products might be to a consumer looking to buy. 

If the search engines don’t crawl, index, and rank your website, no one will ever find it.

That said, a strong, comprehensive SEO strategy:

• Helps you achieve the high SERP rankings needed to earn clicks and drive traffic.
• Boosts your credibility — something that always accompanies a high ranking.
• Gives you an edge over your competitors.
• Expands your market reach and help build your audience.
• Boosts your overall engagement rates.
• Improves the overall user experience on your website or eCommerce business.
• Gets locals through your doors if you run a brick-and-mortar business.

Ultimately, SEO is the key to getting you seen, attracting the audience you’re trying to reach, and making a success out of your business. 

The sooner you master the basics of solid optimization, and the more you understand how changes to your site affect SEO, the more successful you can expect to become.

It’s also crucial to understand that as search engine algorithms and consumer expectations change, so do the go-to best SEO practices. 

That means that SEO isn’t just something you master once. It’s something you continue to learn about.

Thought already in becoming a partner in our journey? You can instead tap into the power of our advanced SEO tools for guidance, produce the SEO assets your customer wants, and then deliver those assets to clients using the WriterAccess white label SEO portal.

What are the Main Goals of SEO?

We’ve already discussed the value of investing in SEO, but it’s also important to focus on specific goals. While the broader strokes of search engine optimization are crucial, here are some of the main goals of following through with this strategy. 

Establish brand awareness

Brand loyalty is a big deal for companies, both large and small. Consumers expect more from the brands they deal with regularly, and in 2023, most of those interactions are based on emotions, not necessarily rationalizations. 

But what does that mean from an SEO perspective? Customers want to spend money with brands that align with their values and worldviews. In the modern era, companies can’t be entirely objective anymore. Whether it’s politics, climate change, or social upheaval, brands need to “pick a side,” even if they aren’t overt about their motivations. 

So, you have to utilize SEO to promote your brand values. This way, customers can not only find your pages more easily but also understand what your business is about. Overall, you must incorporate your brand identity into everything so you can build awareness and, most importantly, loyalty. 

Increase web traffic quality

Just as customers expect more from the companies they buy from, you need to have relatively high expectations of those who visit your website and landing pages. Qualified leads are far more valuable than generic ones, so it’s not enough to just boost your traffic numbers. Instead, it’s better to focus on targeting the people most likely to benefit from your products or services, and SEO is a fantastic way to filter them out. 

The simplest example is to target user-specific keywords that go beyond the superficial. For example, many people may search for “healthy diet foods.” However, you can get more nuanced by ranking for keywords like, “diet foods for aspiring vegans,” or “best diet foods for sweet lovers.” By narrowing your SEO approach with targeted landing pages, you can increase the quality of your web traffic and boost your bottom line. 

Create a seamless customer experience

If someone clicks on a link or ad via a search engine, they have a specific idea of what they will find. So, if your page is what they clicked on, you need to anticipate that and deliver the right results. Otherwise, if the landing page doesn’t match the user intent, they’re far more likely to bounce and visit a competing website. 

That said, you must also dig deeper into that user intent and go beyond what they expect. For example, someone searching for diet food may also be interested in workout gear or exercises they can do at home. If they’re searching for sugar alternatives, they might want snacks and meal plans to help them stay on target. 

When developing your SEO strategy, you want to focus on adding as much value as possible to the user experience. This way, a visitor is more likely to come back again and again. 

E-E-A-T Explained

When creating an SEO plan, you may come across the acronym EEAT, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. But what does this acronym mean, and why does it matter? Here’s everything you need to know. 

Why is EEAT important?

The main reason EEAT is essential is that Google uses it as an evaluation tool to rank websites and landing pages. So, the better your EEAT score, the higher you can rank in specific searches. While Google doesn’t showcase the precise details it looks at, you want to include as much information as possible on each page. 

Here’s a quick overview of each component and how to incorporate it into your SEO. 

Experience

When writing about a topic, are you speaking from firsthand experience or relaying information from other people? While there’s nothing wrong with the latter option, your content won’t rank as highly as someone with extensive experience. For example, a blog post from a nutritionist with 20 years in the field can rank higher than a post from someone who is just a health enthusiast. 

If you have relevant experience, include those details whenever possible. This way, Google can determine whether your content is more valuable than another piece about the same topic. 

Expertise

While expertise and experience are related, there is a clear distinction. Namely, how well can you convey valuable information to the reader? For example, you may have years of experience in the field, but if the information you’re presenting is surface-level, you’re not showing much expertise on the topic. 

In this case, Google pays attention to the piece’s quality and whether it dives deeper into a subject. To do this, Google will use related and secondary keywords to determine whether you expand on the central thesis. 

Authority

Being an authority online means that other websites cite your work via backlinks. The more backlinks you have, the more authoritative your site or landing page. While you can’t always control how or when someone else links to your content, you can proactively build your network through guest posts, links to other credible sources, and a robust online presence. 

Trust

While authority is what other websites and professionals say about your content, trust refers to what customers say. The best way to build trust online is to solicit unbiased reviews and testimonials. For example, the more reviews you have on your Google My Business listing, the higher your site will rank for related keywords. 

Overall, when creating content for SEO purposes, try to incorporate as many EEAT elements as possible. The more pages with high scores, the better your brand will do online. 

SEO vs. PPC vs. SEM

Within the world of digital marketing, you hear the terms SEO, SEM, and PPC thrown around a lot. And in many cases, you may even see “SEM” used interchangeably with both SEO and PPC in different contexts, despite the fact that they’re not the same.

• SEM is short for search engine marketing and, like SEO, describes strategies and practices that drive traffic via search engines. However, SEO focuses solely on organic traffic, while SEM covers both paid and organic traffic.
• PPC is short for pay-per-click and refers to a specific approach to online marketing. Brands pay for PPC advertising according to the number of clicks their ads attract.

In other words, both SEO and PPC are really SEM subcategories—two different (but compatible) approaches to search engine-focused marketing.

How to Learn SEO

Even the most seasoned, adept SEO pros in the world had to start somewhere. 

Becoming an SEO master yourself is all about understanding current ranking standards for major players like Google or Bing, learning how to make sure your sites meet those standards and keeping your knowledge up to date.

Understand how search engines work

Although no two businesses will have the same exact goals for their marketing campaigns, it’s fairly safe to say that all of them want to build audiences and make money. 

Generally speaking, that’s the whole point of SEO – to boost search rankings and attract convertible traffic.

Google and the rest of the search engines use crawl bots to index websites, as well as rank them based on the relevance and quality of the content. 

Learning SEO is about not only helping crawl bots find your site but showing search engines it deserves the highest possible rankings.

Learn the basics of keyword research

Well-chosen keywords are at the heart of any successful SEO campaign, so thorough keyword research is an absolute must. 

The idea is to determine which keywords and long-tail key phrases people are searching for in order to find content like yours and use them in natural, helpful ways.

Ideally, keywords should be sprinkled naturally throughout your written content. But they should also be incorporated into meta descriptions, URLs, titles, etc.

Learn what goes into a solid user experience

Google and the rest of the search engines are in the business of delivering the highest possible experiences to their users. 

They’re also getting better at determining which sites are capable of delivering that experience, so understanding the user experience (UX) signals is an important part of SEO.

Key signs of a positive user experience that search algorithms look for include simple, clean, user-friendly website designs. 

Mobile accessibility, high-quality content, fast load speeds, and helpful use of external and internal links are crucial, as well.

UX signals that indicate your site is a good option include high dwell times. The longer a user spends on a site after finding it through a search, the more likely it is that the site in question is truly meeting their needs and expectations.

Differentiate between on-page and off-page SEO

On-page SEO covers the aspects of the process you can reliably control. 

These factors include your formatting choices (as with H1, H2, and H3 tags), your image descriptions, the relevancy and timeliness of your content, etc. 

A good on-page SEO strategy strikes a good balance between pleasing human users and sending the right signals to search bots.

But off-page SEO is important, too. 

This aspect of SEO covers factors that speak to other people’s opinions of your content. Examples include your catalog of authority backlinks, social media shares, and other instances where your brand or content is mentioned.

Dive into SEO-savvy content

Without incredible content your audience wants to read, your SEO efforts will never get very far off the ground. 

Yes, part of this is about creating SEO-friendly, keyword-rich standalone pages for your site. But you also need a steady stream of fresh, helpful, well-written content.

The best way to ensure you have this is to add an authority blog to your site. 

Fill it with helpful, timely content that addresses your audience’s questions and concerns. Update it according to a reliable content production schedule, and always make sure it’s original.

Trusted sources and tips

When you’re still in the process of asking, “What is SEO?” and discovering the best industry practices, it helps to turn to trusted authoritative sources for help. Here are a few that we heartily recommend:

• Google Developer’s Blog: What better way is there to understand industry practices and ongoing search engine developments than to get your info straight from Google?
• SEMRush Academy: SEMRush is one of the most widely trusted names in the SEO industry. This free resource is packed with helpful information and tips.
• LearningSEO.io: When you’re still figuring out what SEO means, organized information—like the kind offered in this guided resource—is a must-have.
• Ahrefs Blog: Once you’ve got the basics mastered, take a look at this top industry blog for advice on things like backlink building and advanced SEO.
• Rock Content Blog: Last, but definitely not least, be sure to browse our marketing blog for breaking industry news, proven tips, additional “what is SEO” insights, and more.

The Basics of SEO

As you can see from this article, SEO is a big subject that is constantly developing.

When you’re new to the world of keyword research and on-page optimization, it can all seem overwhelming. To make things easier on yourself, don’t attempt to learn and implement everything all at once. It won’t work, and you’ll just become frustrated. It’s best to start out with the basics and build from there.

So what should you focus on first? Below, we’ve listed the areas you should concentrate on when you start your SEO journey.

Start with your website or blog and really focus on the following:

• Defining your SEO strategy – Start by defining your strategy. We walk you through how to do this in this article.
• Keyword research – The lynchpin on which your whole SEO journey sits.
• Content creation – Make sure that any content you create for your website uses the keywords you want to rank for.
• On and off-page SEO – At the bare minimum, make sure your blog posts use the structure we’ve set out under our on and off-page SEO sections.

Does SEO Require Coding?

The short answer is no. You can implement your SEO strategy successfully without having to touch any code. The large majority of actions you need to take to start with SEO do not require the ability to code.

The longer answer is it depends. If you want to go deep into the world of SEO, the ability to code will give any website or content you create an extra edge. 

The ability to code will enable you to make changes to the internal structure of your site and make it more attractive to Google’s algorithm. Consequently, it may enable you to rank higher.

The ability to code comes into its own when you start to make changes to the back end of your website, namely technical SEO.

Don’t panic if you can’t code, though, as most SEO tactics can be done without an intimate knowledge of HTML, CSS, or any other coding language.

How Long Does It Take for SEO to Work?

This is a tricky question because Google does not publicize how the algorithm works.

How long it takes to rank on Google depends on your aims, what changes you’ve implemented and what your SEO strategy is.

With the right SEO strategy, you’ll see changes within 6 to 12 months, although some may see changes sooner.

The changes you’ll see are again dependent on what your aims are. Still, most people implement an SEO strategy because they want to increase traffic to their site, leads to their business, and sales — or a combination of all three.

The top three results returned in a Google search receive about 75% of traffic, with the expectation of this growing over time. 

SEO is about implementing the right changes and allowing those changes ample time to give results. Making changes to your content is not a quick fix; it should be part of a long-term marketing strategy.

How to Start an SEO Strategy?

To achieve the organic traffic you’re looking for, the content published on your blog must be relevant to someone.

Like any marketing strategy, it all starts with planning: what are the results you hope to achieve through SEO, who are you trying to reach, and how do you intend to get there?

This will pave the way for your strategy’s success.

Also, you should know that an SEO strategy generally delivers results in the medium to long term.

Don’t expect the kind of immediate return which can come from ads and sponsored links. However, SEO usually achieves a more sustainable return in the long term.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the first steps of SEO.

1. Define objectives

The first step in creating your strategy is to define your objectives in optimizing your site, blog, or eCommerce. To do this, you first have to know what SEO offers.

• Increase organic traffic
• Generate more leads
• Create more sales
• Reduce client acquisition cost (CAC)
• Educate the market
• Increase brand authority

Always seek to align these SEO objectives to your brand’s macro-objectives. If your goal is to increase brand awareness, for example, SEO can help with this by placing your company’s site among the first positions on Google.

By setting objectives, you can also identify goals and KPIs.

If you’re looking for greater authority, for example, you can use metrics from Domain Authority and Page Authority. Set the goals you hope to reach via these KPIs and when.

By doing so, while you execute your strategy and afterward, you can check these indicators to know if you’re on the right path to achieving your objective.

2. Define your buyer persona

Another important planning step is to define your buyer persona. 

After all, who is your strategy for? Who are you communicating with? Who are you bringing to your business? 

A buyer persona is the description of a semi-fictitious personality who represents an ideal customer for your brand, with real questions, pains, and needs, which you can help to solve. 

They should be based on real customer data obtained through surveys, questionnaires, and interviews.

Building your buyer personas should take into consideration the different demands a customer may have throughout the stages of the funnel. 

This can be observed in the keywords used to search: more general at the top of the funnel, and more specific towards the bottom. 

You’ll soon have a better idea of making the most of keywords.

3. Use the best SEO tools

To start with an SEO strategy, you need to know the basic tools.

They help to diagnose where you’re starting from, base your planning on, make initial optimizations, and begin to track the impact of each action.

For the most part, we’re talking about two indispensable SEO tools: Google Analytics and Google Search Console. 

Google offers both for free, and they will play a huge role in measuring your strategy. Let’s get to know them better!

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a widely-used data analysis tool that provides a vast array of resources to evaluate the performance of digital strategies.

For SEO, it can assist in a variety of ways:

• Understand your audience better to build your buyer persona.
• Identify your most visited and best-performing pages.
• Monitor organic traffic numbers.
• Identify which channels generate the most traffic (email, social, organic, etc.).
• Understand engagement (rejection rate, pages per visit, session length).
• Monitor conversions generated through the SEO strategy.

This is only a sample of the analysis available with Google Analytics, covering from the planning stages to the implementation of SEO.

But you find much more data in the tool to help with your strategy. Take control of your data with our Google Analytics guide.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a tool to facilitate communication between the site and Google, which offers valuable SEO reporting. Some of the resources include:

• Discover if there are any issues on indexing your site.
• Know if your site has been hacked or penalized by Google.
• Monitor the average position of your pages on SERPs.
• Identify the organic click-through-rate of your pages on SERPs.
• Identify which keywords place your site on SERPs.
• Identify which sites backlink to yours.
• Solicit rejection of dubious backlinks to your site from Google.

Google Search Console is a little more technical, with a greater focus on webmasters. 

But the interface is user-friendly, so anyone can use it to diagnose and direct more complex demand to specialized professionals.

This tool can also generate insights to optimize your content, in addition to being the principal source for identifying which searches bring traffic to your pages and the click-through-rate on your main keywords.

How to do Keyword Research?

Keyword research aims to identify the search terms that have the greatest potential for your strategy, according to search volume, conversion, and competitiveness.

It’s one of the key planning tools for SEO strategy and Content Marketing. After all, it’s how you can identify optimization opportunities and set content creation priorities.

Keyword search usually starts with a list of terms related to your sector, product, and brand. 

You can get ideas from Google Analytics and Google Search Console, which we previously discussed, or keyword tools, which we’ll learn more about below.

Afterward, this list needs to be organized. You can separate the most used terms at each stage of the sales funnel and sort the list based on the greatest potential for your strategy.

Let’s say you’ve just launched a blog on your site and have identified the keyword that will direct the most traffic to it.

You can start with it and create a post optimized for this keyword to attract more visitors.

Next, you’ll understand better what keywords are and what kind of terms you can work with.

What are keywords?

Keywords are how the users express their questions. They activate indexed pages in the search engine.

When a user searches for a specific term, Google looks for the best matches within its page index and displays these search results.

The order in which they appear is the result of ranking factors, as described above.

Therefore, keywords are essential in SEO strategies, as they reveal what our buyer persona is searching for.

They define the purpose behind optimizing a page, so Google indexes it correctly according to its content, presents it to the users seeking that topic, and ensures that the content is relevant.

