I see SEO planning as a mix between the respect of more or less fixed rules and the observation of specific parameters of the single case. Summarizing the concept, I would say that it is based on a substantial, and disturbing, variability of all factors.
I can’t be sure these 14 SEO tips are the ultimate solution to improve your Google ranking under any circumstances.
But they represent a good point of reference on which to base optimization work for a more detailed and specific search engine optimization.
The topics of the post
- Publish the best possible content
- Increase indexing with the blog
- Place PDF documents in the SERP
- Submit the sitemap in the Search Console
- Take care of Google meta tags as much as possible
- Create SEO friendly URLs for pages
- SEO positioning and quality links
- Google Update and SEO planning
- Google loves your fresh content
- Never forget internal links
- Check site positioning on Google
- Position a site by optimizing photos
- Outbound links: value your content
- Analyze and make the most of the SERP
- Improve your SEO planning
Publish the best possible content
Content is king, this is the basic rule. The best way to take advantage of search engines and good inbound links, with their ranking on Google, is to write really good texts. But I’ll tell you more: the perspective has changed.
Before the story was that of publishing text, the added value to communicate the presence of quality to Google. The crawler reads the text and decides your SEO schedule, but this is no longer the case: your goal is not to bloat the text pages but to give people what they need.
And you have to do it in the best possible way, eliminating redundancies and drying the pages of what can be superfluous text. Indeed, working to satisfy the questions in the best possible way: perhaps through videos, images, and graphics. To be first on search engines it is not enough to repeat the keyword, work with synonyms or write. Sign Out of the box which tends to simplify the strategy SEO.
Increase indexing with the blog
Do you want to be found for more searches? Post a blog and began to publish posts to find you by the people who need your help.
This is inbound marketing, and SEO planning is an integral part of that dynamic. But to be effective you need to do good keyword research.
In the analysis, find the general topics and related phrases that accompany the keywords. This means having a topic to address and secondary keywords that suggest what people want from that content.
How can this be achieved? Google Suggest is a great starting point, but to learn more you can use Answer The Public, the SEO copywriting tool.
Place PDF documents in the SERP
Sometimes people don’t search for web pages but other formats to get more accurate answers. For example, they want a form or diagram to download, print, and bring to a USB stick. So keyword research must be able to show this need. And you need to do good SEO optimization of PDFs.
Submit the sitemap in the Search Console
One of the points to improve the visibility of the site on Google: add the sitemap in the section dedicated to webmasters. I’m talking about the Search Console, here you can find a section dedicated to the XML file that helps Google find the contents.
Take care of Google meta tags as much as possible
Do you know what is one of the essential conditions to rise in position and appear high on Google? Change the meta tags useful for communicating with the search engine.
The first and most important: the title tag. While it shouldn’t make it on this list, the official Mountain View guide treats it as the highlight of the list.
Because among the meta tags, the title has the most relevance for Google positioning. The keywords you enter acquire meaning for the search engine, even if immediately after you find the meta description that has no direct value in SEO terms.
However, it allows you to influence site clicks, and if you think about it, the task of search engine marketing (SEM) is just that. That is to say, getting visitors.
SEO planning: title and meta description tags
By the way, do you know the difference between SEO and SEM? After deepening this point I suggest you take a look at the in-depth guides to optimize:
- Title Tag
- Meta description
- Tag H1
Finally, remember that the pages of your blog or site must have performing title tags and not a simple “site name – home”, “site name – who I am”, etc.
If you work with a WordPress platform and want to change these parameters you don’t have much choice: install WordPress SEO by Yoast or All In One SEO Pack.
Create SEO friendly URLs for pages
Having a quality URL is important in terms of SEO optimization for WordPress or any other CMS. The rule of thumb is simple and is based on clear points:
- Readability.
- Simplicity.
- Consistency.
How does an SEO-friendly URL have to be to improve the ranking on Google? Short, descriptive towards the central topic, easy to read and remember. It is useless to add keywords at random, better to focus on the information economy.
