UNIT II: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Introduction
1. When we built our website, we likely created it with our users in mind, trying to make
it easy for them to find and explore our content. One of those users is a search engine,
which helps people discover our content.
2. SEO—short for search engine optimization—is about helping search engines
understand our content, and helping users find our site and make a decision about
whether they should visit our site through a search engine.
3. The Search Essentials outline the most important elements of what makes your
website eligible to appear on Google Search. Sites that follow the Search Essentials
are more likely to show up in Google's search results. SEO is about taking the next
step and working on improving your site's presence in Search.
Example: Google is a fully automated search engine that uses programs called crawlers to
explore the web constantly, looking for pages to add to our index. You usually don't need
to do anything except publish your site on the web. In fact, the vast majority of sites listed
in our results are found and added automatically as we crawl the web.

SEO audit
An SEO audit is the process of evaluating how well your website is optimized for search
engines. It identifies errors that can prevent your site from ranking well and opportunities that
can help you gain more visibility.

An SEO audit usually covers areas like:

• Indexing and crawlability
• User experience
• Site architecture
• Competitor benchmarking
• Keyword research
• On-page SEO
• Backlink profile

SEO Audit Tools

An effective SEO website audit is based on hard data about the technical health, traffic, and
backlink profile of your website (and the websites of your competitors).

The two most important tools that will help you with that are:
• Google Search Console: a set of dashboards and reports by Google that allows you to
monitor and troubleshoot any issues related to your website’s presence on Google
 • Semrush: an all-in-one SEO toolset that provides a comprehensive look at your site’s
performance and helps you improve your website in all the crucial SEO areas

Steps to do an SEO Audit

1. Check for Indexing Issues
Pages that are not indexed are not in Google’s database. Google can’t rank them. To see
whether your pages have been indexed, check for issues directly in Google Search Console.
Remember that not all pages have to be indexed—only the ones you want to rank in search
results. So it’s completely normal to have some URLs that are not indexed.
Here are some examples of URLs that don’t have to be indexed:
• Pages with redirects
• Admin pages
• Alternate pages with canonical tags
• Feed pages

2. Check for Duplicate Versions of Your Site

It is essential to ensure that Google is indexing only one version of your site. Your site
could sit on various versions of a URL (depending on whether there’s WWW in the domain
and whether your site uses HTTPS).

To a search engine, these are all different versions of the site:

• http://www.yoursite.com
• http://yoursite.com
• https://www.yoursite.com
• https://yoursite.com

If your website runs on more than one of these URL versions, it can cause many issues with
crawling, indexing, and ranking. Especially because Google will take them as duplicates.
Also, having multiple versions of your site can dilute PageRank, which can also have a
negative impact on your SEO rankings.

3. Run a Site Crawl

A good SEO audit is crawl-based. That means you should be able to simulate the way
Google crawls your pages. And see all issues related to those pages the way Google might
see them. To do that, you’ll need a website SEO auditing tool like Site Audit.

4. Check for Manual Actions

If your site violates Google’s spam policies, it may receive a manual action from Google.
A manual action means that your site’s rankings will drop until Google revokes the action.
This can either be at the page level or sitewide.

Some reasons why you may have received a manual action include:

• Keyword stuffing
 • Unnatural links (both to and from your site)
• Various kinds of spam
• Thin content with little or no added value

5. Check for Mobile-Friendliness Issues

We live in a mobile-first world, and if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, there’s a good
chance that you aren’t putting your user experience first. Mobile-friendliness is one of the
main Page Experience signals for Google. In fact, it has been a ranking factor since 2015.
Which means it can directly influence your ability to rank in search results.

6. Analyze Your Site’s Speed

It is more important than ever that your site loads quickly. Page speed has also been a ranking
factor for a long time. So it can help you rank higher on Google. What’s more, it is an
important user experience factor. Looking at user behaviors, data shows that the slower a
page loads, the higher the chance of a user leaving the website.

7.Check Your Organic Traffic

Organic traffic means visitors that land on your website after clicking on unpaid (“organic”)
search results. This is one of the most important indicators of the success of your website
when it comes to SEO.

8. Find Keywords You’re Missing Out On

SEO auditing is a great opportunity to look at the keywords your competitors target. And
whether you’re missing out on any opportunities.

9. Audit and Improve Your Top Pages

A general site crawl will help you find technical issues across your website.
However, it’s also good to take a closer look at specific pages (especially the ones that are
most important for you), analyze their performance, and find ways to improve them.

