The Ultimate SEO Beginners Guide For 2023
How do I get my site on Google?
- Look at the top of your search results. If you’re new to SEO, this may be where you need to start your search.
- Look at the first three or four results for a particular keyword or query. This can help you get an idea of what kind of content is being indexed by Google and what kind isn’t—and it’ll also let you know whether or not there’s room for growth in future organic rankings!
- Don’t forget about contextual targeting: Googling something like “how do I get my website ranked on google?” will produce quite a few different results because each individual result will have its own url that redirects users back onto their own site (or another site owned by them). In order for these urls (the ones leading people away from yours) not only have relevant keywords but also clear calls-to-action which direct people towards landing pages where they might purchase something? Then maybe even go into detail about why buying whatever product/service makes sense for them rather than wasting time reading through all those articles that aren’t relevant.”
Do you need an SEO expert?
SEO is a process, not a single solution. It involves many different factors and it can take months or even years before you see any results from your efforts. If you’re looking for something quick and easy, then hiring an SEO company might be for you—but we would recommend against it!
The good news is that there are plenty of companies offering affordable services online today; however, these services aren’t always effective or high quality either—and they often don’t offer enough guidance on how best to use them so that they can actually help boost traffic towards your site (which would ultimately lead to higher profits).
Help Google find your content
- Use the right keywords.
- Use the right keywords in the right places.
- Use the right keywords in the correct context and order, if possible.
Help Google understand your content
If you want Google to understand your content, don’t use a formal tone. Instead of using the word “website” or “website copy” in your title tag and meta description, try using something like “Our blog.”
Similarly, if you want people to read more about what you have to say on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, don’t just write in a formal way: instead of saying things like “I am posting this tweet because I think it’s important for users’ knowledge base,” try saying things like “I am posting this tweet because I think it’s important for users’ knowledge base.” This way people will get an idea that there is more than meets the eye with whatever content they’re reading!
Create unique, catchy title
The title is the first thing people see when they search for something on Google. It should be short, to the point and descriptive.
It’s important that your title be unique as well – if you have hundreds of pages on your website with the same title, then no one will find them!
Make sure it is catchy and relevant to the content/topic of your page (e.g., if you are writing about how social media can improve customer service then maybe use “Social Media Tips For Customer Service Reps” instead). Also make sure that what you write makes sense within the context of what others are saying about this topic so people aren’t confused by random stuff in there too!
Properly describe the page’s content
- Use the right tone. This is important because you want your content to be readable and engaging, not just a bunch of technical jargon that nobody can understand.
- Use the right words. If you’re going to write a book report on Jane Eyre and you use “I” instead of “he/she” or “we/they,” then maybe this isn’t the best place for your SEO efforts!
- Use the right language (and grammar). This doesn’t just mean using words correctly—it also means making sure they’re easy for search engines like Google & Bing to understand what you mean when they rank pages in their databases based on incoming links from other sites’ content pages which contain those same terms within their text (alongside other relevant keywords). For example: if someone searches “how do I build my website?” then our goal should be getting them onto our site where we’ll answer their question in an informative way using appropriate terminology such as “SEO” and giving them all sorts off tips about how best practices apply across various platforms like Facebook ads campaigns.”
Create unique <title> elements for each page
The title tag is the most important part of a page. It’s not just the page name, but also what you want to say about that page.
The best way to create unique elements for each page is by using either a keyword research tool or by doing it manually yourself (remember: don’t copy-paste from other sites).
You can use Google Search Console for this purpose:
- Click “Sites” in the left sidebar menu
- Select “Site Content” from under “Overview” in the left hand side menu bar
Use the meta description tag
The meta description tag is what your page’s title and meta description are combined into. It should be short, but it can’t be too short or long—it needs to describe what the page is about in a way that will entice people to click on it. This means that you should use keywords in a way that makes sense for your content, but not too many at once (otherwise people may think they’re clickbait). To prevent this from happening:
- Try using only one word per line of text; if there’s any room left over after adding those words then add more relevant words instead of repeating yourself unnecessarily!
