I’ve created a new video tutorial that highlights core concepts about website optimization, watch the video below (press the video play button twice).
In terms of Google rankings, be it for a local business, eCommerce, a blog or any other type of website, core principles are the same for search engine optimization. Content.
Despite what SEO Guru’s say about Google algorithm updates such as Core Web Vitals and the new Page Experience update, Google guidelines have not changed over the years (even in the year of 2021) what Google wants is the same. At its core, there are 3 components that must be addressed when getting higher Google rankings.
Achieving a website’s ultimate goal “higher conversions” requires focus of attention geared towards that ultimate goal. It isn’t a matter of creating new content, it isn’t about getting backlinks or even search engine optimizing a website. Its all these factors combined.
Because if I was to create useful content for those looking for how to get better results online with proven to work SEO tutorials in 2021, this will need keyword research, improved mobile user experience and then visitors like yourself can share this content which will take care of backlinks.
When you start learning about SEO, do not seperate SEO with everything else you are doing promoting your business website. Because then you’ll get better results online.
Content is the Heart of Search Engine Optimization
Content on a website is every single piece of digital information placed on a website. Including keywords, images, videos, pdf’s, documents, code or anything else you put on a site. Without great piece of content and a mobile user friendly website, even if I create a 1000+ word article does not mean Jack S#!t.
Ask yourself, who will take the time to read content made of 1000+ words? Do you realize how such content will be displayed on a smartphone, scroll scroll scroll. Especially if the publishing website is a small sized service offering local business and the visitor is a potential customer.
Content begins with keyword research and targeting, unless your business website already has large following willing to revisit your website you’ll need to begin your keyword research and targeting.
Now that you know which keywords you want to get results for, simply create your content according to the keywords you’ve selected.
Remember the intent behind the words is what you create content for
Website Optimization & Mobile Usability in 2021
Website optimization has 2 main components, one being On Page Optimization telling search engines like Google what the page is all about.
And second part is technical side of website optimization which includes mobile usability optimization. Today in 2021, technical & Mobile SEO is more important than ever before because of Google’s gradual-rollout of Page Experience update.
Google has really raised the bar by suggesting 2.5 seconds (which is rather difficult to achieve for 50% of most websites (particularly for complex and eCommerce sites)) page load times to aim for when optimizing for mobile device usage. You may reason as to think you don’t need to do this, or, you may be a small business owner concerned about costs. But soon or later you’ll realize the criticalness of mobile SEO.
How Can Website Owners Improve Page Load Times?
You can begin by re-evaluating your entire website, Content Management System as well as the server its built upon. Identify how the webpage loading process occurs, group JavaScript and CSS files even consider changing or removing certain plugins.
Technical side of search engine optimization is beyond the scope of explaining through a simple blog post. Thus, if you are a business website owner, or SEO specialist without the required skills such as HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, Web Server Technologies (HTTPS, SSL, Windows® Server IIS, Linux Apache etc.) its time to either learn these or hire someone who is experienced so that the website mobile usability can be improved for tomorrows Google rankings.
Mobile SEO does not mean improving page load times but rather how a website visitor will experience your website using a mobile device.
Search Engine Optimization Lesson for URI Naming
First let’s clarify this URI or URL. Think of them as meaning the same thing. Then, consider a human being visiting your website, and when they look at the browser address bar and glimpse at the URL, can he or she gain an idea about the webpage content? Because if they can, so can Google.
In this instance, I’ve named this particular webpage as SEO-Tutorial-2021 and by just looking at the URL name, anyone can understand what the content will be about.
RankYa’s Best Advice for URI Naming
- Keep it short
- Can people understand what is on the web page by just looking at its URI. Give hints using target keywords
- Can the URI structure allow you to expand the topic / keywords, and if so, what other keywords can you target (working this out early will be much better and easier to grow your website)
- Be consistent using lower-case characters and break words using hyphens
- Organize and Structure your entire website, either group related content or use topic names in the URI (websites with date based content, include numbers in the URI)
- Depending on the type of website you operate. You can use content negotiation to hide file extensions in URIs (useful when serving many diverse file formats (php, html, pdf, txt))
Web Page Title
This actually has nothing to do with SEO per se. Because HTML web standards tells us that Title element is the most important element of a quality web page. Here’s an example
<title>A Recipe for Maple Syrup Flap-Jack</title>
HTML Meta Tags
There are many different meta tags you can use when publishing web pages. At minimum include Meta Description that describes the web page contents. As in, what the reader will find when they visit the page. Here’s an example:
<meta name="description" content="SEO Tutorial for 2021 Google Mobile First Index and Page Experience requirements. Search Engine Optimization Lesson by RankYa. Learn about how to SEO to get higher Google rankings in 2021" />
For most websites including WordPress built sites, you’ll need to use SEO Plugin to include Meta Description. Keep it short around 150 characters is good enough. You can and should include synonyms and variation of words you are targeting.
Keywords Within Content Area
Google analyzes everything on a URL source code, but critically, it relies heavily on words it comes across. Since Google search engine indexes words and shows search results according to the search query, which obviously are words. Naturally, whatever web page you create will use words that are important for your business.