10. Monitor Your Rankings

Using a rank tracking tool is one of the best ways to always keep track of your website's
performance in organic search results. These tools allow you to:
• Keep track of your website’s rankings for keywords you care about
• Check how the search engine results page (SERP) rankings change in various
geographical locations
• Compare your rankings with those of your competitors
• Get alerts for any important changes in the rankings of your website
Features of SEO
Enterprise SEO platform vendors offer numerous capabilities. Vendors differentiate by
offering more frequent or detailed data updates or content marketing features that sometimes
require additional investment. Here are nine important features of enterprise SEO platforms.

1. Link analysis and acquisition

a. Links continue to be one of the most important external or “off-page” signals that can
help a website rise in search engine rankings.
b. Most enterprise SEO platforms provide link analysis (i.e., what sites are linking to
yours), link building or removal recommendations via competitive analysis and other
reports that reveal opportunities for obtaining links (i.e., what sites should you solicit
links from) as part of their base platforms.

2. Keyword research/rank analysis

a. Keyword research – knowing what terms people use to find your website, how your
pages rank for various queries and how you should use those terms in your copy – is a
pillar of effective SEO.
b. Virtually all enterprise SEO platforms provide keyword research tools that allow
marketers to discover the ways that consumers search for content, and what keywords
are driving traffic for competitors.

3. Search intent-based analysis

a. Google’s search algorithms, often powered by artificial intelligence, are focusing less
on keyword matches and more on search intent.
b. To counter the lack of keyword data, SEO platform vendors are developing more
tools that analyze search intent and predict or recommend the most relevant content
that would meet the searcher’s needs.

4. Custom site crawls/audits

a. Site crawls or audits are important tools offered by enterprise SEO platform vendors.
b. Some platforms offer optimization recommendations for keywords, page structures
and crawlability. They often prioritize and assign scores for such factors as HTML
title tags, body tags and meta tags.
c. Many enterprise SEO platforms provide daily site crawls; some feature real-time
technical data, while others offer updates on a weekly basis.
d. Ideally, the tool should be able to crawl the entire site, not just random pages.
However, some enterprise sites are so large it’s unrealistic to expect a tool to crawl it
in its entirety.
5. Content marketing and analysis

a. SEO and content marketing have become closely aligned, as Google has raised the
content quality bar through artificial intelligence as well as its regular algorithm
updates. As a result, relevant, up-todate content has become integral to SEO success.
b. Many vendors have upgraded the content optimization and content marketing
capabilities of their enterprise SEO platforms and expanded the tools’ content
marketing features. These include:

• Page management tools or APIs to monitor on-page content and errors.

• Reports on content performance and traffic trends.
• Influencer identification and campaign management.
• Real-time content recommendations.

c. More advanced platforms perform analysis to help improve the depth and quality of
content by performing topical analysis of content and comparing it against the
competition to identify potentially important gaps and make recommendations for
improvement.

6. International search tracking

a. International search coverage has become a critical capability, as the global economy
leads more U.S.-based enterprises to conduct business online and offline in multiple
countries and languages.
b. Virtually all enterprise SEO platforms profiled in this report offer some level of
international search coverage that crosses borders, languages and alphabets.
c. The capabilities include international keyword research, integrating global market and
search volume data into the platform, as well as integrating global CPC currency data.

7. Mobile/local analytics

a. Google’s search engine updates are increasingly focused on improving the

mobile/local search user experience.
b. While mobile-friendly sites are now table stakes in the SEO game, appearance in local
listings has become more important, which elevated e-commerce and digital
communication among local retailers and restaurants.
Search Engine Optimization Techniques

1)On-page optimization techniques

On-page SEO is a technique that is used for optimizing individual web pages to rank higher
and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. In search engine optimization, like Google,
Yahoo, and Bing on-page optimization refers to a factor that affects your website and web
page listing in the natural search results.

a. Use title tags

Title tags are HTML elements you can use to designate the name of a webpage and are
displayed on SERPs as the clickable result title. Each title tag should be unique, descriptive
about what the page is about, optimized with a keyword and under 60 characters in length.

b. Include relevant and optimized headings

Headings are the titles you give your content, and these should be in H1 format for the best
results. Headings should focus on relevant and descriptive words, and while you can optimize
them with keywords, don’t stuff them. In order to break up content, you can also use
subheadings (H2 through H6), but don’t repeat keywords or phrases throughout a post

c. Think about your URL structure

Your URL structure is important when search engines determine how relevant a page is
compared to a query, and it should be descriptive of the page’s subject. You can also
optimize URLs with keywords, so long as they're relevant.

