SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of optimizing (improving and enhancing) a website or online content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal of SEO is to increase the quantity and quality of traffic to a website from search engines through organic search results.

Techniques used in SEO include optimizing the website’s structure and content, as well as building backlinks from other websites to the site being optimized.

The problem is that most businesses don’t set their websites right from the start with the basics, so they need to do some work before they can start doing SEO.

You can’t improve something that does not yet exist, so before we look at doing SEO, let’s have a look at your website and see how you’ve set it up.

Optimizing the website’s structure and content

Optimizing a website’s structure and content refers to the process of making sure that the website is easily crawlable and understandable by search engines. This includes a variety of technical and content-related best practices.

Some ways to optimize the website structure include:

• Using a clear and consistent navigation structure
• Using a hierarchy of headings (e.g., H1, H2, H3)
• Creating a sitemap (see below)
• Making sure the website is mobile-friendly
• Ensuring that the website is accessible to people with disabilities

In terms of content optimization, there are several best practices to follow, such as:

• Using relevant keywords throughout the website’s content
• Creating high-quality, unique and informative content
• Using alt-text for images
• Creating meta tags for the website’s pages
• Writing interesting and compelling titles and descriptions for the website’s pages
• Use structured data

By following these best practices, a website can be more easily indexed and understood by search engines, which can in turn improve the website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).

It should be noted that SEO is an ever-evolving field, and changes in the algorithm of Search Engines could make some practices outdated, it’s important to keep updated with the latest trends and best practices.

how do you create a “sitemap” on a WordPress website

A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website and is used by search engines to crawl and index your website more efficiently. There are several ways to create a sitemap for a WordPress website, including using a plugin or manually creating the file.

One popular method to create a sitemap on a WordPress website is to use a plugin, such as Google XML Sitemaps. Once the plugin is installed and activated, it will automatically create a sitemap of your website and update it as you add or remove content. This plugin also can ping the main search engines such as google, bing, yahoo and more for updating the crawler about the new content.

Another method to create a sitemap is by using online sitemap generator that can take your website url as input and generate a sitemap for it. Once you have the sitemap file, you can upload it to your website’s root directory and then you can submit it to search engines like Google Search Console.

It’s worth noting that many SEO plugins, like Yoast or All in One SEO includes the functionality of generating and updating sitemap for your website.

SEO processes SEO experts regularly use

There are many different SEO processes that SEO experts use to improve a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Here are a few examples:

1. Keyword research: Identifying the keywords and phrases that people are using to search for products or services similar to those offered on the website. These keywords are then used throughout the website’s content, meta tags, and URLs to help the site rank for those terms.
2. On-page optimization: Optimizing various elements of the website, such as title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and content. This can include using relevant keywords, ensuring that the site is mobile-friendly, and making sure that the site is accessible to people with disabilities.
3. Technical SEO: Analyzing and making sure that the website is technically sound and free of any errors that could prevent search engines from properly crawling and indexing the site. This can include implementing structured data (Schema.org) and making sure that the site is secure (by using HTTPS)
4. Backlink building: Obtaining links from other websites to the site being optimized. This is an important factor in improving a website’s visibility and ranking as search engines use links as a way to measure the credibility of a website.
5. Content creation: Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that is relevant to the target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos and more.
6. Analytics tracking: Setting up and monitoring analytics tools, like Google Analytics, to track website traffic, bounce rate, time on site, and other data points to make informed decisions about website improvements.
7. Monitoring and Reporting: Regular monitoring of the website’s progress, keep an eye on the SERP ranking and report back to the client or stakeholders.

Where do you go from here?

These are just a few examples of SEO processes that SEO experts might use to improve a website’s visibility and ranking. SEO is a ever-evolving field and SEO experts would have to keep updated with the latest trends and techniques.

This is why SEO is one of the things Small Business owners regularly outsource to marketing professionals, particularly if you use Google ads. If you don’t get the SEO basics right, Google doesn’t know exactly who to send to your website.

Even if you pay more for your ads, this won’t help you get sales if your website can’t convert them into clients, and you also waste more money on retargeting to people that are not your ideal clients.

Small Businesses can’t afford to do that.

If you’d like to know more about what you can do right now, you can book a free chat HERE.