It’s important to know that Google employs artificial intelligence to understand the intention of a search, the way humans communicate, and the variations that exist for a given term.

This means that if you want to optimize a blog entry for “carry-on luggage”, for example, you don’t need to worry about using this exact phrase in your text, much less repeat it endlessly.

You can use synonyms, such as “cabin baggage” or “hand luggage”, resulting in a more varied and engaging text.

So, even if the user types the term incorrectly or a variation of it, Google will understand the user’s search intention and display your page to them.

Thus, you don’t need to worry about a keyword’s exact match.

Types of Searches

During the purchase process, people may use different types of searches to resolve their questions.

To create your SEO and content strategies, you need to understand the intention behind each search to align what users are looking for with what your brand can bring them. 

Let’s take a look at the main types of searches.

Navigational

Navigational search queries are when a user already knows which site they’re looking for and will rarely change their ultimate destination.

It’s as if they use Google as a shortcut, instead of remembering a whole URL or to find suggestions related to that site.

Transactional

Transactional search queries are related to purchases. For example, users may be looking to buy a product, find a store’s address, or compare prices.

This type of search is valuable because it can lead directly to a sale, as the user is already at a more advanced stage of the process.

Informational

Informational search queries are when users are looking for information on a subject, product, or brand. 

At this point, they don’t know what they want yet, as they’re at the start of the purchase process.

Local

Local search queries feature a geographic component, within a determined region.

These can include, for example, users searching for restaurants, cinemas, stores, hotels, schools, or offices, among other establishments with a physical location.

Other types of search

There are additional types of search a user may perform, such as:

• News
• Institutional
• Music
• Academic
• Punctual information (weather, date, etc.)
• Images
• Videos

Notice that, for each type of search, Google is constantly seeking to provide more specific results.

For product searches (transactional), you receive offers from Google Shopping. When looking for a certain song, results include the lyrics and a music video on YouTube.

The goal is to improve the search experience with more agile and precise results for users.

Types of Keywords

Along with types of search, we also need to consider the types of keywords that are used to find results on the web.

There are two types of keywords: head tail and long tail.

They refer to the two extremes you can see in the image below and correspond to different stages of the process. 

The farther to the right the keyword lies, the more specific it is from a user closer to the purchase decision.

For an SEO strategy, it’s important to work with both types of keywords to reach potential clients at all stages of the process. 

We will now look at each type.

Head Tail

Head tail keywords are broad, generic, and generally used at the start of the purchase process.

At this moment, the consumer doesn’t know what they need yet, and thus start with this type of search, before becoming more specific.

Generally, head-tail terms are high volume, resulting in a lot of traffic, but also attract a very wide audience with few conversion opportunities.

They also tend to face a lot of competition for the top search positions, making a high ranking more difficult.

In this case, examples include:

• Marketing
• Personal marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Business marketing
• Traditional marketing
  
  

Long Tail

Long-tail keywords are more specific and are usually used at the end of the process.

The customer has already researched what they need to meet their needs, is familiar with the solutions on offer, but still seeks information before making the final decision.

In contrast to the head-tail, long-tail keywords don’t usually generate as much traffic as they are less searched for.

On the other hand, they tend to attract visitors further along in the purchase process, as well as more conversions. 

In addition, as a result of less competition, a higher ranking is easier to achieve.

If a user is interested in Digital Marketing, for example, they may now search for more specific terms on the topic. The specificity of terms will depend on the need the person needs to resolve, for example:

• Digital Marketing consultancy prices
• Where to take a Digital Marketing course
• The average salary for Digital Marketing professionals

Keyword Tools

Are you looking for help to find terms and identify the best opportunities? This is where keyword tools come in.

They are essential for planning an SEO strategy, as they help to find ideas for keywords, understand the potential and competitiveness of each, and organize them according to their optimization priority. 

There are several tools for this, both paid and free.

Free tools help to perform specific search actions, including:

• Google Ads keyword planner: to check search volume and cost per click.
• Keyword Tool and Ubersuggest: to create lists of keyword ideas.
• Google Search Console: to check which words are already used to direct traffic to sites and opportunities.
• Google Trends: to determine search trends by theme.

Google Ads keywords planner is shown in the image below:

Paid tools are complete, with powerful keyword search features. 

They suggest terms based on volume, clicks, difficulty to rank, and other data. The main platforms are:

• SEMrush (starting at US$99.95/month).
• Ahrefs (starting at US$99/month).
• Moz Keyword Explorer (starting at US$ 99/month).

Here’s an example of a keyword search on SEMrush:

You can access some of the resources for free, but a paid plan allows you to take full advantage of the platform.

What is On-page SEO?

In this section, we will explore the key optimization factors for an on-page SEO strategy.

It’s worth remembering that “on-page” refers to the factors that an administrator can optimize on their own pages to improve a visitor’s experience and make it easier for Google to read the site.

These optimizations should be integrated within an overall Content Marketing strategy since they largely make use of what’s published on the blog.

Get a sense of the key on-page SEO factors.

User Intent

SEO is not about what people are searching, but what they want to find.

To do this, on-page optimization should focus on the user’s search intention, which varies from search to search, so your pages and content correspond to what they hope to find.

This is where Google’s focus on giving users what they’re looking for comes into play. For example, natural language processing and analyzing user location are elements that help determine their intention.

So, the challenge for an on-page SEO and Content Market strategy is understanding the search intention the way Google does, to deliver to users what they’re looking for.

And the best way to understand a user’s intention is by using Google itself!

Let’s take a closer look at some example.

Following your keyword search, you should use Google to analyze the highest-ranking results. After all, these are the pages that Google considers the best answer to the user’s intention.

Let’s examine the results page when we search for “SEO”:

Note that the top results are educational, with a focus on teaching what SEO is and how to use it. To rank higher, you need to have content along these lines.

But what if my intention were to find a “Batman costume”? What am I trying to find?

Pictures, exactly! Products and images. Can you imagine someone renting or buying a costume without seeing it first? 

So, to reach the top of this result, you must use images.

Always use the first results for a specific keyword to identify how you should approach the subject and what else you can add to it.

Get ahead of them with content that’s even more optimized and complete!

Content length

The length of content generally affects its ranking, but it’s not a direct ranking factor in the algorithm.

Longer pieces tend to be complete, have more details, and go deeper into the subject matter. As a result, they better answer users’ questions.

But this isn’t necessarily a rule. For a given topic or buyer persona, the ideal length will be different.

Here at Rock, for example, we post super in-depth content, like this article. 

It’s a broad search term, facing a lot of competition and receiving a high volume of searches, which demands extremely thorough content as a result. 

On the other hand, a blog post about blocked actions on Instagram is far more specific, with fewer hits and competitors, so it can be shorter and more direct.

Accordingly, the best length is the one that best answers the user’s question.

Volume of posts

Publishing quantity also tends to favor classification, as the more content you publish, the greater chance you have to rank high. 

However, you can’t just focus on the number of posts, ok? 

Make sure you have a balance between quality and frequency.

There’s no point in publishing hundreds of pieces that aren’t relevant and don’t solve users’ questions — in fact, it’s counterproductive. 

Likewise, having a large number of posts when you launch your blog, and then not keeping it updated brings no advantages.

Content creation needs to be an ongoing process in order to attract a loyal audience and show Google that what you have to offer is fresh and relevant.

Along the same lines as the volume of posts, there’s not an ideal frequency. You have to identify what your topic and buyer persona demand, as well as evaluate your business’s ability to produce this content.

The most important thing to remember is that quantity and quality work together.

Writing for SEO

How do you need to approach writing your content?

Quality is the number one priority. The content needs to be accurate, clear, current, relevant, trustworthy, and, of course, address the user’s intention.

This will generate engagement and increase the likelihood of receiving backlinks — weighty factors in the ranking calculation.

So even though Google increasingly understands and values natural writing, there are some strategies to optimize your content to reach higher positions, while also improving the reader’s experience.

To achieve this, it’s crucial to pay attention to an article’s scannability and semantics.

Scannability

Scannability is how a text presents a dynamic reading by making use of resources such as subtitles, lists, bold, and images.

Have you ever opened an article, been faced with a solid block of text, completely lost your desire to read that content, and simply closed the page?

This is what makes scanability so important.

It improves the reading experience, engages the user, and even communicates information to Google.

By creating subtitles, for example, both readers and bots are able to understand the structure of the piece.

Keyword use and semantics

The use of keywords throughout your writing is important for Google to index the page with the terms you want correctly.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean just repeating one word the whole time, ok?

Google understands how humans use language and aren’t looking for exact keyword matches. 

This is what makes semantics so important for SEO.

Take full advantage of a term’s semantic field, its variations, synonyms, and relationship with other words. By doing so, it becomes easier to read and helps Google to understand the topic of your page.

Let’s compare two pieces that have the objective to reach the first results for “Digital Marketing”:

The content on the right has a better chance of a high ranking, as it covers indispensable topics directly related to producing a Digital Marketing guide.

Here’s another example focused on “SEO”:

Again, the piece on the right displays better optimization, with several natural variations of the term, improving the reading experience for users and bots and increasing its chances of a higher position.

Furthermore, it’s important to place these terms where Google will value them the most.

The title, heading tags, URL, and the first paragraph are some examples of where bots tend to focus first.

So make sure to place keywords in these locations.

Title tag

The title of the page that you see on the SERP, in browser tabs, and when you share links on social networks is the Title Tag. 

Title tags are fundamental for Googlebot to grasp the key theme of the page, and also for users.

After all, the title is the first contact a reader has with the text and can affect whether they click through to read it or not. With this direct influence on your click-through-rate, this tag is one of the most important on-page factors.

Therefore, as part of your SEO strategy, this tag should feature your keyword, but also incentivize your user to access your page.

Meta description

Meta descriptions are the description of a page that appears in search engine results, a snippet of the page with the title and URL.

They also serve as a way to encourage users to access the page, so they should be persuasive and descriptive about what is offered.

Note that meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor, meaning Google doesn’t consider them in its algorithm. 

But it’s still important to ensure your keyword shows up in it, as it will appear in bold if it coincides with what the user searched for.

Meta descriptions attract more clicks, indirectly influencing your results.

Heading Tags

Heading tags are code markup, which identifies titles and subtitles in the text.

The H1 tag identifies the title on the page, yet differs from the Title Tag.

If the goal of the Title Tag is to get users to click through, H1 aims to get users to read the text. It also doesn’t have the character limit of a Title Tag.

Take a look at this example:

There is a structured order to heading tags, with H2, H3, and so on.

These heading tags identify subtitles and show the structure of your text, useful both for Google and for your user.

Using these increases scanability.

It’s important to use keywords, and semantically-related terms within these tags since Google analyzes subtitles for its indexing and ranking.

URLs for SEO

URLs are also targets for Googlebot.

Page URLs are crawled to get a sense of their central focus since they generally use terms that summarize their content.

They need to be clear to users and readers. Check out this table we made with some of the most common URL mistakes:

A descriptive URL is much easier to understand — not only for bots but also for users.

• Avoid meaningless URLs: URLs consisting of random characters or gibberish don’t help with SEO. An SEO-friendly URL includes keywords and mirrors the page title instead.
• Avoid numbers in URLs: Numbers can easily change during content refreshes, which means that the URLs will also need to change. This can lead to broken links, redirect problems, etc.
• Avoid big URLs: Shorter URLs are simpler and more accessible, both to human readers and Google’s crawl bots.
• Avoid invalid characters: Including invalid characters (like capital letters, symbols, or spaces) in your URL can render your entire URL invalid.
• Be careful with subdirectories: Too many subdirectories can overcomplicate your URLs and potentially cause sitewide issues.

Here are some good practices:

• Easy to interpret
• Short and friendly
• Contain the keyword
• Match the title
• Avoid articles, linking verbs, and other complements

Some examples of good URLs:

• “sitename/blog/digital-marketing/“
• ” sitename/storytelling/”
• ” sitename/courses”

Images for SEO

Google still can’t completely understand the content of an image and needs your help to understand what it represents. What can you do?

Use image optimization for SEO.

This strategy allows you to provide textual data about the images. This can include alternative text (alt tag), filenames, image captions, image URLs, and context (the text around the image).

The important component here is the alt text, which is fundamental to the experience for individuals with visual impairments, as a screen reader reads the alternative text to describe the image to the user.

The alt text should always be a description of the image and contain the keyword.

Consider this example:

Through these elements, Google can understand what is in the image, index it correctly in Google Image Search, and it becomes another source of traffic.

Other aspects concerning image optimization for SEO include the size and format of image files so that they can be quickly loaded and indexed.

Internal links

The network of your site’s internal links also plays a role in on-page SEO.

The primary function of links between internal pages is to guide navigation and lead the user (and search engines) to other relevant content.

But they also have a technical SEO function. The network of internal links helps Google to find your content and better understand your site, as it reveals the hierarchy between pages.

For example, the closer to the homepage and the more internal links, the more important the page. 

This link building strategy strengthens the authority of the blog through the links and this is how a topic cluster strategy works.

Rich Snippets

Rich snippets are content fragments from the page which provide additional information on the SERP. These can include site links, reviews, the number of comments, product prices, and more. 

For example, here is the information provided through rich snippets when searching for “red velvet cupcake recipe”:

In this case, rich snippets provide us with a picture of the recipe, a review, comments, and even how long it will take to make.

Different from the usual results, right?

Rich snippets offer extra information about your pages to bots and users and highlight your link on SERPs, which tends to increase your click-through-rate (CTR).

To display rich snippets, they need to be created with structured data, as organized content is easier for the Googlebot to read. 

This can be accomplished by programmers or even by using plugins, useful for WordPress sites.

Two sites can help you implement rich snippets.

The first is Google, which offers a list of rich snippets where you can identify the type you want to use, and they show you the code to use.

Access it at Google Developers.

The other site providing similar functionality is Schema.org. Here’s an example with a recipe snippet:

Featured Snippets

Have you noticed how Google provides ready answers on its SERP for some searches?

These are known as featured snippets and are excerpted highlights of pages that provide direct results in paragraphs, lists, or tables.

This is great for the user’s search experience! After all, they get the answer they’re looking for even faster.

But if fewer visitors reach your pages, what’s the impact on your traffic and results?

Keep calm. Featured snippets are a great opportunity to increase your authority on a specific topic and can lead to more traffic from the SERP, as the excerpts include a link to where they came from. 

On-page SEO strategies need to be competitive to reach this “zero result” on Google.

EAT

This acronym has become the focus of SEO experts. EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

Google adopted these terms to orient its assessment of search result quality.

They were introduced in the documentation that guides the evaluators who manually analyze the relevance of search engine results.

They reveal what Google considers important when evaluating the quality of content.

• The expertise of the author.
• The authority of the author, the content and the site.
• The trustworthiness of the author, the content, and the site.

As a result, you can follow these guidelines in your content and SEO strategy to align with Google’s way of thinking.

What is Off-page SEO?

Now, it’s time to examine the factors beyond your pages with off-page SEO. What steps can you take to have more authority in the market and show Google that you are a reference?

Here you need to consider that, unlike on-page SEO, with off-page SEO you don’t have complete control over the optimization.

The choice to include backlinks to your site, mention or directly search for your brand depends on others.

What you can do is increase your chances of this happening. You can adopt link building, guest posting, redirects for broken links, in addition to other strategies to reinforce your backlink profile and create greater authority for your page.

Next, let’s learn some more about each of these strategies.

Link Building

Links are the building blocks of the internet. They connect one page to another and allow users to navigate and discover content.

Just like users, bots also travel this interconnected network to index new content and understand which pages are the most important, as one page transmits link juice and authority to another. 

Here we can see why link building is so important to off-page SEO. 

Link building is the construction of a network of links that point to your pages (known as backlinks) and strengthens your authority on the web. 

Google’s algorithm understands that the more high-quality backlinks your page receives, the greater its relevance to the market.

But keep in mind that quantity and quality work together. There’s no benefit in receiving hundreds of backlinks if they all come from a single domain, or untrustworthy site, or are placed out of context.

To get a link-building strategy to work, achieving high-quality backlinks is a must.

High-quality backlinks

As we’ve seen, Google acts to prevent actions that correspond to Black Hat. 

