Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Already have your site ready? First of all, you have to set up your page, always paying attention to factors such as SEO, user experience and responsive design. From there you can be sure that you can see him soon at the top of Google rankings.

Unsurprisingly, search engines are among the main sources of organic traffic, so it is essential to seek indexing on these sites as quickly as possible. This way, your content will be found by the public and will reach the goals previously prepared for the success of your business.

What many people do not know is that instead of waiting until Google does it naturally, it is possible to speed up the process using some tactics at the time of indexing, as waiting can take quite a long time.

Now if you don’t know anything about it you have come to the right place. Want to know how to index page on Google? In this article, we will show you in the following step by step.

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Understand how Google Works

Before you get started, let me give you a quick introduction to how Google works. After all, knowing what you’re going to deal with is essential to avoid headaches in the future. It’s simple enough to understand how Google operates, especially with the changes that the platform algorithms have received to fit the new focus on user experience. 

So the better you know about Google specs, not only will it be easier for the public to find it, but it will be able to offer something that the platform actually identifies as relevant. But after all, how does the indexing process work? Google’s crawling robots, better known as Google bots, use advanced algorithms to search for billions of web pages. Often these robots will search for new sites, changes to existing sites, and inactive sites/links, and based on the information found in this detailed scan, search indexes are updated. 

You may be wondering: How do these robots know where to look? Firstly, they retrace the “familiar paths,” as it were. But there are other factors, such as sitemaps and outbound links, optimized on the site. What you need to know initially is that these robots are important, and they are the ones who find your site to index on Google. Now how to do that we will tell you now.

10 Steps to Get Your Website Indexed quickly

We already know how important the role of indexing for SEO is and how Google crawls, so now let’s learn what to do to index a page on Google. Some of the steps we’ll take next will only take a few minutes to complete, while others require a little more dedication, but all are critical to getting your site up and running as soon as possible.

Here are the 10 steps you need to follow:

1. Submit your URL to Google

The first step is very simple, for you to have an indexed page the first thing to do is to present the URL of your new site to Google, something very basic. Some people are opposed to this practice, as there are so many other ways – which we will also deal with here – to achieve this. 

Just think that this is not a black hat tactic, nor does it cause any punishment by Google. Contrary to what these people think, this is a tool that the site itself puts at their disposal, and was designed both to make life easier for those who have a new site and bots that need to track everything quickly. Because of this, there is no real reason to stop using URL submission. 

The process is simple, just access this link to submit the tracking request. Now is just wait? Not even! This is where we start for the second step.

2. Create a blog

When you have a blog linked to your site it will make it more relevant, which even helps to index it.

The reason this works is that blogs generate a lot more pages and links, so they end up with a much larger amount of content to crawl compared to sites that only have static pages. According to a survey by Unbounce, one of the best-known companies in the world when it comes to marketing conversions, blogs have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links!

Once we come across such expressive data, there’s no denying that a blog is a great ally to help with indexing. It is true that the effort is constant, but the numbers do not lie. The sooner you start producing content, the easier it will be to get Google’s attention to your site.

3. Create a sitemap of the site

Another very important element when indexing a page on Google is the sitemap.

A sitemap is basically a list of the URLs of every page of your site and blog and will be used to present to Google exactly what to index.

Briefly explaining the sitemap provides metadata about each of these URLs, in other words, important information such as how often they change and how relevant they are to others on the same site. You won’t be punished for having a sitemap either, because Google itself tells new sites to have one. Because they have few external links, new sites benefit greatly from this map, which makes it easier for bots to search, giving them very useful tracking information.

4. Use Google Search Console

Search Console is a great tool for anyone who has a site, both for indexing and maintaining pages.

Just to highlight the relevance of this feature offered by Google, we can consider that two of the steps we have shown so far (1 and 3) can be done through it.

Other than that, you can tell if something went wrong with crawling your pages through one of the Search Console error reports. If there are any problems with indexing, these reports will even tell you what to do to remedy the situation and not hinder the progress of your strategy any longer.

That way you will have the pages of your site always appearing in the right searches. Finally, you can even receive email alerts for more serious issues Google encounters.

5. Install Google Analytics

Google Analytics is Google’s well-known metrics analysis tool. With this tool, you can track important site data, such as the number of visits, interests and preferences of visitors, among other data that are extremely important in measuring business.

To install Analytics you need to copy a tracking code directly into your site source code. This tool identifies that the user really owns the site in question and can track the data generated by it without any risk of a breach.

Simply put, when you activate this account it is as if your site is telling Google that it is available for visits, meaning it can streamline the search giant’s indexing process.

6. Use the robots.txt file

When you use only the sitemap there may be a slight problem which is, in this case, all pages of the site being indexed without exception. This includes those pages you don’t want to appear in search results, such as pages containing duplicate content, restricted area login, etc.

In this case, the bots automatically look for a file on your site, called robots.txt, that tells you what to allow or not to index. If robots do not find this file anywhere, it will be understood that all pages should be included in the indexing.

Robots.txt is not a security measure, but may even cause an already indexed page to exit search engines.

7. Immerse yourself in content marketing

The key is not just thinking about short-term action, it is worth starting a sound and documented content marketing strategy as soon as possible. And we will tell you why.

Google is slowly indexing your new posts and introducing you to potential readers. As time goes on, you will already have enough links fighting over-privileged positions in search rankings.

Waiting too long to start producing content is wasting valuable time, which could be used after the best way to generate leads and close sales.

Since you already know that Google’s focus is on user experience and satisfaction, having quality content is essential not only for having an indexed page but for them to consider your site a reference in the subject matter.

8. Do a link building job

By this time in the championship you have understood that the more links to your site spread across the web, helps better ranking. And taking it into consideration it is very good to do a proper link building job.

This means that you must first make internal links directing the reader to other posts on your blog. If you make these links, when a page is found by Google bots will open the door for many others to be found.

For the more elaborate, guest posts to get external links pointing to your domain. Just be careful and try to write for referral blogs, as Google understands that your site is also reliable.

9. Be active on social networks

If you don’t have a business profile, you might want to start gaining access to these platforms, as these profiles also help with page indexing.

If you already have the profiles but are not used to them often, change the strategy, keep updating, and link to the new site or blog. Small details will be enough for Google to find you as you search the web for news.

Remember that Google uses the influence of your profiles as a confidence indicator, which contributes to better ranking in search results.

10. Promote Your New Page

To complete the steps, but still staying at the level of importance, keep looking for new opportunities to promote your site and get on Google’s radar all the time.

You can share new blog posts on social networks, or put your link in the description of a video for youtube, so it will be easier for users to find your site, and for Google to index itself quickly.

It is also worth putting a link in your email signature, and even presenting the site to subscribers of any mailing list you already have are other ways to make it known.

These are the steps to index your site on Google! Follow the instructions to ensure that all work done on creating the site is rewarded as quickly as possible.

We hope this article has helped, keep following us and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive exclusive content.

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Keywords are the main instrument of a search. These are terms composed of one or more words. They are the way a user types their query in search engines to get answers and solve their problems.

If you got this far in this article, I’m sure you want to understand what these so-called keywords are. Right?

When we start studying what SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the most talked-about points is about the keywords, their choice and the real importance of these terms that dictate optimizations.

Without further ado, now you will learn – once and for all – what that means. Let’s go to what matters!

What are keywords?

Keywords are the main instrument of a search. These are terms composed of one or more words. They are the way a user types their query in search engines to get answers and solve their problems.

As much as the term itself is self-explanatory, it costs nothing to explain in detail what that means. After all, it was this doubt that brought you here.

Basically, keywords are the main search engines.

Think that every search comes from one word or more used to present this problem to the searcher. Keywords can be defined as the terms users use to get answers and solve their problems.

If you’re a marketer, keywords are the terms we use to guide you when creating our pages, blog posts, and websites.

That is, by setting a keyword for a certain page, you are passing the message to Google, for example, that your content is about the subject of that particular term. If all goes well and you make the right choice, your content will be displayed exactly to the person who searched for that keyword.

In practice, how does this work:

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/palavras-chave-1.png

Keywords are used by users (as you can see the word in the Google search box) and are also used by websites that want to be accessed that have the “answers” to that search.

Why are keywords so important to your business?

No wonder they are keywords.

They are the ones that, when perfectly fitted, open the doors of your content to the internet world.

For your business, it means the difference between being found, read, shared, and liked or simply not being accessed through complete ignorance or ignorance.

And that is exactly why keywords are tools that help (and much!) Content marketing.

When designing your investment plan, one of the main goals of your company is to increase leads and customers, and consequently your sales.

On the Internet, your content will face much greater competition than your area, no matter how crowded it may be.

In search engines, the borders are smaller and the results in each search, thousands, millions of possibilities within the reach of the public.

This means it’s not enough to pick a handful of keywords and pepper them in the middle of your posts.

Thought needs to be more strategic and careful about them to make your business stand out.

So start by wondering why you need to use your keywords.

The answer must come quickly and obviously in your mind: “because I need to help my audience find me on the internet.”

Only the answer can’t stop there.

You have a conversion funnel with defined steps, which means there are different types of audiences with different types of questions.

Those who started the shopping journey are still wondering about basic items that pertain to the universe in which their product or service belongs.

But those who are in the middle of the funnel are probably doing a cross-brand search to decide on the benefits of one over the other.

And who is deep down, almost determined to buy, needs the security that is making the right decision when choosing your company to close a deal.

And each of these groups has a very specific group of keywords that they choose to type in search engines.

Therefore, your company needs to recognize them to make the best use of them when producing each material.

Do you know why?

Because they will be the first contact between brand and audience and will likely decide if that visitor will close the window and move on in search results or continue on your site.

Each keyword should be considered as a question that needs clear and objective clarification without half words.

And the role of your company’s content is to focus on offering them so that they will be enchanted by your ability to answer questions and build on a trusting relationship with your company.

That is: unlock the locks from the keywords, inform and turn visitors into potential customers.

Negative Keywords: What is this?

Not everything that is negative is, in fact, bad.

In fact, when we know how to use them, they can be a very important part of the success of your content marketing.

Negative keywords are keywords that tell Google – in an AdWords campaign or ad group – which search terms you don’t want to be tied to your business.

For example, you sell sporting goods produced in Brazil only.

Then you can include the term “imported” among your negative keywords, so your ads won’t show from searches containing that word.

But then you might wonder why this is so important to your business.

In fact, it helps you invest with more quality, meaning it increases your chances of return.

Like? Once you know what your audience won’t find when you click on your ad, you stop paying for clicks on your ad that are unlikely to result in lead generation or even closing a sale.

That means, in practice, it means bringing in more customers who are really interested in your product or service, rather than visitors and onlookers who will click ( remember that clicking on your ad pays Google ), spend a few seconds scanning the page content, do not find what they are looking for and will return to the results page.

How to find negative keywords?

Let’s be a little malicious among us: Google won’t really care if you have some unnecessary paid clicks on your page.

After all, a good chunk of their income comes from them.

So you have to think about how to use the tools that Google itself offers to your advantage.

If you’ve been searching – or have long known – Adwords, you’ve noticed that you have a real arsenal in your favor to get the most value from each click.

There is a specific tool, Keyword Planner (we talked about it here in the article), which can be of great value when it comes to finding negative keywords.

To explain its operation for this specific purpose, I will try to exemplify simply and directly.

If you have a company that sells umbrellas, you will put that word in the Keyword Ideas tab and click on the search.

In the results listing you will see various search terms related to the word with some basic information.

In this listing, you will mark all those ideas that do not concern your universe.

In our example, it could be “umbrella designs”, “new spelling umbrella” and “custom umbrella”.

From the moment you recognize the research elements that clearly do not relate to your industry, that’s it!

The answer has already been given.

You can create your negative keyword list by including exactly those selected terms – for example, “drawing”, “spelling” and “custom”.

Another way to make a great selection of negative keywords (and also find positive ones for your repertoire!) Is to put yourself in the user’s shoes and use your keyword list.

Going back to the umbrella example as your product.

Research this term and the like, which would be used to produce content on your page, such as “imported umbrella” or “umbrella”.

