Manipulating sites to link to you is against Google’s guidelines, so ignoring this could cause your site to be penalized. This is a standard approach for podcasters because links allow listeners/viewers to dig deeper and learn more about the guest(s) and their business. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) is a concept highlighted in Google’s Search Quality Raters’ Guidelines and has become a focus for SEOs in recent years. The general idea is that websites should be built with EEAT in mind, showing that they are experts in their niche while demonstrating authority and trust. Remember, however, that Google sometimes automatically rewrites meta descriptions based on the search queries, meaning what you input isn’t necessarily what will always show up in SERPs.
Since SEO can benefit every funnel stage, from awareness to purchase, businesses need to create a smart SEO optimization strategy. A smart strategy, for example, focuses on bringing qualified traffic to drive sales to make SEO worth the investment. This beginner’s guide, consisting of seven chapters, has everything you need to understand the basics of SEO and start ranking higher. You’ll also find links to useful resources from our SEO Blog and YouTube channel throughout, so you can forge your own path to SEO mastery. Other off-page tactics like social media management, online reputation management, and email marketing can indirectly benefit your SEO by driving brand awareness and engagement. Search engine marketing (SEM) promotes a business through unpaid or paid results on search engines, often both.
- Building high-quality links to your website is arguably one of the most challenging aspects of SEO and one of the most in-demand SEO skills.
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles.
- Not only that, but Emil wanted to share his great content with the Backlinko community.
- I even ran some of their top-ranking articles through Originality AI to detect if they used any LLMs to generate the content.
- Instead of stuffing keywords, you build thoughtful networks of content.
De-Index Duplicate Content
Keep in mind that when reviewing a competitive website or content, the assumption is that it was created and published with SEO in mind. However, this may not always be the case, so don’t be surprised if your competitor’s pages are not optimized; rather, look at this as an opportunity. Any effective competitor analysis will naturally begin with a review of competitors’ websites to see “how” they may be able to outrank you and/or what they may be trying to rank for. As such, when it comes to online visibility and local SEO, competitor analysis isn’t just a best practice – it’s a necessity. Hiring a full-service SEO agency is typically a significant investment, but it also provides the most comprehensive support. Agencies offer a team of experts who manage all aspects of your SEO, from strategy and content creation to technical SEO and analytics.
If you’re not thinking about the emerging tech in search, you might miss out on opportunities to connect with these cutting-edge customers. Off-page SEO covers the efforts taken outside your website to improve its rankings in search results. When people talk about SEO, they often have optimization for Google in mind.
What is SEO: A Complete Guide to Search Engine Optimization
Christopher explains that local service ads (or LSAs) are one of these features. This ad format is exclusive to local businesses in fields such as plumbing, law, dentistry, preschools, childcare, and massage, to name a few. A backlink, also called an inbound link, is when another website links back to your website or blog content.
Website Indexing For Search Engines: How Does It Work?
On the other hand, my voice search study gives bloggers and journalists data that they can EASILY BHS Links reference. And I’m not afraid to say that it qualifies as “high-quality content”. And now you’re ready for our second strategy to help improve your SEO.
So the best way to find keywords is with a keyword research tool like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. To use it, enter one or a few broad topics related to your industry, hit search, then go to one of the keyword ideas reports. You’ll see the keywords’ monthly search volumes and a few other SEO metrics. In 2018, Google moved to mobile-first indexing, which means the search engine uses mobile versions of your site to rank your sites in their results. The more high-quality, relevant links you acquire, the higher your site will likely rank for related key terms.