Link building was previously used extensively to generate artificial authority, with schemes from link farms to the “super optimization” of anchor texts.

High-quality backlinks run contrary to these tactics and demonstrate that the links you have received are on merit and are relevant to trustworthy references in your sector. 

High-quality backlinks:

• Are from sites with domain and page authority.
• Are from sites that Google trusts.
• Come from a variety of domains.
• Are natural in the context of the page.
• Use anchor text correctly.
• Are in a prominent position on the page (at the start of the piece, for example).
• Are from sites connected to your sector.

These are the main characteristics you should look for in backlinks when planning a link building strategy.

Nofollow Links

Another important point about backlinks: the difference between dofollow and nofollow links.

By default, all links are “dofollow”. This attribute tells bots that they should crawl the link and share authority from one page to the next.

In contrast, the “nofollow” attribute prevents the bot from following the link and passing authority to the linked page.

This can come in handy, for example, in comment sections or for links shared on social networks, which are frequently used for spam for building artificial authority.

But this doesn’t mean that nofollow links have no role to play in off-page SEO.

Even though they don’t spread authority directly to other pages, they generate traffic and develop brand awareness.

Link-Building Techniques

Let’s take a look at which link-building techniques you can employ to strengthen your authority.

Here are a few key ones!

Link Bait

Link bait is the most natural and efficient strategy.

It involves creating high-quality content that receives backlinks organically without requiring prospecting or partnerships.

To accomplish this, you should invest in creating rich content, share data from exclusive research, and provide tools and resources as well as other forms of content that are worthwhile assets to link or share.

Guest posts

Guest posting involves publishing posts on partner blogs as guest author.

It usually takes the form of trade: you create content for the other blog’s audience in exchange for one or more links to your site.

If the links employed are “dofollow”, this can attract new visitors and lead to greater authority.

But it’s important to engage this strategy in moderation. If Google sees you receiving a large number of backlinks in a short period of time, it may understand this as a black-hat technique and punish your pages.

Brand mentions

Brand mentions, even without linking to your site, are also valuable to SEO. Google analyzes these to recognize if your brand really exists and how well-known it is.

You can also search for any unlinked mentions and identify opportunities to receive high-quality backlinks.

Simply get in touch with the administrator and politely suggest including a link.

Broken links

What happens when a site’s URL structure changes or content is removed? This can result in broken links across the site.

If you’ve ever clicked on a link and been brought to a 404 Error page, you’ve witnessed firsthand how broken links can result in lost opportunities and communicate less authority.

But if you come across links on sites with related content to your own, it’s a chance to recommend replacing those broken links with ones to your content.

Several tools exist to uncover broken links, such as Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Check My Links:

Link building tools

There are a variety of link-building tools available, both free and paid, or with a focus on specific actions or specializations.

Tools including Majestic, Ahrefs, Moz Link Explorer, and SEMrush offer a complete analysis of a page’s backlinks profile, from the number of connections to the quality of the anchor text.

Some offer proprietary indicators to aid in this analysis, such as Majestic’s Trust Flow and Citation Flow or Domain Authority and Page Authority from Moz. 

These tools are paid options but offer some resources for free.

Furthermore, you can work with more specific tools to focus on determining outcomes.

Examples include using Google Search Console to request Google reject backlinks from untrustworthy sites or Google Alert to notify you whenever your brand is mentioned to identify backlink opportunities.

How Does Technical SEO Work?

SEO is a vast universe that includes more technical aspects related to your site’s structure. Let’s take a look at these factors and how to optimize them!

Technical SEO is a key part of on-page SEO. It includes all of the optimizations you can make to the internal structure of a site — the code and underlying architecture — in an effort to make it faster and easier to understand, crawl, and index.

In the next topics, we’ve brought the main elements technical SEO can optimize.

Sitemap

A sitemap is a document that lays out the relationship between all of the pages on a site and information about them, such as when they were most recently updated or how often changes are made.

Its function within SEO is to provide this information to search engines to make it easier to find and index the URLs.

Although search engines already get this information through their bots, sitemaps simplify the process and ensure all pages get indexed.

You can either create a sitemap manually or through tools and plugins, then submit it via Google Search Console.

Robots.txt

Robots.txt is an additional document located in your site’s root folder, which lets Google know which pages on your site should be ignored and not appear in search results.

You can use robots.txt to prevent bots from accessing sensitive data, such as your admin login page (“/wp-admin/” on WordPress sites, for example), or scripts and stylesheets that aren’t important.

It’s important to remember robots.txt if your pages aren’t appearing in search engine results, as they may have been added to the list by accident.

UX (User Experience)

User Experience and SEO are two approaches that support each other. We’ve seen here that the priority for search engines is to offer the best search and navigation experience to users looking for something. 

And this includes the experience on your site.

But what does user experience involve? It covers how sites are developed to focus on the actions and responses of users to address their needs.

According to Peter Morville, president of Semantic Studios, there are seven essential characteristics of good UX.

• Useful
• Usable
• Desirable
• Findable
• Accessible
• Valuable
• Credible

Page speed

How long a page takes to load is one of the main classification factors.

Google itself openly discussed that speed is a key ranking factor — for desktop search in 2010, and mobile search in 2018.

It should be mentioned that speed alone won’t get you to the top of the results, but you won’t get there without it.

A fast page speed won’t lift you above the competition, but a slow one will lower your ranking.

For Google, the quality of a user’s search experience depends on the agility of information, as people have become used to not having to wait for what they want to find.

This led to Google offering a free testing tool: PageSpeed Insights.

It provides a speed diagnosis report with tips on how to improve the load time through image and code optimizations.

Mobile-First Index

Since cell phones are more common than computers, mobile search has overtaken desktop search. 

With more traffic from mobile devices, Google began to prioritize results from sites that offer a strong mobile experience.

In 2015, Google announced that mobile-friendly had become a ranking factor for search on mobile devices, which resulted in many sites adopting responsive layouts.

A similar impact was brought about with the launch of the Mobile-First Index in 2016, which considered mobile versions of pages first when ranking.

So if you haven’t yet adopted these trends, it’s important to focus on improving usability and the experience of your content on users’ mobile devices.

Responsiveness

Implementing a responsive site design is one of the strongest recommendations for making your site mobile-friendly. 

This technique allows your site to have one single version, which can then adapt to different screen sizes.

Besides a responsive layout, there are two other techniques you could consider adopting.

• Mobile URLs, with a different URL than the desktop version (for example, m.domain.com).
• Dynamic Serving, where the two versions have the same URL but use alternate CSS and HTML depending on the device.

To get a better understanding of how your site performs on mobile, you can check through Google’s mobile device compatibility test to get recommendations on optimizations you can make.

AMPs

Accelerated Mobile Pages is a further initiative to improve the mobile search experience.

It’s an open-source code project initially led by Google, which aims to develop static content pages that load faster on mobile devices.

These can be identified on mobile SERPs by the small lightning bolt icon next to the URL — and are given preference in the ranking. Take a look at the following example:

SEO Audits

An SEO audit is an important step to make sure you take as part of your technical SEO strategy, especially at the start of your optimization project.

It can be used to identify problems involving page speed, usability (especially more mobile), crawling, and other errors that affect users’ navigation and site ranking.

Here are a few of the elements that an audit can diagnose:

• Broken links
• Crawling errors
• Redirect errors
• Duplicate content
• Blocked pages (robots.txt, no-index, nofollow)
• Pages that are loading slowly

Screaming Frog is one of the best tools to solve these issues, offering in-depth reports on the topic listed above.

But an audit can also involve other tools, including SEMrush and Google Search Console. 

What is Local SEO?

One of Google’s priorities in recent years has been understanding the intent behind local marketing.

Search engines understand that searches made at certain locations require contextual results, offering practical and objective information as opposed to the list of links traditional SERPs provide.

For these searches, Google created local search algorithms to prioritize results in the region the user is located or included in the search.

Similar to featured snippets, the search engine offers information from Google My Business directly in the search results in such a way that users don’t need to access the brand’s site.

Based on this, optimization for businesses with a physical location — known as local SEO — has a few specific details that require attention. 

What does this mean for your optimization strategy? Find out below!

Local keywords

To display local results, Google attempts to understand the user’s local search intention.

In the case of searches for “pizzerias”, “pizza near me” or similar terms, Google takes into consideration the user’s location when the search was made and offers businesses in the area.

But if the user searches for “Boca Raton pizza”, the SERP will display results for the region in the search, regardless of the user’s location.

This is useful for individuals planning trips, for example.

So keyword research for a local SEO strategy should consider these variations of search intention, not simply those with your city.

Consider the following cases:

• Terms that identify a sector: e.g., pizzeria, pizza, neapolitan pizzeria
• Modifier terms: e.g., best pizza, cheap pizza
• Geographic modifiers: e.g., pizza in Boca Raton, pizzeria downtown, pizza near me

Google My Business 

Google My Business is the main ranking factor for local SEO.

At the top of a local search SERP, Google displays the Local Pack, a box with three specific results for the user, based on information taken from Google My Business. And you should fight to make sure you show up there!

For your content to make it to the Local Pack, you need to register your company on Google My Business. This tool offers several resources for participating in local businesses.

You can submit your business name, address, phone number, and business hours. Then, you can receive ratings, answer users, upload photos, list your menu, and other specific details according to your business type.

Take advantage of the opportunities offered by registering and engaging your users to improve your chances of showing up in the Local Pack.

Google gives preference to businesses that have provided the most information, especially those with a high number of strong reviews.

Ranking factors

Google uses three key ranking factors for local search: relevance, proximity, and prominence. 

The search engine reveals these criteria on its page, outlining recommendations for local ranking.

A combination of these factors is analyzed to provide the best results. For example, if a company is farther away from the user, but provides delivery, it may rank higher.

Let’s examine each of these factors in detail.

Relevance

Relevance includes the relationship between the search keyword and the product or service offered. 

When searching for pizzas, the user doesn’t want to see Japanese restaurants, right?

This is why it’s so important to complete your Google My Business registration with all possible information since that’s how Google is able to make these connections.

If a user searches for “all-you-can-eat pizza”, Google will only return locations with that option.

Proximity

Proximity refers to how far a business is from the user’s location or the location included in the search.

Google considers the closest results as better.

Prominence

Prominence assesses how popular the business is in a given region, based on online and offline factors.

If the business’s online presence isn’t so strong, but it’s a well-known and trusted brand offline, it can still achieve a good ranking 

But it also strongly considers ratings and positive reviews from Google My Business users, plus the traditional on-page and off-page SEO used by the site.

The more trust Google gives to your business based on these elements, the higher your local ranking.

International SEO

Dreaming about what it would be like to take your company global is one thing, but mastering what it takes to actually do so is another. Your understanding of the best international SEO practices will make a big difference in how successful you ultimately are, as they’re different from the standard SEO tactics that you may have used.

But what is SEO with international reach all about, and how can you get started? Here are some tips to consider.

Understand the basics

When a search engine user performs a search, Google tailors the results according to various criteria, including language and location. Integrating international SEO into your approach involves signaling to search engines that your site is accessible to users from foreign countries or who speak different languages.

Do your homework

Social trends, tastes, and expectations can vary drastically from one country to another, so do plenty of research. This includes international keyword research and domain structure research.

Apply what you know

Before your website’s international launch, it’s crucial to check and double-check all of your content to ensure that it meets the highest standards. Among other things, you’ll need to verify the accuracy of translations and any charts.

Going global with your SEO efforts is a big decision, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to handle the entire job on your own. Consider outsourcing to an outside agency or assembling a team of freelancers who can help.

The Importance of Content in SEO

There’s definitely nothing wrong with paid advertising when it comes to your ongoing SEO campaign. However, it should be considered a companion strategy to hands-on approaches meant to boost organic search visibility, not a replacement.

Content is the heartbeat of any organic SEO strategy, so investing in your ongoing content marketing campaign is a vital part of your eventual success. Here’s a closer look at why it’s so important.

It makes your brand visible

As you already know, SEO is all about helping your site achieve higher search rankings, and with good reason. Over 28 percent of Google users click on the very first SERP result after performing a search. And an additional 15 percent and 11 percent click on the second and third results, respectively.

So, the higher you can get your landing pages to rank on Google, the more visible you will ultimately be. And the more visible you become, the more traffic you’ll get, and the higher your rankings will continue to rise. But without high-quality content in SEO, visibility simply isn’t possible.

It improves user experience

Overall user experience is another critical factor that directly affects your site’s SEO cred and ability to get Google to see you as a key authority on your topic of choice. But today’s version of Google is nearly as smart and intuitive as your human visitors are, so it’s not enough to sprinkle a few keywords here and there throughout your site before calling it a day.

Your site needs to treat visitors to a truly enjoyable, positive user experience, and how you handle your content is a big part of that. Google likes what your visitors like – helpful, well-written, readable content that successfully expands on any included keywords.

It facilitates organic backlinking

There are many recognized signals that tell Google a site is doing something special and deserves to be seen as an authority, but backlinks are among the most important. And the best way to encourage lots and lots of high-quality organic backlinks is to take your content seriously and ensure it turns heads.

Keep in mind that another site or reader links back to the content they not only found helpful but feel completely comfortable recommending to their own readership. So focus on creating original content that your visitors will see this way.

You can also actively encourage backlinking by asking visitors, readers, and social media followers to share your content if they enjoy it. You can try actively reaching out to industry peers to suggest backlink exchanges in situations where it makes sense, as well.

It’s the most effective way to leverage keywords

There are many ways to incorporate keywords into your site structure and support effective SEO. For example, keywords are musts for your URLs, metadata, and title tags. But the most powerful way to use them to your advantage is also the most obvious – by skillfully using them within your actual site content.

When skillfully and naturally used in web content, keywords can work wonders for your SEO. They can also make sure you reach exactly the customers you want with each new piece. And, of course, the better you are at reaching a target audience, the better you’re going to look to Google.

It keeps your clickthrough rate high

When it comes to Google, achieving those high SERP rankings you’re after isn’t something you do once and then forget about. If you’re serious about maintaining (and eventually improving) those ranks, you need to make sure Google users are actually clicking through to your site when it’s served to them.

A high clickthrough rate (CTR) tells Google that your links deliver on user expectations. And if those users stay on your site for any length of time once you’ve got them there, that looks even better. CTRs like that are always accomplished via compelling, fresh, relevant content that accurately delivers the answers your visitors come to your site looking for.

All that said, it’s impossible to underestimate the importance of world-class content in SEO when it comes to making a massive success out of your website. Without it, it quite simply won’t happen.

Creating great content isn’t really enough on its own to put you at the top of the heap. The content in question must be truly exceptional, and you need a steady ongoing stream of it to meet your goals. WriterAccess connects you with world-class writers and content creators who can help you scale your content efforts affordably without sacrificing a thing when it comes to quality.

SEO Case Studies and Success Stories

So, what is SEO like when it’s working out well for a particular company or brand? Take a look at the following case studies and optimization success stories for a little inspiration.

Vimeo

Video giant Vimeo had a long list of the best SEO practices to incorporate into their strategy at the start of their SEO journey, including hard-to-scale tasks like sitemap submission and the addition of structured data. But in 2022, they rocked their goals and boosted user experience by implementing Google’s recommended practices.

ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter has always been famous for distributing job postings from companies and organizations of all sizes. However, they also adopted a structured data approach to their SEO strategy in 2012. When Google launched a job-focused search function based on structured data in 2017, ZipRecruiter reaped the benefits thanks to their preparedness.

Eventbrite

Event coordination brand Eventbrite increased its incoming traffic by 100 percent thanks to the smart use of structured data and other SEO-friendly best practices. After seeing an uptick in the number of events that showed up in Google Search, Eventbrite reinvested in its previous efforts to the tune of amazing results.

SEO Trends and Future Predictions

The internet, search engine algorithms and everything else involving SEO can evolve pretty quickly, especially these days. That’s why smart marketers strive to stay ahead of the game by keeping up with SEO trends. Some current emerging trends to watch include the following:

• Artificial intelligence is already impacting SEO in multiple ways and will continue to do so as tech evolves. You’ll see an increased number of tools and interfaces that leverage AI to merge content creation, SEO, and more.
• Voice search is another on-trend development that’s already huge but will become even more important in the future. Creating content with long-tail key phrases and natural language in mind can help give brands a valuable SEO edge.
• Machine learning tech means SEO tools and search interfaces are getting smarter, making content quality, accessibility, and authority even more important than they already are.