You will probably see on the front pages links to things that have nothing to do with this business, which could be the name of a book, the lyrics of a song, or an article about the Umbrella Uprising in China.

This way, you will be able to become more and more aware of the universe of words that should be contained in your content, helping your customers reach you much more easily and without wasting time getting links that little – or nothing – have to offer. do with what they want and need.

How do I define which keywords to use in my content?

Once you have a seed keyword list, it’s time to include more data in your analysis.

To define the keywords that will bring the most results to your business, you must consider some other factors. Check out some of them below:

Persona

One of the most important factors in choosing keywords for a blog is the suitability to the persona’s needs.

I am sure that when you are going to produce content for the blog you created, you have in mind that the material should answer the questions and doubts of those reading the content, right?

In order for your content to be seen as useful and valuable to anyone searching for that particular keyword, you should always think about your persona.

How would your audience search the internet when they would like to find your text in response? This is a great way to find efficient keywords.

Strategy Objective

This is very important information when it comes to finding and defining the best keywords for your business. The goal that is set for your strategy should be taken as a guide for all actions taken to achieve it.

That is, if your business aims to increase the number of sales of your products, for example, you can direct keyword search to terms that drive purchases.

Therefore, one should invest in terms that contain “buy”, “review”, “the advantages” of the product and others in this sense. Thus, it is possible to lead the public to the purchase through the texts produced for the blog.

Competitor Search

This is another very interesting way to define the keywords that should be used for your business.

If you have big competitors who are also investing in a content marketing strategy, it will definitely be interesting to look at how they are addressing product and service issues to the public.

Another interesting tip is to research large players in the market, even if they are not direct competitors. These companies are likely to have interesting approaches to how to handle their content production, either in innovative language or in producing complete pieces that solve all the public’s doubts.

Competitor research can be as effective at finding out what is not being done for them and can be attacked by your business as an opportunity, as well as a way to identify competitive forces by joining efforts to overcome these points.

If you don’t have a tool like SEMrush that lets you analyze this much more clearly and simply, a great way to identify what your competitors are doing is by tracking their organic search engine results as well as keeping an eye on their social networks and Newsletters

Use practical tools

There are dozens of tools aimed at finding relevant keywords, but the main ones you’ll find on a daily basis are:

• Google Keyword Planner – Google’s own “keyword planner” is ideal for creating optimized Google Adwords campaigns. This tool is ideal for diagnosing your strategy, identifying what’s working or not working to correct or maintain. Data can be exported in spreadsheets, which facilitates their analysis.
• Semrush – This tool does not give you accurate blog navigation, traffic, and keyword data, but it does provide you with a trend report and consequently gives you hints on which paths you should take towards your content success. It is worth analyzing your own site as well as the pages of your competitors and who you consider the reference in quality and results. The free version gives you a more overview, but the paid version is ideal for more complete planning.
• Keywordtool.io  – Analyzing Google’s auto-complete feature gives you even more insights by offering a variety of keyword variation options, especially long tails, let’s talk about that later.
• Other tools worth checking out are Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery, Majestic, Keyword Spy.
• Google Trends – a great free tool from this information giant. The trend is an English word that could be translated as fashion, or “of the moment.” Google Trends then helps you find out from one term what related searches users have been doing. Best of all, results can be filtered (country, state), time period and sources within the search areas of the page.
• UberSuggest – Another free way to get keyword suggestions. Just enter the desired term in the search area, select the language and search area (web, images, news, shopping, video and even recipes). You can still click on term suggestions and get other related words.

Your “seed” keywords will be helpful, but not always the best options to work with.

Keep in mind that the most general keywords – usually one or two words only – are very disputed and you will hardly be able to rank well for them in the short term. But if you still have some questions about it, let’s understand what the main types of keywords are.

Head tail keywords

We have already defined the keywords “seed” earlier, right? The head-tail keywords represent exactly this concept.

Typically, these terms define your company’s core business. It is through these terms that both you and your audience should be able to summarize your business and the services provided.

Most head tail keywords are one or two words long and represent a whole business segment and can be broken down into numerous content.

Because they are very generic, these terms have very large search volumes. At first, it may seem that they must be the most worked on the blog to be able to capture this high volume of people too, right?

Wrong.

Imagine how many people and companies, just like you, want to rank for these high volume words. So, along with the volume, there is great competition around these keywords.

To rank well for them, it takes intense and strategic marketing work, relying on techniques other than keyword research. Check out our post and see how Rock Content is continually working to rank for the head-tail keywords in your market.

Long tail keywords

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/long-tail.png

The long tail is a term coined by Chris Anderson that refers to how the number of searches/purchases for thousands of specific items can exceed the number of searches made for generic and famous items.

Let’s look at these two types of keywords comparatively. Some good examples of seed keywords, also called “head”, would be a content, blog, marketing.

On the other hand, good examples of long-tail keywords would be: “blog content”, “corporate blog” or “content marketing”.

To define them, here are some tips:

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes

As stated earlier, it is important to think about personas to define keywords relevant to the business. If you have not done a job of identifying your personas, find out what they are and how you should create them.

It is important to identify what would be the most sought-after terms I ask your audience from the moment you start looking for information on the subject.

Think like your audience, not how knowledgeable and expert you are about your product or service. Ponder: How would he look for your product or service on the internet?

There are several possible variations of the search for a particular subject and this research in relation to the public is efficient precisely to bring the results that would be most consistent with the attitude of this public.

A good tip for identifying these opportunities is to try talking to some people who fit your audience, whether they are customers or prospects, and ask this question to find out.

Consider the stage in the sales funnel

Keep in mind that your reader will search in different ways as well, depending on what stage he is in the funnel. In practice, remember that if he is looking for alternatives to solve a problem, you should focus on the problem, including as a keyword.

Good content options for this stage are concept definition and tips for doing something, for example.

However, if he is already starting to find your solution interesting to him, you should talk to him about why he might choose to do so.

A good list of reasons for choosing a plausible solution to the problem, or even the advantages of such a solution for those who purchase it, maybe good content choices.

If he’s already evaluating and about to act, be straightforward, talk about yourself and your differences. Successful client case texts or comparisons of market solutions, for example, are best suited for this stage of the funnel.

Keywords and SEO

The use of keywords is recurring, and highly efficient when we talk about optimization so that your site is well positioned in search. As an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) technique keywords should be used strategically, thought out and defined within effective planning of your marketing strategy.

Meta Descriptions

When we talk about website optimization we need to remember and give due importance to meta descriptions. Do you know what they are?

Well, the meta description is nothing more than the description that appears to Google (you know that short summary that appears just below the title that appears in blue? That’s exactly it!).

It should be done directly, but nonetheless stimulating for people to visit the pages. Including the keyword content in the meta description is essential!

Url

In addition to always thinking about the user experience and creating friendly URLs, another very important point for content optimization is the page address itself.

Try to create an address that is simple and self-explanatory. The best way to use the URL is to include the keyword in this area.

SEO Title

It is not just the title of your blog that should count the previously defined keyword.

Unlike the page title, the SEO title is what will appear when your content appears on Google searches as well as social sharing. At this point, it is also essential that the keyword be present.

Title Tag

Keywords also need to be used in the internal titles of your articles. Depending on the format of your blog, possibly the title tag will be the same as H1.

Regardless of whether or not it is your blog’s H1, the rule is that the keyword should always be present. Unlike the SEO title that aims to get someone off the search page, the Title Tag is the title that aims to ensure that a reader stays on your page and continues reading your article.

In this case, the user can be anywhere as long as it is present.

Remember that keywords and content are the perfect matches for good results.

Focus on keywords to optimize your blog content, but the number one priority should be to solve the problem and meet the expectations of your personas.

Use the keywords in your blog posts, in headlines, throughout the article and, whenever possible, in headlines, as well as in the description of images. Be sure to keep your naturalness throughout the text. It’s no use writing forced text where the keyword is tiresomely repeated and readers don’t like the content they’re reading.

If you write for Google and not for people, you probably won’t get the best results.

The production of relevant content is based on personas, their pains and problems and not thinking about search engine robots. Keep in mind that if you make content that aggregates, answers questions, and solves problems, you’ll automatically be fine on the tape with the reader, and believe me, Google also considers this when it comes to sorting your search results.

Measure keyword usage more strategically

Searchers are evolving at incredible speed. Every six months or so, we’re seeing changes in the algorithm, especially from Google, that are completely changing the way we marketers create and develop our content and websites.

After the 2016 updates that strengthened the semantic analysis of searches and the addition of RankBrain. The first innovation ensured that the searcher could interpret the user’s intention through the term used. RankBrain, on the other hand, is an artificial intelligence that has become part of Google’s algorithm and this is what is completely changing the way searches and results are being displayed.

Keywords for paid ads

Just like keyword research for organic marketing strategy, it is very important to take into consideration all the factors listed above when choosing the most important terms for paid ads.

Another factor that begins to take on some importance when it comes to paid ads is the value of each keyword. This price varies according to the volume of demand for that term, as well as the interest of people and businesses to advertise using that particular keyword.

When setting up your Google Adwords account, you can choose which type of campaign payment to make: campaign pay per click (CPC, or cost per click), an impression (CPM, or cost per thousand impressions), or conversion ( CPA, or cost per acquisition).

The value shown for each keyword represents the maximum price that can be paid for that ad. If the ad is clicked so many times that the full amount reaches the budget for the day, the ad will no longer be shown until the next day when the budget is reinstated.

But, how does this influence in choosing the right keywords?

For an initial paid ad strategy, it’s important to look for terms that have low competition and low estimated values ​​so that your ad can show multiple times to people doing the corresponding searches, regardless of budget.

On the other hand, if we are dealing with a deeper Google Adwords strategy, it is important to make ad groups with several different keyword variations to cover persona searches and may use a larger budget to succeed.

To learn more about Google Adwords campaign creation techniques, check out our blog post on this subject.

Keywords on social networks

In addition to being great ways to disseminate published content, social networks play a very important role when defining keywords.

A good tip is to be able to find your audience on the most important networks for your business and research the ways they communicate and seek to clarify their doubts on the issues.

In addition to defining important questions about the language to choose, you may find potential questions they have about your business that could eventually become content-producing opportunities for your blog.

But, there is a concept that is becoming increasingly popular on the internet, especially in social networks that are the use of hashtags.

Since content posted on social networks, such as attachments, images, and captions, is not indexed by Google robots, the only way to do this is through hashtags. They are considered hyperlinks that bring together all posts with such a hashtag in one search.

In addition, hashtags are widely used by young people and those considered “heavy users” of social networks. Therefore, by using hashtags that are relevant to your business, you can index content while approaching the audience and creating a certain kind of relationship closer to them.

But, it is important to be careful with some attitudes when it comes to using hashtags.

It is important to know that they must be consistent with the content being published. If you simply use hashtags that have a high volume of search on social media, unrelated to your post, your audience can interpret that you’re just looking for more views for your posts, regardless of the persona’s concerns and questions. This may end up pulling you away from your audience.

Also, it is important to choose words and phrases that are valuable to anyone looking for such content. Create and strengthen institutional hashtags that talk about company customs and values.

This way, you can create a community around the use of this hashtag, encourage your audience to use it, and build rapport with people who choose to embrace your cause.

Check out our blog post about using hashtags on social media to find out more about it.

So now that you’ve learned a little more about defining and using keywords, are you ready to use these techniques in your online marketing strategy?

Tell us your experiences on this subject and if you have any further questions we will be happy to resolve it.

Continue your learning! Check out our post with 12 advanced content hacks and leverage your SEO strategy.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a set of optimization techniques for websites, blogs and web pages. These optimizations aim to achieve good organic rankings by generating traffic and authority for a website or blog.

One of the biggest ambitions of companies that invest in Digital Marketing is to reach the top positions in search engines – after all, who doesn’t want free clicks and more visitors to your site?

However, being on the internet is not enough to ensure that your site, e-commerce or blog gets a spot on the front page of Google: you need to invest in a specific strategy to optimize results and ensure your business ranks well.

