The 5 Most Important Things in SEO

While narrowing the list of the MOST important elements in SEO is like nailing jello to a tree, there are some qualifiers that simply cannot be overlooked or overstated. The following is the basic recipe for successful SEO in our estimation…

1.Crawlability

Crawlability is a general term for all the components that enable Google to index your site; it describes their ability to access and crawl content on your pages. Formatting links to be text- or image-based should be your goal. If a site has no crawlability issues, then web crawlers can access all its content easily by following links between pages.

There are a few specific essentials to consider in order to bump up your status when it comes to crawlability. They include simple site navigation, effective and clean internal links, and regularly updated, concise content. Indexing your site for easy navigation allows your visitors to effortlessly move from page to page, encouraging them to stick around and take it all in. An XML sitemap is one of the very first things a spider will look at when they come to your site and if updated, will show them every page, image, and video found on your website. XML sitemaps help crawlablity; HTML sitemaps do the same thing. An HTML sitemap is a static web page that lists out every page on your website. When a spider finds this page, they will also find all the other pages of your website. Once there, your internal links will help these spiders find other pages on your site, and if you link with the keywords that the page is about, it helps tell the spider what they should find on the page they are seeking out. Lastly, it is crucial that the content they locate there is cogent, engaging, and relevant.

If your website or a page on your website is blocked, you’re saying to Google’s crawler: “NO ADMITTANCE”. Your site or the respective page won’t turn up in the search results. If the links on your site are formatted in a way that is not search-engine friendly, then your site’s crawlability would be considered extremely poor. , Broken links or dead-ends might result in crawlability issues – the search engine’s inability to access specific content on a site.

Crawlers can be blocked from your site. There are a few ways to block a crawler from your website. Nevertheless, if you’re blocking crawlers (perhaps even without knowing it) from your site, you’ll never rank well with Google. Stay vigilant!

2. Quality Content

By regularly publishing fresh, new content on your site you will show the spiders that you have something interesting for them and they will keep coming back for more. If you stop publishing, chances are crawling will slow down considerably, and if you completely abandon your site, crawling will stop altogether. A fantastic way to publish lots of content and do it often is by setting up a blog. Blogs are great for sharing ideas, concepts, and thought leadership.

3. On-Page Optimization

Proper understanding and use of effective SEO can ensure your rankability, market familiarity, and profitability. Google, specifically, uses your on-page content in order to determine your relevance.
Which keywords your pages rank for is determined by the content they contain. Search engines are looking for very specific information when determining your ranking. Through algorithms, they factor in several criteria to place you right where they think you ought to be. Educating yourself on these standards, you will take your place at the top of the list. Some of the elements that determine ranking are your content – specifically your keywords, your site’s speed and general performance, site authority, and your user’s experience.

4. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is a measure of the number of visitors to your site through search engines. Tracking search engine traffic gives you a qualifiable and quantifiable way of gauging the number of visitors your SEO efforts are actually bringing in. If you see a consistent increase in organic traffic every month, it usually indicates that your SEO plan is effective. The traffic from organic search is free, therefore it is truly one of the greatest measures of your SEO success. Be aware that tracking your organic traffic does not indicate traffic quality. Measuring keyword rankings alongside search engine traffic gives a better measure of traffic quality.

5. Relevant Backlinks

Tracking total backlinks to your site and to specific pages (especially pages you want to rank for) is a very good indication of your SEO performance. More often than not, a large number of backlinks from quality domains is proof that your SEO campaign is bringing in results. Furthermore, it’s important that you track the backlinks pointing to your website to ensure the quality and integrity of said links. How trustworthy is the linking domain? The more trustworthy the domain is, the more weight a link from it will have. What type of link is it? Links can be text links, image links, or redirects. Text links, which are usually in-content, editorial links, carry the most weight. Image links (when someone links to you via an image) and redirect inks (when a site redirects a URL to you) carry much less weight. You ideally want to get as many text links as possible. The relevancy and quality of the sites linking to you is signifcant. If Google considers these links to be spammy, they may very well penalize you for them. It is important that you disavow any bad links in order to maintain your rank.

The diversity of the referring (linking) domains matters, as does the total number of backlinks. Search engines look at both total backlinks and how many different websites link to you. 10,000 backlinks from 500 websites is typically better than 2,000 backlinks from 2 websites.

Google never stops tweaking their algorithm over the course of a year, however giving attention to these requisites, you will consistently strengthen your website’s standing in search results.