SEO Tutorial for Beginners: A Step by Step SEO Guide

Now that you understand how search engines work, let’s cover what you can do to your website to begin ranking higher. This section will cover on-page SEO, which has to do with the things you can do to your pages and site structure. If someone types “how to do my taxes” into Google, they want to learn more about the tax filing process and then how to do it. If you posted a blog about filing taxes, you would want it to be delivered to a Google user. The problem is your website needs to rank higher than everyone else who writes about filing taxes.

Submit an XML Sitemap to Google

Building up backlinks—that is, getting your website linked to from a trusted, high-traffic site—bolsters your site’s standing in the eyes of consumers and search engine ranking algorithms. The Cut has built a real brand that spreads beyond just search engines. They have a newsletter, partner with other brands in the space, and have social media accounts with 1M+ followers. To rank prominently for your target keywords, you need to create quality content—accurate and original content that satisfies search intent. Video SEO is the process of creating and optimizing videos for maximum visibility in search results. This includes results on search engines like Google and video platforms like YouTube.

However, some businesses may discover that their content does not directly generate new leads or sales. While the amount of time and effort required to do well with content can vary, organizations should plan for content marketing to be a long-term strategy. In most cases, it takes over a year of consistent content creation before seeing results or expecting to generate significant revenue from their content marketing operation.

Whether you’re just getting started, looking for a refresher on building quality traffic, or diving into advanced SEO tactics, we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re juggling multiple sites, millions of pages, or just a ton of keywords, STAT helps you unlock new opportunities, drive more revenue, and prove the value of your SEO efforts. Search engines look for on-page factors like topic relevance and metadata to determine the quality of your content and, in turn, where to rank your site in results pages. For me, this is link building—which is why I’ve written much of our content about this topic. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t exactly make this information accessible. So the best way to find keywords is with a keyword research tool like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

Use Short URLs

Compress images and use efficient file formats, such as .png or .webp, to improve the user experience and speed up load times. To conduct keyword research, use a free SEO Anomaly SEO tool like Ahrefs or Ubersuggest. These platforms reveal a keyword’s popularity and how easy it is to rank for that term. Tools can also suggest keywords relevant to your niche and analyze your website to determine which keywords you already rank for.

• However, don’t just add your main keyword as an ALT text across all your images.
• Making content with a similar format can increase your chances of ranking well.
• Like adding internal links, you should also link to pages on other websites to provide your visitors with extra context around the topics you cover.
• The only way to rank higher with SEO is to ensure you’re satisfying the search engine’s requirements.
• When evaluating SEO service providers, make them explain how they add value to your SEO efforts beyond what you could do for yourself via off-the-shelf SEO software.

Post your own project today to find the perfect SEO Expert for your needs and start reaping the benefits of an optimized online presence on Freelancer.com. Implementing these on-page optimization best practices can improve your website’s search engine visibility and provide a better user experience. Regularly monitor your keyword rankings, traffic, and conversion data to identify opportunities for optimization and refinement. When you finish this guide, you’ll know the basics of SEO and have a clear plan for boosting your business’s search engine rankings. Search engine optimization (SEO) best practices are tried-and-tested ways to improve your visibility in search engines like Google. Of course, some of these keywords won’t make sense for your business.