Having said that, its always smart to gather group of related keywords to target for Google rankings. Because when doing any type of keyword research, you’ll see thousands of words you’d like to rank in top position. However, resources won’t allow us to target each and everyone of them.
Grouping related keywords together and creating content accordingly will let search engines come to better understand your website is about a particular topic.
Local Business SEO Tip
Let’s imagine that you operate a local business, obviously location keywords (suburb, city, neighborhood etc.) would become very important to rank for in Google. That means, you can and should target Locations and create parent / child pages.
RankYa Google Mastery Tip: Even if you select and target 3 or more words (often called long tail keywords), your website and web pages are ranked based on a single words combined
More Search Engine Optimization Tutorials for 2021
Date based keyword targeting is a great way to get top Google rankings fast. Furthermore: anticipating search queries will really set your business website apart from competition.
For example: if your industry specific search queries does contain year based search queries. Then, you can and should publish content accordingly to date based keywords. Another example I can share with you is, I could easily create a content and target 2022 even if we are still in the year 2021. Be first Get More.
Image File Names
Understand the fact that Google is also an image search engine. Google analyzes the images using its file names, alt attribute and anchor text that points to it. If images on your website is about “ASUS laptop” then naming the image as asus-laptop.jpg is much better than something like this 349872.jpg
Image Alt attributes
HTML image alt attribute should extend the meaning of the image, furthermore, image optimization improves accessibility.
alt="shows blue color of ABC model of ASUS Laptop"
In return, since Google also mimics what the real human will experience on a site, by just adding alt attribute to images, you made everyone’s job easier. Furthermore: text within image alt attribute is indexable by Google. That means, when ranking algorithms calculates your website’s position, it will consider alt attributes as well.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 2021 Video Tutorial
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 Tags
Headings communicate the organization of the content on the page. h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 are called heading tags. As far as Google ranking is concerned, heading has an important weight.
Because headings extend the meaning of other headings. Think of large piece of content (let’s say 500 words blog post) written in just one chunk. This wouldn’t be smart. Instead, work out break points and place content under in heading tags. Think of a chapter in a book and your job is to create table of contents.
Although you can have multiple h1 tags per URL, its not advisable to use more than one h1 tag especially in todays’ mobile first index world.
Remember, when breaking content in to heading sections. Its smart SEO technique to include target keywords within heading tags, but make sure they blend naturally instead of repeating keywords. RankYa SEO Tip: learn to use synonyms in headings.
Internal Linking – Must Know SEO Mastery Techniques by RankYa
Understand the arena where you’re fighting your Google ranking battles. Its called The Internet or WWW. As the name suggests, its inter-connected-networks which is a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities. Everything is tied by links (internal, external, backlinks).
Knowing this, you now have a weapon to fight a winning battle. Because Google follows links to find webpages. While doing so, it analyzes words used in that link.
A link has two ends — called anchors — and a direction. The link starts at the “source” anchor and points to the “destination” anchor, which may be any Web resource (e.g. an image, a video clip, MP3 or MP4 file, a program, an HTML document, an element within an HTML document, etc.)
Let’s imagine that a web page I wanted to link to was about Core Web Vitals
By just looking at the text before the link is clicked, we can guess what the web page on the other side of that link will be about.
That’s how you use words when you internal link. Instead of using words such as here, click here, press this etc. use words that are meaningful and provides cues to the website visitor.
<a href="https://www.rankya.com/google-search-console/core-web-vitals/" title="You can use title attributes on links. Keep it short. Describe what is on the other side of the link">Text Here is Called Anchor Text</a>
Critically, you can and should change anchor text for the same web page you are linking towards when you are linking towards it often. Just imagine that I created another blog post and wanted to link to the same web page, I could change the anchor text using any of these examples
<a href="URL" title="Google Search Console Core Web Vitals">Google Search Console Core Web Vitals</a>
<a href="URL" title="Core Web Vitals Report in Search Console">Search Console Core Web Vitals</a>
<a href="URL" title="Core Web Vitals">Core Web Vitals & Page Experience</a>
Backlinks
These are links pointing towards your website’s home page and inner webpages from other websites. Although there is countless ways to get backlinks, it has to be done naturally. Since you now know the absolute cruciality of what content means. Its easier for you to get backlinks. You can share your own content on your social profiles as well as use share buttons on your site, ask your website visitors and followers (this can also include family and friends) to share your content.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide by Google
If you own, manage, monetize, or promote online content via Google Search, you can use these SEO insights by Google. At the end of the day, remember always, Google has guidelines to follow and you should at least be familiar with what they are. Avoid at all costs following so called SEO experts tactics that are against Google strict guidelines. Basically, Google wants website owners to do the right thing.
Be Ready for 2021 with this SEO Video Lesson
If you are still here reading this, then, it proves positive that you are on the way to great success in life (not just online). I say this because you understand the value of learning from experience. What better way to make things happen today. Gain the know how shared through experience. Subscribe to RankYa YouTube channel to learn even better ways to rank higher in Google and grow your online business.
After going through this blog I got amazed. Wow