- Avoid using keywords like “free” or “best” as these aren’t really useful unless they’re used correctly (i.e., as part of an actual product name such as “Free Credit Report”). Instead try something like “5K Social Media Followers Guaranteed!” – this way anyone who sees those words knows exactly what kind of offer they’re getting before even opening up the link itself!
Accurately summarize the page content
The first sentence of your page should be a summary of what you want people to know about it. You can use this sentence in several ways:
- In the first paragraph, underline the word “you” and write a brief description of what you’re trying to do. Don’t forget to include keywords here!
- In the second paragraph, repeat this as an explanation for why they need this product or service. If there’s anything else that needs explaining (e.g., why it’s good), then include that information here as well! Note that this is not necessarily meant for search engines; instead, it’s meant for humans who might read through your content before buying from you (or not).
Use heading tags to emphasize important text
Headings are an excellent way to highlight important text, and they should be used in all your content. You can use heading tags such as H1, H2 and so on. You can also use subheadings such as H3 or H4 if you need more emphasis on a particular section of your page.
As with any other element on your site, you should use friendly language when writing titles for heading levels—for example: “The Benefits of Using SEO Services” instead of “How We Can Help Your Business Grow Through Search Engine Optimization”
You could also include some type faces along with headings (like bolded text) which makes it easier for readers to distinguish between different types within the same article or webpage without having any awkward spacing between words/paragraphs anymore!
Add structured data markup
Structured data is a way to add additional information to your website. It’s used to help search engines find your content, including its title, description and other elements such as the page’s author and date published.
You can use structured data markup in two ways:
- You can provide structured data directly on your page to tell search engines about specific things on that page—for example, if you have an image with alt text (text describing what’s in an image), then you can use its src attribute or img element with og:image to link back through images with related urls like https://www.google.com/search?q=alt+text+of+this_image&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&num=100&btnG=Search
Check your markup using the Rich Results Test
The Rich Results Test is a great way to check your markup, images and links. You can use it in all different areas of your site to make sure they’re working properly and are showing up as you want them to.
You’ll see how many visits each page gets from Google search results after being crawled by Googlebot; this gives you an idea of how relevant each page is for users who search for information about that topic or product/service on Google!
Understand how search engines use URLs
The URL is the only way that search engines can find your website. It’s important to keep this in mind, because if you want to rank higher on Google or other search engines, you need to make sure that your URLs are optimized for SEO.
URLs are the first thing a user sees when they visit a page on the internet and it’s where most of their attention goes during an exploratory search. If people don’t see your content through these links then you’re not going to get any views from them at all! So don’t forget about them because they’re very important!
Using breadcrumb lists
Breadcrumb lists are a list of links to other pages on your site. They’re useful for helping users navigate your site, and search engines love them too because they make it easy for them to find you. Don’t worry if you don’t know how breadcrumbs work yet; we’ll explain everything in great detail later on!
- Breadcrumb 1: The first breadcrumb is usually called “homepage” or “index.” This is where all the major sections are listed as well as any sub-pages that may exist under those sections (e.g., products pages).
- Breadcrumb 2: Next up comes an item called “blog” – which indicates that this page contains posts written by someone else than yourself (a blogger). If there aren’t any blog posts then it’s up to you whether or not one should be added here by default : )
Create a simple navigational page for users
The first step to creating a simple navigational page for users is to use a menu bar.
There are different ways that you can choose:
- A drop-down menu bar (where the user can select different options)
- A grid of buttons or links, like on an online store or website with multiple pages (or subfolders) that have been organized into categories and subcategories. This grid looks like a list with checkboxes in which each item has been assigned its own button on the page so that it blends smoothly into the rest of the design without any disruption from other elements on the screen!
Show useful 404 pages
- Show useful 404 pages
It’s important to be polite and clear when showing 404 pages. The user should know what they’re looking for, so make sure that your post is as helpful as possible by including a link in the text that takes them to the correct page on their domain or subdomain. If you have multiple versions of a page, use links that take users directly to their desired version (e.g., www.examplecom/product-category).
