Today's Topic What is SEO and How it works? DO SEO By Yourself.

What is SEO and How it works

What is SEO? How can the website jump to the homepage? Marketing beginners can understand it at first reading!

New websites and new web pages are born every day, which makes the Internet development dividend period very small, even long past. In other words, if you do not master the right marketing methods and business strategies, it will be more difficult to develop e-commerce or expand your brand well in 2021 and in the future.
In the online world, search engines are an important medium for guiding users to discover information. The ranking gap displayed by search results is related to the size of search exposure and traffic, and also affects users' perception and evaluation of the company. Now the importance of SEO to enterprises can be said to be more obvious than ever, and it is necessary to pay more attention to it.

Why is SEO important?

Before search engines were invented, people were accustomed to obtaining information through newspapers, magazines, TV, books, yellow pages, etc. Search engines have completely changed the way people obtain information. Google alone has more than 3.5 billion searches per day. .

Therefore, as more and more people get used to finding products and services on Google and other search engines, it is very important to optimize the ranking of related terms. For example, people who search for "Loafers" on Google are likely to buy loafers. Therefore, free traffic from search engines can bring you more revenue.

My own website has gained about 15 million impressions for free in the past year, because many keywords have good search rankings Competitive keyword search ranking does take time and resources, but if successful, the site may continue to receive valuable traffic.

If you continue to conduct SEO for different keywords, then website traffic will also increase, which is why SEO is considered to be one of the Internet marketing methods with the highest return on investment! If you want to make your website and e-commerce development more successful, you'd better understand how to do SEO. I think this is the foundation of online marketing and one of the core focuses. Because searching for information is one of the basic needs of modern people on the Internet, and it is also the most direct, fastest, and trusted marketing method for businesses to connect with potential customers. People searched the Internet for information and didn't find you, so they can only choose your competitors, which is really a pity, isn't it?

SEO has many benefits for businesses. Here are 6 common advantages:
・This is a low-cost, high-return, long-term and effective online promotion method . It can allow more people to find the products or information they need faster . It can increase the exposure of corporate websites and increase the visibility and credibility . The advertising costs are gradually increasing. Can make up for advertising budget in disguise ・SEO helps improve user experience and website usability ・Can influence and increase the sales conversion rate of other marketing channels

Based on the above advantages, it is precisely why I think SEO is the reason that every company that wants to expand its business through the Internet should pay attention to it. When you can do this well, you can put on Facebook ads , run online communities , and use Other digital marketing tools... etc., can see significant effects or exert greater benefits.

Next, let me talk about what is SEO?
What should SEO do to actually get the marketing effect mentioned above?

About SEO search engine optimization

What is SEO

What exactly does SEO mean? SEO comes from the English abbreviation Search Engine Optimization, Chinese translation is search engine optimization or search engine optimization. The definition of

Wikipedia is: SEO search engine optimization (English: Search Engine Optimization, abbreviated as SEO), is a way to adjust the website by understanding the operating rules of the search engine, and to improve the ranking of the target website in the relevant search engine ( Basically, Google is the main body).

So what is the optimization work that SEO needs to do?

Is it to adjust the site structure? Is it to enrich the website content? Is it to improve website loading speed? Is it to improve search ranking? Is it to enhance the user experience? Is it to increase traffic?

YES, I must say both, this is neither the answer to unity, nor the benefit of unity. Because search engine optimization actually includes the three elements of website, search engine, and search user, there are really many things that need to be done. Simply put, SEO operations are mainly divided into three types: technical optimization, on-site optimization, and off-site optimization.

Can I operate SEO by myself?

The answer is simple, you can definitely do it yourself, and many companies have successfully done it. I have coached many companies for internal execution, and many of them are the bosses who learn by themselves. At the beginning of my business, I also started to research and invest myself. I am sure that as long as I master good methods and skills, the benefits of one person's execution will not be less than that of outsourcing to an SEO company.

For small companies, it is not easy to compete with large companies because there is a gap in their marketing budgets. Although this is an indisputable fact, no matter how big your competitors are, you can still optimize your website to the first page of Google with the right approach.