And, of course, some of the things that go into great SEO will continue to be as essential as they are now. Examples include writing for people instead of bots, ensuring sites are mobile-friendly, and prioritizing helpful authority content.

What Google Thinks of AI Content

In August of 2022, Google rolled out what’s now famously known as its helpful content update. This was part of the search giant’s ongoing effort to ensure its users see as much genuinely helpful, “people first” content as possible when they perform their searches. And content creators that focused on creating content in line with the update were rewarded.

Before the update rolled out, people speculated that AI-created content wouldn’t meet the criteria necessary to designate it as helpful content. However, that really didn’t happen. A subsequent spam elimination-focused update in October of 2022 did see some websites that relied exceptionally heavily on AI content slightly affected, but that’s about it.

So, does Google dislike or condemn AI-created content? Not on principle. But as with any other type of content, it’s essential to make sure any AI-enhanced material is held to the same high standard as everything else you put out there.

Bing and ChatGPT

It’s also worth noting that there are plans to launch an upcoming version of Bing that leverages the popular chatbot platform ChatGPT to enhance its search capabilities. The goal behind combining Bing and ChatGPT in this way is to help make Bing more competitive with Google.

Those interested should watch for this new version of Bing to hit the search engine scene in March. In the meantime, here are some considerations to keep in mind.

• At present, Bing holds about 9 percent of the search engine market share. However, if its new ChatGPT-enhanced incarnation is a success, that could change drastically.
• Forward-thinking digital marketers may want to brush up on Bing SEO best practices in the meantime in order to prepare.
• It’s worth learning the ropes on ChatGPT, as well, to get a better read on how the technology may work with Bing, as well as where it might fit into future developments.

For those not in the know, ChatGPT is a chatbot interface that users can interact with on a conversational basis. The interaction is similar in nature to what users may have experienced with customer service bots. However, ChatGPT also possesses the ability to learn and adapt over time, making it a very promising tool digital marketers may want to master now.

Other Potential Ways AI Intersects with Content in SEO

Although many digital marketers may not quite think of it that way, AI is already a pretty big part of how creators generate content and ensure it’s effective in every way that it should be. Common examples include the following:

• Using keyword research tools to help identify, select, and track the best options for your SEO strategy
• Tracking, checking and assessing SEO elements like backlink catalogs, SERP rankings, and more
• Proofreading and spellchecking content to ensure it reads perfectly before publishing it
• Auditing websites for key factors like functionality, speed, mobile responsiveness, and general SEO compliance

Much of today’s AI content creation software is also capable of not only generating original content from start to finish but automating the content creation process, as well. However, it’s generally not advisable from content in SEO standpoint to use these tools this way.

Both Google and its savvy, discriminating users want and expect content that leverages real, hands-on human experience to give it value, depth, and originality. Content that’s 100 percent AI-generated tends to lack these qualities.

That said, AI tools for generating content can make helpful aids when it comes to content creation. They can assist when it comes to fleshing out your own original ideas. But they’re really not viable substitutes for the type of original, thought-rich content only a human being is capable of creating at this juncture.

Content in SEO is all about quality over quantity, so it’s important to keep this in mind at all times – including when leveraging the power and convenience of AI.

BONUS: How to Create the Best SEO Content

Content has always been the key to high search engine rankings and a growing, highly engaged audience. 

But as search engines evolve and become increasingly efficient, the ability to produce SEO-friendly content becomes even more important. 

Here’s how to get it right.

1. Adopt a straightforward writing style

A simple, clean writing style that helps a reader get straight to the point of your content is best for SEO. So are short sentences, frequent paragraph breaks, and the ability to stay on topic from start to finish.

2. Include quality links

One great way to keep content informative while remaining 100 percent on-topic is to add links to additional content that can be helpful.

Create internal links to additional on-site content that can answer further questions a reader may have. Use outbound links to third-party authority sites to confirm the validity of statistics or facts you may have included.

3. Pay attention to your metadata

The meta titles and meta descriptions attached to your content ultimately determine how it will appear to searchers on a SERP, so it’s crucial that it be accurate. 

Make sure yours are concise but descriptive, and be sure to include your target keyword for even better optimization.

4. Use headings to organize your content

Both readers and search engines like content that’s organized and easy to skim. H1, H2, and H3 headings are very helpful in this regard. 

To help with SEO, make sure your title and subheadings are clear and unambiguous.

Include keywords and key phrases in your headings where possible to help your content match user search intent.

5. Use multimedia to fortify your content

Including images, videos, graphics, and other types of rich content helps immensely when it comes to SEO, as they help break up your content and keep it interesting for readers. 

However, keep in mind that search engines cannot “read” a video or an image, so add descriptive meta tags to multimedia content to help resolve this issue.

6. Know your SEO-friendly content types

Some content types are especially helpful for SEO, so any comprehensive content strategy makes good use of them. 

Remember, search engines are in the business of serving human users, so Google “likes” the same types of content readers do.

• Long-form guides help visitors better understand in-depth topics.
• Lists, both numbered and otherwise, are engaging and reader-friendly.
• Videos address topics in a visually exciting way.
• How-to guides teach users how to do things using a simple step-by-step approach.
• Graphics, like videos, add visual interest and are appearing increasingly often in search results.

If you want to take the next step, and leverage your strategy, take our SEO Maturity Assessment and identify where to focus efforts to evolve to the next stage on the maturity curve!

BONUS [2]: How to Use Social Media to Improve Your SEO

Like Google, social media has become a standard part of how digital-age people live their lives. 

Yes, they use it to socialize and communicate with others. But they use it to obtain information and evaluate potential purchase decisions, too, so your SEO strategy really needs to include it.

1. Make your content shareable

The easier it is for a website visitor or social media user to share your content, the more likely they are to do that. Add assets like social media share buttons and clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to your content to encourage sharing whenever possible.

2. Fill your feeds with quality content

These days, it’s quality over quantity all the way when it comes to SEO, so keep that in mind when filling your blogs and social media streams with content. 

Get to know your audience’s wants, needs, and crucial pain points. Then create top-shelf content to match.

Social media is especially helpful for getting more mileage out of your best material. Rework and refresh your content periodically before putting it back through your feeds to drive additional traffic.

3. Keep your profiles on-brand

Modern consumers typically scope a company out on social media before finalizing a purchase, so optimizing your profiles is crucial.

Make sure your tone, visual assets, and message are consistent across your social media, website, and any additional content you may post to platforms like Medium or Quora. 

This helps ensure your audience can easily find you via Google.

4. Use social media to boost engagement

How much engagement your content attracts is a crucial factor in SEO. 

Social media is terrific for raising overall engagement levels and showing Google that your brand is out there making waves.

So create posts that directly encourage followers to engage with you, both on social media and on your website. Share social media-friendly interactive content (like personality quizzes) to interest users in your brand. Use your feeds to start and participate in active conversations.

All of this helps support strong social media signals that, in turn, tell Google to assign high rankings to your site.

SEO FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

How to do SEO for beginners?

Start with keyword research, optimize your website structure and content, create quality backlinks, and monitor your performance with analytics tools.

How exactly does SEO work?

SEO involves optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) through factors like keywords, backlinks, and user experience.

How much does Google SEO cost?

Google SEO costs can vary widely depending on factors like the competitiveness of keywords, the size of your website, and whether you handle it in-house or hire an agency. It can range from free if you do it yourself to thousands of dollars per month for professional services.

How do I get into SEO?

Start by learning the basics through online resources, courses, and experimenting with your own website. Gain practical experience through internships, freelance projects, or working in a digital marketing agency.

Who created SEO?

SEO evolved with contributions from various individuals and organizations. It’s not attributed to a single creator.

How to improve SEO?

Continuously optimize your website for relevant keywords, improve site speed and user experience, create high-quality content, build authoritative backlinks, and stay updated with SEO trends and algorithms.

Do SEO professionals make money?

Yes, SEO professionals can make a good income, especially those with expertise and experience. In the United States, entry-level SEO specialists might earn around $40,000 to $60,000 per year, while senior SEO managers or consultants can earn upwards of $100,000 annually.

How to become an SEO expert?

Master the fundamentals of SEO, gain hands-on experience through practical projects, stay updated with industry news and trends, earn relevant certifications, and continuously refine your skills through experimentation and learning.

Is SEO really worth it?

Yes, SEO is worth it as it helps increase organic traffic, improve brand visibility, and generate leads and sales over the long term. Becoming an SEO expert remains crucial in an AI-integrated world as human insight and strategy are still pivotal for effective optimization.

Do small businesses need SEO?

Yes, small businesses can benefit greatly from SEO as it helps them compete with larger competitors, reach their target audience, and attract organic traffic without relying solely on paid advertising.

Wrap Up

So now that you’ve read our complete SEO guide, you’re ready to optimize your site and reach the top results on Google!

Our goal here has been to explain the main SEO concepts and the factors that will have the strongest influence on your SERP position.

Ready to take your content in an SEO campaign to the next level?

Start assembling an absolute dream team of talented content creators when you sign up for a free trial at WriterAccess by Rock Content today! Build your brand and improve your SERP rankings with content that really sparkles.

The post What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The Complete Guide to Reach Top Google Results appeared first on Rock Content.

One of the biggest challenges for SEO professionals worldwide is not only to create content that rank or generate an increase in traffic, but to be able to present the impacts of your strategy with good reports.

And of course, a good report can not only present the current situation and the obtained results, but should provide insights to define the next steps.

Here you will see how to make good SEO reports, understand what the main metrics we need to present are, how to do performance analysis and how to set priorities for the following months.

What is an SEO report?

An SEO report is a document where you organize the performance and the current moment in which your strategy finds itself, highlighting the positives, points of attention and the following steps for the strategy to obtain real results.

The big problem for many companies is to make superficial SEO reports, which do not generate insights and often point to indicators that are not relevant to the business

The main objective of a report is to understand the most relevant metrics and monitor their performance.

Let’s look at an example. Would you say that the SEO strategy below is successful?

Let’s see: a considerable traffic of more than 1,7 million hits in just one month and more than 18 thousand words indexed among the top 3 positions!

This is definitely a successful strategy, right?

It depends.

Let’s assume that we analyzed this strategy further and found the following numbers:

• Leads generated via organic traffic: 0
• Customers acquired via organic traffic: 0

The hard truth for many SEOs (myself included) is that traffic and the number of indexed keywords are… vanity metrics!

In order to identify which metrics are most relevant to an SEO strategy, it is necessary to have a very well-defined little thing. Learn more about it below.

First of all: Understand your Goals with your SEO Strategy

No, the focus of any SEO strategy is not to rank for as many keywords as possible and generate a truckload of traffic.

As we saw in the example, a company can generate one million sessions a day and still not sell anything to that traffic.

Suppose I create a great strategy for ranking for the following keyword with Rock Content’s blog:

Wow! 2,2 million searches per month!

But would it make sense for our strategy? Searching for “dog” on Google, after downloading a Marketing ebook and finally hiring a content strategy is the natural path that no one in human history will ever follow.

I know this is a very radical example, but often our strategies are based on words like that. And that is why, in order to define our metrics, we have to have very well-defined goals.

Let’s look at some examples.

Do you want to increase sales?

What are good metrics for that goal?

• Organic leads
• Branded Keywords (words directly related to the brand, for example, “Rock Content”)
• Organic sales

Your strategy may not need a bunch of traffic to achieve these goals.

Do you want to boost your brand awareness?

What if your goal was to improve the perception of your brand in the market?

• Number of indexed keywords (focused on the persona)
• Organic traffic (of quality)
• Branded keywords

Do you want to educate the market?

If the goals were to educate the market, which metrics would be good indicators?

• Keywords (related to the market)
• Organic traffic
• Content performance (Time on Page/Pages per Visit/Bounce Rate)

The first step for you is to be able to analyze your current situation with quality. Then, to understand exactly where you want to go with your strategy.

If you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never know when you got there.

5 SEO Reports You Should Be Doing

Now that we have clarified this starting point, we can begin our practical part. Let’s see how to make a good report.

To teach you how to do the analysis, we will focus on the points that are the main pillars of an SEO strategy.

The priorities, as we said, will vary according to your goals.

We will then see how to make an in-depth analysis that generates conclusions and tasks from the main points. They are:

• Traffic
• Content Performance
• Keyword analysis
• Blog Health
• Backlinks Profile

So let’s go ahead!

Important note: the purpose of the content is not to explain how you will organize your analysis. It doesn’t really matter if you’re going to use spreadsheets, slides or even Notepad.

The important thing is that you read this content and leave here knowing exactly what to analyze, how to analyze it and that your SEO reports really take your strategy to the next level.

1. Traffic

If traffic as a raw number can be a vanity metric, doing a thorough analysis of your traffic is far from an unimportant step.

Understanding your traffic is one of the most important factors for your strategy’s success. The problem is that our traffic analyzes are often extremely superficial.

We usually do the following:

I compare the organic traffic of my month in May with the previous month.

Wow! What an incredible number. We increased our traffic by 14%. Almost 430 thousand visits more than the previous month.

Therefore, we deduce that our SEO strategy is a success.

However, this analysis of the numbers is absolutely poor and superficial. Despite this growth, if we analyze the month of May more deeply, especially if we compare it with the numbers of May of the previous year, we will see that the growth was not the desired one.

An interesting analysis is that you understand what your annual growth is and the percentage of annual traffic that each month usually brings to your blog. This will give you a better perspective of your monthly performance.

Take, for example, a comparison from January to October in 2018 and 2017:

It is interesting to see how the years follow a growth pattern. January is usually a month with lower traffic, as well as July and December — which are seasonally weaker months.

Note, however, that in 2017, May was the best month of the first semester, and October was much higher than that.

In 2018, our month of October grew much less compared to May, which shows that this year we were unable to maintain the growth we had in previous years.

The blog grew little in the second half of 2018. This shows that our analyzes cannot be limited to the month vs. month and percentage of growth between them.

Important points to analyze

As we’ve seen, traffic alone doesn’t mean much. Neither do the green numbers in Analytics from one month to the next.

It is essential to know what are the most important metrics and results to monitor according to our goals.

As an example, I will point out three interesting indicators that I like to follow here at Rock and that you can apply as well. Of course, you can add other metrics and analyzes focused on your specific situation.

I. Expected growth

As in the previous example, an important indicator that we follow here is the expected growth for the year.

In line with the growth of previous years, we make a projection and consider the traffic that each month usually represents annually.

From that, we have a growth projection.

That way, we can see that the growth in the second half was not satisfactory, not because there was no increase month by month, but because the growth was low based on the performance potential of those months.

As I have used this example before, I am not going to spend too much time talking about expected traffic. Let’s go to the next KPI.

II. Traffic quality

As we said, traffic alone is a vanity metric.

It’s no use having a liquor store and the traffic on my site is mostly children and teenagers.

Therefore, there are some data and metrics that will help to indicate whether the traffic you receive is exactly composed of the visitors you want.

Conversions

The first and most important factor is conversions. They are the primary indicator of whether visitors to your blog are really the persona you want to attract.

For this, it is essential that you have conversion points on the website and on your blog, leading your visitor through the sales funnel.

After all, your ultimate goal is to convert them into a customer and/or promoter.

This analysis helps to understand visitors and the failures at each stage of the funnel. You often generate a lot of conversion at the top of the funnel, but that still doesn’t guarantee that it’s the visitors you want if they don’t follow the buyer’s journey.

You can track these conversions through automation tools like Hubspot, Mautic, Mailchimp and RD Station.

Or you can create goals and conversions within Google Analytics to track the quality of your traffic and the results generated by your visits.

It is important to always remember to segment the traffic in “Organic Traffic”, after all, we want to do an analysis of the traffic that comes from Google.

Pages per session, average session duration and bounce rate

These are three other very important traffic indicators that help to identify the quality of visitors and their content.

If the audience you are attracting consumes more and more pages from your site, stays on your content for a long time with each visit and usually interacts with your blog, it is a sign that you are attracting the right people.