Pay attention to the WordPress settings
This CMS, when you open a blog, has permalink parameters completely outside the SEO logic. Namely with an identification number.
Better to immediately set up a customizable solution, which starts from the words used in the title but can be changed before publication.
SEO positioning and quality links
When planning your link popularity strategy, always consider that quality matters more than quantity. Perhaps it is useless to inflate the website profile with links from projects opened yesterday, perhaps on free platforms, just because you have heard of private blog networks. Which is a complex, even risky job.
Instead, think about creating a good guest blogging business and giving readers something useful. Like guides, free material, exclusive guides, and case studies.
It is not easy to link earning, or at least these are not my words. But it’s the surest way to get quality links along with SEO and digital PR work.
Be wary, however, of paid links, you risk being penalized by Google: you will earn the best links with a healthy content marketing strategy.
Google Update and SEO planning
Don’t be obsessed with updates (the famous algorithm updates) but don’t let the news get out of hand. The truth? The search engine works continuously to vary the SERP. And you have to monitor the situation.
Check what happened after the update, try to investigate the drops and gains, but don’t intervene immediately without knowing what you are doing. The famous Medical Update has taught us that sometimes the best solution is not to act. But observe.
Google loves your fresh content
That’s right, Mountain View wants to read updated texts, capable of giving the right information to those who come to the site. Attention, it does not reward those who manipulate the texts at random but those who update old posts to give something useful. In short, don’t be smart by adding only two or three keywords: aim for a concrete improvement.
This speech also concerns the technical work. Optimization is not forever: the web is evolving and you must always be ready to change your work concerning the news. On Google positioning, you must always work in advance.
Never forget internal links
Make sure your site is easily navigable and has a good internal link network. But, be careful, they must not be put at random: the value of a page flows through the internal links and gives value to what you have linked.
This means that within a page you have to carefully decide how many and which links to insert, will be the elements you will give weight to in the eyes of Google and the user.
Always remember to take care of the anchor text as carefully as possible, an element that anticipates the content that the user and crawler will find on the other side of the mention. Obviously, in these cases, you have to be good at using clear words.
Check site positioning on Google
To improve the ranking of a page you need a lot of attention. But also of a solution to understand what are the results obtained. So you need to be able to check your ranking on search engines. What is the solution? There are several tools.
I use Semrush which is paid, but there are other free ones for free Google ranking checker. The names in question are:
- Ubersuggest
- Serprobot
Thanks to these SEO tools you can understand how the SERP moves and what are the rankings obtained by your work. Working in the right direction also means this: understanding what you have done to change direction or continue towards the result.
Position a site by optimizing photos
Many searches are carried out to find photos, or through a search dedicated to the visual section of Google. For this, it is important to optimize the images.
This is done by inserting the alt tag, improving captions and file names but also streamlining the content with tools to reduce the weight of online images. This way the page loads better and increases the speed of the blog. In favor of usability.
Outbound links: value your content
SEO planning is not just about inbound links, quality content is also built with authoritative sources. You have to give the reader the best possible result. This means making it clear where your idea comes from.
Don’t be stingy with outbound links, as long as the resources are relevant and qualitatively impeccable. Most importantly, remember to check for broken links every now and then – I use Broken Link Checker to check.
Analyze and make the most of the SERP
To work on Google positioning you have to work on the SERP analysis. This way you study what others have done to get the site up. Most importantly, you have an idea of what the search engine wants in that circumstance.
Perhaps also evaluating the specific use of images and videos. Try to occupy more position in the SERP with your multimedia content, especially with YouTube publications. And when you see carousels of photos and clips in the SERP always consider that Google gives people what they like: do you do the same?
Improve your SEO planning
Are the steps to place the site just these? No, here you will find a minimal guide to what the SEO rules are. Indeed, KissAnime would call them generic good habits.
If you want to improve SEO planning you have to work specifically, contextualizing the project and aiming for linear actions with your business.
Always remember that this matter is a means, not the end: you have to earn more, not just position. Do you agree? Leave your idea in the comments.