The basic steps to perform SEO for a website, especially for beginners, are as follows:
- Create a Website that Meets User Needs: The first step is to create a website that provides what users are looking for and optimize it for search engines. Start by collecting data and conducting research, setting up the website structure correctly, ensuring the website has a good user experience, and then build content targeting users. Also, create specific campaigns for SEO Onpage and Offpage.
- Choose a Good Website Platform: Most people use a website platform instead of writing the website code with HTML and CSS. These software allow those with little or no coding skills to create a website, manage content easily, and handle technical aspects quickly. WordPress is often recommended because it can be customized, expanded with plugins, and has a large community of developers who understand this platform.
- Install Good SEO Plugins: Most stored platforms handle basic SEO functions. There are many plugins available like Yoast and Rank Math. Both add useful input fields to your posts and pages.
- Optimize User Experience: Google wants to rank pages that provide positive experiences. You should build a website that offers benefits to users and any optimization aimed at improving the visitor experience.
- Use HTTPS: Encrypt the website with SSL / TLS to prevent personal data of visitors from being attacked.
- Design Attractive Pages: The website needs to be designed attractively in terms of images and reflect your brand. Also, ensure the use of consistent fonts, font sizes, and colors that are easy to see and read.
- Help Google Discover Your Website: Send your website manually to increase its visibility faster. Although Google can find websites automatically, if you send your website manually, you will receive certain benefits.
- Create Long-tail Keyword Lists: Identify 5-10 long-tail keywords to delve deeper into the main keyword topic, target specific queries and audiences. The more specific your content is with user needs, the more likely you are to convert this traffic into potential customers.
- Choose Descriptive URL Slugs: For each page or post you publish, you also need to set a descriptive slug – the last part of the URL. High-ranking websites usually have short URLs and rich keywords.
- Optimize SEO Onpage: SEO Onpage tells you how to optimize your website when building specific pages. Elements like title, subtitle, URL, and meta tags fall under this category. Maximize 5 keywords or phrases per page on your website and optimize them. In the entire copy of the content, the keyword density is around 1-2%, ensuring natural distribution and avoiding stuffiness.
- Optimize Images: Set the file name, use alt text replacements, and compress images using plugins like Shortpixel or Compress/Tinypng to improve page speed 4.
- Use SEO Technical Tools: Google Search Console can find indexing errors, page speed issues, etc., while Ahrefs Webmaster Tools can find over 100 issues about SEO on your website, including many technical issues.
Remember that SEO doesn’t produce results immediately. It requires time, especially with a lot of online content, so you need to work diligently to create high-quality content, attract backlinks, and establish reputation with Google. However, you can get conversions even when traffic is low by optimizing the website for users. SEO improves conversion rates by directing suitable searchers to your content, and what you need to do is make them feel satisfied and rate highly their web experience