- Be patient with your audience! A lot can happen between searching for information and clicking on an article—and even if someone finds what they are looking for, it may not be exactly what they were looking for (e.g., “How do I use this?” instead of “How do I get rid of my hair?”). It’s best practice to provide multiple options rather than just one fixed answer; after all, people have different needs depending on where they are in life (elderly vs young adult) or even who they are (male vs female). So remember: don’t assume anything about anyone else’s priorities!
Optimize your content
Optimizing your website for search engines is a great way to increase traffic, but it’s not enough. You have to make sure that the content on your site is up-to-date and relevant to what people are searching for.
To do this, you can use:
- Keywords in titles (on all pages)
- Keywords in body paragraphs (on all pages)
- Keywords in meta descriptions (on all pages)
You’ll also want to consider using Alt tags on images so that they can be indexed by Google Image Search as well as having alt text displayed when someone clicks on an image search result page.
Make your site interesting and useful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c2d-J3ZqnI
The best way to make your site more interesting and useful is by using a friendly tone. This means that you should use words that are easy to understand, relate to and remember. If people can recall what they read, then it’s more likely that they will return for another look at the same topic later on down the road or share their experience with someone else who might be interested in learning about SEO as well.
A friendly tone is also important because it makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for on your website without having any confusion about how things work together within each section of content on a page (for example: navigation).
The last thing we want here is someone clicking away from our pages because they don’t understand what we mean when talking about something like “keyword research,” which often happens when people try too hard while reading through some old blog post written years ago!
Create fresh, unique content
You can help your website stand out by providing useful information. It’s important to write in a friendly tone that’s easy for people to understand, so you should make sure that your writing style is as neutral as possible.
Here are some tips:
- Use short, simple sentences that are easy for readers to read and understand at a glance (you don’t want them skimming). For example: “We’ve been working hard on improving our website” or “Take a look at our new blog post about [insert topic].”
- Avoid using passive voice or contractions; use active voice instead if possible—it makes it seem like someone is speaking directly from the heart!
- For example: “I didn’t think I could do it,” rather than “I couldn’t do it.” This will show off how much effort went into writing the article and give readers something memorable about what they just read.
Optimize content for your users, not search engines
You’ve probably seen the phrase “content is king,” but it’s so much more than that. Your content needs to be relevant and useful for your users, not search engines.
When you optimize your website for search engines, you’re basically just trying to make sure Google can find what they want on the page—which means optimizing for keywords instead of people or visitors. The goal is still making sure people see/use/share what they came there for (whatever that may be) while also helping them find things they didn’t know existed before searching through Google or some other platform such as Facebook or Instagram etcetera…
Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
- Don’t overwhelm the reader with too much information.
- Don’t make them feel like they’re being sold to.
- Use keywords sparingly and strategically, as there is no way to avoid using some in your content (you can try though).
Use links wisely
Links are the lifeblood of your website. They’re what bring people to your site and make them want to stay there. If you have a good link profile, search engines like Google can help find your content on other sites by linking back to it. In addition, links are an indication that someone else thinks highly of what you do or how you do it; this means that when others link back to your work, they’re telling the world about how good their experience was too (and hopefully attracting new customers).
It’s important not only for SEO purposes but also for social media engagement because most people won’t visit a site unless they see something related somewhere else first—and if someone clicks through from another website knowing full well that there might be some kind of relationship between those two websites (or even entirely different ones), then chances are much higher that person will come back later once he or she has finished looking around at everything else out there in cyberspace!
