Search engine optimization (SEO for short) is the practice of optimizing your website so that it reaches a high ranking on the major search results pages (SERPs). It focuses on improving your rankings in an organic (free) fashion. This should be a part of every website owner’s marketing plan, especially if you’re interested in generating more traffic.
Google’s Algorithm
Google’s algorithm is what determines a website’s rankings in the SERPs. While they do their best to keep this information a secret, years of experience working in this industry gives a person a clue as to what the most important ranking factors include. There are two main factors you must take into consideration here. These include:
- On-page factors are those things that you’re able to influence from within your website. This includes technical aspects (like how fast your page loads and the quality of your code) as well as content (e.g. your website’s structure, the quality of the writing).
- Off-page factors are those marketing activities that take place outside of your website (e.g. getting links from other websites, getting attention on social media platforms). These things are challenging to influence. However, one thing you can focus on here is getting a lot of high-quality links to your website. The better and more relevant these links are the higher you’ll rank in the SERPs. Additionally, you must pay attention to how much competition your niche receives. When there’s a lot of competition it can be more difficult to rank higher in the SERPs.
Holistic SEO
The main goal of holistic SEO is to build and maintain a high-quality website. Herein you should never try to fool Google. Instead, you want to aim at using a sustainable, long-term strategy. In doing so you’ll find that ranking comes naturally. This is because it’s Google’s job to get its users to the right place. They do this by indexing all of the online information they can find in a way that’s both accessible and useful.
Google also wants to make money. They do this by taking steps to ensure that people continue using their search engine. Here they need to show their visitors the results they’re searching for. This is why they strive to rank the best websites higher in their SERPs.
To permanently rank high in Google you’ll need an extensive SEO strategy that’s focused on every aspect of your website, including your marketing. Everything (your website’s technical aspects, user experience, and content) must be top-notch. This is what’s known as a holistic approach to search engine marketing. It’s what will keep you ranking well in the SERPs.
Using Yoast as Part of Your Strategy
One of the main advantages of using the Yoast plugin is that it’ll help you create high-ranking content. Its analysis will provide you with detailed suggestions so you can optimize your content for keywords. It’ll also help you give your site structure a boost because it provides you with internal linking suggestions too. This is a great way to learn vital skills that you can start applying immediately.
Conclusion
With SEO you’re optimizing your website to make sure that it reaches as high of a position as possible in the SERPs. The best way to do this is by taking a holistic approach because then your focus is on ensuring that you make every part of your website as good as it can be. This is the opposite of black hat tactics which eventually have negative consequences on your ranking in the SERPs. For help putting these things into practice contact the Local SEO Company in Tampa, FL today.
