Are you just starting your e-commerce journey? Perhaps you've been running an online business for some time but want to achieve better results? If you've invested in your company website, it's time for SEO ! In this blog post, we take a comprehensive approach to SEO. Read on to learn everything, avoid wasting time on corrections, and maximize the results of your efforts.
Your website has been featured, you occasionally post on your blog, but you're not seeing any results in search results. Perhaps you're taking steps to increase traffic to your site, but the results are meager? Verseo is here to help!
The days when it was enough to just set up a website and wait for customers to visit the virtual space are gone. Competition is fierce, and it will only get fiercer. To break through this barrier, you must utilize your endless reservoir of knowledge and creativity. One way to unleash this knowledge is through SEO.
What is SEO? Definition and Meaning
Let's start from the beginning. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, or search engine optimization. However, this acronym doesn't fully capture the essence of website positioning , which is a lengthy process that requires patience and in-depth analysis of the website's code and search engine algorithm. More on that in a moment!
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In the early years of search engine presence, their operation was simple. All you had to do was ensure the right keywords in your headlines,
to achieve high positions in search results. The manipulation of SEO specialists led to the search engine revolt and the evolution of SEO.
The term SEO was first used in 1997 at Stanford University. In Poland, we first heard about SEO over two years later.
The goal of SEO is to achieve the highest possible ranking in search results for the queries users are interested in. Being in the TOP 10—in the case of Google, being on the first page of the search results—increases the chances of a link being clicked, leading to your website, and, consequently, attracting new users or potential customers.
The basis of the entire positioning process is website optimization , i.e. adapting it to Google's guidelines.
SEO is a set of activities that should be continuous
SEO , performed by Verseo SEO specialists, begins with an extensive audit of the website itself and its links. The information obtained becomes the basis for developing a positioning strategy that includes elements such as:
- website optimization, e.g. in terms of speed,
- optimization of meta tags for the keywords specified in the contract,
- preparation and implementation of unique, optimized and appropriately length content on the website,
- linking divided into stages and diversified in terms of type and source of links,
- performing redirects,
- implementing improvements and changes suggested by Google Search Console.
The above list of works is not exhaustive, but only contains examples of activities.
A SEO specialist's work package is tailored to a specific case—the individual needs of a given website. The type of website access the SEO specialist has is also important. Full website access is essential for comprehensive service provision.
The SEO strategy may change throughout the duration of the contract, depending on factors such as changes in the algorithm, the website's response to implemented actions, or the quality of competing websites.
If a SEO specialist observes that competitors of the website they are managing are expanding the content on their websites, they may, in response, recommend introducing a larger pool of text on the website they are managing as well.
He may also suggest creating new subpages, e.g. a blog on the website, which will serve as a space for systematically publishing new texts supporting the positioning process.
SEO and positioning – are they the same?
The terms SEO and positioning are often used interchangeably. However, this isn't always correct. Although the underlying principles are the same, there are certain differences that significantly impact the visuals.
SEO is a broad term that refers to activities aimed at optimizing a website for search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo.
The goal of SEO is to improve a website's visibility in organic search engine results through the use of various techniques and strategies. This includes both optimizing the website itself (e.g., improving structure, content, and meta tags), as well as acquiring backlinks (link building) and other factors that influence website ranking.
SEO, on the other hand, is more focused on a specific goal: achieving the highest possible position in search results for specific keywords. It's a process that encompasses various SEO activities , but focuses on a specific strategy aimed at achieving a higher position in the SERPs for a specific phrase or set of phrases.
Example : If you run an online athletic shoe store, your goal might be to rank for the phrase "online athletic shoe store." To achieve this goal, you'll employ various SEO techniques, such as optimizing your on-page content, building backlinks related to the footwear industry, optimizing meta tags, and other ranking factors.
Simply put, SEO is part of a larger SEO process. It encompasses comprehensive optimization activities such as website improvement, content creation, link building, competitive analysis, and many other factors.
Positioning is a specific goal that can be achieved through various SEO activities.
This allows you to improve your website's visibility, which contributes to an increase in organic traffic and increases your chances of acquiring potential customers.