After all, competition for search engine positions is increasing with companies experiencing this period of digital transformation.

Achieving good rankings on the results pages, however, maybe more within your reach than you might think. There are a number of optimizations you can make to your site and content to improve your reader’s experience and make it a great result in the eyes of search engines.

These optimizations are called SEO!

In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to optimize your online presence and achieve good organic placements (which aren’t paid ads). Like:

• what is SEO ;
• what are the factors that influence ranking ;
• How to create and execute an SEO strategy.

Check out!

What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a set of optimization techniques for websites, blogs and web pages. These optimizations aim to achieve good organic rankings by generating traffic and authority for a website or blog.

This strategy is critical for your business to gain prominence, visibility in the digital world and, as a result, more leads, customers and revenue for your business.

Like?

By optimizing websites and blogs by using techniques to improve the ranking of these pages and positioning your business on Google’s first results, for example, (and greatly) increase your business opportunities, as 90% of people searching on Google Google only click on results that appear on the first page of the engine.

The main goal of SEO, then, is to increase the volume of organic traffic and ensure more visibility for web pages.

Cool isn’t it?

Now let’s walk you through the most important SEO concepts step by step, and teach you the strategies we use to reach Google’s top spots.

And it all starts when the user does a search.

Search Psychology and the 3 Types of Search

Search psychology revolves around the user: his needs, his way of searching for answers, the results he expects when searching for something, and so on.

In short, the human psyche in the face of search engines requires the need to supply a specific desire that can manifest itself in different ways. It is the role of companies that invest in Digital Marketing to respond objectively to all these doubts and desires.

So when we think about understanding search processes, we always have to put ourselves in the shoes of this user who is looking for some information on a search engine like Google.

And one of the first steps to understanding user search is to know the search intent. Knowing this intent is critical to successfully attracting the right audience to your site.

So let’s explain to you what drives you to Google. There are 3 types of search, as you will see below.

1. Search or navigational search

This type of search – also known as shortcut search – is performed when the user already knows which site they would like to go to, but may not remember the full URL or is too lazy to type it.

For example, if the user searches for “Blogger Cage” or “Bloggercage blog” to find our content, their search intent is clear, so there is little chance that this user will change their final web destination – that is a person already knows what they are looking for.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo.png

2. Search or informational search

As its name implies, in the informational search the user searches for information, either through news, product releases or explanatory articles.

Unlike navigational search, in this case, the user does not know exactly which site will come to find the content they are looking for, as it is not possible to clearly identify their search intent.

This is why it is so important for companies to rank well in Google.

Not knowing exactly which site to visit, the user tends to use organic results to look for the solution of their question or need, and this is where the good placement of your blog or site is beneficial for business. Here’s an example of informational search:

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-2.png

3. Search or transactional search

In this type of search, the user is looking to perform a transaction, such as buying a product directly, finding a store, or doing any other type of online transaction.

This type of research is extremely valuable, especially for e-commerce.

Now that you understand the 3 types of search, in the next topic, we will explain how the world’s largest search engine, Google, works.

How does Google work?

Understanding how Google works to work out an effective SEO strategy is critical.

Searches in this engine are divided into two groups: organic results (free) and paid results.

Paid results (inside the red box) appear at the top of the page, signalled by a green mark with the text “Ad” or “Ad”. To fill these spaces, companies pay per click using Google’s own tool called Google Adwords.

Below these paid results are organic ones (marked with a blue square).

These sites in the top search positions are defined by Google robots according to their level of relevance and authority – always focusing on the quality of user experience.

What is and how Google Bot works

Google robots act as trackers. They search every page on the web, go to each link, and read everything that page has to offer, saving everything they find on Google’s servers.

This way, all content is organized and well-targeted to provide the best results for user searches for a specific term.

To better understand, imagine a library. When we are looking for, for example, a book about SEO, we don’t have to go from shelf to shelf to look for that content. We receive guidance on where specific SEO information is located, which makes it easier and easier to access the books and their content.

Google’s servers work the same way: By organizing content to help the user, they always present the most relevant and full-featured sites to answer the question or need that prompted the search.

How Google sees a site – and what it can’t read

Despite what many people believe, Google doesn’t see websites the same way as users.

When we think about search engine visibility, we need to remember that unlike users, robots reading the site can’t view javascript and images, just text and code.

Therefore, when we structure a website or blog post with images, it is essential to work well on top of each other’s alt text, providing a complete description that will help the robots understand what that figure is about. .

When we don’t work with the alternate text of the images, Google ends up seeing these spaces as holes in the site. It is as if this whole area of ​​images is a white background with no relevant content for readers.

In addition, good alternative text on images also helps with SEO and ranking issues!

Getting to the Top: Google’s Top Ranking Factors

Today, when we talk about ranking factors, we know that there are over 200 factors that really impact the results of a SERP.

Here we will go into some more basic details, but if you would like to see the full list of all factors that influence your page’s SEO, check out our article on the subject.

On page

The on-page factors are those that must be worked on within the site or page itself and are critical for search engines to realize that their content is related to the terms searched by users.

Here are the key factors On page:

Content Quality

There are two main factors for ranking in Google: link building (which we’ll see later) and the quality of content.

Since the launch of Google Panda, the algorithm has sought to identify low-quality content to optimize results for the public.

That is, the better your content, the better the chances of you appearing in the top positions of the SERPs.

Content Size

Size directly influences Google rankings. In a survey by the Cognitive SEO blog, the average length of content in the top positions is approximately 2,500 words.

This is because Google is looking for the most complete content that clarifies readers’ doubts.

But this is not a rule! It all depends on how your persona reacts to the size of your content and especially if your content completely answers the doubt that led to your persona?

Regardless of text size, the persona needs to read its content and have all its questions resolved. Otherwise, it will look for other text that clarifies your questions better.

Internal Title

The title tag is the internal title of your blog, the one the reader will see when they have already accessed your content. It is very important to point out that it should be different from your SEO title, which will be an external factor and should lead the reader to your text.

The two titles have different functions. The function of the internal title is to make the reader who has already accessed your post even more interested in reading the content.

Freedom to use characters and position keywords will allow for more creative titles that increase the reader’s desire to consume content.

You should spend as much time as possible to make a good title, after all it is the first impression the reader has of your text.

The on-page title has no character limit. Also, there are other factors that deserve attention. He must:

• arouse the reader’s curiosity;
• present reading benefits;
• make a promise (which will be fulfilled);
• have the keyword (it is not required to be fully left as in the SEO Title).

SEO Title

The SEO Title is the title that appears on SERPs. Its function is to bring the reader to your content.

As an example of SEO Title, we use the same post we showed above so that you can clearly understand the differences between the internal title and the SEO Title:

Image URL: https://rockcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-6.png

This is one of the most important factors for both ranking and ensuring a high click through rate (CTR) on your content.

The main factors for a great SEO Title are:

• it must be approximately 55 characters long;
• the keyword must be on the left;
• The title should be more objective.

Friendly URLs

URLs are a direct ranking factor. Google also identifies the use of keywords in your page address.

Plus, the friendlier it is, the easier it is for readers to click and be directed to your page.

An example of a friendly URL:

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-7.png

The fewer elements besides the keyword in your URL, the better. It is important to avoid using numbers in lists, for example.

If you update and extend that list, you will get a wrong number in your URL – and one of the main SEO rules is: never update your URL after the content is indexed.

Best practices for making a friendly URL are:

• include the keyword;
• have at most one subdomain;
• be short and easily interpretable;
• contain hyphens to separate words (Google doesn’t read spaces);
• be related to the post title.

What you should avoid:

• URLs that make no sense to the reader;
• numbers in URLs;
• Huge URLs;
• improper characters (dots, capital letters, etc.);
• abuse subdomains (eg yoursite.com/blog/conteudos/Marketing).

Heading Tags

Headings are key to identifying the priority of existing content on the page. In the code, it is possible to observe up to six headings, presenting the most important content (H1) and its subtitles (H2 to H6).

That way, Google will identify the information hierarchy of your content.

The importance of hierarchy:

• show Google the most important information in your text;
• facilitates the interpretation of crawlers;
• defines the main themes covered in the post;
• optimizes text reading (scan).

How to make:

• use H1, H2 and H3 in their contents;
• always include the keyword in H1 and if possible in H2;
• use long tails in intertitles;
• have only one H1 per page;
• Be aware that heading H4 forward are aesthetic.

For a better understanding, see a snippet from one of our posts. H2 here is the title “Overview of a content strategy” and the subtitles “Planning” and “Execution” are H3.

LSI: the use of the keyword

The use of keywords has changed a lot since the launch of the hummingbird.

Before:

• keyword stuffing worked;
• low-quality content ranked;
• the focus was on the exact keyword.

After:

• semantic analysis has emerged;
• quality of content has become essential;
• the focus has shifted to the reader’s intent.

Therefore, it is important to know how to make good use of your keywords within the content. It is essential to use them on the H1 title page and, where possible, on at least one H2.

It’s important that your word appears at the beginning of the content so that Google crawlers will soon see that that page is actually talking about the proposed theme.

There is no exact number of times the keyword should appear in the content. The important thing is to avoid forcing it to appear often. The use must happen naturally.

Google currently does a semantic analysis of texts called the Latent Semantic Index (LSI), making it important for your page rankings that Google find words related to the topic you’re talking about. As in the example below:

Image URL: https://rockcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-9.png

Also, it is more important to use variations of that keyword than to make strict use of it. Here’s the example:

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-10.png

Time on page

Length of page stay is one of Google’s top ranking factors, after all, it’s a way of showing the searcher that that content is of good quality.

The longer the reader stays on the page, the more effectively Google interprets that content answers the persona’s doubt. If the reader comes in and immediately leaves the page – and this is repeated over and over – Google understands that the text does not please the public.

How to extend the length of stay on your page:

• create quality content;
• make a good introduction – one that works to convince the reader to stay until the end of the text, presenting the benefits he will have from reading it;
• use connecting phrases – such as phrases and questions that keep you curious while reading, for example, “that’s not all,” “and there’s more,” “want to know what else you can get?”;
• write intertitles that have clear benefits.

Image optimization for SEO

As we have already commented, Google does not see images the same way as the user. He needs textual elements to understand what that image is about and present it as a result of some search. Therefore, when placing an image on your blog or website, you need to pay attention to the following two elements.

The file name

Must be the keyword separated by hyphens. As we said, Google will not read the spaces.

Avoid saving images with generic names like “794743.jpg”.

Alt text

Alt text is the main factor for an image. It’s important not only to show Google what that image is about but also for these cases:

• Screen readers – are widely used by visually impaired people. In the case of images, the reader reads and recites the alt text to the user;
• broken image description – if the image is broken on the blog, alt text will be displayed instead;
• description of images in Google searches.

Many experts argue that alt text should be a literal description of the image (thinking of screen readers and descriptions on Google and broken images). Others claim that alt text should be your keyword.

We advise that you follow both options. Make a description of the image using the keyword.

Image size

Very heavy images can compromise your page load, and load time is another important factor for Google.

Internal Link

Internal linking is critical to Google. From it, crawlers will analyze the user experience on your posts and what other content you are sending your reader to.

Also, the more internal links a specific content receives, the more relevant Google will interpret you to that page. It’s like you say, “Google, these are the most important pages of my site/blog.”

Responsive design

Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites when defining page placement.

If your page is not optimized to appear well on mobile devices, you may lose many search engine positions.

Charging Time

The very high speed provided by the internet has made the audience a little impatient. Nowadays, you don’t want to wait more than 3 or 4 seconds for a page to load.

Google takes this into account, so the load time is critical to good ranking. Pages that take a long time to load tend to have a very short page dwell time.

Goal Description

Although not a factor that directly influences the ranking of that page, the Meta Description – or meta description – is a code whose function is to explain to the user what is the content addressed in the link and, thus, attracting it to read.

With Meta Description in mind, this is a factor that greatly influences your site’s clickthrough rate. Therefore, it is essential that she follow some recommended features to achieve good results:

• use keyword – appears in bold on SERPs;
• summarize and induce the reader to read its content (benefits);
• be approximately 150 characters long;
• do not use a piece of introduction;
• Don’t fool the readers.