Take me as an example. There are many online marketing companies and older seniors in Taiwan, but when you search for "digital marketing", you can find my website on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing in Taiwan. And this result is achieved by me alone, so I believe you have the opportunity to do it, even if you are only a one-man company.

How to determine the search ranking order?

Google or any search engine has a crawler machine. The crawler collects data, brings all the data back to the search engine and builds an index, and then ranks it through the search engine algorithm. For example, there are more than 200 ranking factors in the Google algorithm, and SEO is different from paid advertising, and it is impossible to pay search engines to obtain higher organic search rankings. To know how to display your website on the first page of search engine results, you first need to know how the search engine works. It is recommended to watch the following Google official introduction video. (You can confirm whether the Chinese subtitles are turned on)

After watching the above video, you should already have basic knowledge of search engines. Although Google attaches great importance to search algorithms, and continues to improve and introduce new ones, it is not all public and clear information. And if you want to quickly improve your search ranking, you may be attracted by many rumors and fall into the dark trick, which is commonly known as black hat SEO. This type of approach only focuses on the vulnerabilities of search engines and is not human-oriented at all.

Search engine optimization is not simply to please search engines, so there are some methods that may be effective in the short term, but in fact they violate Google’s rules of the game or create no actual value. In the end, this method of operation will not be too long. After being discovered, the search ranking will drop very quickly, and it may even affect future development opportunities, or there will be rankings but no positive marketing benefits.
In contrast, the formal practice is called white hat SEO, which is an optimized way to build sustainable development and obtain actual results. Therefore, it is generally inevitable to use gray hat SEO, which is a vague approach between white hat and black hat, or has not been actually clarified by search engines.

Some people may disagree with my statement, but I will say this because some SEO practices are only the practices predicted or recognized by certain experts, rather than representing the fact that search engines fully agree with it. This is why white hats and Grey hats are often the cause of coexistence. For me, gray hat is not cheating. My definition of gray hat is just an optimization method that has not been officially approved by the public, but its thinking mode and practice are still positive.

After I have a basic understanding of SEO, I will talk about the three major optimization points covered by search engine optimization.

Technology Optimization (Technical SEO)

technology to optimize the name suggests and website technology and functions, but also to lay the core of SEO like URL structure, site map, Meta, to simplify the code, mobile ... and so on, which can ensure that search engines can no Crawl and include the website in a problematic manner. Although search engines are becoming more and more advanced, it does not mean that technical optimization has become completely unimportant.

On-page SEO (On-page SEO) On-page

optimization involves all relevant ranking factors within the website, such as: title, content, pictures, user experience... etc. The relevant principles for the website and content belong to this category, and the purpose is to make the website It is more friendly to search engines

Off-page SEO (Off-page SEO) Off-page

optimization refers to related factors outside the website, and is not entirely in your own hands, such as: social media, external backlinks, brand mentions. Off-site optimization can also enable the site to get more referral traffic and to have a higher ranking in the search results page. Below I will focus on the three major operations mentioned above. Although this does not include all the levels and details of my implementation, if you have not yet started to perform SEO, this may make you busy. And for optimizing certain industries or keywords, it is actually enough for you to surpass your opponents, because many people have not yet started to implement them

Technical SEO optimization focus

The main goal of technical optimization is to help search engines to effectively understand and read the content of the website, and the technical aspect is the first priority for performing SEO, because any problems in technical optimization may be hindered and cause other problems. .

Technical SEO is almost not very difficult to achieve, nor will it increase the cost of website design too much . However, after I do SEO consulting and health check websites for many companies, I found that this is one of the common problems faced by many corporate websites. Because they didn’t understand it at the beginning, the website was not in place. Search engine optimization is completely separate.

A good website structure can also bring a better user experience to users, and the easier the website is to be visited and understood by search engines, the greater the search ranking advantage. Ideally, the site structure must be worked out before the site is completed, and unnecessary modification costs can also be avoided.

This part involves many technologies. In order to allow novices to understand more quickly, I will talk about several key implementation points that require special attention.