Both SEO and positioning are continuous processes that require monitoring, analysis and adjustment of strategies depending on changes in algorithms and the competitive environment.
SEO – the key to success on the Internet
In the digital age, where most consumers use search engines to find products and services, it's crucial for your brand to be visible and well-positioned in search results . SEO support is invaluable in this regard!
Website positioning is the most well-known marketing activity on the internet. In terms of awareness, it's only beginning to be rivaled by advertising options on social media channels.
The goal of SEO is to increase the number of hits from the results obtained after entering a phrase into a search engine. In practice, website optimization involves appropriately adapting a website to Google's search engine through a series of steps.
As a result of SEO activities, websites become more visible to so-called web crawlers. It's worth investing in them – they'll reward you with improved domain visibility online. This, in turn, can translate into increased visibility and reaching your target audience, and ultimately, sales.
By optimizing your content, keywords, metadata, and page structure, you can attract more users who are interested in the products and services you offer.
Why is SEO important for your website?
Website positioning can help increase domain visibility and sales. However, these are not the only benefits of investing in SEO.
Building brand trust and credibility is also crucial . A high position in search results is perceived by users as a reliable indicator of a company's credibility and quality. A top-ranked position builds trust with users, increasing conversion rates and customer loyalty. Furthermore, SEO optimization allows a company to stand out from its competitors.
The virtual world is evolving at a rapid pace, and SEO is a fundamental strategy that allows companies to survive and thrive in this competitive environment. Furthermore, compared to traditional forms of television or print advertising, SEO is a relatively cost-effective way to grow a business.
The currency here is the time you have to devote to implementation and the visible results. However, these will be much more stable than with paid campaigns. Once a company achieves a high position in search results, it's harder to dethrone it, which means a steady stream of organic traffic to the website.
SEO vs SEM – learn the differences
SEO focuses on organic positioning and increasing the visibility of a website in search results without direct payment for clicks.
SEM involves comprehensive marketing activities in search engines. In addition to the previously mentioned SEO (optimizing a website for search engine optimization), it also includes paid campaigns (PPC), such as those on social media and Google Ads . Ads are billed on a pay-per-click basis.
The concepts are not mutually exclusive – one action is contained within the other.
How does search engine optimization and SEO work? Learn the entire process!
Google search collects information from websites around the clock and "cleanses" it. What does this mean in practice? Read on.
How does Google search work?
The search engine process consists of three stages: crawling, indexing, and ranking using search algorithms.
Crawling and indexing – how does Google read your website?
Crawling is the process by which automated scripts, called crawlers, search the web for information. Crawlers visit websites by following internal and external links. New sites and changed content are carefully monitored, and crawlers create a map of related pages.
Once a page is found, the bot retrieves its content and decides whether to index it. This content is organized into categories such as images, CSS, HTML, text, and keywords. This information is stored in an index, which is then used to rank pages.
This is the process from the inside out. But what does it look like from the user's perspective?
Ranking – how does Google rate a website?
After a user types a query into the search engine, Google serves up answers. But the magic happens behind the scenes . Google's algorithms analyze website content and match it to search terms. Quality, substantive value, and the appropriate presentation of that content are paramount.
Google Ranking Factors
There are over 200 ranking factors that influence organic visibility . These factors border on conspiracy theories, as Google rarely acknowledges whether something does or doesn't influence search engine rankings. Therefore, the effectiveness of SEO factors is largely based on testing, knowledge sharing, and individual observations.
The most important ones for the Google search algorithm include:
- Content Quality – Google places great importance on the quality and usefulness of content. It should be original, unique, well-written, and substantively valuable to users.
- Backlinks – Google evaluates the quality of a website based on backlinks—other websites that link to it. Backlinks from authoritative and trustworthy sites can help improve your search engine rankings.
- Website structure and optimization – Websites should have a clear structure, intuitive navigation menus, appropriate headings (H1, H2, etc.), and meta tags. It's also important to optimize pages for loading speed, responsiveness, and mobile usability.
- User Experience – Google analyzes how users interact with a website and whether it provides them with valuable information. Factors such as average time spent on the page, bounce rates, and engagement rates can influence rankings.