Share buttons

Like meta descriptions, share buttons are not a direct ranking factor, but they are a key practice for you to have a fully optimized page.

You, like Google, should always think about your user experience, and well-located, visible share buttons can make your reader’s life a lot easier.

Off-page:

Off-page factors are those external to your site.

Google values ​​these issues highly, as they represent the authority of your content/site and how people have benefited from it. The better the content available, the more people will talk about it and the more backlinks you will receive.

The backlinks are links from other sites geared to yours. For Google, the more relevant external sites pointing to yours, the more authority you have about that subject and the better your search engine rankings.

The social signals are the number of shares and mentions of your brand on social networks. They also have a big influence on organic search results.

Be sure to use social sharing buttons on your site, as we mentioned. Another important factor is the volume of mentions of your brand on and off the web. The more people talk about you online or offline, the more credibility you get – and that’s one factor that can increase the clickthrough rate of your organic results.

Here are the main off-page ranking factors.

Link building

Link building is the most important part of off-page SEO. It will ensure the authority of your page and domain and will make you a great reference for Google.

It works as indications. Every site that links to you is indicating that your content is good. The more referrals you receive, the more relevant you will be.

The more relevant the link that pointed to you, the more respect you will receive from the search engine. Still, receiving links from domains with less relevance to yours is also very positive.

It’s also important to get links from sites that have authority on the topic you’re talking about. If you get links from a site that talks about topics that have nothing to do with yours, the relevance of those links won’t be that great.

Link building is such an important factor that we could continue this article just talking about it. So as not to lose focus on the main subject, we leave here the link to our blog article about link building.

Authority

The main factor for gaining authority is link building, but not only that the domain authority lives.

Older domains have more authority than very new domains.

The number of content domain posts will also directly influence its authority.

Locality

The locale is a factor that directly influences SEO. Google seeks to display results according to your location.

For example, if you are in Sao Paulo and are searching to buy something, Google will display stores in Sao Paulo in the results. He identifies your positioning and always seeks to bring the most affordable results to you.

Social

Engagement and mentions on social networks will also influence your site’s rankings. Google is keeping an eye on how people have been engaging with your content.

This gives you authority and Google will see that your post appeals to users. Since he always wants to give them the best experience, his content may be better positioned.

How to plan and execute an SEO strategy

Step 1: Keyword Search

Ufa! We have learned many concepts so far. It’s time to get your hands dirty!

To get the organic traffic you want so much, it’s essential that the content posted on your blog is relevant to someone. By then you know, but how will people find your content? 

Through search engine queries that are performed with keywords.

Yes, we crawl until we get to the point.

Before you can gain access to your page, a user must have a question or problem that they long to solve. He may be looking for the answer to a silly question about differences between services, looking for practical guides to accomplish a particular task, or even doing detailed research to understand a concept in depth.

How can you find the terms that your audience is looking for?

We have two answers to this question:

• know your business personas very well;
• Do keyword research to find the best opportunities for your niche.

We won’t go into detail about personas now, but you need to understand how important it is to create, define, and know who your target audience is. 

Once you know your ideal customer profile, the mission of predicting your search behavior and identifying your top issues becomes simpler.

Why are we saying this? To conduct meaningful keyword research, it is essential that you know everything about your client. After all, this search is nothing more than a definition of which topics are most interesting to your audience in terms of keywords and which ones have the best search volume.

That is, keyword research is the main way to find the best opportunities to take advantage of on a blog.

What is the importance of research

As you are reading this material, you are certainly interested in Marketing and SEO. Nevertheless, we may be wrong and you are actually looking for the first information on the subject.

In both situations there are some points about content production that should be highlighted:

• those who produce content for the sake of producing will never get any results;
• A blog will never reach its full potential without planning behind the production of that content.

Moving on, we find some points of convergence in the sentences above. It’s clear that without goal setting and ideal planning, a blog will never help you create new business opportunities, become an authority on the subject, or educate the marketplace.

Keyword research is critical to the success of any type of blog. Without it, your content may never achieve the expected results. 

Take a moment and think: Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if you could make all the content on your blog able to get good results?

If you want to have a blog that serves as the main attraction tool for your brand or business, you need to stop shooting in the dark and depend on luck.

Main goals

We hope that the reasons that justify the importance of keyword research have become clear. If you do not understand well, we suggest you come back and read this topic again! Without understanding the real need to start using this tool, you will never be able to reach the full potential of your Content Marketing strategy.

No more terrorism!

The most common goal – in almost 100% of cases – is to increase the organic traffic of a blog. For now, let’s stick to that goal.

To increase the organic traffic of a blog there are two distinct but very similar ways to attack opportunities. Both involve keywords, of course, but each one has a particularity:

• short tail keywords – head tail ;
• long tail keywords – long tail .

Complicated?

Take it easy, now you will understand more about these two types of keywords that should be considered when choosing the goal of your strategy.

Keyword Types

If you are wondering if there is more than one type of keyword, we are sorry to say yes, there is, but rest assured. The difference is easily understood, and once you understand the concept, even the work of doing the research will be easier.

Head tail keyword

Head tail keywords are the keywords that have the highest monthly search volume for a given niche. An example of this type of keyword is “marketing”, with over 70,000 monthly search engine searches. Can you imagine the amount of organic traffic a well-ranked content for this keyword can get?

Despite the large volume, the problem with this keyword is that the competition is monstrous! We’re talking about thousands of content, websites and all possible material ranking for just one extremely comprehensive keyword.

Thinking quickly, follow the huge variation on the term “marketing” we can find:

• marketing;
• personal marketing;
• digital marketing;
• business marketing;
• Traditional marketing.

And so on.

So consider some points when focusing on head tail keywords in your keyword research:

• The opportunity is amazing. The traffic volume is always higher, but the competition also accompanies this huge volume ;
• Big competition increases the need for hard-working, complete and non-superficial content;
• There is an extreme need for a very strong link building strategy to improve rankings;
• The need for content monitoring is constant. Just posting and forgetting an article will surely bring no return. Top-ranked content and sites make daily updates to stay in those positions;
• Despite the sheer volume of organic traffic, it is often less qualified, as anyone looking for a particular term can stop at your page;
• These keywords are generic.

Long tail keyword

At the opposite end of the room we find the long tail keywords, also called long tail keywords. Known as the golden pot of Content Marketing, these keywords are long and much more specific , and ranking well for one of those keywords is a little simpler task.

Where is the beauty in this?

Imagine you have a men’s fashion blog and are creating phenomenal content about striped polo shirts. Certainly, there is an audience loyal to this type of piece that is always looking for new opportunities and promotions to buy another model. 

How smart you are, within your content there is a link to an offer in e-commerce of which you are a partner. So for every sale from your page link, some gravel ($) is left for you.

If when creating this post the keyword is just head-tail, the search volume will be huge, as will the competition. 

We have already explained this, but we are resuming so that you fully understand where we are going. 

Imagine your post is ranking very well, it’s on the first page, and you’re getting a sea of ​​organic hits daily.

Nevertheless, the results are not keeping track of the number of hits. In one month your page received 10,000 organic hits, but only 10 people clicked on your offer’s call-to-action ( CTA ). Only 1% of all access your post has received has been converted to your offer. This is bad, but it can be improved.

How is this possible? Long tail keywords!

After reviewing the opportunities, you changed the content keyword to “striped polo shirt”. Organic traffic suffered drastically and went to 1,000 monthly hits. 

Despite this, the number of conversions has remained the same, but in the proportion account, you’re earning more! 10% of all hits are converting and you start earning more money from your ad.

After this long history, we believe that the difference between long-tail and head tail keywords has become clear.

Check out the key features of this type of keyword:

• a lower volume of traffic, but extremely qualified ;
• content more targeted to a specific point ;
• better to answer user questions quickly.

Now that you have thoroughly understood the concept behind keyword research and the specifics of each type, let’s explain how to perform your own search.

How to do your own research

It’s time to get your hands dirty. Now let’s put everything in place so that you can structure a good keyword search and find out the best terms for your content production.

Understand who the persona is and who is the focus of your content

We’ll start with the point that will drive the search. Here at Rock Content, all content that is produced has one thing in common: it is always directed to a specific persona.

We currently have four personas. Nevertheless, we were unable to create content that is interesting to two of them at the same time. Each of our personas is unique and has different interests, difficulties and ways of communicating. 

This is why we must understand the importance of conducting keyword research with this focus.

Once this is clear, let’s move on.

The first step to successful keyword research is to identify which persona you want to communicate with. All information about your persona will be relevant to making your future content a success.

Set the theme

Now that we have identified who the focus persona of our keyword research is, we can continue the process.

There are several ways to start a search. It can be based on knowing what competitors are up to, it can be a search for keywords not yet worked on and can also be guided by choosing a specific theme.

In this example of ours, we will opt for the last, keyword research focusing on a specific theme. This will help us know who the market players are and will also allow us to focus on certain key keywords in a particular niche.

We will guide your search as if we were creating one for our blog, bloggercage.com/blog. In this example, we define that the focus theme of the month is Digital Marketing.

Choose the tools

There is currently a multitude of SEO tools that can be used to your advantage. Later, we will present a list of tools that can assist you in this work.

For our subject, we will use three in particular:

• Keyword Planner (AdWords Keyword Planner );
• SEMrush ;
• Keyword Tool.

All tools will be essential for searching, identifying and analyzing terms that may represent good opportunities for the theme we choose.

Now we will use each of the three to find keywords about Digital Marketing.

Use the tools – the search

Keyword Planner

Using the AdWords tool, you can find not only keyword ideas but also the monthly search volume for each of the available variations.

Once you have reached the AdWords home screen, click Tools and select Keyword Planner. You will then be redirected to the following page:

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-22.png

You will focus your efforts on the first two options in the “Find New Keywords” section.

By clicking on the first of these, searching for new keywords using a phrase, you will fill in a series of fields that, after being analyzed, will help the tool find the keywords that make sense for your business.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-11.png

The more information and fields you fill in, the more accurate the data analysis will be.

In the following print, you can see the other tab with the search results that were made in the previous image.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-12.png

If you don’t have an active AdWords campaign, the tool won’t give you accurate information. You will be able to analyze the estimated volume and CPC results.

In the above case, the keyword “digital marketing” has a large monthly search volume, which can range from 10,000 to 100,000. In addition, the competition is extremely high. Remember the head tail keywords? This is a perfect example.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-13.png

By scrolling down the page, you will find relevant keyword ideas on the same topic.

We now know that one of the possible head tails for our products will be “digital marketing”. And this is how we conclude the first part of the research.

Keyword Tool

Here at Rock Content, we use the Keyword Tool to find variations of a particular keyword. Today, we venture to say, this is one of the best tools for the task 

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-14.png

After entering the term whose variations you wish to receive on the main screen of the site, simply select the search engine you want to analyze as well as the language of the search. In our case, we chose Google in Brazilian Portuguese.

In the following print, you will see the first tab of the results page.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-15.png

As you can see, the tool found 543 unique variations of the keyword “digital marketing”. Keyword Tool performs a thorough search for all variables that have a significant search volume and include long tails.

The list is extensive and of course, there will be not so relevant variations. Either way, it’s worth exporting the list of all the terms you find, throwing them into Google’s keyword planner (with the option to enter a word list), and looking at the search volume for each one.

Remember that the Keyword Tool is a free tool, so the information we receive in this analysis is superficial and does not include search volume values. If you wish to subscribe to the paid plan of the tool, all information will be disclosed on the main search page.

SEMrush

Before we start talking about this amazing tool, we need to warn you that SEMrush is paid for. Nevertheless, it has a limit of 5 queries per day for totally free keywords or sites.

To complete the tools step, the Rock Content Marketing team uses SEMrush. In addition to giving us a complete analysis of keywords, variations, and related terms, the tool also provides an option that allows us to peek at the competition .

