As an SEO amateur, you might feel that you have extensive material to learn about search engine optimization, especially when the internet users’ favorite search engine Google uses more than 200 factors to rank the website. You can check bulk nofollow link checker here.
However, just focusing on the SEO basics can help the business build a solid foundation to improve its website’s visibility and ranking.
SEO is the backbone of every website. If the website doesn’t display on the search engine result pages, it is practically invisible and non-existent to the audience. Optimizing your website’s SEO simply means making your content more visible and ranking higher on the result pages.
So our dear readers, if your website is not making it to the first page of the search engine, there is something you aren’t doing right. And perhaps that’s the reason you are present here.
In today’s article, we have curated a list that will solve your SEO-related problems. Please keep reading to discover excellent SEO tips for beginners and make your site make its place on the first result page.
12 SEO Tips For Beginners That Will Get Your Site Ranking In 2021
1. Claim And Complete Your Google My Business Profile
The first SEO tip to beginners for optimizing their SEO is by claiming and completing their Google My Business profile.
Google My Business is a public listing or profile which is displayed to users on search result pages. We are sure that you must have seen a list of places displayed on the result pages when you search for restaurants, hotels or ask for directions to a specific destination.
Creating your Google My Business profile enables Google to impart immediate information about your company to the internet users if it is relevant to their search query.
Setting up your GMB listing is pretty easy. Therefore, it should top the lists of your SEO checklist. Optimize your profile by adding the following information:
- Name, address, and contact numbers of your business.
- Operating hours, opening and closing timings of the store.
- Your website address.
- Select the relevant categories like “Ice-cream”, “Hotels”, etc.
- Short description of your company and what it offers to the public.
- Photos of your products or store.
If your business is hosting an event in the future, add it to your GMB listing too. However, keep in mind that creating the profile and updating it isn’t enough to boost your SEO. You must stay active on it. Respond to user reviews, engage with them, and share exclusive offers and important business announcements to remain active on the business.
2. Target Long Keywords
Keywords and SEO are best friends.
If a person wants his website and content to rank higher on the result pages or appear to the right audience, he must find relevant keywords.
It is essential to determine the user’s search intent before integrating keywords in the web content and Meta tags. Hence, always research the keywords before using them to optimize your content and reach the right audience.
Keywords can be broadly divided into two categories based on the number of words it contains:
Long-tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords contain a string of three or four words, such as “SEO tips for beginners.”
Short-tail Keywords
It refers to a one or two word long keyword, like “SEO tips.”
If you have just started working on your website’s SEO, we recommend you shift your focus to long-tail keywords; instead of short-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are less competitive than short-tail keywords, which improves the chances of visibility and higher ranking on the result pages.
For instance, if you optimize your content for a short-tail keyword like “Best pizza“, your website will become invisible under the numerous results of popular pizza stores. However, if you opt for a long-tail keyword, such as “best and affordable pizzas in Westbury“, chances are that you might make your position on the first page.
3. Understand The User Intent And Use Relevant Keywords
Besides targeting long-tail keywords, a marketer must also consider the user intent and the results he expects to seek on the webpage.
When a person comes to google.com, he can have the following search intents:
Navigational
A person is looking for a specific website, such as Zara, Tiffany, etc.
Informational
A user is interested in information regarding a specific topic, such as IPhone 12 pro max specifications.
Transactional
The online user is interested in purchasing a product, like a skateboard.
Understanding the user intent is crucial to curating the content on each webpage. For instance, the keywords on your blog posts, infographics, videos, etc., should target informational keywords. In comparison, your product pages should include transactional keywords.
Using a transactional keyword on web pages that contain informative content and vice versa can mess up your SEO.
Hence, integrate the keywords by keeping the user intent in mind.
4. Optimize Your Title Tags
The title tag plays a pivotal role to make the user click on the link. You can say title tags are the first impression of websites on users. If you want the users to click on your link, you need to have an informative, optimized, and promising title.
Informative
Titles should inform the user about the contents available on your webpage. Do not use click-baits, or else the user will instantly exit your site, which will increase your bounce rate.
Optimized
Your title should display the keywords entered by the user. Only 55 characters of the title tag are displayed to the internet user; hence, ensure that you use the keywords wisely.
Promising
Promising titles receive more clicks than non-promising titles. By the term promising, we mean that you offer something exciting to your users. For instance, a user searching for ‘Teriyaki recipe‘ will instantly click the link ‘Super easy Chicken Teriyaki Recipe in 5 minutes.‘
Also, make sure that the content promised on the title should be present on the webpage. Thus, ensure that the title tag and the H1 tag of the webpage must be coordinated.
5. Create Informative And Optimized Meta Description
You must have skimmed other articles about boosting the SEO. We are sure that you might have read about the Meta description that appears under the title tag in the search engine result pages, that it isn’t considered a ranking factor by Google.
But, dear readers, it doesn’t imply that you should omit Meta description from your SEO checklist.
It is an intelligent approach to add keywords in the Meta description to increase the chances of your link getting clicks. When the query entered by the user matches your description, Google makes those keywords bold.