URL structure

In addition to choosing a domain that is conducive to brand development, a good website structure is also very important. The following 3 URL structures are an obvious contrast between good and bad:

The first is an example of an SEO friendly URL structure, because both users and search engines can know at a glance that it is related to the SEO theme. Compared with the second and third URLs, it is a bad example because the content cannot be determined at all. What might it be related to.

Meta Title and Meta description

Each page should have its own Meta Title and Meta description, so that search engines can clearly identify and understand. This is the basis for the title and description to be displayed on the search results page. If the website lacks these two functions, search engines will automatically make claims, and often display poor results. These two functions can be said to be content salesmen, otherwise no matter how good the content may be, it will fail and be ignored. At the same time, this can also increase the click-through rate of the website on the search results page. If the search click-through rate increases, the search ranking of the website may also increase

Mobile version

If the website lacks a browsing design that is compatible with mobile devices, it is very easy to lose these traffic. Because mobile Internet traffic has surpassed computer traffic, and Google will also prioritize data crawling for the mobile version of the website.

Although this is a very obvious answer, it can still be checked through Google's testing tools, because it may be improperly designed to cause some parts to be used or missing in browsing.

Mobile device compatibility test- https : //search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

Loading speed

Time is money. Time is really more important than anything else. This applies to SEO. Google’s research proved this and said that if the reading time exceeds 7 seconds, the probability of a visitor bounce off your site will increase by 113%.

Therefore, the loading speed of the website is too slow. Not only will visitors leave before the website is opened, but search engines will also dislike it. This reduces the chances of the website getting a good search ranking. So please make sure that the website loading speed is not too bad.

In this part, you can use Google's testing tool to understand the loading speed of the webpage. The testing tool will directly tell you the number of seconds and good or bad reviews. It is ideal that the loading speed can be optimized to within 5 seconds, but this is not an absolute value, because the larger the site, the harder it is to achieve, and small sites can also load faster.

https and SSL certificate

Security has been regarded as one of the factors of SEO search rankings, and people are also worried when the website is not secure.

Chrome is currently one of the most popular browsers. The insecure warning notice tells people that it is best not to browse the website. Therefore, both new and old websites should use secure encryption protocols, especially those that require users to submit personal information, and they need to be installed. SSL certificate and complete as soon as possible.

On this point, you can refer to my other introductory article: What are https and SSL certificates

SEO optimization focus on the site

There are many things that need to be done in site optimization. The first and most important thing is the content. You may have heard before: Good content is king. This is true in the past, and even more so now and in the future. why?

Because the search engine is to find the content results that can meet the needs of users in the best way, and then use this to create a win-win situation (search engine, user, website). ​And no matter how the future marketing methods and trends change and develop, content will be the most critical point. Any industry has content, but you need to know how to display content and provide better content than opponents. This is also the current need to do SEO. Important part.

Just like any online marketing tactics cannot help sell bad products, if the product and website content are poor, search engine optimization can play a very limited role. In addition to creating good products and good content, you must also do the following things

:

Keyword Research

Keyword research is an important part of the content, and it is also a very important topic for SEO. Because this is the starting point of the content theme, the page title and body text also need to include the target keywords. Random use of keywords will also damage search rankings, rather than improve efficiency.

Keyword research is not a once-and-for-all thing, in fact it is quite the opposite. SEO needs to do keyword research from time to time, or constantly re-evaluate the use of terms. Keyword research can be said to be one of the starting points of the SEO implementation plan, because if you don’t know what people actually search for, it’s difficult to know what needs and intentions are. You will only rely on luck instead of data to determine your plan.

Google: "We process trillions of searches every year, and 15% of them are keywords that have never been seen before." This shows the importance of keyword research, and it is not static.

This part may be far more important than many novices expected. If you ignore it or have no idea at all, if you plan to outsource SEO to others, you are more likely to be bluffed, and you don’t know if you are bluffed.

Fortunately, there are query tools to help you complete this research! For example, the Google Keyword Planning Tool is a research tool, and the data comes directly from Google.

You can use this tool as long as you create a Google Ads account, and you only need to enter the keywords you want to know.