Although it is not as efficient an analysis as a conversion analysis, it helps to demonstrate that this can often indicate a failure of our conversion points, rather than the quality of your traffic.

Most visited pages

The most visited pages are an important factor for you to understand the value of your pages and the performance of your blog as a whole.

For example, some of our content here at Rock has enormous value for us because it brings a high volume of traffic. Especially when that traffic has great potential to go through our sales funnel.

A good example is our Digital Marketing post in Brazil:

That content alone generated more than 25,000 visits on our blog. And it is a gateway for many clients here at Rock.

Then, tracking the performance of your pages is essential to understand your traffic as a whole and, especially, to track traffic drops and growth.

The standard analysis when we want to verify the pages of our website/blog is to select the month (or quarter or week) and compare it with the previous month.

This is a necessary analysis and should really be done constantly. However, it can hide some precious information.

A good tip is to reverse this search:

This is because the selected month is what Analytics will use as the basis for the comparison, that is, it will show the pages with the most access for the initially chosen month.

See the difference of analysis when the starting point was October (in Portuguese):

And when the starting point was August (I changed September to August because the results had a more significant change for this example):

When you use the previous month as a starting point, it will be easier to identify pages that performed very well and are not performing now.

A good example of this was when we had an indexing problem with our Content Marketing page.

Despite being one of the most important content on the blog (after all, it is our core business) it is not the content that receives a huge amount of traffic. As such, it is not usually among our top 10 most visited content.

When I made this inversion between months, I realized that the post Content Marketing was in the top 20 in the first weeks of December. However, in the final weeks, it had zero access.

Perhaps without this inversion, I would not have noticed, since we were still in first place on Google (but with another page), and normally it is not among the most accessed, calling attention to the drop in traffic.

This little story just demonstrates the importance of this investment and to keep looking for more information with the data we have.

Identifying reasons for declines or growth

More important than finding declines or growth, is to understand why a page lost or gained traffic.

Here are some analysis suggestions that can, and often are, the reasons for traffic variations:

• Gain/loss of positions in the SERPs.
• Gain/loss of SERP features, like Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, Carousel.
• Organic page CTR has dropped (refers to the percentage of clicks that SERP’s organic results receive. Often, Google places a knowledge graph or panel, and this increases the number of ads on the page, affecting the number of clicks on organic results). One tool that helps you see the CTR of a specific results page is Moz’s Keyword Explorer.
• Keyword seasonality, as some keywords have a huge traffic variation at certain times of the year, for example: turkey, Easter eggs and World Cup.
• CTR (Content Performance), the number of clicks on a specific page fell in the SERPs.
  
  

Traffic Summary

Current situation:

• Growth consistent or not with the expected for that period
• Traffic on the most important content
• Conversion performance and traffic quality

Opportunities (Next Steps):

• Identify opportunities from declines and gains
• Content that lost positions
• SERP features available
• Seasonality, location, etc
• A good traffic analysis is essential to help in the analysis of content and keywords

2. Content analysis

A good SEO analysis needs to go through the contents of your blog.

First of all, you need to identify which posts are the most important for your website/company.

The most common thought is that the pages that generate the most traffic are the most important for a website. And this is not necessarily a reality. As we said, traffic can often be a metric of vanity.

As an example, check out the pages I really consider the most important at Rock (in Portuguese):

There are several pages that generate much more traffic than the ones highlighted, but when we think about our market and the services that Rock offers, these are the pages that educate and lead our potential customers through our funnel.

Therefore, the main pages are not the ones that generate the most visits, but those that have the greatest business potential. Or a balance between the two, like the ones above.

When identifying these main pages, we need to audit these pieces of content. What is quality content? How do I evaluate to see if my content really deserves to be on top of Google?

We’ll look at some key indicators to identify that quality, factors that tell Google whether or not content has quality.

I. User intent

The first assessment that your content needs to receive is: does it really answer the user’s search intent?

For this, it is essential to analyze the results that Google considers most relevant and the topics they address.

The following metrics are also indicators that this intention is being answered or not.

II. Time spent on page

The sign that this metric indicates is somewhat obvious, after all, the longer visitors stay on the page, the higher the quality indicator of the page.

After all, if the content was uninteresting, hardly anyone would read it until the end.

An important relationship when analyzing this metric is to make a relationship between time and content size. And also compare it to other pages of a similar size.

A page with a piece of content of 500 words that has 1 minute of stay can be considered a good page. However, if it had 10,000 words and the same time, it would probably be a worrying indicator.

Evaluating this metric alone, however, is not enough. Like the next ones, these Google Analytics metrics are related to each other and should be evaluated together.

III. Bounce rate

The bounce rate represents the percentage of people who visited your page and left without any interaction with it.

It is an extremely relevant sign, after all, if people interact with your content (comment, click on a link or CTA, fill out a form) it is a sign that they are enjoying what they are seeing.

In addition, if a visitor accesses your content and returns to the results page, it is a strong indicator that your content does not answer the intention of a specific search.

IV. Pages per visit

Another important metric that can be tracked by Google Analytics and that is directly related to the bounce rate, is the number of pages that the user accesses on each visit to your site.

If every visitor arrives and leaves the same content, it can send a negative signal, showing that your content is not engaging enough and that your CTAs are not convincing at all.

This is directly linked to the quality of content.

Therefore, the higher the number of pages accessed by the user, the better the quality signal that content transmits.

V. CTR

The title is undoubtedly one of the main elements of a piece of content. When done well, it attracts clicks and several visitors to your site.

However, a bad title is enough for an extremely high-quality content to never be clicked.

That is why the click-through rate (CTR) is one of the most important metrics to be followed. It demonstrates the quality of content and, in particular, of its titles.

You can track the CTR of your pages through Google Search Console, in the following tab:

You can select a specific page and then view your CTR for your searches.

From there you can find out which titles and meta descriptions need to be optimized and track and compare performances.

VI. User behavior

The user experience within the content is not a specific metric, but it is certainly a source of great insights.

Understanding what has attracted more clicks, at which part of the text people tend to stop reading, which parts attract more attention, etc., helps to understand not only the quality of the content as a whole but also of specific moments.

An excellent tool to monitor visitor behavior within your page is Hotjar, which makes heat maps, records visits on your website, shows where people usually leave the post, among other things.

A good SEO audit analyzes the quality of the content, after all, the secret of SEO is that you are the best answer that Google can present to a user.

These metrics and analyses are a way to make sure you’re reaching that level. Bad content = bad SEO.

Summary of Content Analysis

Current situation:

Check the performance of the contents:

• Conversions
• Length of stay
• Bounce Rate
• CTR
• User behavior

Opportunities (Next Steps):

• Identify opportunities for improvement
• Content update (time on page)
• Improve titles (CTR)
• Make good CTAs and internal links (Bounce Rate/Conversion/Pages per visit)

3. Keyword analysis

Another great pillar of SEO strategies are the terms that you want to be the answer to when someone performs that search.

A good SEO strategy goes through a good definition of those keywords, and a quality SEO report provides an analysis of those words.

Some useful tools to help at that time:

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• Answer the Public
• Ubersuggest
• Keyword Explorer
• Keyword Planner
  
  

I. Daily monitoring

Any website/blog has its main keywords, as we have already exemplified that when we talked about the most important pages of a website.

In addition to tracking and analyzing traffic on these pages, it is essential to monitor your positions daily.

The faster you identify declines, the faster you can react and recover those positions, preventing an even greater drop in traffic.

In tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs you can select your main keywords and do this daily monitoring:

This example shows some of the most relevant terms for the Rock Content Community, seen through SEMrush’s “Keyword Tracking” tool.

II. Opportunities for topic clusters

In addition to tracking the keywords that we have already ranked, while doing a good SEO report it is important to find some opportunities that we are not yet taking advantage of.

This is when you will discover gaps and opportunities to generate more traffic.

SEMrush has an excellent tool for finding long tail keywords, the Keyword Magic Tool. From a keyword like “Digital Marketing”, it presents several opportunities for satellite posts and words never used:

Another one that gives you really cool insights is Answer the Public:

That works as a head tail followed by questions, prepositions, conjunctions etc.

III. Competition Analysis

You can find the best keyword opportunities by analyzing your competitors.

• You prevent them from having content that you don’t have.
• You discover new words for generating traffic on your blog.

You can use some of the suggested tools to analyze your competitor’s domain and see what the main keywords are for them, like this example using SEMrush:

A feature that I really like about these tools is being able to segment which words you want to see:

• Words you and the competitor have in common.
• Words they have that you don’t.

The second option is very important, as it helps you find gaps and prevent competitors from having an advantage over you.

The circle in the image shows in SEMrush how to select the words I want between the two domains. The selected part would show me only the words that Neil Patel has and I don’t, for example.

IV. Opportunities for updates

You may be thinking that updating opportunities should be in content analysis.

And you are not wrong!

However, in our analysis of keywords, there is an excellent way to find content that can be updated and generate incredible results.

As an example, I will use SEMrush again, but other keyword tools may also have this functionality. The idea here is to identify the keywords you rank between the sixth and twentieth position:

The positions that are between sixth and twentieth are the contents with the highest potential for rising in the SERPs, since they already rank relatively well and can improve a lot with an update.

Another way to identify opportunities for updating is daily monitoring. If you’ve lost positions or seen that your competitors have updated and improved theirs, it’s time to optimize too.

Updates are essential to attack and defend positions.

Keyword Summary

• Define the main keywords for the strategy (monitor their positions and create Topic Clusters to strengthen them).
• Identify attack opportunities (competition analysis).
• Find updates that can generate great results.
• Define when to attack and when to defend.
  
  

4. Blog Health

You can have excellent content, rank for many keywords, and have constant traffic, but all of that can be at risk due to the blog’s health.

Or health may be the reason you haven’t yet taken off at SERPs.

The website’s health audit is essential because it:

• Reveals errors on your site that you didn’t notice.
• Identifies broken links and pages.
• Helps to optimize the performance of your website.

By doing an audit, you will find a huge range of data and one of the most important steps is to understand what the priorities are:

• Identify the main errors and correct them.
• Optimize website speed.
• Avoid sudden losses of important rankings.
• A blog with bad health will not rank even with a good strategy.
  
  

I. How to do an audit

It is impossible to audit your site without good tools. Some of them are:

• Screaming Frog
• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• GTMetrix (focused on page speed)
• Pagespeed Insights (ditto)

Among the 3 tools suggested for the complete audit, the only one that has a free version is Screaming Frog. However, of course, the version is limited and only crawls 500 URLs from your site.

Ahrefs also offers a free trial for 7 days.

These tools work by simulating Google’s crawlers crawling your website and, thus, present the possible errors that could harm your website in the eyes of the search engine.

See this example on Screaming Frog:

It analyzes the most diverse URLs on the site and presents what the bots read in each of them:

Thus, it points out errors and analysis in specific URLs and in the domain as a whole. In addition, it is possible to filter the errors and status you want to view.

Another excellent feature of tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush is that they present which of the errors identified in an audit you need to prioritize.

See this SEMrush audit example:

Note that the errors are divided according to their severity. And you can see the error lists and where they are located on the website.

In some situations you may be experiencing errors that you will not be able to correct:

In this case, it is best to focus on important errors that are hurting your blog/website and that you can easily resolve.

So, at this point in the audit it is important to:

• Prioritize the most important errors that can harm the site.
• Solve those mistakes that you can work on without depending on anyone else.
• It is not necessary to fix all errors overnight. Make strategic corrections.
• Not all errors need to be corrected.

You may be wondering why not all errors need to be corrected. The truth is that not all the errors pointed out are necessarily harmful.

Some are just good practices to avoid, for example:

Some pages on your site may have a low quantity of words, with less than 300 words, and still provide all the necessary information.

This is not very common, but it does happen.

In this case, the ideal would be to check the pages and, if necessary, update them.

II. Site speed

One of the main points in the health of a website is the load speed. I don’t know about you, but if a site takes more than 5 seconds to load my reaction is full anger.

That’s why Google attaches so much importance to this metric. However, it works a little differently than people often imagine.

The faster my website the better I will rank?

Not necessarily. The site loading very fast is not necessarily what will make you gain positions.

Speed ​​is more related to punishment. It won’t boost your positions on the SERPs, but it will prevent you from losing rank. Speed ​​is a prerequisite for being at the top.

Google itself already offers a very useful tool to optimize this metric, Pagespeed Insights:

Pagespeed Insights evaluates your site’s code and pinpoints all the factors that are likely to be hindering the performance of your pages.

Ideally, you should not use your site’s home for this assessment, but rather the pages that are most important to your business and that need to rank for specific searches on Google.

Pagespeed Insights does not show the exact loading speed of the site, so I suggest another tool—also excellent—that in addition to showing the improvements, presents the loading time:

Health Summary

Current moment

• Find the main mistakes on the blog and make an overall health assessment

Next steps (insights)

1. Create an error correction goal (month/quarter)
2. Set priorities
3. Find opportunities

• Simple errors that generate great impact
• Ex: Plugin to compress images

5. Backlinks profile

It is no secret that the two main ranking factors on Google are: the quality of your content and your backlink profile.

Therefore, there is no good SEO report that does not track your profile. Some tools that can be used:

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs (better and more complete with regard to backlinks)
• Majestic
• Link Explorer

The first step in understanding the quality of your backlinks is to check their health. It will be a process similar to the site audit in the previous topic.

I. Backlinks health

The MozBar tool, which is an extension for the browser, can help you with a simple metric, but it is a good indicator:

The Spam Score shows the number of backlinks that give Google a bad image. Like harmful links or links that clearly try to manipulate the search engine.

For example, your car repair shop receives backlinks in the footer of an Online Poker site.

They measure according to the profile of your links and website links that have been punished or banned from Google.

According to Moz itself, a Spam Score of up to 30% is considered low.

Other tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush show the health of your links and their quality:

In this screenshot, we can see the number of backlinks received and the number of domains, but in this first moment we will focus on the “Toxic Score”.

Only 1% of links are considered harmful. Which is an excellent number and does not demand any kind of concern.

The problem is when your profile has a huge number of links considered toxic:

According to Google, you don’t have to worry so much about harmful links, because the search engine already identifies harmful links and ignores them.

There is some discussion with SEOs around the world about disavowing links (disabling links), some believe it is worthwhile, others do not.

My personal recommendation is that you check where these backlinks come from, if they are clearly harmful and spam domains, you can disable these links.

Google Search Console has a feature for this:

The most important thing when checking the health of your backlinks profile is to focus on getting more good quality backlinks for your blog, increasing the proportion of green links.

II. Quality of backlinks profile

With health assessed, it’s time to see if the amount of backlinks you receive is really of quality.

In addition, you need to keep track of the links you are losing or gaining.

Two of the main numbers are: the number of backlinks received and the number of domains.

That’s because it is much better to receive 5 links from two different good domains than 10 links from a single domain.

After all, the variety of domains shows Google that many different companies trust yours.

III. Quality links

It is also essential to look at what domains are linking to you in order to assess their quality. The characteristics of a good backlink are:

• Domains with good authority.
• Domains that are part of the same market as you (there is no point in receiving a link from an online poker site if you sell dog food).
• Links made in a natural way.
• Direct anchor text, or variation or similar to the main keyword (never “click here”).
• Link position on the page (the closer to the top, the better).
• New (unpublished) domains.

These tools also make it possible to see the anchor texts that receive the most links.

It also helps us understand if our link strategy is really bringing links to the right pages and anchors.

IV. Types of links

Another important feature is to see the types of backlinks we are receiving:

Receiving more follow links is the ideal scenario, but it is very important that you receive nofollow links as well. We generally tend to find this type of link bad, but they have several benefits:

• You receive traffic in the same way: they are normal links, receive traffic and clicks in the same way.
• Pass relevance: even if the link does not pass relevance like normal links, Google knows that the site is making a link to you.
• Social signals: links on social networks are nofollow and still have authority showing how the brand has public engagement.
• Increases brand awareness.
• Links generate more links: the more domains link to you, the greater the chances that others will also do it.
• More natural backlinks profile: if you only receive follow links, you can show an image of a forced and manipulated profile.

While considering these benefits, it is best that the priority of your strategy is to acquire normal links.

V. Competitor links

There’s nothing better to optimize your backlink profile than discovering the domains that link to your competitor and don’t link to you.

