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SEO for Beginners

Step by Step SEO for Beginner

The following is a step by step guide to learn the basics of SEO. My hope is that this can be used by people who are new to Search Engine Optimisation, but want to learn more.

Step by Step Guide to Search Engine Optimisation

Keyword Targeting

The search engines have a very difficult job; based on a few words, sometimes only one, they must return a list of relevant results, order them by measures of importance, and hope that the searcher finds what they’re looking for. As web site creators and web content publishers, we can make this process much simpler for the search engines and, in turn, benefit from the potentially large volume of traffic they send, by employing the same terms users search for in prominent positions on our pages. This has long been at the heart of search engine optimisation, and while other metrics (like links) have a great deal of value in the search rankings, keyword usage is still at the core of targeting search traffic.
The first step in the keyword targeting process is finding popular terms and phrases that searchers regularly use to find the content, products, or services your site offers. One of the best tools is at SEOBook

Once you have established which Keywords to use for your site, you need to to follow some guidelines about where to put them.

Keyword Placement

Building a search friendly site requires that the keywords used by searchers to find content are prominently employed. This section provides advice on where to place these terms and how to ensure optimal targeting.

Title Tags
For keyword placement, title tags are the most critical element for search engine relevance. The title tag is in the head of the HTML document, and is the only piece of “meta” information about a page that influences relevancy and ranking. To give you an idea – when 37 of the top SEOs in the world voted on Google’s algorithm, 36 of them said that a page’s title tag was the most important attribute in ranking (see our search engine ranking factors for more).
The following rules will help you to make the best title tags possible:

  • Brand your traffic

Use the title of your site or brand at the beginning or end of every title tag to help searchers know where they’re going and to increase return visits. If you’re struggling to find justification for this component, think of all the ad studies showing that consumers are willing to pay more for a “brand name” product than an off-brand or store brand item of the same type - apply this logic to the SERPs and you’ll find that users will go further down the rankings to click on a “trusted” brand.

  • Limit length to 65 characters (including spaces) or less

There’s no reason to cut off the last word and have it replaced with a “…” Note that the engines have fluctuated recently and Google, in particular, is now supporting up to 70 characters in some cases.

  • Use keyword phrases

This one may seem obvious, but it’s critical to prominently include in your title tag whatever your keyword research shows as being the most valuable for capturing searches. It doesn’t have to be the first words, but it should be the semantic and logical center of attention.

  • Target longer phrases

When choosing what keywords to include in a title tag, I often like to use as many as are completely relevant to the page at hand, while remaining accurate and descriptive. Thus, it can be much more valuable to have a title tag like “SkiDudes | Downhill Skiing Equipment & Accessories” rather than simply “SkiDudes | Skiing Equipment” - including those additional terms that are both relevant to the page and receive significant search traffic can bolster your page’s value. However, if you have a separate landing page for “skiing accessories” than for “equipment,” then you shouldn’t include one term in the other’s title - you’ll be cannibalizing your rankings by forcing the engines to choose which page on your site is more relevant.

  • Use a divider

When splitting up the brand from the descriptive, I like to use the “|” symbol. You may choose the arrow “>” or hyphen “-”, and both work well. At times, however, I’ve found it useful to use the arrow (>) or hyphen (-) inside a title tag, as with a title like “Construkt Development | Articles > Keyword Research - A Beginner’s Guide”; hence, the pipe bar can give an extra divider character.

  • Focus on clickthrough & conversion rates

The title tag is exceptionally similar to the title you might write for paid search ads, only it’s harder to measure and improve because the stats aren’t provided for you as easily. However, if you’ve got a market that is relatively stable in search volume week-to-week, you can do some testing with your title tags and improve the clickthrough. Watch your analytics and, if it makes sense, buy search ads on the page as well - even if it’s just for a week or two, it can make a huge difference in the long run. A word of warning, though - be wary that you don’t focus entirely on CTR. Remember to continue measuring conversion rates.

  • Target searcher intent

When writing titles for web pages, keep in mind the search terms your audience employed to reach your site. If the intent is browsing or research-based, a more descriptive title tag is appropriate. If you’re reasonably sure the intent is a purchase, download, or other action, make it clear in your title that this function can be performed at your site, e.g. “SkiDudes | View Snowboard Sizing Chart”, or “SkiDudes | Buy Discount Snoqualmie Pass Lift Tickets”.

  • Be consistent

Once you’ve determined a good formula for your pages in a given section or area of your site, stick to that regimen - you’ll find that as you become a trusted and successful “brand” in the SERPs, users will seek out your pages on a subject area and have expectations that you’ll want to fulfill.

  • Repeat in the headline

Re-using the title tag of each page as the H1 header tag can be valuable from both a keyword targeting standpoint and a user experience improvement. Users who go to a page from the SERPs will have the expectation of finding the title they clicked - deliver and you’ve fulfilled that obligation. Users will be more likely to stay on a page they’re reasonably certain fits their intended goal or query.

Next week I will write about how best to use the Description Tag.