Content creation and update

The second step is to create web content to be ranked. The starting point must be high-quality content, rather than having content, so that it will be conducive to gaining recognition from search engines and users. In addition to focusing on high-quality content, you must also include keywords to increase relevance.

In addition, updating content can have a greater chance of improving search rankings, but the introduction of new content is only a way, not simply updating the content site search rankings will improve. As long as the content is great, you can get good results even if you update it only once a month, or if you haven't updated it for a long time. However, when the market you are in is more mature and more competitive, the frequency of updating your website will become more important, because non-update means that there is no change, no progress, or outdated information, and users will also lose the need and interest to visit again. .

Remember, the goal of search engines is to provide high-quality and outdated content so that users are satisfied with the search results and are willing to continue using it in the future. Therefore, the website must have enough rich content, but also need to update the content in a timely manner according to the situation, so that it will be easier to get the favor of search engines and add points

Picture optimization

Every website is almost inseparable from the use of pictures, but search engines are not smart enough and not complete enough to completely figure out what is in the picture. Therefore, you must take the initiative to inform. In this part, you can add an alt description and clearly name the image file to the image, for example: Good: Bad: At the same time, make sure to compress and adjust the size so that the image does not hinder the loading speed

User experience

The user's behavior will also affect the evaluation of the website by search engines. For example: Suppose I am looking for a gentleman hat, and then click the first three search results to compare. I think the information provided by the first and third websites met my expectations, so I spent a few more minutes browsing. But the second one was not as expected, and I closed it after 10 seconds of clicking.

Such browsing behavior will tell search engines that this website may not be good or suitable for me, and they will incorporate these relevant information into the reference results. This is why data analysis has become so important, so if SEO wants to do a good job, data analysis must not be ignored.

This part may be related to the title, content, or page layout, and the user experience is relatively tricky, and it will also require continuous optimization

Key points of SEO optimization off-site

Off-site SEO is as important as on-site SEO. This is not to choose one or the other, but to complement each other. Off-site optimization can be said to be the easiest to understand, but also the most difficult part to implement, because it is difficult for you to have complete control.

External backlinks

Some people will say that external backlinks (having a hyperlink to your own website on an external website) are everything SEO is wrong, but this is indeed a very important part of SEO. Yes, this factor will remain the same until 2021.

External backlinks are like other websites voting for you, so if there are many "good websites" linking to your website, search engines will think that the website is popular and worthy of recommendation, so it can make the natural search ranking higher.

In the past, you can easily find many websites or forums that are willing to exchange links by searching for "Friendly Links" on the Internet, and get a higher search ranking. But this simple approach is outdated, and I don’t recommend using this approach anymore, it is too dangerous

Number of links

If these links grow at a natural rate, not only will they get higher search rankings, but they will also generate better brand awareness and exposure.

However, most people only value the number of links. This is also a huge mistake. The reason is that search engines will not only ignore the sources of low-quality or spam links, but can even cause bad effects. In other words, messing around will not only make search rankings and traffic better, but it will also get worse. This is why it is necessary to learn how to optimize search engines, because it may be worse than having no execution. The reason is that Google has a penalty mechanism.

Link quality

Another important factor to consider is the quality of the website from which the link originates, and quality is far more important than quantity. For example, a link from a well-known website will have more value than a friend’s blog link.

Link relevance

In addition to quality, relevance is also extremely good. For example, if you run a beauty brand, getting links from beauty blogs will give you more points than links from food blogs, because it is more convincing. For example, a dance teacher approves of my dancing ability will be more convincing and influential than a chef approving of my dancing ability

Social media marketing

Social media itself is not part of the search engine algorithm factor, but in fact it will indirectly help SEO optimization. The main source of influence is sharing, because it can have an impact on off-site optimization. The reason is that the more the website is shared, the greater the chance of being quoted or reprinted, which naturally helps increase the number of external backlinks.

Moreover, excluding SEO considerations, social media should still be regarded by companies as one of the important channels for online marketing.

For this part, in addition to actively sharing the website to social media, you can also add a social sharing button and Open Graph to the website. Open Graph can customize the sharing information, including the title, description and pictures, so that the website can be shared. When you go to social media, you can have a better visual picture and click-through rate. As shown below