You solve two problems at once: first, you get links from new domains, second, you take a competitive advantage that your client had over you.

The screen below shows this functionality in SEMrush, highlighting the exclusive links for the compared domains.

In addition, you have the ability of viewing not only the domain as a whole but specific pages and blog posts:

This analysis can present the best backlink opportunities for the strategy in the following month.

Another advantage is that you can see exactly where this link comes from (from a guest post, natural link, lists, etc.), facilitating a partnership proposal.

Backlinks Summary

Current moment:

• Backlinks profile (link quality, domain quality, quality of anchor texts)
• Pages and anchors that need more links

Next steps (insights)

• Get backlinks that my competitors have and I don’t
• Approach potential partners
• Apply new Link Building strategies
• Prospect partners that my competitors don’t have

Wrap Up

We’ve reached the end! And now, after all you’ve seen, you know what it takes to make SEO reports that generates insights:

• Understand the quality of your traffic and identify opportunities to increase traffic that bring real results.
• Follow the ranking of your top keywords and find new opportunities.
• Make sure that the content performs and generates good results.
• Monitor and take care of the site’s health.
• Understand and optimize the backlinks profile.

I hope these tips will help you create a report that will prove the results you have reached and show your strategy’s value. Furthermore, and mainly, may your reports generate real insights so your strategy never stops evolving and your SEO is continuously optimized.

The post SEO Reports: How to Make a Report that Generates Insights and Results appeared first on Rock Content.

When we think of online stores, these words have a great impact on the optimization of product and category pages.

If your business is an eCommerce, there are some peculiarities and some different ways to find the best keywords to use in your domain.

Generally, keyword guides focus on “informational” searches. In other words, those are searches that answer questions from the reader, such as “what is” and “how to”.

These keywords have an important role to play in eCommerce strategies, especially for brands that invest in content creation and blogs.

However, “transactional” searches are the most common for eCommerces, because they focus on the purchase of products or any other type of transaction.

Therefore, an eCommerce keyword research will be built around words related to products.

Before learning how to find them, we’ll look at some important tips to help you discover and invest in the right keywords.

Keyword Volume: Deliver What They Want

It is impossible to do a keyword search without considering the volume of searches.

This is usually the first thing that someone looks for when defining the terms to use on a website.

After all, it could not be any other way. 

What is the point of choosing a term that has a purchase intention, very high relevance, and low competition if no one is looking for it?

That is why the search volume is important. 

However, remember that the volume varies from market to market, word to word, product to product.

In some markets, you will find searches with a monthly volume of more than 100K. In others, you will find a maximum of 1K searches.

Understand your market well, and use terms from your own niche as a comparison.

The search volume is very important, but it is crucial not to get too attached to it.

Keyword Difficulty: the Importance of Being Realistic

Another important tip for finding keywords for your eCommerce is to know how to pick your battles.

We often base our words only on the volume of searches. After all, we want to rank for the most searched words in the market.

However, this leads us to invest a lot of effort into searches that will not achieve good results. 

It is very important that you invest in keywords that have a realistic chance to rank.

SEMrush (and any other good keyword tool) has a metric called Keyword Difficulty.

As you can see, the keyword “bookshelf” has a difficulty of 88%, which is a high difficulty.

In this case, we can search among the variations, long-tail keywords and related words for options that have less difficulty and competition.

It is important to note that you should not feel stuck to those values, as they can vary from market to market. 

However, they are an aid in the choice of words.

Always check which pages are ranking for that keyword. If you notice that there are sites with the same or just slightly greater authority than yours, it is worth investing in those keywords.

Therefore, it is important to know how to pick your battles.

Imagine that you own a computer dealer. Definitely, the first word to invest in would not be “laptops”.

Simply look at the competition that you would have in the SERPs!

Keyword Intent: It’s About What They Want to Find

SEO is not about what people are looking for, but about what they want to find.

Knowing the results volume and what people are looking for is important, but the main thing is to understand the intention they have with each search.

Many of the keywords we find have informational intentions, for example, “how to put a puzzle together”. These searches are interesting for blog and explanatory pages, but not for commercial pages.

So imagine that your online store sells puzzles. 

You will soon want to rank for the word “puzzle” — after all, there are more than 450K monthly searches.

However, it is a search without a definite intention.

The SERP itself switches between online games, stores, Wikipedia and others.

Now, see the highlighted search below: 1000 piece puzzles.

The person most likely wants to buy a 1000-piece puzzle, since even the size is detailed. The most interesting thing is that the difficulty of this keyword is much lower.

Even though the search volume is also much lower, this is a more valuable keyword for a business.

You can still find more detailed longtail keywords with commercial intent and less competition:

Therefore, paying attention to the search intent will help you pick the best battles.

Ecommerce Keyword Research: How to Select Good Keywords?

Now that we know what to look for when selecting our keywords, it’s time to learn how to find them step by step.

1. Using Amazon Suggest

Regardless of the market in which you work, most likely Amazon is your competitor. 

It is difficult to think of anything that you will not find there.

The positive side is that we can explore the largest marketplace in the world to help us find good keywords for our business.

We are already used to Google Suggest to find keywords for our site, right? The idea with Amazon Suggest is pretty much the same.

However, at Amazon, you will already be looking for keywords related to products that are optimized to attract and guide buyers. 

This makes Amazon Suggest a more optimized choice than Google for eCommerce.

Let’s go through it step by step.

When you perform a search on Amazon, as well as Google, the page will display a series of suggestions based on the keyword you searched for.

Here, we can see several options for long-tail keywords suggested by Amazon. 

They are usually relevant words and reveal an intention to buy since they are based on popular searches and products.

Long-tail keywords have a higher conversion potential and generally have less competition than broader terms that generate more traffic.

You can repeat the same process with the other main keywords from your site.

Amazon categories

In addition to using Amazon Suggest, you can utilize their categories and organization as a reference.

A very common mistake with online stores is to worry too much about the keywords on the product pages, and then neglect to organize them by categories.

Often the process is done according to the store owner’s personal preferences, which is bad.

Categories are also very important pages for converting customers and attracting traffic, especially when we think in more general terms.

Therefore, using the largest marketplace in the world and learning from their organization and the keywords they use for their categories, can have a big impact on your strategy.

The first step is to find the Amazon category that competes with your business.

If you can’t find an ideal category, you can search for your product and identify where it is located. 

Let’s see where a bookshelf fits:

The products are in the Home & Kitchen category, so we can visit it and see what keywords are used in this department’s organization.

Now you can go deeper and deeper into divisions and organizations to discover more details and keywords that they use.

See the variation of subcategories within the Furniture department. 

Thinking about the current context, let’s check out what they have for Home Office:

And we can go further. If we select Home Office Chairs, we will discover even richer keyword options:

All of these terms can be variations and different keywords for you to use for your products and organizing your website into categories that are sought after by your audience.

Boosting your searches through Amazon

In addition to manual searches on Amazon, as shown above, you can deepen these searches using a tool called Keyword Dominator.

This tool has search features for Google, YouTube and Amazon:

As a comparison, we will do the same search that we did directly on Amazon, but in the tool:

Note that we received more than 600 keyword suggestions, far more than we saw on Amazon Suggest.

That is why Keyword Dominator can assist you with rich suggestions with high variation.

2. Stealing your competitors’ top keywords

Here it is important to say that you can and MUST repeat the processes of the two previous topics on your competitors’ websites.

It is essential to observe what they are doing best, in order to optimize our website and surpass them — especially for SERPs where they appear in the top positions.

In addition to this manual research, you must deepen your comparison.

Surely, you know who your main competitors are, and that is where we’ll start.

For that, we will need to use a keyword tool. Today there are several quality products on the market for that. We will use SEMrush for the following examples.

We will continue to base the research on the keywords we used previously and analyze the following domain:

Now the goal is to identify which keywords your competitor is ranking for on Google. 

For that, we will go to the “Organic search” feature:

After clicking on “View details”, we will see the list of all the keywords that our competitor ranks for on Google:

You can repeat the same process with other competitors, remembering to observe the difficulty, volume and search intent.

SEMrush also allows you to find competitors that you didn’t even know you had. 

Usually, when we think of competition, we think of business competitors. However, SEMrush points out organic competitors, that is, competitors ranking for similar keywords. 

Thus, you increase the range of sites you can use to discover good terms for your own.

To do this, just click on the “Competitors” tab:

And then check out the extensive list of keyword competitors:

Going deeper into the competition analysis

In addition to the options given above, there is a very rich way of identifying new keywords for your site by analyzing your competitors.

Within the competitive analysis features, you will find “keyword gap”:

With this tool, you can select your domain and your competitors’ domains to compare them.

The goal here is to:

• Find keywords that your competitors have and you don’t.
• Find keywords you have, but your competitors rank better.

You can compare up to four domains simultaneously.

For this example, we will use only two domains.

After making the comparison, you will see a list with all the keywords from both domains. 

SEMrush itself already gives you the filter options, making it easier for you to find the best terms.

In this example, we selected only the “missing” filter to identify the words that our competitor has that we do not.

This is an excellent opportunity for you to identify gaps in your keyword strategy and find effective keywords to reach new people.

In addition to being a way for you to improve your business, you also take away a competitive advantage that your competitor had against you.

3. Discovering keywords on Wikipedia

If there is a site capable of answering almost any question we could have, Wikipedia is it.

And if your question is “what are the best keywords for my eCommerce”, your answer is also there!

Of course, for Wikipedia to have so much content on so many topics, it takes a lot of organization. 

Like any eCommerce, Wikipedia is also divided by keywords and categories for its various topics.

The first step is to search for a product or category name from your eCommerce. Let’s say you have a store that sells headphones.

Let’s look for that term and look for words, variations of terms and phrases that make sense for the products in your store:

In addition to finding different keywords, we have good suggestions for variations of terms to use on product pages.

It is also important to note that some of the highlighted terms may be important data that is useful to put in the product descriptions, increasing the chances of ranking for the keywords and bringing the most relevant information to the reader.

Also, be sure to look at the content box, where we can get great word ideas, especially with categories in mind.

Wrap Up: eCommerce Keyword Research Done Right

Finding the right keywords for your eCommerce website isn’t difficult as long as you keep our tips in mind.

Online stores definitely have their peculiarities, but now you know the tools to adapt searches to your business.

Still feel as though your eCommerce SEO is a little lacking? 

Then take our maturity assessment to help diagnose your current SEO strategy!

The post How to Increase your Profits by Performing eCommerce Keyword Research appeared first on Rock Content.

It would be nice if we just thought of a name and a page with a beautiful layout came up.

Better yet, if we wrote our first content and it soon appeared on the first page of Google.

But as things are not all roses, you need to work hard to get your blog to the front pages of Google.

There are two major keys to achieving this: quality content andgood SEO.

The great news is that in today’s post we will present a guide to one of the most valuable WordPress tools, the Yoast SEO plugin.

No matter what your goal is, whether it’s optimizing your personal blog, ranking your company well or improving a customer’s results, Yoast is the ideal SEO plugin to make your blog search engine friendly.

Today you will learn from the installation to the main features to optimize your page!

Check it out!

In today’s post you will learn:

Downloading and installing Yoast

Let’s start from the beginning.

If you just created your blog and still don’t know how to install the plugin, let’s show you how simple the task is.

If you already have Yoast installed on your WordPress site, feel free to proceed to the next chapter.

If you stayed, let’s go ahead!

Go to your WordPress Dashboard and find the Plugins option in the left column. Hover the cursor and you will see the “Add New” option.

By clicking on this option, it will take you to a page where you can browse the various plugins available, a kind of WordPress app store.

This section has four tabs: “Highlights”, “Popular”, “Recommended” and “Favorites”.

It’s possible you cannot find Yoast in these categories.

But don’t panic!

You will see that next to it there is a search function. That’s a relief!

All done! Now we have found Yoast SEO.

Just click on the “Install now” option. WordPress already does the whole process for you: download, install and ask you to activate the plugin.

To check if everything went well, you need to see an “SEO” option in your left sidebar at the dashboard, the same one where the plugins option is.

If it is there, it is because the plugin is ready to use!

All done! The easy part is now complete.

But that’s not what you came here for, is it?

In case you have never used the plugin before, the next step may seem a little more complicated, but with our help you will do very well.

Let’s go to one of the most fundamental moments to make good use of Yoast: the setting up.

We will not teach you how to set your website or blog, especially because the ideal configuration for one may not be good for the other.

But we will present all the options of Yoast for you to understand each one and be able to choose which fits best to you.

Importing configurations from other SEO plugins

Before we go through a step by step on how to configure your Yoast, let’s give a shortcut to those who already have an SEO plugin installed on their WordPress.

If this is your case, we will show how you can import the settings of your other plugin.

However, if you have never had another SEO tool, you can proceed to our step by step below, “Setting up Yoast SEO”.

Anyway, to save plenty of time, in case you already had another SEO plugin, you can import its configurations. To do that, just click on “Tools” at the same menu from the last image, at the left sidebar.

You will come across these options:

Now, select “Import and export” (as you can see by the description, it talks about importing from other SEO plugins). And then, click “Import from other SEO plugins”.

When you select this option, you will see that Yoast already gives you the option to download the settings for 4 specific plugins: HeadSpace2, All-in-One SEO, SEO by WooThemes and wpSEO.

If one of these is your old plugin, just select the option and click on import. It’s that simple!

As Yoast’s description you see above recommends, if you use a plugin different from these, you can check out the SEO data converter.

If you have already exported the settings from another plugin, just click on the import option, select the desired file, then click on the blue button! That’s all!

Setting up Yoast SEO

Well, if you don’t have any settings to import from other plugins, let’s start from scratch!

If you have imported the configuration from other plugins, maybe you should follow the step by step and check if everything is correct.

A little precaution doesn’t hurt anyone.

To begin, find the SEO option in your sidebar again and this time click on the “General” option.

That’s where we’ll start, by configuring your plugin’s global settings!

General settings

When we select this option, we go to this screen:

General

The “General” option is the first tab, and there is not much to do here.

If one day you need to restore Yoast’s initial settings, this is where you find this option, as we see in the image above.

You can also take the tour, a simple tutorial showing how to use the tool.

But if you really want to configure Yoast, let’s go ahead to the next tab: “Your Info”.

Your Info

In this section, you have the option to put your website’s name on Yoast. If you have an alternative name for your site, you can also put it here.

You can also tell Yoast if your website or blog is personal or from a company, which will be important for Google to incorporate in its Knowledge Graph (features that provides precise data about the terms searched by visitors, allowing for even more assertive Google results).

Here, you can also add other informations like the company logo, which can be relevant in Google’s Knowledge Graph.

Webmaster Tools

Now it’s time to check the Webmaster Tools. If you plan to use tools like Google Search Console, Alexa, Bing Webmaster Tools or Yandex, you can verify your site here.

Regardless of which tool you choose, the process is basically the same. Let’s use Google Search Console as an example, which is the most popular choice.

Open the Search Console dashboard and select “Manage property” then “Verify site” in the box for the site you want to link to Yoast. If you have not added the site to Search Console, you will need to complete this step first.

Security

Last but not least, we have the “Security” section.

If you are the owner of a website with only one author, you don’t have much to worry about right now and you don’t need to check the option.

But if your site has several authors who can post, add content and access the site, this session can be of great help!

When this option is unchecked, some more advanced sections of settings, such as redirects, for example, are visible to all blog authors. If you trust them and don’t worry about them messing with some settings on your blog, there is no need to select.

However, if you fear that someone, even by accident, might change some settings, it’s best to select the option to not have any kind of concern.

Titles and metadata

Let’s move on with our Yoast tutorial. We still have a lot of ground to cover, but in the end, you will be able to optimize your website or blog SEO with this plugin.

This option is in the sidebar under SEO and right after “General”.

This configuration is essential, because this is where you decide how your site will appear on the SERPs (search engine results pages).

See below how to configure this essential step for your search engine optimizations.

General

“General” is where you will define how your title will appear on the SERPs. For example “Site name | Contact us” or “Blog name – Contact us”.

It is important to remember that the sign you choose to make this separation in the title will appear in ALL posts on your blog.

You may also have noticed that there is an option to “Force rewrite titles”, so the Plugin automatically corrects an error that is relatively common in WordPress, with sites appearing with duplicate names.