- Keyword Optimization – Incorporating relevant keywords into web pages, titles, meta descriptions, and content can help the Google algorithm understand the topic of the page.
- Local context – For local businesses, it's important to prioritize local optimization. Information like your address, phone number, customer reviews, and presence in local directories can all impact your local search rankings.
- Security and encryption – An SSL certificate (HTTPS protocol) can positively impact a website's ranking. Google prefers secure sites, especially when processing personal data or financial transactions.
To speed up indexing of your page, you can add it in Google Search Console.
Google constantly updates its algorithm, and ranking factors may change as new updates are introduced. You can read more about Google ranking factors in our guide, 123 SEO Factors.
Google algorithms – how do they affect SEO?
Google's algorithm has a significant impact on SEO, evaluating content quality, backlinks, technical optimization, user experience, and local ranking factors.
When caring about your search engine ranking, it's also important to adhere to your privacy policy and maintain your website's security. These factors also have a positive impact on your Google search engine ranking.
Algorithm updates are rolled out regularly, with changes, both major and minor, occurring practically daily! For this reason, it's crucial to stay on top of your game and treat SEO as an ongoing process.
SEO – what is most important in the whole process?
SEO is comprised of many important factors, but several aspects can be considered paramount. These include keywords and the content on a website based on them. Other factors include quality links, page loading speed, and the elimination of technical errors.
Keywords – matching words to specific subpages
Keywords (also known as "keywords," "phrases," "entries," "queries," or "Googlings") are the fundamental and most important element of SEO. "Keywords" are words entered into search engines by users.
The results, i.e. SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), show the pages that, according to the algorithm, best respond to the Internet user's search query.
Choosing and selecting the most valuable keywords is the first step you need to take to prepare your website to achieve high rankings for many types of phrases.
There are several types of phrases in positioning that are worth paying special attention to:
- General keywords – these are the most frequently searched phrases among internet users, containing 1-2 words. E-commerce with subpages featuring extensive content and a wide range of products has the potential to rank high in SERPs and attract customers through general keywords. A leading position in the market, nationwide, is also beneficial.
General keywords are highly competitive, which means smaller online stores struggle to generate traffic using them. This is also due to the fact that large companies allocate significant resources to contracts with SEO companies (investing in content, technical optimization, and sponsored links). - Longtail Long-tail keywords are complex phrases, consisting of at least three words, that add several important details to the query. Due to lower competition, entering the TOP 10 becomes possible over time even for smaller online stores. A website with a category properly optimized for the phrase can be successful.
- Keywords related to the region (local, geolocation) – Phrases that include the names of cities, provinces, or regions are called local. Optimizing a website for local phrases is a great idea for websites providing services in a given area. In this case, the search engine serves as a guide to familiarizing users with the offer, location, and contact information. Local SEO can also be helpful for new or less developed online stores.
It is worth including keywords in the page title, category or subcategory name, headings, website content, friendly URL, internal links, and alternative text for images (ALT).
To select and analyze keywords, you can use one of the proven and free tools, such as:
- Google search engine,
- Answer The Public,
- Keywords everywhere,
- Google Trends.
Among the paid platforms, the following are worth considering:
Technical errors – fixing them is the key to success!
We explained above the importance of a good word in building a strong online presence. However, it would be nothing without minimizing technical errors.
It has a crucial impact on a page's visibility in search results. Check out the most important errors to avoid.
- HTML errors – making it difficult for search engine robots to index the page. Incorrect tags, incorrect element nesting, or lack of appropriate attributes can result in incorrect page rendering by search engines.
- Incorrect URL structure – can make it difficult for both users and search engines to understand the page hierarchy. Avoid long, unreadable URLs containing many parameters or special characters, which can lead to indexing issues.
- Slow page loading – Sites with slow loading times can negatively impact user experience and lead to lower search engine rankings. Reasons for this problem include unoptimized images, inefficient coding, excessive use of scripts, or insufficient cache.