Optimize your images
Images are one of the most important elements in any SEO campaign and can make or break your site. You want to make sure that you’re using high-quality images, so don’t settle for anything less than perfect! Use a size that is appropriate for the page, screen and device:
- For desktop computers with large displays (1400×1050 pixels), use a maximum file size of 2MB per image. This will ensure that users have enough room to see all of the information on their screens without having to scroll down too much when viewing multiple pages at once.*For laptops/tablets with smaller displays (1024 by 768 pixels), we recommend using 528×300 pixels as a max file size because this gives users enough room to see all content on their screens without having to scroll down too much when viewing multiple pages at once.*For mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets running on Android OS versions 2-6msizes 1024×600 pixels should be used unless there is something specific about how these devices work which requires them otherwise
Use the alt attribute
- The alt attribute is used to describe the image’s content and purpose.
- The alt attribute can also be used to tell the search engine what kind of information you want on the page, like a phone number or email address.
Help search engines find your images
You can help search engines find your images by including alt tags on them. The tag is a text description of an image, and it’s important that you provide this information for every image that you want to optimize. If an image isn’t tagged with its alt attribute, then it won’t appear in search results at all!
The tag also plays a vital role in SEO; it tells Google what exactly is being displayed in the page (i.e., “this page contains photos”). The title should always be bolded so that it stands out from other text on the page and helps readers identify what they’re looking at without having to read any more than necessary; however, use care when writing titles as they may become offensive over time if left unchanged too long—for example: “This website contains inappropriate content.” This could lead someone who accidentally clicks on one of these links straight into porno heaven if they weren’t aware beforehand!
Machine learning algorithms tend not only apply certain rules but also account for how similar things happen repeatedly (and thus forming patterns). As such, Google doesn’t just see pictures; instead it looks at metadata such as file size/resolution etc., which gives us another opportunity here: we can use meta tags within our pages’ HTML code itself instead of relying solely upon their use via JavaScript script files placed elsewhere throughout webpages’ code paths.”
Make your site mobile-friendly
The best way to make sure your site is mobile-friendly is by using a responsive design. A responsive design will automatically adjust the layout of your website on different devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones. This means that if someone visits your site on their phone or tablet, it looks great! You don’t have to worry about making any changes because they’re already done for you!
If you want more information on how to create a responsive site in WordPress then check out this guide: https://www.wpthemes.co/responsive-wordpress/.
Promote your website
- Use social media to promote your website.
- Use social media to promote your blog.
- Use social media to promote your products and services that are sold online or through an e-commerce platform like Shopify, Amazon, etc., as well as other online sites where you sell physical goods (such as brick-and-mortar stores).
Know about social media sites
Social media is a great way to reach out to your audience, build community and share content. It’s also an excellent way to build relationships with potential customers.
In fact, more than half of businesses say social media has become part of their marketing strategy (source). And nearly 70% of respondents from the International Data Corporation’s Digital Magazine reported that they use Facebook as part of their SEO efforts (source).
If you want more traffic from search engines like Google and Bing then social media sites are critical for increasing your visibility online.
Reach out to those in your site’s related community
When contacting a site, try to be polite and professional. If you are reaching out to someone on behalf of your company, be honest and transparent about what you’re doing and why. Be direct in your message. You don’t have time for nonsense or games—your goal is simply to get the information that will help them improve their site so it can rank higher in search results for relevant terms (and make money).
Be patient with others as well; there might be other factors at play that might prevent them from actioning what they know should happen next!
Analyze your search performance and user experience
One of the most important things that you can do to improve your site’s performance is to analyze it. You’ll want to take note of how users are interacting with your site, and what they’re looking for when they visit it.
In order to do this, you’ll need access to some sort of analytics tool. Google Analytics is a popular one here at WSM (and if you’re reading this guide on WSM’s website, then we’ve got one installed). This tool allows us the ability track all kinds of information about our visitors: where they came from; what pages they visited; what keywords were used in search engines like Google or Bing; etc…
With this data in hand, we can begin creating strategies that will improve user experience as well as overall website performance!
About Author
I’m Noman, and I’m a Digital Marketing and SEO expert. I have a background in Website Optimisation, Digital Marketing, content writing, and I love to write.. If you need someone to help boost your online presence or just need someone to write some content for your blog, let me know!