In case the problem of duplicate titles persists, it is better to contact your developer so that they can tinker with the site code.

Homepage

What you see in this screenshot may not be exactly what will appear when you select the “Home page” tab.

The site we are using in this example has one page for the website’s home page and another for the blog page.

If this is how your site is and you want, for example, to edit the title or meta descriptions that appear in the SERPs, just click on “Edit the posts page directly” (to edit the blog) and make the desired changes.

Post types

Now we are in a new section: post types.

Titles and meta descriptions

To start, we will focus on two very important aspects for SEO and page CTR. Here you can create templates for your page titles and meta descriptions.

They can be different for each page. For example, how the two will appear for blog posts may differ from how they will appear on a website page.

If you already know Yoast, you know that inside each post you can edit the title and the meta tags, so you may wonder why this feature is here.

When you do not edit the meta tags in each post, WordPress automatically places the template you defined here.

For example, you can choose to display the title and the date:

%%title%% %%date%%

If you want the post category to appear, you can use:

%%title%% %%category%%

Yoast’s own website shows possible ways to create your template, as there are several variations. You can check it out through this link.

Important: if you leave the meta description area blank, search engines will add a part of your text. We advise you to always create meta descriptions.

Meta Robots

In this section we see a button where we can select two different options: “index” and “noindex”.

In most cases, be sure you leave the “index” option selected.

“Noindex” is the same as not letting search engines index a page, that is, it is the same as saying: “Google, I don’t want this page to appear as an answer to visitors’ searches”.

It is usually to avoid Google penalties, such as avoiding duplicate content.

Snippet date preview

This is an option that will largely depend on the type of content you have on a specific type of page.

For example, if you work with evergreen content, which never loses its value, it may be better to opt out. People can see the date on the SERPs and deduce that their post is out of date.

If your post is a list of the richest men in the world, for example, it is interesting to leave the date, after all it is a list that is constantly changing. Current content and news as well. As an example, if you want to see bids for a game, the date will show you whether it is the recent game or bids from a 2010 game.

Yoast SEO Meta Box

This option is for blogs that may have multiple authors and contributors. If you, as an administrator, prefer that they do not configure Yoast within specific blog pages, leaving this box checked will solve the problem.

If you change your mind eventually, no problem! Just go back and change the option in the box.

Taxonomies

This section is mainly for blogs or websites that have different categories or tags to organize the posts.

It works just like the titles and meta descriptions configuration, but they are exclusively for pages of a category or a specific tag.

Archive

If you have a blog with several pages and posts, having a good way of organizing them, whether by authors, subjects or date, can make the user’s experience easier.

However, creating these types of archives may not always be very good for search engines, because they may consider the contents as duplicates. And that is exactly what this tab is for!

That’s because from here you can tell search engines to index or not your archive pages.

Another very useful feature of this tab is to set your special pages, like the 404 Error page, for example.

You can turn it into something you want to appear there, preventing it from being just a usual not found page.

That way you may get the reader where you want to go.

Other

Finally, the “Other” section.

Here we can set some other features that are already directly explained by Yoast itself.

Social

Now we will return to the menu in the sidebar, again within “SEO”; now we will select the option “Social”.

You will come across this screen:

The first tab within “Social” is the one we see above: “Accounts”.

This session is very self-explanatory.

All you need to do here is to paste the URLs of your respective social media profiles.

This serves to notify search engines to associate these social networks to your website.

As you can see, we also have an individual tab for each social network. That way you can control how the shared content will display on each one.

In the option “Facebook”, selected in the example image, we see the option to add Open Graph data in the <head> section of your website, which will make it easier for Facebook to use an appropriate image, a title and a description when someone share some content of your website.

The Image URL option exists for you to place a default image for pages that do not contain any images at the sharing time.

Here you can also select an administrator for your fan page (if your site has one, of course) so that they can access Facebook Insights.

It is a great way to track the performance of your posts, with the number of likes and shares and how much traffic your site gets directly from your Facebook.

To access, just click on the option “Facebook Insights” and then register your website’s domain on Insights.

The other social networks have very similar setups, that’s why we focus on Facebook as our main example, after all it is the most popular social network in the world.

XML Sitemaps

At this point you have probably already memorized where our main menu is. We will select the option “XML Sitemaps”.

One of the best things about Yoast SEO is that it makes managing a sitemap an extremely simple task.

When you enable the XML sitemap function, Yoast auto-generates a sitemap and updates it when you add a new comment and notifies search engines when you add new content.

In the other tabs you will configure your sitemap. Check the tabs and if you see something you don’t want on the sitemap, just uncheck it and you’re done.

You can also delete specific posts from your sitemap, just put the post identification number (ID) in the deleted posts section.

Advanced

Now we are going to dissect another of the options in our side menu, “Advanced”.

Breadcrumbs

This section can be a little complex, so much that Yoast itself has an article explaining what to do with it.

But before that, let’s explain what breadcrumbs are.

When you enable breadcrumbs on your site, visitors will see links at the top of the page that show the path to reach that page. For example: Site name > Blog > Post title.

Breadcrumbs are also visible on SERPs:

Well, as we warned you before, just clicking “Enable” will not be enough to activate breadcrumps on your website. So, be a good user and follow Yoast recommendations. Read the article and activate the function on your website.

Permanent links

Next to “Breadcrumbs” is the option “Permanent links”.

Here you can change the structure of your URLs and permanent links, making them more friendly to search engines.

As you can see from the description below each option, Yoast does a better job than I would at explaining each one. We can move on to the next tab.

RSS

If you have been blogging for some time, you know that there is a huge possibility that one day you will find identical content posted on another site without your permission or any credit to you.

These virtual thefts are extremely common, unfortunately.

But this tab is here to help.

This unpleasant situation will possibly happen if you have quality content on your blog. This section will not be able to completely prevent you from being copied, but this function allows you to add it to your posts when they appear in the RSS feed, giving you credits and linking back to your site.

That is, if someone copies RSS content from your website, you at least earn credits and links to your website.

Tools

By following our sequence through the side menu, we come to the “Tools” section.

Yoast itself comes with its own tools. Each of them comes with a brief explanation.

The File Editor is where you will change files like robots.txt (a root file for your site) and your .htaccess (guidance/reading file).

The Bulk Editor is a tool that you will not normally use, but if you ever need it, you will be extremely grateful to have it.

In case you ever need to change multiple post titles and descriptions at once, you can make a list of these posts and change them with this tool. This will help you to avoid the long task of going from post to post to edit them.

“Import and Export” is the option we used at the beginning of this tutorial, remember? You can import the configuration you used in another SEO plugin or export your own.

The last option is the SEO calculation. When we see how to use Yoast, you will understand this topic better. In short, you set a keyword for a page on your blog and Yoast evaluates how search engine friendly it is.

Search Console

Finally, we reach the Search Console, the last important step in this general blog setup.

This step only applies to you if you use Google Search Console. If you don’t use it, make sure you do!

If you don’t want to hear my advice, well, then you can proceed to the next chapter.

Here, you’ll get your authorization code to connect Yoast to Search Console. By doing this you will be able to see a list of errors on your pages and fix them right from your dashboard. If you have a broken link, you can redirect it.

To configure, just click on get code, color below and authenticate and select your site from the list that appears.

Save the profile!

There, you can now use this wonderful tool from Google.

Anyway, now that you’ve configured all your Yoast and already know all the plugin’s tools and possibilities, it’s time to learn how to use Yoast SEO in practice!

Using Yoast

Now that everything is installed, let’s go back to our side menu. Breathe. You don’t have to go down to SEO. Now you need to click on “Posts” or “All Posts” to see the tool in action.

In your posts tab you will see the Yoast rating in front of each entry.

Let’s take a closer look:

We can see three different evaluations that Yoast gives to each post.

As we can see, the system is quite simple. There is actually a fourth evaluation that Yoast could give to your pages.

Let’s understand each one of them:

• The green dot means your site is search engine friendly. In other words, the page contains few or no SEO errors.
• The orange dot means it has a significant amount of errors and that you can improve the post.
• The red dot is very intuitive, your page is in serious trouble in the eyes of search engines.
• We also have the gray dot. This point means that Yoast has no information about that page. Perhaps no keywords were chosen for the post, for example.

From this column you can go through all the posts on your site and look for those that need to be optimized.

The color of the dot will indicate the urgency to fix each post.

It is important to check even the green dots, since even in those there might be some mistakes that you can correct.

If you found a page you want to optimize, just click on the post.

Optimizing a post

When you open a post, scroll down to the bottom of the page, after the text editor. You will find the screen you see above.

Now let’s go step by step:

When you click on the Yoast tab, these options will appear for you. The first thing to do is to inform Yoast what your keyword is. In this case, “YouTube SEO“. So it will rate your post.

The snippet you see there is exactly what will appear on SERPs (search engine results pages).

SEO title:

The SEO title can be different from the post title. Yoast notes two main things about them: the title and the keyword position.

As you can see, there is a green bar just below it, which means that the title is a good size. If I went over the ideal number it would change color and if it was too small, the same thing would happen.

Another thing that Yoast will notice is the keyword’s position.

Here, it is in the ideal place, as far to the left as possible. This directly influences the click-through rate and makes the post more search engine friendly.

Slug:

The slug is nothing more than what will appear in the URL of your post. Yoast will see if your keyword is in the URL. In case it is, is correct.

However, I made one mistake on purpose that Yoast will not point out. Can you identify it?

It was the use of uppercase letters in the URL, always use lowercase letters in the slug. Also, do not separate the slug with spaces, but with hyphens.

Another positive point of my URL is that it is small and friendly. Avoid ugly and huge links. Avoid numbers at all costs. Use the keyword and one or two more words if necessary.

Meta description:

If you do your research, you will see that meta descriptions are not a ranking factor. But could they affect your SEO?

The answer is yes!

Why?

It’s simple: meta descriptions can greatly increase your post’s click-through rate (CTR). If Google sees that the runner-up in SERP has more clicks than the first, eventually they will switch positions.

Mine is purposely orange, it’s the same criteria as in the title. It is too small, so Yoast indicates that in orange.

Another common recommendation is to use the keyword in the meta tag. It will not influence SEO, but it will be bolded as you can see in my example. This catches the reader’s attention and shows that the post really talks about what they are looking for.

SEO mistakes:

Here you can see that just below the keyword, Yoast points out the SEO errors on the page. Most of them are self-explanatory. The color shows the severity of the error.

It will not always be possible and also not necessary to leave everything green. Sometimes Yoast does not identify the keyword in the URL because it has no accent, for example. In that case, you can leave it orange without problems.

In other cases, it may ask for the keyword in the first paragraph of the article. Only do this if it does not affect the quality of your introduction.

Alt text:

This is a mistake that we think is necessary to explain.

Yoast points out a lack of image in your posts as an error. It is always important to have images.

An error that often occurs is: the alt texts in the images do not have the keyword.

Let’s take a closer look at this.

Always save your image with the keyword separated by hyphens, as in the URL.

Use it in the title without the hyphens. And then we go to alt text.

It is that alternative text that appears there. Most SEO experts say it must be a description of the image containing the keyword.

With that done, your post should be ready to be published.

Time to publish:

See SEO as a real traffic light. The layout is there to prove it. When it comes to publishing, see the literal meaning:

• Green: go ahead
• Yellow: slow down!
• Red: STOP!

If it is green, go ahead and click on “Publish”. Or, edit the date, schedule the post and click schedule.

If you are editing an old post, after the whole process the option will be “Update”.

Conclusion

Whew! We have reached the end of this long tutorial of one that is one of the best and most popular SEO tools for blogs and websites on WordPress.

We hope it helped you a lot.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and we will answer promptly.

Now that you have the plugin, be sure to check out our Complete SEO Guide to make perfect use of the tool!

The post Yoast SEO: tutorial for the plugin that will improve your content for Google appeared first on Rock Content.

Among the more than 170 ranking factors Google uses, there are two that have the greatest impact:

• the quality of the content — ability to respond to the user’s intention;
• the number of backlinks received.

For this reason, I will explain what backlinks are and why they have such an important impact on your SEO strategy.

You may have excellent content on your site and a great loading speed, but still aren’t appearing at the top of search engine results.

A lack of backlinks could be the main reason!

So, let’s better understand the following points:

Read on!

What are backlinks?

Backlinks are links made from one website to another. Search engines like Google use the quality and number of backlinks as a ranking signal. As a result, acquiring backlinks is a fundamental strategy in SEO.

Currently, it’s practically impossible to rank at the top for keywords with a high search volume and competitiveness on the results page (SERP).

Search engines understand backlinks as a recommendation. After all, if another site has linked to yours, it believes that your content is quality.

Thus, with each link received, the site gains authority. The greater your authority, the greater your chances of achieving a good ranking.

But is it enough to receive backlinks from any site to gain authority?

Certainly not! We will see below how to identify a quality backlink, but first, we’ll see the power of link influence in practice.

Why create a backlink strategy?

As I mentioned, backlinks work as a reference. If a site that Google regards as high-quality links to yours, the tendency is for the search engine to trust your site more.

But it’s not just the authority of pages and your domain that backlinks influence. They will also impact directly on:

• acquisition of referral traffic (referral);
• brand strengthening (brand awareness);
• building relationships.

Imagine you get a backlink from the Rock Content page, which ranks first in Google for SEO.

The gain in authority is incredible. After all, if Google trusts that content to the point of keeping it first for such a disputed keyword, it certainly trusts the content it recommends by linking to it.

This is the obvious benefit.

Now, have you ever stopped to think that this content receives more than 10,000 monthly visits? How many of these people could click and visit your website?

How many people who didn’t know your brand could come to know it? What if this link leads to a partnership of more exchanges and co-creation of materials?

Well, this example shows how limiting backlinks only to gaining authority leaves out a huge part of the impact of this strategy.

What are the types of backlinks?

There are two main types of backlinks: follow and nofollow.

To the naked eye, there is no difference. Both are links on a page and both take the user to the page pointed to when clicked.

So what is the difference between them?

The difference is what these backlinks pass to bots and search engines.

When Google crawlers visit your site and read the code for a link, they will follow that backlink and visit the other pages.

Unless they find a “nofollow” attribute.

Dofollow links are normal links, which pass authority (link juice) and direct the bots to crawl these pages as well.

Links with the nofollow attribute tell search engines to not follow that link. It’s like saying, “I want to send my user this link, but they don’t need to go there, and I don’t want to pass any authority.”

Therefore, in alink building strategy, it’s ideal to prioritize dofollow links, but the nofollow ones are also of great value.

Below, I will show you in detail why you should also want to receive this type of link.

How to start a backlink strategy?

Now that you know how important backlinks are, it’s time to learn how to earn them. Here, I start with the most important factor.

The first step in a backlink strategy is to have a website that deserves links!

This is the main factor! Everything you will learn in this article will only generate results if you have a quality website that deserves to receive backlinks.

That said, let’s go to the first strategic steps of link building. I can already say, there is no point just waking up, going out looking for partners, and exchanging links.

Like any good strategy, you need goals.

1. Define your goals

As we have seen, the number of backlinks received can bring several benefits. Therefore, your strategy will be guided by your ultimate goal.

You might have any of the following objectives:

• improve the ranking of specific pages;
• strengthen the brand and domain;
• increase traffic and visibility.

Each of these strategies will require different types of backlinks, different types and numbers of partners, and use different linking texts as well.

Understanding your goals is critical as they direct your strategies.

For example, if your goal is to rank a page about lemon pie, you may think about prioritizing links to that page using identical texts (like: “lemon pie”) or variations of that keyword (example: “lemon pie recipe”).

If you’re looking for traffic, you’ll avoid identical keywords to use text that has benefits and gains the click.

So, you could use something like “click here to check out lemon pie recipes!” or “learn more about making a lemon pie” and other variations.

As I said, the objective drives the strategy.

2. Identify your differentials

One of the most important points in a backlink acquisition strategy is to understand your greatest assets when it comes to forming partnerships.

What do you have to offer a potential partner to reciprocate with a backlink?