Now, let’s take it easy. Check out the walkthrough in SEMrush.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-16.png

After accessing the tool and searching for the desired term – we’ll continue with the “digital marketing” example – you’ll find a full report on the keyword:

• monthly search volume;
• number of results;
• related keywords (separate full report);
• keyword variations (full separate report);
• list with the top 20 in Google;
• growth trend graph in search volume;
• list with variations of AdWords for the keyword.

At this time, let’s take a look at the keyword match report.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-18.png

We use the information in this report to find variations of the searched keyword that represent good opportunities.

High search volume and acceptable competition are often the main features we are looking for right now. 

It is noteworthy that here we find a series of excellent long tail keywords to address content that will be used to link to an article whose keyword is a head tail – in this case, “digital marketing”.

Select opportunities and finish the search

Ready! We have reached the end of keyword research and now we just need to create a report with the best results and opportunities we find across all the tools we use.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-19.png

Above we find four worthwhile terms that represent good opportunities in an SEO strategy focused on Digital Marketing. The results of keywords and their respective monthly volumes are as follows:

• “Digital marketing” – 18,100;
• “Digital marketing agency” – 1,000;
• “What is digital marketing” – 1,000;
• “Digital marketing concept” – 720.

Of the four options above, the keyword “what is digital marketing” is the best term we can focus on.

Don’t you understand why we opted for a long tail with a thousand monthly searches instead of the “digital marketing” head tail with almost 18 thousand monthly searches?

A very complete post on the subject may encompass many variations of the keyword in question. In this case, “what is digital marketing” is a great keyword because, in addition to volume, it has numerous relevant variations, and when we think about how users search engines, it’s exactly the term that the vast majority will use.

Another point that we must take into consideration when making this decision is the very difficulty of ranking that each of these keywords has.

SEMrush also gives us this extremely valuable information and an argument to justify choosing a keyword.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/o-que-e-seo-21.png

When we analyze only these two keywords in isolation, the difference becomes even clearer.

The competition metric refers to the difficulty of ranking for each keyword, and this measure goes from 0 to 1. The closer to 1, the harder it will be to work at the top of searches with a result:

• “Digital marketing” – 0.92 ranking difficulty;
• “What is digital marketing” – 0.30 ranking difficulty.

Without the proper creation and search for keywords that make sense for your business, it is very complicated to get the positive result you want so much. 

We hope you can understand this quick guide we have produced about keyword research.

Step 2: Analyze the Google results page for the main keyword

Now that we know where we are starting from, we need to start understanding who we are competing with so we can get in the fight to win. To get into a fight without knowing your opponent is to start losing.

As much as we have many keywords to optimize, we will always have the one with the highest search volume and the most value.

While long tails are the current focus of most SEO strategies, having the main keyword is recommended. It is usually the one that can most impact your results, so it deserves more attention.

One of the analyzes that aim to help SEO planning is the search results page, or SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

To analyze SERP, we recommend using Moz’s Keyword Difficulty Tool. It gives you access to a number of important metrics, as well as keyword difficulty.

It makes a comparative analysis of all the first 10 results and is very intuitive, showing where you should focus your focus to improve your positioning. The only problem is that it gets paid, but if you don’t subscribe to Moz, you can use MozBar.

If you have advanced Excel skills, you can do a complete SERP analysis just by exporting the data to a CSV. This is one of the MozBar features we enjoy most.

What we do is put the following metrics in a spreadsheet:

• links;
• domain authority;
• page authority;
• trust flow;
• citation flow;
• different domains linking.

With these metrics in a spreadsheet, we can analyze competitors and also gain insight into where we should focus our strategy.

Step 3: Competitor Analysis

When it comes to planning, the more time you spend getting to know your competitors, the more confident you will be in building your strategy.

When we analyze a SERP, we evaluate the first 10 results and take the most superficial metrics.

When it comes to a very popular keyword, we should focus the deeper analysis on the first 3 results.

In this analysis, you must make a SWOT assessment. In addition, the following points are also important.

• Errors on page
  • Are there too many errors on-page? (We use tools like WooRank for this.)
  • Is the URL friendly?
  • Do they correctly use the Title Tag and Meta Description?
  • What are they failing to do?
• Content
  • Do they use the keyword correctly throughout the content?
  • Is it static or dynamic content?
  • Do they update frequently?
  • What type of content do they not use? (Ex: videos, infographics, etc.)
• Social networks
  • Do they have many shares?
  • Are they active on social networks?
  • Does the site have share buttons?
• Links
  • What is their main source of link acquisition?
  • Can I also enjoy this font?
  • How is the distribution of anchor texts?
  • Do they use tactics by which they can be punished?

With all these questions asked and answered – mentally or documented – you are better prepared to start SEO planning.

Now that we’ve reviewed our competitors and learned about their strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to look at our own site.

Step 4: On-Page Analysis

When it comes to your site, the analysis has to be thorough and high quality.

Analyzing your website’s on-page is crucial to your SEO strategy, as all problems and possible improvements can be solved by you. 

Sometimes you can depend on the programmer or the company that developed the site, but you still have more control over it than on acquiring quality links, which depends on external factors.

On-Page analysis can take a long time, and sites with many pages tend to take more work at this stage. 

We’ve talked about most of the on-page factors in the Google ranking factors topic. Now, let’s talk about others that haven’t been cited yet.

Canonical URL

Google considers each site URL separately. A basic mistake of many websites is that the homepage can be accessed with www ( www.site.com) and also without www (site.com).

This divides the strength of your homepage, and when you do not redirect 301 to the template you choose, you lose some of the power of the links, which go into non-priority form.

To fix this, you need to redirect 301 from site.com to www.site.com or vice versa. If you can’t redirect, you can place the canonical tag to tell Google which URL you want to privilege.

Sitemap

You learned here how Google works and saw that the first step in an SEO job is to get Google to index your site.

A sitemap is a way of telling Google which pages are on your site and making it easy to crawl them all.

Some SEO plugins already have this functionality. After you generate a sitemap.xml, you need to submit it to Google through the Google Search Console.

404 errors

Something very common is a website having a wrongly linked page or someone linking your site to a nonexistent page. When this happens, the user falls to a page with the information that it does not exist.

This is not good for anyone and you need to fix this error quickly.

Google Search Console has functionality that tells you this type of error and where it is occurring. You must document all the errors you have found and all the possible improvements that you have identified.

The on-page is an essential analysis step you must do to plan an SEO campaign.

Step 5: Link Analysis

Now is the time to review our links and identify where we need to focus our efforts.

What you need to look at in this step:

• number of links;
• number of domains linking;
• anchor text of the links you have;
• domain authority;
• page authority;
• citation flow;
• trust flow;
• types of links you have. Here enter text links, images or other forms.

By combining all of this information with competitors’ link analysis, you’ll have a good foundation for planning your link building strategy.

Step 6: Monitoring and Tracking

In addition to planning, researching, and producing content and links, an essential part of tracking your SEO campaign is performance monitoring.

We recommend that you keep track of the metrics defined in the baseline report and always compare them against the defined assessment period. This should become a routine and occur at least monthly. Here at Rock Content, every Friday is the day to review our mistakes and successes to keep growing.

Completion and Bonus

As you might realize, SEO is an extremely important subject for those looking for online visibility.

We take SEO very seriously here at Blogger Cage and we like it a lot too, so we have put together a shortlist of related content you might be interested in:

• SEO x Personas
• Link building
• Keyword Search
• SEO Truths
• SEO Glossary
• $ 500,000 Case Blog Post
• 1,772% organic growth

If you still have questions, our team has also produced a 50-page ebook that delves into the many points we cover here in this post.

Find out how BERT, Google’s new Artificial Intelligence system, will affect the SERP’s and the results of your online strategy!

Google will make the biggest change to its search engine since the introduction of RankBrain – almost five years ago. The company announced that the action will impact 1 out of 10 pages of results, in order to substantially transform the results that match those searches.

The so-called BERT, named after Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, was launched this week for English language searches and will soon be available worldwide. 

Want to know more about what’s new and how it will impact search? So stay with us and check it out!

What is BERT and how does it work?

BERT is a neural network technology that aims to improve natural language processing, as commonly used by users in search engines. That is, it helps computers understand the language more similar to human understanding.

The program is used to grasp the context nuances of the words entered in the search and to find the most appropriate and relevant results.

Until last year, the program followed the open-source model and has a detailed description of its operation on the Google Artificial Intelligence blog.

To illustrate how the solution works, in a search such as “2019 brazil traveller to the USA need a visa” the word “to” and its relation to the other search words are important for understanding the meaning of doubt.

Previously, Google could not understand the importance of this connection and would return with results about US citizens interested in traveling to Brazil.

“With BERT, the system is able to grasp this nuance and know that the word ‘to’, which is quite common, is actually essential in this context and so it is possible to suggest much more relevant results,” according to with the company.

Note: The examples used are for illustration purposes and may not correspond to the reality of real-time searches.

In another example, in a search for “Can you get medicine for someone pharmacy,” you can see much more accurate results according to the user’s intent.

The program will also impact Featured Snippets – which will already have their searches changed in all languages. 

To illustrate this impact, here is an example where Google presents a much more relevant snippet to answer the question: “Parking on a hill with no curb”. In the past, such a search would cause real confusion in the search algorithm. 

According to Google, “We often put a lot of attention on the word“ curb ”and not the word“ no ”without understanding how critical this term was to enable an adequate response. So we came back with results about parking on a curb hill. ”

BERT versus RankBrain?

Despite the innovation of this system, it is important to note that RankBrain is not dead. Remembering: RankBrain was Google’s first Artificial Intelligence-based method for understanding searches.

It relies on analyzing both search and content on Google-indexed web pages to better understand the true meaning of words within a given context.

Thus, BERT does not replace RankBrain but acts as an additional method for understanding content and search. When Google concludes that the question will be best answered with the help of BERT, it will be used. 

Also, it is important to remember that in a single search, you can use more than one method, including BERT, for a better understanding of user intent.

And how does it work? Google explained that there are a number of ways to understand what search language means and how it relates to web content. 

For example, if you type something wrong, error detection systems help you spell a word correctly so you can find what you need.

Similarly, if you use a synonym for the word you are looking for, it can find content that spans both terms.

Thus, BERT is just another sign that Google uses to understand the language. Depending on which search you perform, any of these systems, or their combination, may be used to provide the best available result.

Is it possible to optimize for BERT?

The answer to this – until then – is only one: it is unlikely. Google has stated that SEO experts cannot really optimize even for RankBrain. 

But anyway, that means Google is becoming better and better at understanding natural language. So keep producing quality content for your audience, not for the algorithm. 

Why bother with this update?

It’s important to keep an eye on this update not only because Google itself considered it “the biggest leap in progress in the last five years, and one of the biggest in search engine history,” but also because 10% of all searches were impacted. by BERT.

With that in mind, we recommend that you keep an eye on changes in traffic as soon as the change takes effect for the Portuguese language as well, and share with us if there is any impact on your pages.

This content is a translation adapted from the text of Search Engine Land.

Users searching for a local business on Google want to find the information quickly on the search engine site. If you do a good job of local SEO, you will appear well-positioned in this search. Learn what ranking factors are for local searches and learn how to improve your position.

A restaurant for dinner, a tourist spot to visit, or a park to walk around: who has never made these queries on Google? Searchers are often used to search for locations in the city, so local SEO is so important in Digital Marketing strategies.

Businesses like restaurants, bars, markets, high street shops, beauty salons, hotels, museums and cultural centers can benefit greatly from optimizing for local searches. Thus, when the user searches for a location in a region, he can meet new establishments and become a new customer.

See how much potential there is to attract new customers? But to stand out from the competition, you need to know what are the local SEO ranking factors that Google considers to display local businesses in search results.

That’s why we created this article. We will present the current trends of optimization for local searches and what are the main strategies to achieve good positioning.

How does local SEO work?

Local SEO is the set of optimization strategies for a business so that it appears well positioned in Google search results.

With this optimization, the user who searches for places in a given region finds more relevant results, with richer information about establishments.

To improve this search experience, Google’s algorithm also takes some steps to best display results for it.

Therefore, local businesses may not only appear in the search results ranking but also on the Google Information Map (called the Knowledge Graph).