- Lack of responsiveness – Every engine and every store template must be mobile-friendly! This is one of the most important requirements. Statistics show that 40% of users will switch to a competitor after a bad experience with a mobile online store. 84% of users still struggle to complete transactions on mobile websites. So, if you want to make a good impression on users from the start, be as mobile-friendly as possible!
- Errors in robots.txt files – may lead to search engines unintentionally blocking access to important parts of the website, resulting in reduced visibility.
- Sitemap errors – such as invalid URLs, missing pages, or poor configurations, can make it difficult for search engines to properly index your site.
- Duplicate content – makes it difficult for search engines to access relevant domain content. Duplicate content leads to a lower ranking of the page in the SERPs.
- 404 errors – Deleted or moved pages without proper redirects can lead to 404 errors and lost links. It's worth considering a subpage with an error message. Its attractive design increases the chances of a potential customer staying on the site and making another attempt to search for interesting content.
Ongoing monitoring and fixing the described technical SEO errors helps ensure optimal website visibility in search engines and improve the overall quality of its use.
Website content – unique, high-quality texts!
Creating high-quality, valuable, and unique content is the foundation of a successful SEO strategy . Content should be keyword-optimized, but above all, it should deliver value to users, answering their questions and solving their problems.
Similarly, it's important to determine your audience's age, family status, income, and preferred language. This will help you tailor your communication to best meet customer expectations.
Having a blog means systematically adding new content thematically related to the company's offerings. This can translate into better indexing of the site by Google and, as a result, higher rankings in search engine results. Posts also facilitate internal linking.
A website with a robust, frequently updated content section is perceived as better by Google. Non- SEO benefits include the ability to increase website traffic through a blog and shaping a desirable corporate image.
Good to know…
Websites with separate, dedicated subpages rank better. They are simply more interesting to web crawlers and may contain significantly more content that audiences expect.
When posting content on your website, pay attention not only to its substantive value but also to its style, punctuation, and spelling. Well-written content reflects on you and your company.
Link Acquisition – High-quality, topical backlinks!
Backlinks from other authoritative websites are an important factor for SEO . Having quality backlinks that are natural and reliable can help increase your site's trust and authority in the eyes of both users and search engine algorithms.
The basis of proper linking is moderation and adaptation to the needs of a specific website. With subsequent algorithm updates that dealt with the excessive number of poor-quality (spammy) links, the era of uncontrolled linking from all possible sources has ended.
This change forced SEO specialists to develop a more precise plan and made acquiring valuable links to the website more demanding.
The strategy planned by the SEO specialist includes acquiring three types of links:
- for a positioned phrase – exact match,
- only the URL, i.e. directly pasted link,
- on the brand – the name of the company.
Good to know…
The number and quality of pages containing the first two types of links can have a significant impact on SEO. Adding them to random sites can significantly lower a domain's ranking in search results and even result in a penalty, which could result in the entire page being removed from Google's index. Ouch!
To diversify your link sources, you can add them to sponsored articles, blog posts, online newspapers, and blog comments, among others.
Page loading speed – crucial for mobile!
The issue of page rendering speed applies to both desktop and mobile versions. Maintaining loading speed is crucial because users are not patient. If your site doesn't load in a fraction of a second, they may quickly close it and seek their luck with a competitor.
Fun fact : Amazon conducted a simulation to see how a one-second reduction in page load speed would impact the company's profits. It found that the brand would lose a staggering $1,6 billion annually.
Tests allow you to pinpoint the elements that delay page loading and find solutions to eliminate these issues. You can use tools like PageSpeed Insights for this purpose.
This tool will inform you about elements that may be slowing down the website you're testing. It will not only indicate whether compression is necessary, but it will also provide compressed image files that can be uploaded to your server.
Basic information about page loading speed can also be obtained from the Google Analytics panel, but PageSpeed Insights offers more useful data and possibilities.
For a website to receive high results on computers and phones, it must meet several basic guidelines:
- the website is hosted on a modern and proven server,
- the size of graphic files does not exceed 100 kb (it is recommended to use new generation formats – WebP and AVIF),
- the website has structured HTML code and minified CSS code responsible for the appearance,
- Plugins and add-ons related to dynamic content generation do not delay page loading and there are not too many of them.
