Google SEO Guide for Beginners
I wrote this beginner’s guide because I believe that knowledge about Google SEO should be accessible to everyone, not just a select few “experts.” While it is true that search engine optimization can be a bit confusing due to certain jargon, methods, and tools, it is also true that you can achieve excellent results by mastering just the basic concepts.
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) involves optimizing a website to improve its ranking in the results displayed by search engines. In other words, it’s about trying to get your site to appear first when users search on Google for something related to your site’s topic. For Technical SEO Audit Get in touch with us in London
What is the purpose of SEO?
The goal of SEO—or improving a site’s ranking on search engines like Google—is to increase visibility and attract more visitors, which can lead to more sales or higher overall revenue.
That is why it is so important today: it is a free and incredibly powerful channel for attracting users who can become your readers, subscribers, customers, and so on.
Previously, if you searched for “create a fashion blog” on Google, my general tutorial on creating a blog would appear in the 8th position. One way to “optimize” the SEO for that tutorial—so it would rank higher in the search results and attract more visitors—was to update it with a specific section on how to create a fashion blog.
Google then recognized that the content specifically addressed that topic, and the result now appears among the top 5 spots for that search.
It is true that Google is increasingly better at “understanding” what users are looking for (interpreting our language) and how they search (such as via voice search), as well as “reading” websites more effectively to provide answers to those queries; however, the fundamental and technical aspects of SEO—which I am about to explain—remain crucial.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO refers to the optimization performed directly on the pages of the website you want to rank in Google search results. In other words, it covers everything you can change on your site to try to appear at the top of Google searches:
- Titles
- Descriptions
- Content
- Images
- How the site’s pages link to one another
Example of On-Page SEO:
Suppose I have an article explaining “what a blog is and what it’s for,” and I want to improve its ranking for the Google search query “what is a blog.” I might add a link to that article from another important, related post on my site, using the phrase “what is a blog” as the link text (also known as anchor text).
With this on-page optimization, Google understands that if the article is linked using that specific text, it might make sense to display it in the results when users search for that exact phrase.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-Page SEO refers to optimization efforts carried out on sites other than the one you are trying to rank in Google search results—in other words, everything you can do “outside your own website” to try to appear at the top of Google searches (primarily acquiring inbound links or backlinks).
Example of Off-Page SEO:
If I want to rank my SEO Dictionary well, I can first check which results appear when searching for “SEO dictionary” on Google.
Now, I use an SEO tool to analyze the external links (also known as backlinks) of the sites ranking in the top positions.
How does Google work?
To know what to “tweak” first, you need to understand how the Google search engine works when it comes to ranking your website or blog in search results, don’t you think? You have to understand that, fundamentally, Google always aims to provide the best (or most accurate) answer to whatever a person is searching for.