Let’s say, for example, that the user searches for “downtown museums”. The search engine ranks top sites at the top of the results, but should also display a Google Maps preview with the featured museums.

It is also important to realize that Google strongly considers the user’s location to present the results. In this case, for example, the research “museums in the center” was conducted in Porto Alegre, so the results are focused in the center of this city.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/busca-museus.png

If the search is for a specific museum, the search engine presents a summary from different sources, such as Wikipedia and Google My Business (or Google My Business), which brings the address, phone, reviews and user notes data.

Image URL: https://bloggercage.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/museu-rs.png

These different ways of presenting and highlighting search results increase the chances of the user to know the companies and click to know more. Therefore, local SEO has great potential to attract new customers, but also increase brand awareness.

What are the top local ranking factors for Google?

A survey presented by Moz showed what matters most in local SEO: Google My Business.

According to this survey, Google My Business has the largest share (25%) among local search ranking factors. This represents a 32% growth over the previous year, which shows that the search engine is increasing the importance of this feature.

Next up are the link factors (16%) and the review factors (15%). Already the signs of brand citation on the web, although still appearing with 11%, had a decrease of 19% compared to last year.

Now, then, let’s better explain the key factors and how you can optimize your business’s local SEO to stand out in these searches.

Google My Business

Increasingly, Google wants to make Google My Business as a complete assistant for local searches. The intention is to help users when they most need that information.

It is important to realize that SEO, in this case, is not necessarily focused on traffic to the site.

With Google My Business, you don’t even have to have a website to provide the information you need. And this is a Google trend: Keeping people on the search engine and delivering the answers they seek on the results page.

This makes the search experience more agile and straightforward.

This generates a change of mindset for those working with SEO. One of the main goals has always been to generate traffic to the site and, inside, convert the visitor into a customer.

In local SEO, however, the logic is to deliver the answer that the user seeks and bring it to your establishment. After all, receiving this visit is what you really want, isn’t it?

So to give users and businesses a good experience, Google has been adding a number of features to Google My Business that make information more complete.

And some of these features are key to optimizing your placement in local searches. Here are some tips for taking advantage of them.

Fill in all fields

The more complete your Google My Business listing is, the more likely you are to appear in searches. Keep in mind that Google prioritizes the user experience, which needs to find the answer you want as quickly as possible.

In addition, every field can be decisive in decision making. If a restaurant does not inform opening hours, for example, it may fall out of the choice of a couple who are deciding where to dine.

On your business listing, however, there is a wealth of information that is not under your control. This is the case, for example, with reviews that users leave and notes that Google pulls from other sources. On the other hand, there is a lot of data that the company itself can fill out. These are some of them:

• Company Name;
• Description;
• Category;
• Address;
• Area of ​​coverage (if it meets a specific region);
• Opening hours;
• Telephone;
• Site;
• Opening date;
• Attributes (such as internet, accessibility, outdoor area, etc.).

There are also business-specific fields, such as “check-in and check-out times” for hotels or “menu” for bars and restaurants. There is also the possibility to set special opening times, such as on holidays or events in the city.

Take advantage of all these field possibilities. But remember to keep the information correct and up to date so as not to frustrate the customer. Worse than not informing is to offer incorrect data.

Explore Google Posts

Google Posts is one of the recent features of Google My Business. Although Google Plus has been discontinued, Google has not given up on keeping updates from search-allied companies.

In the company profile, you can post posts with news and offers. They enable greater engagement between the establishment and its audience, with publications that bring valuable information to users.

You can share announcements, offers, products, events, among other updates, with the ability to include text, photos and videos, plus a call-to-action button. 

An example of an institution that uses Google Posts updates is Maps, in São Paulo. By accessing the museum profile, you can see posts about new exhibitions and events.

Interact with Google Q&A

Google My Business is concerned with creating forms of interaction between businesses and users. One way to do this is to use Google’s Q&A tool.

Not all companies know that Google Q&A exists, but certain users already know it. Increasingly, this tool is being adopted by users to solve quick questions, such as “will it open on holiday?” Or “have parking?”.

These questions can be answered by the community itself, especially by Local Guides, who are the users who interact most on the platform.

But property owners can also respond and provide more accurate answers. That way, you’re delivering more content to users – and Google likes it!

Post photos and videos

Not long ago, you could only add photos to your Google My Business profile. Now the platform offers the ability to include videos up to 30 seconds, which makes your business content even more interesting.

In addition, the photos and videos section of the Google My Business profile can be supplied by the establishment itself, but also by users. In the company profile, the Photos section has subdivisions, such as most recent posts, owner, 360º view, and videos.

It is important to maintain a kind of curation on media that is included by third parties, as many users upload photos and videos from places not owned by them. But the owner has no autonomy to delete the media – there is a tool to ask Google to review the publication.

Links to the site

Links are one of the pillars of SEO. Link building – that is, links between pages – is one of the main factors that Google analyzes to rank search results. He understands that a page that receives many links from other authority pages tends to be relevant to users.

This same logic holds true for local SEO as well. An establishment that receives several quality links from other pages also deserves a prominent placement.

Google further recognizes this relevance when the business is linked to important local sites, such as a regional news portal, local tourism sites, or blogs of other businesses in the city. Google can identify this proximity, and realize that more people in your area are visiting your site, which means it should be relevant locally.

Also, your company may already be listed on many websites and blogs on the internet. Quotations, as we have seen, also have relevance to Google’s local algorithm.

But they are even more influential when they include links to the brand’s website. Therefore, it is also worth going after these quotes and seeking a partnership for these sites to include links to their pages.

Customer reviews

Customer reviews have a high influence on decision making, far more than brand advertising.

Other people’s opinions show the actual experience with the company, which is essential for choosing a restaurant, a hotel or a barbershop, for example. It’s how you show that your business really does what it says it does.

For Google, reviews are becoming increasingly important for ranking local businesses.

The search engine considers not only the notes and comments that users leave on Google My Business, but also reviews from external platforms such as Foursquare, TripAdvisor, and Facebook. Therefore, your review strategy should target all of these review platforms.

Be proactive about asking for reviews

Appraisals come naturally. However, you can leverage reviews if you are proactive about soliciting them from customers. Don’t hesitate to do this, as Google’s algorithm probably considers the number of ratings for ranking.

Then ask customers to write their comments on these platforms. To do this, you can use post-marketing, email marketing, put a reminder on the restaurant menu, and place a link on your site, for example.

Answer the comments

It is frustrating to compliment or complain about a business and to be summarily ignored. Customers want to be heard!

Therefore, respond politely to customer comments, regardless of the content of the message. This way you value user participation so that more people are encouraged to write, and publicly show that you care about your customers.

You can also leverage the answers to include keywords related to your business (without exaggerating, ok?). This is another strategy for linking your business to these terms and showing Google that you’re a reference in your area.

Behavioral signs

You can adopt strategies to optimize all the factors we have shown so far. But there are signs that Google considers in local ranking that you don’t have much influence on: it’s the behavioral factors of people when they view your business in search results.

How many users search for your brand name in the search engine? How many clicks on your website link? How many take directions to get to the place? How many clicks to call your business?

This data shows Google the level of user engagement with business information. When meaningful, they make it clear that the business is delivering what people want to know.

However, there is not much to do to optimize behavioural signals other than doing the homework by filling in all the information correctly.

So, would you like to know more about the top ranking factors of local SEO? Remember, all the factors we mention are organic, meaning you don’t have to invest in media to position yourself better in local searches. Google My Business, for example, is completely free!

Therefore, if you have a local business, you cannot miss this opportunity to optimize for these searches. They can mean more customers and more sales for your business!

Off-page SEO is one of several optimization strategies. Thinking about the importance of the theme, we made this content that will help you improve the ranking of your pages!

An SEO strategy depends on several controllable elements.

Size, internal links, keywords, scannability, companion materials… among many others.

But what about when search engine ranking factors are uncontrollable, ie outside the company’s website?

Yeah. Techniques for optimization in out-of-range environments are referred to as off-page SEO.

If you want to know more about this topic and learn how to do it, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, you will learn what this strategy is and how to apply it to your own blog.

Read on and check it out!

The off-page SEO

Search engine algorithms are highly complex.

The most famous of these, Google, has over 200 ranking factors.

So you can see how hard it is to understand it.

Some are well known to those in the field and can be adjusted and modified according to the site administrator’s strategy.

In this case, the company that owns the corporate blog.

Others push the boundaries of owner management, and we call them off-page.

Don’t get it yet? Do not worry!

We’ll talk about some of the following keys off-page SEO factors:

The number of links pointing to your site

There are 3 types of links in SEO:

• the internal links that point to other posts of the same blog;
• the outbound links that point to the URL of other people’s pages; and
• the inbound links, which occur when other pages pointing links to your blog.

Note that in the first 2 cases you can access the edit panel and make changes.

This practice is recommended, for example, when creating articles whose authority should be reviewed or when the cited page is taken down.

Inbound links are not under the jurisdiction of the webmaster, meaning they cannot be modified at the owner’s discretion.

They must be conquered.

How to get backlinks

There was a time when website administrators created multiple blogs and made mutual references between them.

Today this practice – called the Private Blog Network (PBN) – is frowned upon by search engines and considered blackhat.

Here the recommendation is simple:

Create quality articles and other sites will point to yours.

Most copywriters search for information through Google.

So when you have a good ranking, the chances of your text being linked is great.

The authority of the pages and domains pointing to your site

When a post inserts a link to an external page, it is passing authority to the linked text.

This is the main reason why the number of inbound links is so important to SEO.

But not all sites have equal page or domain authority.

A blog that has several well-ranked texts, for example, will have more authority than a personal blog that has few hits.

It’s like that:

Would you accept algebra advice from several students or from a math doctor?

Yeah. Links on high relevance pages are much more valuable than multiple links on low importance pages.

How to get inbound links on high authority pages

In the early days of search engines, many administrators exchanged links with each other.

Also, getting a link on an external page was very easy:

Just go to the comment session and post it there.

Today, these practices violate Google’s good behaviour guidelines.

In the 2nd case, inclusive, several platforms indicate the links as in the Nofollow, ie, deny the passage of authority.

A very common practice is guest posts.

But in this case, there is an exchange of texts between well-ranked pages.

That is, the administrator of site X writes an article for site Y, and vice versa.

Thus, both may include links that they consider relevant to their own blogs in a kind of partnership.

But keep in mind that it is important that links make sense within the text, or the user will hardly click – which greatly decreases their usability.

Traffic and page length

While you oversee all internal content on your landing pages, user behavior is unmanageable.

After all, you can’t determine how many visitors will visit your blog or how long they will stay on your pages, right?

Nevertheless, these are the top 2 ranking factors for Google and other search engines.

Many hits generate authority, as well as a good time spent with open content.

Obviously, after all, there are a number of elements that can be analyzed to increase these metrics.

Therefore, on-page SEO elements are often considered to modify such numbers.

How to increase these factors on your blog

Once again, we return to the issue of content quality.

If your texts are written lightly, do not answer the user’s questions and are not scannable, they will surely move the user quickly from the page.

Therefore, the recommendation here is to invest in good articles, reconciling images with good loading time, nice layout and impeccable user experience.

Some entrepreneurs even invest in paid media (such as Google AdWords and Facebook Ads) – which increases traffic and therefore page value.

Did you see? Not everything is out of your reach, is it?

Social shares

You may not know, but social shares also generate inbound links.

In its recent updates, Google has begun to consider these elements to verify page authority.

It’s simple:

Pages with multiple shares on social media can achieve better ranking.

Some experts even claim that the +1 (Google+ button) increases the authority of the shared link.

How to get more shares for your pages

Here we enter another important digital marketing resource: social networking.

There are several techniques that stimulate user interaction and engagement that should be used to elevate the position on search engines.

In a simple parallel, links on social networks not only count as inbound links but also drive continuous traffic.

You now know what off page SEO is and are able to use these techniques to optimize the results of your pages.If you enjoyed this post, see how to do SEO on page and bring even more benefits to your business!