Regularly checking analytics, analyzing keywords, tracking website traffic, and researching competitors help you adjust and improve your SEO strategy.
It's worth noting that SEO is a complex process that requires consideration of many factors. It's important to constantly update your knowledge of SEO best practices, track industry trends, and adapt your strategy to changing search algorithms.
SEO Elements – What Does Website Optimization Includes?
One of the first steps in the positioning process is to perform and implement website optimization.
Optimization involves implementing changes that improve a website's performance and its ranking in the eyes of Google's search engine crawlers. The elements introduced during optimization are not always the same. Their selection depends on the specifics and needs of a given website.
What can the SEO specialist change during optimization?
- Meta tags Titles and meta descriptions depend on keywords specified in the contract, so they are the most frequently changed elements of a website during optimization. The SEO specialist first creates a strategy and assigns keywords to corresponding subpages. Sometimes, subpages are dedicated to a given keyword, and changing the title isn't necessary. In such situations, the meta description often requires changes, for example, if it doesn't have the appropriate number of characters.
- Redirects – this element, depending on the technology used to create the website, may already be built in. In this case, redirecting the website from www to non-www or vice versa is already implemented and there is no need for intervention.
- Web robots Some technologies (for example, WordPress) have a built-in robots.txt file. Websites built on the Joomla or Prestashop platform require an additional robots.txt file. This file informs web crawlers which pages they can and cannot access (for example, in online stores, these would be pages related to the shopping cart or online account).
- Texts – Very often, websites lack valuable content or require refinement, even in terms of keywords. Google is a text-based search engine, so relevant articles are crucial for website positioning.
- Marking outgoing links – Websites contain links that extend beyond the website. By this, we mean links to Facebook or partner websites, for example. Such links weaken the website's search engine rankings. To mitigate this effect, a rel="nofollow" tag is added.
Not every website requires the same level of optimization – there are websites that, for example, do not have errors in the head section that hinder positioning, have a properly constructed menu and internal linking, and do not have problems with duplicate content.
In this case, the SEO specialist doesn't force any changes – the website gains points right from the start. Therefore, when planning a new website and then its SEO , it's worth consulting with an SEO specialist from the very beginning.
Not every website allows for the same level of optimization. This depends on access and the technology used to create it . SEO specialists receive access from their clients, allowing for varying degrees of operational freedom.
Due to these limitations, not every change can be implemented by an SEO specialist. Sometimes, assistance from the client or a conscious decision to refrain from undertaking certain activities is necessary.
On-page SEO – optimizing the content and structure of the website
On-page SEO, simply put, is the optimization of a website's content and structure. It's a key element of a website's search engine optimization strategy. It involves making changes directly to the page to increase its visibility and attractiveness to both users and Google robots. This, in turn, can contribute to a better ranking in the SERPs.
Content optimization
It involves creating new content or improving existing content to benefit both users and search engines. This includes precise use of relevant keywords, implementing appropriate content architecture, optimizing metadata, and eliminating duplication.
Currentness and thematic nature of the content
A high level of freshness and topicality of content has a significant impact on SEO and UX (User Experience). Sites that regularly publish new content align with current trends and are therefore considered more valuable to users and may be favored in search results.
To achieve this, you need to constantly stay on top of things and publish new, interesting posts on your website. It's also worth updating previously published content to include current information that's relevant to your site's visitors.
Texts should be high-quality, consistent, and relevant to the website's theme and meet user needs. Remember to also enrich them with keywords relevant to your business.
Meta tags – Meta Title and Meta Description
Properly prepared title and meta descriptions contain carefully selected keywords, fully utilize character limits and their saturation, and encourage visitors to visit the website.
The time needed to optimize the meta title and meta description depends on, among other things, the size of the website, its structure, the number of keywords, or any site redesign.
Good to know…
A meta description is a description of a page's content, displayed in search results. Google uses it to determine whether the page answers a user's query and whether it should appear in search results.
The meta description should include a keyword or phrase and a short outline relevant to the page's topic. This is important for both Google's crawlers and potential readers. At the time of writing, the description should not exceed 160 characters. It's worth making the most of it!