There are several options:

• content: quality content that your partner will want to show their buyer persona;
• data: unpublished data for the market, such as a survey that your company has done;
• product: offer a free month of your tool in exchange for a link, for example;
• service: similar to product, but offering your service or part of it;
• authority: the authority of your website can be attractive to your potential partner;
• team: your team can count on strong names in your market, which can be used as in this exchange, participating in webinars, interviews, etc.

It’s important to be careful here, especially with your product and service. They can be a bargaining chip, but remember not to undervalue what you do.

Think of it more like an appetizer or a test drive.

However, identifying your greatest assets is a powerful weapon in achieving backlinks. Many people think that all they have to offer is “a backlink”, so think outside the box and earn valuable links!

3. Find good partners

Your backlink strategy will only be as good as the quality of your partners.

I won’t go on too long here, since I already explained the importance of appropriate links. For example, a mechanic sending a link to an online poker site doesn’t make much sense.

Keep the following factors in mind:

• similar markets and themes;
• companies and people;
• similar personas;
• likelihood of linking.

Let’s present a good example of partnership. You have a dessert company. And you want to share the following resource:

The Complete Guide to Making Themed Cupcakes

Some examples of good potential partners could be:

• food blogs
• recipe sites;
• party websites or blogs.

All themes are directly related to the material offered and the public would be interested.

How to identify a good backlink?

For your strategy to generate good results, it’s necessary to know how to identify the characteristics of a good backlink.

Let’s look at the anatomy of a perfect link and analyze each of these characteristics in detail:

• Domain and Page Authority;
• natural links;
• anchor text;
• link type: nofollow/follow;
• link position on the page;
• textual or image link;
• market;
• new domain.

Domain and Page Authority

As I said at the start, the greater the authority of a website, the greater the authority transmitted by that backlink.

You can discover a page’s authority by using some tools.

One of the most popular is MozBar, a free tool from Moz, which features Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA):

However, there are other very good metrics like Trust Flow (reliability/authority) and Citation Flow (volume of citations received by the page) from Majestic:

Another example, similar to those from Moz, are the metrics presented by the best backlinks tool on the market: Ahrefs. You can check out this information using their free tool, Ahrefs WebMaster Tools.

It features UR (URL Rate, the authority of the page) and DR (Domain Rate, the authority of the domain).

Now, you may be asking yourself: how do you know if your partner’s authority is good or not? What is a good DA?

Well, this can vary from market to market.

So my advice is that you do a comparative analysis. Identify your metrics and compare:

• to a large company in its market;
• to a medium-sized company;
• to a small company;
• to your main competitors.

This way, you will identify what good metrics are in your market. You will also find out if your domain authority can be an asset when it comes to offering a link exchange.

Natural links

One of the most important factors for a backlink is how natural it is. This is especially true when we think about the authority that Google will identify the page receives.

Natural links are links that another site spontaneously makes to yours.

This means you receive a link not because of a strategy or an exchange but because they saw the quality of your content and it made sense to their buyer persona.

See an example of a spontaneous link we made to SEMrush (a keyword, competition analysis, and backlinks tool).

The piece is about SEO audits:

When citing the main tools, we linked to each, in case our persona wants to know more about them or to use them.

These are natural links.

Imagine, on the other hand, the link below. This is the old footer of our blog with links to our materials, categories, services, etc. Imagine if in the middle of that footer you found the following link:

It doesn’t make any sense. It was probably a purchased link or a forced exchange.

Of course, this is an exaggerated example, but you get the idea.

So you may be asking yourself, should I avoid a link strategy? Should I simply make good content, have a good website, post, and wait for links?

No! I mean, you have to do all of the above, but you can’t stop there!

The idea is to keep in mind that every partnership, every backlink you receive, must be as natural as possible, a link that Google interprets as a spontaneous link from your partner.

Note: this topic is a tip for you who use UTMs in a link building strategy. These links will never look natural to Google.

UTMs will only make sense on a direct link to a landing page or sales page (still, I wouldn’t say it’s ideal).

Anchor text

Anchor text is the piece of content that links to the other page.

In the example from the previous topic, the out-of-place anchor text was “BMW cars”.

This is an extremely important factor for link building that often gets overlooked, despite having a direct impact on your strategy.

There are a few options when it comes to anchor text. Let’s take a look at them using ourDigital Marketing post as an example:

• exact match: “Digital Marketing”;
• partial-match: “online marketing” or “digital marketing strategies”;
• branded: related to the brand name, “Rock Content”, for example;
• naked link: https://rockcontent.com/blog/what-is-digital-marketing/;
• generic: “click here”;
• images: link in an image; the anchor text is the alt text.

Ideally, anchor text should be succinct and relevant to the page that will receive the link. The text needs to make clear the theme of the page that the person will be directed to.

Avoid generic terms at all costs!

Remember that anchor text is essential for a link to look natural. There are two goals with this text:

• generate authority for the page;
• generate clicks and visits.

In the case of authority, the closer to an exact match the link is, the better. That’s because the link basically says the following: “this page I’m linking to answer this question for the user”.

So exact matches and partial matches become natural links that strengthen the page authority.

An important detail here is that if you receive 100 links to a page and they all have the exact same anchor text, it will show the search engine how unnatural your backlink profile is.

So explore variations of the keyword and anchors that are partially related.

If the intention is to receive clicks, you can work in more playful links, which, in addition to showing what the reader will find, make a promise and show benefits.

Link types

The type of backlink can also make a big difference in building authority for your website.

The priority here is to get “dofollow” links, backlinks that are more relevant to the site which they point to.

Nofollow links tell the search engine to not “follow” that link or give it authority. Considering the anatomy of a perfect link, the ideal is that it is dofollow!

Later on, I will explain better these two link types and why you should also want nofollow links.

Link position on the page

The position of the link on the page directly impacts the amount of authority that page will receive.

This means that the links you make in the first paragraph of a blog post or in the header of your site pass more relevance to the pages redirected to than links in the footer or the last paragraph.

In the structure of a website, this is already a bit logical, since you will point to your most relevant pages in the header.

However, this concept is very relevant, especially for blog posts. Remember to prioritize the most important links (without going overboard) when getting a backlink.

Another positive aspect is the chance to appear on the homepage of your partner’s blog or website.

Some blogs show a snippet of the content on their blogs, and if your link is there, you can appear not only in the post but on the main blog page — which is the most authoritative page on the site.

Market

As I mentioned, the market makes all the difference.

Receiving links from companies operating in the Digital Marketing sector makes more sense and is more relevant to Rock Content than for a company in the automotive market.

Despite this, some markets are similar or directly related, in which case the backlink can make total sense.

New domain

As I also mentioned, the more sites which backlink to you, the better.

Better than receiving 10 links from one domain is receiving 2 links from 5 different domains.

This shows the search engine and the market that more and more websites and companies trust your business, not just one that likes you a lot.

This is why it’s essential to gain backlinks from as many domains as possible, especially those that currently link to your competitors but not to you.

We’ll look at how to find these opportunities later.

So to sum up, the anatomy of the perfect backlink should prioritize:

• new domain link with good authority;
• within your market;
• a link that your competitor has and you don’t.

Don’t forget to keep track of your main pages and map which ones need to receive new links the most!

Why receive nofollow links?

I said that nofollow links don’t give authority to a page.

However, I also said that receiving nofollow backlinks can be excellent for your backlink strategy and generating online authority.

Now I will explain why you need to receive nofollow links!

You get traffic the same way

The first and most logical benefit of nofollow links is that, for the user, it works just like a normal link: I clicked, I was taken to the page.

Therefore, if you receive nofollow links from other sites, you will receive this traffic. This means that new people get to know your site, consume your content and, of course, you have new sales opportunities.

Pass relevance (how so?)

I just said that nofollow links are not relevant. So why am I now saying that they are relevant?

It’s simple, even though nofollow links tell search engines not to follow and give authority to a page, Google knows that the page is linking to that respective site.

This means that, as much as the Apple website sends a nofollow link to your page, Apple is linking to your page!

Even mentions without backlinks to your company can generate authority, let alone backlinks. Even if they officially do not give authority, a nofollow link still reveals that a quality website trusts your content.

Note: Google currently considers nofollow links to be a “hint” (a suggestion) and not a rule. For example, a 301 redirect is a rule, and Google will understand that the page that receives the redirect is the official page.

Now, the nofollow link is a suggestion that Google can choose to ignore, that is, they are more likely to gain authority.

Social signals

This is another one of those stories that Google will claim is not a direct ranking factor.

Still, social signals can impact your results. First, social shares tend to generate more visits, more shares, and, of course, more backlinks.

Another factor is that the pages ofsocial networks are also indexed, that is, the search engine sees the links, shares, and mentions that your company receives.

Social network links are nofollow, yet they do pass on these social signals. Remember, not everything Google says is not a ranking factor that will not affect your placement.

Sometimes, not even Google seems to know how Google works.

Generates brand awareness

Another clear benefit of earning nofollow backlinks relates to the brand perception they generate.

They can expand your audience, increase the number of people who know your site, and also generate a more positive view.

Since users will not know what type of link it is, they will only see a link from a site that trusts your content to the point of directing their visitors there.

Links generate more links

The more backlinks your site has on the internet, the greater the chances of getting even more links.

There are more people knowing and sharing, more visibility, and, consequently, more links received.

More natural backlink profile

This is one of the most important points. You remember that I said that backlinks should be more natural, right? This is also relevant to your backlink profile.

Think about it. If you only receive dofollow backlinks, it is a little likely that your links are not natural, but will come from partnerships, guest posts, exchanges, and other strategies that are contrary to Google guidelines.

Therefore, it is extremely relevant that your backlink profile is as natural as possible.

Tools like SEMrush present the profile of links. See this example of a balanced backlink profile:

There is no exact number. You can have 90% of dofollow links. But it is important to value and receive nofollow links as well.

Note: Sponsored and UGC are two types of nofollow links. Sponsored when the link is sponsored and UGC when it is a user-generated link, like a blog comment.

What are the best backlink tools?

To execute a good backlink acquisition strategy, it is essential to use good tools.

I will recommend a few here and talk a little about them so you can choose the best tool for your strategy.

Ahrefs

Undoubtedly the most complete tool on the market in terms of backlinks, Ahrefs has a database to make any competitor envious.

In addition to evaluating the links on your domain, notifying you of lost and received links, evaluating your backlink profile, auditing the links, and everything you need to know about your website, the tool is also essential for several backlink acquisition strategies.

Another benefit of Ahrefs is that they provide a series of videos teaching how to use the tool, with basic and advanced tips to create successful strategies.

SEMrush

Another very famous and widely used tool in the market is SEMrush. Basically, it offers the same functions as Ahrefs with an excellent database, although not quite as complete as its competitor.

SEMrush stands out especially for the other features of its tool, such as competition analysis, keyword research, and SEO improvements.

That makes it an excellent option for those who can only acquire one tool to meet various needs.

We have other excellent tools similar to SEMrush and Ahrefs, including:

• Moz Link Explorer;
• Backlinks Monitor;
• Majestic;
• Ubersuggest.

Check my Links

Check my Links is a free tool that can generate a lot of value for your strategy. It’s very useful for fixing broken links on your site and can also be used in link building strategies.

You can use the tool to find broken links on the site of potential market partners, but I will teach you this method of link building a little later in this text.

Google Search Console

GSC can be very useful for a link building strategy, especially as it is free.

Through it, you can identify which pages receive the most backlinks and which need to be prioritized, which sites most link to your site, and which anchor texts are most pointed to your site.

All of this information plays a relevant role.

Another interesting feature is the Search Console disavow links tool. If your site receives toxic links, you can use the tool to disable and request links be ignored.

Another possibility for the same function is the tool: disavow.it.

In practice: how to get backlinks? (link building strategies)

Of course, I left the best for last!

Everything I’ve taught you so far is fundamental to a good strategy and to improve your rankings. However, all of this information needs to be applied.

Now that you know how to evaluate your links and which pages and links you need to prioritize, let’s see some practical strategies for acquiring backlinks.

1. Link bait

The first method of acquiring backlinks is the most natural of all and is indispensable for a link building strategy.

Remember that I said that the first step towards a good strategy is to have a website that deserves to receive links? Link bait is just that!

The idea is to make content that your readers will love and need to share. Make the best content on the market about certain topics or find ways to differentiate your content from everyone else.

You need something that creates value and differentiates your page from the entire market, such as:

• extremely in-depth content;
• exclusive data;
• surveys;
• unpublished graphics and images;
• a free tool.

The perfect link bait is content you create to rank at the top of Google since it needs to be superior to all competitors.

2. Guest blogging

Guest posts are perhaps the most popular method of gaining backlinks.

This method consists of producing content as a guest for a partner’s blog, often as an exchange — you send a link to receive one back.

The most important thing is to find good partners that receive content. The quality of your guest post strategy will only be as good as your partners.

3. Brand/keyword mention

A very simple method of gaining backlinks is by mentioning your brand name or your own name.

This method is very simple and the links acquired are natural, plus the tool used is free, as it’s from Google itself.

To do this, simply access Google Alerts and create an alert for every time your company name is mentioned on the internet.

After creating the alert, every time a mention is made on any website, you will receive an email from the tool.

Then, you can check where this mention came from to request that the website that mentioned your brand links to your website.

Another important tip is to make variations of your company name, in case people can misspell. Here at Rock Content, I made the following alerts:

• rockcontent;
• Rocket Content;
• Rock Contente;
• among others.

You can use this brand mention methodology to mention the keywords, services, and products that your company offers.

It is important to have an excellent page that responds to the topic in a complete and satisfactory manner.

4. Broken links

Another method for gaining backlinks is to find broken links spread across the internet.

Broken links are links that point to pages that once existed, but that today have no more content or are broken and error pages, such as404.

When you find these links, you can offer content to replace the broken page (if the link is internal) or offer a replacement link, pointing to a page on your site.

For that, you will need a tool. We have three good options:

• Ahrefs;
• Screaming Frog;
• Check My Links.

The first two are excellent and you can check for broken links across your potential partner’s domain. However, they are paid.

Check My Links, as I previously showed you, is a free tool, but you will only be able to analyze one page at a time.

Thus, you need to access the site of potential partners and run the tool on their pages to check for broken links:

Whenever you do an analysis, it will present the following table, showing the links found and their status. You are looking for invalid links:

5. Your competitors’ backlinks

The best type of backlinks you can get is the backlink your competitor has and you don’t!

In addition to getting a quality backlink, you get a competitive advantage that they had by receiving a link from a domain that you don’t!

The idea is to find these links and the type, how they were made, and prospect the potential partner.

To do this, you will need a tool. The two that I recommend are SEMrush and Ahrefs, but they require paid subscriptions.

I will demonstrate this method using the second option.

Good tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush have features where you can compare your domain with that of your competitors. The method can be used to discover gaps in keywords as well as backlinks.

Ahrefs already leaves the option for you to identify your domain to find links that only your competitors have.

The fact that the tool has this option shows us how relevant it is to win links that only your competitors have.

After that, you will see a list showing all the links that your competitor receives and you do not.

When clicking on the link, the tool shows which specific page the link comes from with which anchor text:

Then, just visit and identify how that link was made. Was it a guest post, a list of tools including your competitor, etc.? In short, the way the link was made will direct the prospecting.

If a guest post, for example, you can propose to send content. If it was already a list, you can create a snippet and ask for your product or service to be added to the list, for example.

You can use this method by comparing domain, but it is possible to compare specific pages, for example, if you are disputing a specific word with your competitor:

These are some of the possible methods of acquiring backlinks. Simple methods, which can be an excellent start to a good acquisition strategy.

More links, more rankings

As we have seen, backlinks are among the two main ranking factors.

Since having content that deserves backlinks is the first step in the strategy, earning links already involves having excellent content.

This is why having an effective link acquisition strategy is such an important step in reaching the best ranking in search engines.

In addition, as I showed at the beginning, there are many other benefits to acquiring quality links, but be aware that this is not an easy task.

The strategy requires a lot of dedication and patience. However, with these tactics that I showed you to get good backlinks, you will evolve quickly.

I hope this post clarifies all your doubts about backlinks. What’s more, I want to see you putting these tips into practice to leverage the results of your website or blog in a short time.

To continue learning and advancing even faster in the SEO universe, check out our SEO Complete Guide!

The post What Are Backlinks And Why You Need Them To Get Google’s First Positions appeared first on Rock Content.