SEO on page: How to optimize your page to rank well in search engines

SEO on-page is responsible for optimizing web pages so that they are best suited to search engines to meet ranking factors. By working well, you will improve your search traffic, boost your rankings and thus excel in the digital medium.

If you already know a little about Digital Marketing, surely you may have heard about SEO. Your strategies are essential to have online visibility and one of its pillars is on-page SEO.

As we present in our expert article, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is a set of optimization techniques for websites, blogs and web pages.

These optimizations aim to achieve good organic rankings by generating traffic and authority for a website or blog.

More than anything important to achieving good business results in the digital age, SEO has become essential to exist in the online media. As borders have narrowed because of the Internet, the market has become more competitive and gaining space has become even more difficult.

Think about it, when you have questions or need to buy something, it is possible that your first step is to search some search engine, such as Google.

From the results that appear on SERP, the results page, you will see articles and offers that will help you to be more inclined to know a company.

The bad news is that if your business is not yet found on a website or blog, you can bet you are missing out on many opportunities. To ensure your visibility, there are some amazing techniques that can be applied.

SEO on-page is precisely the set of efforts that must be applied to optimize your web pages and dominate search engines.

Working it well, you will not go unnoticed and will ensure your online visibility that reverts to profitability.

Do not let this opportunity pass, come learn with us!

What is SEO on-page?

You may be wondering: What in fact is SEO on-page? Let’s start with this then.

First, we have it as an offshoot of SEO, which is itself part of SEM – Search Engine Marketing. Search Engine Marketing – which also includes paid methods to get featured online, going beyond organic.

Search engines check web pages, and in their evaluations, they consider technical terms regarding the structure and content of a site, all for better user experience in their search.

SEO on-page specializes in exactly that: optimizing web pages so that they are best suited to search engines to meet ranking factors. 

Remember, some specific parts of a page deserve attention, after all, they are your chance to improve your search traffic, boost your rankings and thus excel in the digital medium.

To do this, a good on-page SEO strategy must be able to deliver unique value in keyword-targeted content, an accessible and easy-to- crawl web site (the Google algorithms), and fantastic user experience. , responsive and made for sharing.

Even from a more technical point of view, as they are fixed-point optimizations of pages and their content, the mindset should always focus on user satisfaction.

Google doesn’t want standardized content, it wants everyone who searches for something to be satisfied with the visits to the pages it makes and can achieve its goal.

Thus, we can conclude that SEO on-page is about technique, but it is also about being friendly. More than that, its goal is to use possible optimizations to educate, inspire and guide users as they surf the Internet. 

How to differentiate SEO on-page and off-page?

You already know what SEO on-page is, but it is only part of SEO. Now, what’s the difference with off-page SEO, the other side of SEO? 

In common, they aim to ensure traffic to the site through optimizations, or else it would be SEO.

But, as the name implies, SEO on-page deals with what is on the web page and its structure and content. 

SEO off-page is all that is external. In his efforts to get traffic externally, he resorts to techniques but outside his online domain. Let’s name a few:

• Link building: With other pages linking to your business, you can increase your online authority, but this should be monitored to come from quality sources.
• Promotions and Partnerships: Other businesses and businesses can help with joint actions, such as guest posts, and both benefit from brand outreach by engaging in dialogue with their personas.
• Social networks: By promoting on social networks, your pages can leverage your traffic from these channels, and you can still use social interaction to improve your relationships with your audience.

The rule is simple: on-page is what is inside your pages, on your website and blog, and off-page is the efforts to spread them and achieve a good online reputation.

Why is SEO on-page important?

We have already talked about what SEO is on-page and have even explained its difference with off-page SEO, but why is it so important?

It is vital in every Digital Marketing strategy because, if not working, you are invisible in the digital world.

That is, without visibility, your customers may not find your brand and you lose good deals that could come.

The situation is even more alarming when one thinks that most businesses today are already moving to digital, as most consumers are already there.

And even if the focus is on local marketing, you still need to have well-structured pages with quality content to get ahead, given Local SEO.

If you want to have a more economical and consistent strategy, on-page SEO is still the best way out: It seeks to strengthen organic, lower-investment traffic as it comes naturally from Google through user searches.

Unlike ads, which increase online visibility soon after payment, this traffic is not so fast, we need to be honest. It takes constant work until you reach the top positions, and once you get them, you have to keep working to maintain them.

Still, if you put it in a long-term assessment, this strategy can have a higher return on investment ( ROI ) as investments are allocated to the marketing team.

To give you an idea, you can reach half a million dollars with a blog post.

Best of all, everything is under your control. Activities are done on the very pages of your blog and website, so you can count on fewer contingencies and better schedule your planning for tasks. 

Now, let’s learn how SEO is really done on page!

How to do SEO on-page in practice?

Within a web page, there are several components and variables, and everything deserves attention: always focusing on the user experience.

Since before he enters your site or blog, you should already be attracted to search engines, and when you enter, your mission is to make them happy with your search.

This goes beyond optimizations in content, web pages and images and videos as well. Let’s show you how to succeed in each part!

Content Optimizations

Title Tag

A Title Tag is not necessarily the title of the article or page, but the title it will have in search engines. For example, our inbound marketing content is like this:

Image URL: https://rockcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TITLE-TAG.png

The Title Tag is “What is Inbound Marketing: Concept, Benefits and Strategies” even though the title of the article is “What is Inbound Marketing? Learn Attraction Marketing and develop strategies to attract and win customers. ” And why will it be? 

Well, the Title Tag works like a billboard phrase in SERP. Thus, it should be attractive and catchy to capture the user as quickly as possible. In this case, we do not have enough space to describe in detail everything he will find in the article, but we must convince him.

And for Google to identify what your page is talking about, you also need to make an easy-to-understand title for web crawlers.

Considering all this, we have some tips:

Focus on the keyword

To rank well and capture the reader quickly, be sure to include it in the title tags and keep it as far left as the western reading goes from left to right and this will ensure faster identification.

Be concise

Google gives you a limited space for title tags to display, so keep yours at up to 65 characters, a safe size for your title not to appear cropped and lose the desired effect.

Make the title interesting

Add modifiers to your title tags, such as “best”, “practical”, “complete”, “all”, “tutorial”, “guide”, “trends” to get the user’s attention, but remember make sure you don’t make a promise bigger than your content can deliver and be true.

Combine keyword with other long tail

If you are already at a later stage of your strategy and are fighting for big keywords, combine them in title tags with other long-tail keywords to increase the number of keywords you ran into.

Perhaps this is even the most important optimization because it is your gateway to search engines. So, pay extra attention and don’t do it only on article pages. Also do in your other relevant ones, such as the home of the site or blog, for example.

Keyword

An essential part of content production is choosing the keyword because it must match users’ search intentions for text to be found. Once you’ve chosen it, it’s time to position it as best you can.

Always include it in some essential parts of the page so that crawlers can easily identify the content theme. To do this, enter it in the URL, in H1, in at least one H2 and in the first 100 words of the text.

But be careful not to add too much! Before, the higher the keyword’s presence, the better. However, this is seen as a black hat practice and is heavily penalized by Google.

Prioritize the user experience here too: Be natural and use copywriting techniques to engage.

Also use variations of the keyword you choose throughout the content: the Latent Semantic Index ( LSI ). They are similar research suggestions and improve your performance! 

For LSIs, you can use some tools, such as LSI Graph, or check for Google itself in the related search field. Let’s go back to the Inbound Marketing example: 

Image URL: https://rockcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/LSIs.png

Meta Description

Do you know that mini summary that appears right after the title tag of an article on search pages? This snippet is the Meta Description! Let’s look at the content of Inbound Marketing, for example:

Image URL: https://rockcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/META-DESCRIPTION.png

Formally, it is not considered a straightforward ranking factor, but because of its importance to clickthrough rate, which in itself influences rank performance, it becomes an essential item in optimizations.

If the headline was unable to convince a user, then this is the time for Meta Description to take action! So make it always compelling, thought-provoking and compelling to bring the reader to your page.

To enter it, you can use the Yoast tool. And don’t forget that there is a character limit, ok? Do not exceed 160!

URLs

The URLs are major rank factors as well since Google uses it to identify on what a page is about. 

That way, never stop using the keyword in the URL of a post. You can even leave it alone and that is enough.

In addition, you should make it user-friendly so that it can easily record it and not confuse it with spam.

Certainly, you will agree that the last option is the most enjoyable to read:

• https://www.bloggercage.com/the-beginners-guide-to-local-seo-know-a-traction-and-developing-trategies-to-attract-and-conquer-customers
• https://www.bloggercage.com/in3366boun9dks92920mark777eting800000008/
• https://www.bloggercage.com/the-beginners-guide-to-local-seo/

So keep URLs short and without numbers. Not entering numeric characters is also great if you update some content, such as a list, and don’t need to redirect your links. It gets much more practical!

Link building

Link building strategies are essential within a Content Marketing strategy and search engines check the links you enter to also relate to user searches on the topics you are looking for.

They are divided into two: internal links and external links. Let’s show how to do each one:

Internal Links

The purpose of entering them is to improve user navigability and keep them in their domain. Whenever possible, relate links to similar topics already covered in your blog and, in a more advanced strategy, develop anchor texts to win over competing keywords.

External Links

The purpose of inserting them is to relate their content to other add-ons that already have online relevance, which you can check with Moz Link Explorer.

Try inserting between 2 or 4 outbound links every 1,000 words and set them to open on a new page so users don’t leave your page.

Again, the important thing here is to consider the user experience. Think about what he can look for to compliment his research.

Heading tags

The heading tags are structures within content that serve to make the hierarchy of information easier to read.

They may seem complicated, but they are about editing the content to make it scannable and handy with intertitles. 

In a practical example, they assist in the division and classification of content topics such as:

• H1: Great America;
• H2: South America, North America, Central America;
• H3: Brazil, Panama, Canada, Chile, United States, Cuba, Honduras etc .;
• H4: Sao Paulo, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Lima, Havana, Santiago, New York etc.

As a ranking factor, Google checks for keywords in them to match user searches. So prioritize the presence of the keyword in H1 and H2, the most prominent subtitles. 

Essentially, there is only one H1 per page, and this post should be occupied with the article title when we talk about publications, ok?

Content Value

The value of content is very hard to estimate because the essential thing is that it answers the questions that a user has when he makes a search, correct? 

However, research shows that longer content yields higher results, possibly because longer content is deeper and answers these questions completely.

In addition, we can understand that they engage readers more and keep them longer, decreasing page bounce rate and increasing time spent on them, which are great quality indicators.

So try to make longer, higher quality articles. The ideal is to present at least 2,000 words, keeping an average of at least 2,400. 

But remember the user experience: Present a full text with the necessary explanations, without unnecessary twirling or tweaking. To avoid this, and to create good extensive content, complement your texts with practical tips and use techniques such as bucket brigades.

Web page optimizations

Responsive design

One of the most important ranking factors nowadays is definitely the responsiveness of a web page. Since 2015, Google has begun to evaluate this criterion, so optimizing it is essential.

Responsive design is one that performs well on both desktop and mobile and is well-suited to both usage formats. When we think about the intensity at which we are connected to our cell phones, it makes a lot of sense to be so important, doesn’t it?

To check your performance, you can use Google’s mobile testing tool and, from the feedback it gives, start optimizing for your mobile version.

Website Speed

The site loading speed is another important factor for rank well in search engines. Users don’t have patience, so you have to be fast, and Google keeps an eye on it.

To be aware, 47% of users expect loading to complete in less than two seconds and 75% of users would not revisit a page if it took more than 4 seconds to load.

This is even more alarming for e-commerces, which are greatly hampered by sluggishness on the web.

A one-second delay in page response time can yield a 7% reduction in conversions. 

If we put it in reais, a site with 10,000 daily hits on its sales pages and average ticket of $ 50 could lose $ 35,000 per day for every second delay, you know? 

To get started, you should check how fast your website and blog is loading. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed ​​Insights and GTmetrix.

From there, look for solutions such as image compressors, cache plugins, and CDN services.

