Let me start by saying this, there are endless amounts of SEO tips and tricks that can be given about getting the most out of Search Engine Optimization. This is only the start of it. SEO is very important. There is so many more posts to come but if you can get the main ideas from this one and utilize the tips, you are well on your way to having a greatly optimized web page.
Search Engine Optimization is a big topic now because with how much Google is utilized, who wouldn’t want to be on the first page? This is not an easy feat due to the algorithm that google uses that nobody really fully knows. There are ways to understand how it works but nobody will really ever know the actual algorithm. According to ProtoFuse, “Page 1 placement is where 90% of Google traffic comes from. That’s pretty phenomenal if you think about the numerous pages that are returned on any given search”. This is a huge stat because if you get on Page 1, you are getting 90% of traffic.
Dan Swords SEO Tips
To get a better understanding of SEO I asked one of my favorite bloggers, Dan Swords from danswords.com, what he thinks the most important part of SEO is?
“The answer. You have to do it slowly!
Google page 1.
Everyone is looking for that coveted page 1 rank. There are all kinds of schemes on the web to help you reach page 1 almost overnight. But SEO building is a slow process and to do it the right way, it will take time. Three factors that Google takes into account are the domain age, the domain authority (backlinks from other “Google approved sites” and content that is relevant to the site. Domain age, we can’t do too much about. Domain authority, we can do a little by interacting with other approved sites. But the relevant content, is totally in our hands. Spammy, keyword stuffed posts will get you nowhere. Google is looking for well-written content that answers the Google user’s search question.
Here are three tips that you can incorporate into your blogging routine today to help you in your journey to Google page 1.
1. Use meaningful URLs. Don’t use mywebsite.com/blog-post/03/03/2018. Try mywebsite.com/seo-tips
2. Add images to your blog posts. If you don’t think images are important, do a Google search and at the top of the page, look at the fourth category. It’s labeled Images.
3. Always write for your readers and not for the Google bots. Be consistent in your posting schedule and create unique well-written, well-researched content.”
If you can’t tell by that answer, Dan really knows what he is talking about.
I personally am a culprit of bullet point 1 in his list of useful SEO tips. I always have had posts with permalinks that had the date on them until I met Dan and took his advice and changed them to keep them simple. This is already helping me out very much.
When it comes to images, although they are often overlooked, they are a very important aspect of Search Engine Optimization. Google looks at just about every aspect of your web page to take into account where to rank it. This includes the name of your image. If you have an image named hjdfjsh834573m.png and there is a web page with the exact same content yet the image is named walking-a-dog.png, guess who will be ranked higher in Google? You guessed it, the web page with the image name that makes sense to Google.
Image Alt attributes are also an aspect of SEO to consider. If you have no Alt attribute or an Alt attribute that doesn’t make sense to Google, you are not going to be ranked as high as you could be. Alt attributes are what is shown when the image can’t be shown for some reason. This is the same as the scenario above, Google will take the one that makes sense over the one that it doesn’t understand anyday.
Conclusion
This is just the beginning of SEO tips and tricks that you can use in order to rank your web pages higher in Google. Even if you are using a framework such as React, you can improve SEO. Google, although it is just using an algorithm, is more worried about giving the best content to the user who searched. Starting with these SEO tips will help you to be on your way to getting your web page on Page 1. Check out our previous post, Web Design Blogs to Follow. As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below or contact us.