If the user sees many keywords in bold fonts, it makes your website appear relevant to him, and he will click to land on your web page.
It is essential to mention here that Google sometimes rewrites the Meta description. Even if you have written a Meta description summarizing your content without exceeding the character limit, 150 characters. The search engine pioneer Google may rephrase it for its users.
If that happens, don’t worry! It’s perfectly fine.
Write a Meta description because if your website is ranked on the result pages, the keywords entered by the user will be bolded in your description. It will motivate the user to click your website URL.
6. Use Keywords In Headings And Paragraphs
Gone are those days when search engines solely relied on keywords to rank the websites. However, in today’s era, keywords are a critical ranking factor, yet not the only factor used by Google to rank the website.
Keywords help the search engine algorithms understand if your content is relevant to the user’s query or not. Therefore, along with title tags and Meta description, you should add keywords in paragraphs and headings of your web page.
Break your content into smaller chunks of information by using H2 and H3 tags. You can also use bullet points and tables to optimize your content and make it easier for the reader to skim the content.
When keywords are inserted in the headings tags, it helps the web crawlers understand the content’s relevancy and assists the search engine to index the web page.
This SEO tip is a win-win situation for both your website and visitors. Proper insertion of keywords in headings helps in securing a higher rank on search results. On the other hand, well-distributed content makes it easier for users to scan the information, and they’re less likely to bounce from such a page. It, in turn, sends a positive signal to the search engine about the website.
7. External And Internal Linking
External linking means attaching the URL of other trustworthy websites in your content to support your information, stats, figures, etc.
On the other hand, internal linking means inserting the URL of your website’s different pages in your blog posts or other web pages. Both internal and external linking is valuable for boosting your website’s SEO.
Search engine bots have limited time to crawl the website and index its relevant content on the result page. Having a good internal linking structure acts as a gateway to allow the search engine bots to crawl maximum pages of your website and index it.
External links, also called outbound links, improve the credibility of your website. It makes your website appear professional and your content authentic and valuable.
8. Mobile Optimization
Did you know that an average person checks his phone 150 times during the day?
The increased reliance and dependency on smartphones has changed the SEO game for websites.
Smartphones account for almost 50% of the web traffic generated on the internet throughout the world. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you will lose massive traffic on your website. Besides, if people land on your website and fail to display and function correctly on their mobile devices, they will exit the website instantly. It increases bounce rate, which sends a negative signal to the search engine algorithms and consequently, your ranking is affected adversely.
9. Image Optimization
What are modern websites without high-quality images? A digital newspaper?
Remember to use high-quality and relevant images on your website. Don’t forget to use the alt tag to label and describe your photo. In addition, include your pictures and other media on the site map. It becomes more accessible for the bots to crawl.
Alt tag informs the user what the image is about if the image fails to display on the web page. Images that are well-optimized helps the website to secure a good ranking on the result pages and improve user engagement on the web page.
10. Improve Your Website Loading Speed
Online users are impatient, and they want immediate results right after tapping or clicking the link. Ensure that your website is speedy enough to keep up with the fast pace of your visitors.
Visitors abandon websites that take more than 3 seconds to load. Thus, thrive on making your web pages load within 2 seconds to welcome the visitors.
The best way to increase your web page’s speed is by compressing your codes, images and videos. Moreover, get rid of plugins that you haven’t used in a long time to decrease the load on your website and increase its loading speed.
11. Include Keywords In The URL
Another effective SEO tip for beginners is to include keywords in your URL and keep it concise.
Shorter URLs are helpful for both search engines and web users. It helps the search engine web crawlers understand the context of your web page’s content and website structure. On the other hand, it helps the internet users to understand their location on your website.
Use the following tips to create your website URLs:
- Include your primary keywords.
- Keep your URLs limited to 5 words or less.
- Use (-) hyphens to separate the words.
- Do not use uppercase in your URLs.
- Avoid using special characters, such as ‘, #, etc.
12. Provide Unforgettable User Experience
All the tips mentioned above will go in vain if visitors quit your website after arriving at your web page.
Ensure to keep your visitors hooked to your website so that they don’t quit after their arrival. Be very considerate about your website’s layout, appearance, colours, and navigation. Do not use a fancy navigational menu or other irritating elements. They annoy your users, and they will exit your website if it is cluttered, unorganized, or challenging to navigate.
Hence, do not forget about providing a fantastic experience to your visitors.
Bottom Line
There you have it, a complete guide to SEO tips for beginners. So, what are you waiting for? Roll your sleeves and get back to your website to boost its SEO.
If you have any questions about the SEO tips 2021 shared above, please feel more than welcome to share them with us in the comments below. Our experts will revert to you at their earliest!
Author Bio:
Ricky Hayes is the Co-Founder and Head of Marketing at Debutify – a free Shopify theme, helping dropshippers build high-converting stores in minutes. He is a passionate entrepreneur running multiple businesses, marketing agencies, and mentoring programs.