Tracking

Another technique used in on-page SEO is to make the site as crawlable as possible for search engines.

By decreasing the crawl time of a new page, it’s a great way to get results fast.  

You can create a Sitemap.xml, which is a sitemap that facilitates the work of web crawlers and helps them get to know every page of your site with a way to go.

With it in hand, the submission is done through Google Search Console, one of the best management tools for marketers.

Another important factor in getting tracked is having a secure website. One of the new criteria being evaluated is the insertion of the HTTPS certificate, which guarantees security, authenticity and trust for those who are searching online, being essential for e-commerce.

Also, a tip for URLs that are no longer in use: You can also optimize their crawl by redirects 301 and redirect users to a current URL. This way, you don’t miss out on traffic opportunities and make the most of them.

Incentive for engagement

Encouraging users to engage with your site or blog is also pretty cool, though not a straightforward ranking factor. But as Google evaluates traffic behaviour, having users sharing and commenting on your content can be very positive.

To do this, you can insert easy-to-use social sharing buttons during the reading process. That could increase sharing results by up to 700%, believe me?

Also, encourage readers to comment on your posts with CTAs. They can make comments that help with long-tail keywords, for example.

Image and video optimizations

Images

The use of audiovisual resources is great to make reading more fluid and keep users on the page, not to mention the call for disclosure. Thus, the bounce rate decreases and their time on the site increases, indexes considered by search engines.

Images also need some settings. The first of these is in the file name, which must contain the keyword. 

When inserting it, you must put the alt text, the alternative text in case the image does not open. He tells Google what the image is about and helps index it on Google Images, and promotes a much more accessible attitude for the visually impaired. 

Taking the example of the Inbound Marketing post, which we have covered a few times throughout the article, if we insert a promotional image of an Inbound Marketing course, for example, we can leave the file name ‘inbound-marketing.jpg’ and the alt text as ‘Inbound Marketing Course’.

And to help speed up the site, prioritize light images with small file sizes, ok?

videos

You may have heard that videos are the newest formats in the digital world. And they really are!

Because they are content with great user engagement, almost all social networks are prioritizing their display.

You can take this chance and embed videos in your publications as well. And for a better result, be sure to apply SEO techniques to Youtube.

Preferably, put the keywords in the headlines and speak them in the first 15 seconds of the videos, as YouTube is transcribing the content now.

In the descriptions, use the keywords again and their variations up to 250 words. Also, insert 10-20 relevant tags about the theme to improve its reach.

How to maintain an on-page SEO strategy?

Now that you know how on-page SEO really works, it’s essential to incorporate your day-to-day techniques to exponentially improve your Digital Marketing results.

This requires recurring tracking of publications and optimizing them from time to time, merging with optimizations for all new articles that are published.

Like Search Analytics for Sheets, you can use a spreadsheet, import your Google Search Console account data, and track SEO work on-page. In parallel, use a checklist of what should be reviewed in each post.

We help with:

• Title Tag;
• Keyword;
• Goal Description;
• URL;
• Size.

If you already have a good volume of posts, try optimizing pages that fall between the sixth and twentieth positions on Google for the keywords you want. With content updates, you can reach the top positions.

Don’t be discouraged, all SEO jobs are long term investments, but with a higher ROI than proves stable over time! And then? Interested in SEO? If you want a complete overview of this essential part of every Digital Marketing strategy, I’m sure our Complete SEO 2.0 Guide can help you. Check it out now!

Meta Description is not considered a ranking factor by Google, but it directly interferes with your SEO work. After all, not everything is analyzed by robots and algorithms and we must also think about the experience that the user has when performing a search.

When we talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), we often just think about the top ranking factors considered by Google, right? But to perform better and attract more visitors to your pages, you also need to think about those points that don’t directly impact search placement.

One of them is Meta Description, essential to the efficiency of your Digital Marketing strategies and, consequently, the success of your business. So if you’re looking for your brand on Google or even social media, it ‘s important to invest in producing effective goals in such a small space.

To learn more about the importance of Meta Description within your Marketing Plan, how about continuing to read this article, clear all your doubts about it, and optimize the performance of your pages? Check out!

What is Meta Description?

Among the many pieces of information present on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), one of them is key to increasing the chances of convincing the user to click on your page: the Meta Description. In practice, it is a summary of the content the visitor will encounter when accessing a particular site.

The main purpose of this description is to attract more users to click on your link. Amid the various results that appear in a search, is the space intended for the pages to differ from each other.

There, you need to convince the visitor, in a nutshell, that the content offered on that page is, in fact, relevant.

While Google has confirmed that Meta Description is not a ranking factor, ignoring this short summary can be a serious mistake within its Digital Marketing strategy. After all, this space will be filled automatically if you don’t write content with this tag and you don’t want it to happen.

The Meta Description is, therefore, a summary of everything the user will find within a page of the site and needs to pass, in such a short space, as necessary to convince the visitor to choose your site from the many results. Even without directly interfering with ranking, Goal is critical for SEO work to be really efficient.

Importance is meta description in SEO?

The goal of SEO is to use different techniques to optimize the performance of a blog or site in an organic way, right? This way you can drive more traffic to your page and increase the chances of conversion. Often, though, the focus is just getting better search engine ranking.

As a result, Meta Description ends up sidelining many strategies – as it does not influence positioning – which can be highly detrimental to the performance of your Marketing plan . After all, not just appearing among the top results, you need to convince the user to click on your page.

What is the point of getting, for example, the top position in the search for a particular keyword if, in practice, your second competitor gets more clicks? Over time, your page may lose authority in such a fierce dispute and lack of attention to the summary may be one of the causes.

The Meta Description needs to be thought of as a last detail within an efficient SEO work. As much as it does not directly influence where your page will appear in the search, it can be directly responsible for convincing a user to trust your click – and time – to your site.

Therefore, it is essential to be careful in the production of Meta, which can be seen as a finishing touch after the various actions aimed at achieving a better ranking.

Have you ever thought of wasting all the work on keywords and content marketing, for example, why didn’t the user find an accurate summary of what your page offers?

Where is the Goal used?

Meta Description is often ignored for a few reasons: not appearing on any internal page, not part of SEO on-page, is automatically populated if it is not written, and does not directly interfere with ranking. Next, let’s show where the Meta Description is used.

In search results

In the search results, the Meta Description appears just below the page title as a summary of the content.

When a user searches on a keyword that is contained in the summary, it will appear in bold, which increases the chances of the link being clicked because it draws more attention.

If due to carelessness or unawareness, a page does not have the Meta Description defined in the code, Google will select a piece of content (which probably has the keyword searched) to put in the link description. That is, an autocomplete that may not be as attractive enough for the user.

This can also happen when Google understands that a piece of content is more relevant to the user and closer to the term they searched for than the text written in the tag.

So make sure you write the Meta Description so that it appears so that you have control over the description of your page and don’t leave it to the search engine.

On the social networks

When any user shares a URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, the network displays an image, title, and short description of the page. This gives the user an idea of ​​what they will find if they click on the link.

This short description is the text you define in the Meta Description. Social networks capture this information in the code and display it to the user, in the same logic as search engines.

However, it is noteworthy: if you want to use a different description for Facebook or Twitter, unlike searchers, you can work with social meta tags via Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards, for example.

How many characters should a meta description have?

One of the main challenges of Meta Description is precisely summarizing with quality what will be found on your page in such a small space.

Google requires, on average, about 160 characters to fill the space properly, but it’s important not to produce very short descriptions that seem incomplete.

How to make an attractive meta description?

You already understand what Meta Description is and how important it is within your SEO strategy, right? Now then, let’s present some tips for you to make an attractive and accurate description of the content available on your pages.

Be honest

The goal of Meta Description is to attract the user and to do so, you need to describe the actual content of what will be found.

Therefore, if you make a promise, it must be kept to avoid frustration. If he clicks on your link and doesn’t find the promise, it will leave your page at the same time, increasing the bounce rate.

Be objective

Regardless of the size of your post, it deals with just one specific subject and it is critical to be straight to the point.

So instead of promising to solve all user issues, keep the focus on the page theme when creating the Meta Description.

Arouse interest

A well-designed Meta Description is one that can inform and at the same time catch users’ attention. If you treat the description as an ad, where you must “sell” your content, you will be more likely to click.

Use persuasive language that prompts the user to take the desired action.

Use call-to-action (CTAs)

If you want to use a persuasive message and want the user to make a quick decision, nothing better than exploring CTAs. Calls to action define exactly what you want the user to do.

Obviously, you want him to click the link. But you can associate this action with some benefit it will find when accessing the content. See some examples:

• buy now;
• sign up;
• 3x plot;
• download for free;
• see the price;
• learn from us;
• book your room.

If you use mental triggers (see below about them) to create CTAs, you are even more likely to receive the click.

Use the mental triggers

Clicking a link in search results is the result of a quick decision-making process. And our unconscious plays a very important role in our decisions, especially when they are made on autopilot.

Mental triggers work with this idea. In Meta Descriptions, you can activate various triggers in people that activate in our brain the need to access that content.

Here are some examples and expressions you can use:

• urgency: “access now”;
• curiosity: “we reveal the secret”;
• shortage: “last waves”, “only today”;
• authority: “the most read text”.

Use the keyword

Every page must have a keyword that summarizes your theme. This is important in SEO for Google to understand what content is about and show the page to those who searched for those terms. Do keyword research to identify which ones are most relevant to your blog.

In Meta Description, it should be used to show the user that your page is relevant to their search. Also, as we said, the keyword is bold when it is compatible with user search, which attracts more clicks to your link.

But be careful to always use it naturally in the text. Don’t think that it will be interesting to enter the keyword multiple times within 160-character text – this practice can confuse content, remember that user experience should be a priority.

Test the results

Like everything on the web, you can test the results and see which text was most successful. The best way to measure Meta Descriptions is to look at the clickthrough rate (CTR) of each page, as it helps you understand if the text motivated the click or not.

The Google Search Console provides this data. Check results before and after a change and keep the description that brought in the most traffic.

What are the main mistakes when making Meta Descriptions?

Some errors can hinder the performance of your pages in the work of attracting visitors and, to avoid them, we separate the most common ones.

Do not produce a Meta Description

Pages without Meta Description leave it up to Google to decide which content appears in the results.

In this case, the searcher fills the space automatically, which is not always attractive to the user. It is best, therefore, to create the summary in your own words.

Descriptions too long or too short

Size also has a big influence on the success of your Meta Description. Too long summaries will not appear completely in the results, while short descriptions tend to lose prominence over competitors because they seem incomplete.

Automation

Automation is often used within Digital Marketing, mainly because it optimizes your time and simplifies bureaucratic and very manual tasks.

However, when we talk about Meta Description, this term is not so positive. For it may end up, for example, creating equal or meaningless descriptions.

So if you choose automation, make sure it is smart enough to create unique descriptions and always review before publishing.

And if it’s your choice, it’s better to leave pages without Meta Description than to use automation that creates the same description for different URLs.

Duplicate Meta Description

The Google Search Console also reports pages that have the same Meta Descriptions, which can happen by system automation.

This can be interpreted by Google as duplicate content on the site, and it will prioritize only one of these pages in the ranking, impairing the positioning of the others.

This way, duplicate content creates unnecessary competition between your pages. The solution, in the case of Meta Descriptions, is always to create unique and unique texts for each link.

What are the main tools that help you solve errors in descriptions?

Yoast

Especially for those using WordPress, Yoast is a great solution for optimizing Meta Description production work.

First of all, it does not let you forget to fill this space with your reminders and, more importantly, helps you to set the keyword for each Goal produced.

Ahrefs

The Ahrefs’ Site Audit performs a true audit on your site and points which are its main errors. Regarding the Meta Description, it shows which links are missing the description.

The Meta Description, therefore, might not even directly influence the position of your pages on Google, however, it must be taken seriously to offer an experience more complete the user. Aiming at the attraction, a well-written and efficient resume helps ensure that more visitors come to your site.

Digital Marketing requires the constant improvement of its strategies and actions in search of better performance, especially when it comes to search engine ranking.