d. Include alt text

Alt text (alternative text) provides search engines with more information about an image,
though it’s typically used to describe images to web visitors who can't see them. As such,
your alt texts should be specific and descriptive of the image content.

e. Prioritize page load speed

Page load speed is important because slow-loading pages have high bounce rates: 47
percent of people expect a site to load within two seconds, and 40 percent will leave after
three. As such, search engines penalize slow-loading pages with a lower ranking, so it’s
important to ensure fast page load speed.

f. Include relevant internal links

Internal links make your site easy to navigate for visitors, but they also make it easier for
search engines to understand your site and index your pages which will result in a higher
rank. At the very least, each page on your site should link back to its category or subcategory
page and to the homepage.
2)Off-page Optimization techniques

Off-page optimization refers to the technique that can be used to improve the position of a
website on a search engine results page (SERPS). Many people associate off-page SEO
with link building but it is not only that. It is also used in promotion methods like blogging,
website design, social bookmarking, etc.

1. Pay special attention to your social media. You can increase your rankings with
branded queries. Besides, social media are kind of separate search engines. People go
to social networks to communicate with a brand, find answers to their questions, and
see some behind-the-scenes. Therefore, consider providing a cohesive user experience
and support brand consistency across all channels.
2. Start guest posting. Look for companies that are similar to yours so that their target
audiences may need your solution. Offer them cooperation: you’ll write a valuable
and expert piece of content, and they publish it on their blog. Apart from benefiting
from their authoritative link, this will help you increase your brand awareness and
outreach, drive referral traffic from this site, and bring in new leads. However, you
should be ready to provide this site with unique and highly relevant content.
3. Try to join local listings. A local listing is a directory a user sees when googling
“...near me/nearby”. Being listed on a popular directory such as Foursquare, for
example, provides you with a valuable backlink from an authoritative source and new
leads.
4. Communicate with potential leads on forums. Thousands of people use Reddit and
Quora to find answers to their questions and talk to experts and like-minded people.
Look through popular discussions where you can share your expert knowledge and
experience to help people.
5. Make use of broken link building. Broken links harm sites a lot, but you can use
them to your advantage. Find your competitors’ broken links, no matter whether these
are links to your site or not, inform the site owners about them, and offer to replace
them with relevant links to your site. This is a win-win for both since you’ll help this
site reduce the number of 404, improve the user experience it provides, and benefit
from getting a valuable backlink.

Writing SEO content

What Is SEO Writing?

a. SEO writing is the process of writing content with the goal of ranking on the first
page of search engines like Google. This is achieved by researching relevant
keywords and creating optimized content that answers the user’s intent.
b. SEO writing optimizes the content on the page so that search engines will more easily
crawl its content and judge it favorably. When it is judged more favorably, it is given
a better placement in the search engine results page (SERP).
c. If the content is created without SEO in mind, it may not appear to be search engine
friendly, and the crawlers may not even figure out what the page is about.
Why Is Writing for SEO Important?

a. SEO writing is done to help content rank better on Google. If the content is not
optimized, it will come up several pages back in a search.
b. A study found that the number of clicks that pages get depends not only on getting
onto that first page of search results, it also depends greatly on getting as high up on
that page as possible.
c. Writing for SEO is also important because it is a marketing technique that keeps
going for the life of your website.
d. Good SEO content keeps working for your website no matter what else you do to
market your site.

SEO Writing Tips & Guidelines to Make Your Content Go Further

1. Write for your audience first

Write content that appeals to the interests of your target market or answers their questions.
Not all posts need to be about your product or service, but they all should be industry related.
Assert yourself and your company as an effective expert in your industry by writing SEO-
friendly content that is interesting and informative, and do it better than your competition.

2. Make headlines that pack a punch

You have a very short amount of text to make a very big impression. So don’t underestimate
the power of an effective headline on SEO! Write headlines that are clear, interesting and
make use of rich keywords. In addition to a great headline, also make sure your meta
descriptions are interesting and further elaborate on the topic of your article. Keep in mind
that your title and meta description are what show up in the search results, so make them
count!

