SEO Basics

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results. These are the steps we typically take to complete our SEO work for a new client,  At a high level, the basics of our SEO process include:

Keyword research: Identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for and incorporating them into your website’s content and meta tags.

On-page optimization: Optimizing various elements on your website, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags, to make them more search engine friendly.

Content creation: Creating high-quality, original, and relevant content that engages users and answers their questions.

Link building: Acquiring backlinks from other websites to your website, which can help to improve your website’s visibility and ranking.

Tracking and analysis: Monitoring your website’s performance in search engine results and analyzing data to identify areas for improvement.

It’s important to note that SEO is an ongoing process and that the rules and best practices for SEO are constantly changing.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the optimization of the technical aspects of a website that can affect its visibility and ranking in search engine results. Technical SEO includes elements such as the website’s structure, code, and architecture, as well as server-side factors like page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and security. Some specific examples of technical SEO include:

XML Sitemaps: An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all the URLs of a website, which is submitted to search engines to help them better understand the site’s structure and the pages it contains.

Robots.txt: A robots.txt file is used to indicate to search engine crawlers which pages or sections of a website should not be crawled or indexed.

Canonicalization: Canonicalization is the process of specifying the preferred version of a web page when there are multiple URLs that can access the same content. This helps to prevent duplicate content issues.

Structured Data: Structured Data is a way to help search engines understand the content of a website. It uses a specific format (like JSON-LD, RDFa, microdata) to describe the information on a website, like the name of an organization, the price of a product, the number of reviews, etc.

Site Speed and Performance: Site speed is an important factor for SEO, as slow-loading pages can lead to a poor user experience and a higher bounce rate. Google also uses site speed as a ranking factor in its search results.

Mobile-friendliness: With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s essential that a website is mobile-friendly, meaning it can be easily viewed and navigated on a small screen. Google also uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor in its search results.

These are just a few examples of technical SEO. A comprehensive technical SEO audit can help identify and resolve any technical issues that may be hindering a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the optimization of the content and HTML source code of a webpage to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results. It includes optimizing elements such as the webpage’s title tag, meta description, header tags, images, and internal links, among others. The goal of on-page SEO is to ensure that a webpage is easily understood by both search engines and users, and that it contains relevant and high-quality content. This can include elements like keyword research, meta tag optimization, and content optimization, which are all important for ensuring that a webpage is well-optimized for search engine visibility. On-page SEO is an ongoing process, and it is important to keep track of changes in search engine algorithms, and to continually optimize and update webpages to stay ahead of the competition.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to the optimization of elements that are external to a website, which can affect its visibility and ranking in search engine results. It includes activities such as link building, social media marketing, and online reputation management. Some specific examples of off-page SEO include:

Link building: Acquiring backlinks from other websites to your website, which can help to improve your website’s visibility and ranking. Backlinks are considered by search engines as “votes of confidence” in the quality and relevance of your website content.

Social media marketing: Building a presence and engaging with users on social media platforms, which can help to drive traffic to your website and improve your brand’s visibility and reputation.

Online reputation management: Monitoring and managing the online reputation of your brand, including managing reviews and addressing any negative comments or reviews.

Influencer marketing: Partnering with influencers in your niche to promote your brand and get more visibility.

Brand mentions: Monitoring and tracking brand mentions online, and working to get more of them, which can help to improve the visibility and reputation of your brand.

Off-page SEO is an ongoing process, and it is important to keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and best practices, and to continually work to acquire new backlinks and improve your online presence and reputation.

It’s important to note that off-page SEO is not just about acquiring backlinks, but also about building a strong online presence, engaging with your audience and building trust with them.

Local Citations

Local citations are mentions of a local business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. These citations can be found on directories, local business listings, and other web pages. They play an important role in Local SEO.

There are several types of local citations, including:

Structured Citations: These are citations that are found on directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Google My Business. Structured citations typically include the business’s name, address, and phone number, as well as other information such as the business’s hours of operation and reviews.

Unstructured Citations: These are citations that are found on web pages, such as blogs, news articles, and other types of content. Unstructured citations typically include the business’s name and phone number, but may not include the address.

In-content Citations: These are citations that appear within the content of a webpage, like in a blog post or article.

Having accurate and consistent local citations is important for local SEO because it helps search engines to understand the location and contact information of a business. Additionally, having multiple local citations can also increase a business’s visibility and search engine ranking. It’s important to have accurate and consistent information on these citations, as even small discrepancies (like an incorrect phone number) can negatively impact a business’s local SEO.

Local SEO

Local SEO is important because it helps businesses to increase their visibility and reach potential customers in their local area. Here are a few reasons why:

It is always better for a business to start Small and Grow: Starting with Local SEO allows a business to focus on a small area, and then expand as the business grows.

Local SEO is a prerequisite for broader SEO: Local SEO can be considered as a prerequisite for broader SEO. Establishing a solid local foundation can help to improve a website’s overall visibility and search engine ranking.

Local search results: When people search for products or services in a specific location, search engines will often return results that are specific to that area. By optimizing for local SEO, a business can increase its chances of appearing in these search results, which can help to drive more relevant and local traffic to their website.

Mobile search: With the majority of search being done on mobile devices, it’s important for businesses to ensure that their website is mobile-friendly and that their local information is easy to find on mobile.

Increased visibility: Local SEO can increase a business’s visibility in local directories, such as Google My Business, Yelp, and Yellow Pages, which can help to attract new customers who are searching for products or services in their area.

Increased competition: As more and more businesses are becoming aware of the importance of local SEO, it’s becoming increasingly competitive in many industries. By investing in local SEO, a business can gain an advantage over its competitors and increase its visibility in local search results.

Better ROI: Local SEO can provide a better return on investment (ROI) than traditional forms of advertising, such as newspaper or yellow pages, because it targets people who are actively searching for products or services in the area.

Overall, Local SEO is important because it helps businesses to increase their online visibility and reach potential customers in their local area, and it helps customers to find relevant businesses more easily and quickly.  If you have additional questions or need a quote for SEO services feel free to give us a call at 203-296-0995 or email [email protected].