Perhaps the biggest question that is associated with SEO is not about what it is or why it is necessary, but how it works.
More people know what SEO is and know that it is needed to help build better search engine rankings, but with search engines like Google constantly making algorithm updates and keeping those secrets close to the belt, you can start to get frustrated if you think you are creating content that should be resonating with search engines and making an impact, but is not.
Even as algorithms and methods for SEO success change, there are three constants that serve as the foundation of SEO, the elements that you need to focus on in everything you create. The rules are constantly changing on search engines and that can have an effect on your success, but there are some things that never change when it comes to SEO and today we will present those to you.
Links
Links are very closely related to search engines and SEO and remain a constant in making your SEO work. Links are a trust builder. Google uses backlinks to determine how trustworthy a website is and confirm that it is a reliable source. This is why you see the largest websites from major companies or news outlets holding many of the top spaces. There is a trust factor that goes into rankings.
While it may feel like it is impossible to join the ranks of major companies, don’t let that deter you. Many businesses are attempting to rank for something specific, a certain product or service offered or a certain target location. The more trusted you are, the more likely you are to appear. This happens by building backlinks on reputable websites that increase your domain authority.
Keywords
There are certain keywords that have a search density that will make ranking very difficult. These are usually broad terms, like if a fishing enthusiast is searching for “boat motors,” where you can easily get lost in the shuffle among other companies that are targeting the same keywords. But if you choose a keyword like “fishing boat motors for sale,” you make your keyword more specific and are targeting a phrase with a lower search volume. This gives you a better chance of moving to the top and being one of the first results on the first page of search engine result pages.
Choosing keywords comes down to accurate and detailed research. You want to research certain keywords where the search density provides the opportunity to rank higher on results pages. It also helps you to choose keywords based on what potential customers are using to find businesses like yours.
Metadata
Links and keywords are the basic part of SEO. They are regularly seen and things you expect search engines to read when creating rankings. But there is also an element of behind-the-scenes SEO that also helps in ranking.
Search engines like Google don’t just crawl links and read all of the text on your website. They are also reading photo and image captions, tags, file names and a lot more that goes into the coding of your website. This is known as metadata, which includes elements like page titles, descriptions, tags and more. Having this space occupied by target keywords is just as important as having quality links and placing your keywords naturally in the content of your website.
Working with metadata can be tricky at times since it is part of the HTML and behind-the-scenes operation of the website. You can work on building out content and backlinks by writing guest posts on other websites or create your own content that targets keywords, but messing with the coding or metadata can get confusing quickly and lead to bigger mistakes, which is why you should leave that to a digital marketing team that can make the proper updates to help all of the major elements of your SEO go to work for you.
With Genius eCommerce, we provide regular tips, tricks, and updates on staying up to date on SEO practices and learning the fundamentals of SEO and why it is so important. Keep reading our blog for more tips from the world of eCommerce SEO.