3. Use keyword-rich phrases

Use relevant, keyword rich phrases in your headlines as well as throughout your content to let
both your readers and the search engines know what your post is about. Use keywords
thoughtfully and sparingly, sticking to a more natural feel. In addition to using keywords
throughout the body of your post, take advantage blog tags by tagging a few relevant
keywords for each post; most general blogs have tagging capabilities already built in.

4. Structure your posts

The contents of your post may be great but can be easily lost in an unorganized, inefficient
format. Breaking your content up into smaller paragraphs with headlines makes for an easy
read that will keep your readers engaged. For the search engines, back-end organization is
key too. Using proper tag hierarchy when tagging headlines (H1 for titles, H2 for subtitles) is
important to maintain a well-structured article.

5. Propel content with social media

Social media is a powerful tool that can help increase the reach of your content and promote
sharing. Post each new article on social media sites and in forums, using engaging
descriptions and a call-to-action. Since the power of social media lies in sharing, it’s also
important to have share buttons on each of your blog posts.

6. Implement Google Authorship

Google Authorship is a quick and easy way to tie content to a certain author, all you need is a
Google+ account. As a result, your articles come up as rich snippets in the search results
featuring the author’s photo along with the article title. Google Authorship is great for
personal promotion, but can also increase the click through rate to your articles.

7. Promote natural link building

Link building has come a long way since the days of link buying and link farms, but links are
still an important ranking factor for SEO. Linking to your own articles or website in your post
ensures a link back to your website if your article is picked up by another site. If you get
creative with other types of content like infographics and videos, adding an embed code on
your site helps to promote content sharing and also adds a link back to the original source.

8. Monitor your activity

Stay on top of your SEO friendly content by monitoring your efforts. Google Analytics is an
easy and free way to track your page views and the average time spent on a page. Check
things like your bounce rate and time on site to get an idea of how users interact with your
website after landing on your content. Also, take a look at the number of social interactions
(shares, likes, etc ) to get an idea of the virality of your post. Just looking at these simple
metrics can give you a good idea of which content pieces are well-received and liked so that
you can replicate that type of content down the road.

Jobs in SEO

SEO job opportunities are abundant in today's digital landscape. With the growing
importance of online visibility, businesses are actively seeking SEO professionals to improve
their search engine rankings and drive organic traffic. Job roles such as SEO specialists, SEO
analysts, and digital marketing managers are in high demand.

For example, a company hiring an SEO specialist might task them with conducting keyword
research, optimizing web pages, and analyzing site performance using tools like Google
Analytics. These opportunities provide a promising career path for those interested in the
dynamic field of SEO.

Job Roles and Responsibilities

SEO Specialist
• An SEO Specialist is a highly sought-after position in the digital marketing industry.
• They are responsible for optimizing websites and improving their visibility on search
engine results pages.
 • SEO Specialists perform keyword research to identify relevant terms and phrases
customers use to search for products or services.
• They conduct on-page optimization, ensuring webpages have proper meta tags,
headings, and keyword placement.
• They also work on off-page optimization, building quality backlinks from other
websites.
• SEO Specialists analyze website performance using analytics tools and make data-
driven decisions to improve rankings.
• They stay updated with search engine algorithms and trends to adapt their strategies
accordingly.
• With the constant growth of online businesses, the demand for skilled SEO Specialists
is expected to keep rising.

SEO Analyst

• SEO Analysts play a crucial role in optimizing websites for search engines.
• They analyze website performance, conduct keyword research, and monitor search
rankings.
• By evaluating data and metrics, they identify areas for improvement and implement
strategies to enhance website visibility. For instance, they may perform on-page
optimization by ensuring relevant keywords are incorporated in meta tags and content.
• They also analyze competitor strategies to stay ahead.
• Additionally, SEO Analysts use tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic
and user behavior, providing valuable insights for decision-making. Their expertise in
data interpretation and SEO best practices helps in driving organic traffic and
improving search visibility.

Digital Marketing Manager

• Digital Marketing Managers play a vital role in the SEO job outlook. They oversee
the overall digital marketing strategy, including SEO implementation.
• Their responsibility is to drive organic traffic growth and improve website visibility.
This involves analyzing data, conducting keyword research, and collaborating with
SEO specialists to optimize content.
• They also monitor website performance, track SEO metrics, and identify opportunities
for improvement.
• With their expertise in digital marketing, they ensure that SEO efforts align with
broader business goals.
• Successful Digital Marketing Managers leverage SEO to increase brand visibility,
attract qualified leads, and drive conversions, ultimately contributing to the overall
success of the organization's marketing efforts.