SEO is a growing field that requires little introduction. Without SEO, it’s tough for any business to create a digital identity and spread its name in the online world. However, those, particularly beginners, who are getting to understand the nitty and gritty details can encounter problems with regards to various terminologies used in SEO.
Without knowing about the most commonly used terminologies, it will be hard for you to get a grasp over them. In this pose, we have discussed some of the most important SEO terms that are essential for you to know if you plan to pursue this field:
Off and On-Page SEO
SEO is generally divided into two main categories:
- On-Page
- Off-Page
On-Page SEO refers to the optimization techniques and tactics you apply for your own website and its pages.
Whereas, Off-Page SEO refers to all that you do off your website’s pages, meaning any other website or platform that’s not your website.
Local SEO and ranking factors to scale the Google SERP
On-Page SEO
When you’re going for On-Page SEO, you need to consider the following factors:
- Security
- Speed
- Mobile Optimization
- Domain Age
- URL Structure
- Domain Authority
- Internal Linking
- Meta Tags
- Social Signals
Now, let’s take a look at them one by one:
Security
The site’s security, validated by a legitimate SSL certificate, holds great importance.
Whenever a new user logs on to your website, they’re going to receive a notification in their browser about your site being insecure. Unless you have a valid SSL, your visitors will never submit any information on your website.
Speed
A website’s loading speed is a crucial factor in determining how well it will rank. No one likes to wait around for a web page to load and if your webpage is slow, it will be demoted as Google will never compromise on user experience
Mobile Optimization
Since most of the global traffic is logged on mobile phones, you can’t hope to rank without optimizing your website for these devices. The infrastructure and the design should be compatible with each and every gadget, tablet or smartphone.
Domain Age
As the name shows, the age of the domain that you buy factors in your overall ranking. If you’ve a new domain that just got indexed in Google’s crawlers, you’re going to have slow progress. However, regardless of how old your domain is, unless you have recently updated backlinks, it’s not going to matter.
URL Structure
Your URL structure should be organized and understandable enough for any ordinary user. Like a specific directory placed inside one of the major sub-directories, the URL should imitate a plausible and understandable hierarchical structure.
Domain Authority
Your website’s authority is directly proportional to how well your users are engaging with your content. A good domain authority means that your content is legit, credible and authoritative. It also means that you’re a legitimate source for the specific niche or industry that you’re competing in. The higher the DA of your website, the more credible and authoritative it will be and consequently, the higher the ranking it will get.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is essential if you’re looking to retain traffic and engage the audience’s interest on your website. You can link your blogs internally or take your users to a service or product page if it’s relevant enough for them. This will ultimately reduce the bounce rate of your website and have a positive impact on your overall rankings.
Meta Tags
Meta descriptions are the 160 characters that show up beneath the 60-characters long Meta title of your webpage (displayed in Blue). Not only are these the go-to reference point for crawlers to understand what your website is about, they’re also the first impressions your website will have on new users looking for relevant information. Unless your meta titles and descriptions are perfectly describing what your webpage is about, crawlers and users won’t visit your website.
It would be best to understand the concept of schemas, sitemaps and alt texts here as well.
- Schemas are kind of dictionaries that tell search engines what information your site contains.
- Sitemaps are infrastructural details about the website’s individual pages.
- Alt texts are the alternative texts you assign with images to tell search engines what the image is about.
All of these are important factors that influence your overall ranking in any search engine.
Social Signals
Another aspect of on-page SEO that you can’t ignore is the provision of social signals. Your website should offer its users the capability to share content that they find useful with their peers and connections. For that, social signals or buttons that automatically share the content on the users’ respective social platform page are essential. This will not only promote your website and its content but it will also prove to be a major factor that influences your overall ranking.
Although these are just the tip of the iceberg, they can give you a rough idea about all the things you’ll have to figure out. Starting from your on-page, a professional digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO services will work its way towards optimizing your website for off-page links. If you know of any other important on-page SEO ranking factors, feel free to mention them below!