H1-H6 headings
Another crucial aspect is optimizing content structure, which includes appropriate formatting and prioritizing headings and subheadings to ensure content is readable and easily understood by both users and search engine algorithms. Properly defined headings also help highlight important issues and topics discussed on the page.
Heading tags are used in HTML to create structure. They denote titles and subheadings, or underlined text. There are six levels of headings in HTML – H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6.
Headings are the simplest way to communicate the hierarchy of your content to both your reader and web crawlers. Assigning an H1 to your title indicates that it's the most important element on your page, so there should only be one such heading.
Content on specific types of subpages
SEO content optimization for various types of pages involves tailoring the content to the specific needs of each page. It's important to include relevant keywords, provide valuable and unique content , and ensure intuitive navigation. Regularly updating content helps maintain the attractiveness and value of the page.
Internal links
Internal linking is crucial. An optimal blog content design is similar to clustering. This means that we first create a post that has the potential to generate significant traffic. Then, we surround this post with other content, which we then link to.
Example : Let's say a popular (and tastiest!) search term online is "How to make classic tomato soup?" How can you get your recipe noticed? It's best to create a dozen or so posts that are contextually relevant to the main one, such as:
- How to make tomato soup with rosemary?
- Tomato paste or canned tomatoes – which is better for tomato soup?
- The best tomato soup for kids.
At the end of each recipe, you can link to your article about the classic soup. You'll consistently build the reputation of this post, and an army of small posts can create a strong presence for a potentially powerful article.
Content duplication – internal and external
Duplicate content occurs when the same text is published on two or more websites. It can occur externally, when content is copied from other websites, or internally, when it is repeated on the same page.
This phenomenon may stem from unawareness, low-quality outsourcing, or a lack of 301 redirects. Search engines like Google disregard duplicate content, which negatively impacts a website's SEO . Avoiding duplicate content is crucial to maintaining original content and ensuring favorable SEO results.
Low-quality content, i.e. Thin content
This is content on a website that is sparse, of little value, or unhelpful to users. It can be very short, lacking essential information, or content duplicated from other sources. Such content fails to provide valuable answers to user questions and fails to meet their expectations.
The impact of low-quality content on a website's SEO is negative. Search engine algorithms strive to deliver the best results for users. Pages with mediocre content typically rank lower in search results because search engines consider them less valuable and less suitable for displaying to users.
Information architecture on the website
A properly planned website structure is the foundation of an effective SEO strategy, attracting more users and generating better results.
A refined information architecture allows for effective content delivery, strengthens user confidence in the website, and positively impacts positioning and indexing by search engine robots.
Website structure – how to optimize it?
Optimizing a website's structure is crucial for ensuring easy access to information and achieving better search engine results. A well-planned and well-thought-out website architecture benefits both users and search engine crawlers, which has a positive impact on SEO and overall website usability.
Menu navigation – clear and mobile-friendly
Create a clear and intuitive navigation menu. Place it prominently on the page, with user-friendly labels. The menu should include key categories and a return path to the home page. Be sure to ensure the menu displays correctly in a responsive version.
Implementation of Breadcrumbs – i.e. the crumb menu
A type of secondary navigation that helps users determine their location on your website. Links appear horizontally, providing a link to each previous page on the site.
Example: Home > Rooms > Bedroom > Beds
This is beneficial for both user experience and indexing, as it provides an improved internal linking structure for large sites.
Footer – important information, most important links
This is a key element of a website's architecture, crucial to its optimization. It's where important information is placed to facilitate navigation and communication with users, including email addresses, phone numbers, and interactive location maps.
The sitemap in the footer provides quick access to individual subpages and helps understand the site's hierarchy. This is important for users looking for specific information.
It is also worth including links to social media, which allow customers to follow news and build interaction with the company on various platforms.
Data included in the footer supports the professional image of the brand, strengthens trust and helps establish more valuable relationships with users.
Optimizing graphics on the website
Graphics are a fundamental element of almost every modern website. Their purpose is to convey information in an accessible way (e.g., infographics), illustrate content, and—perhaps above all—enhance the website's design.
However, it's worth remembering that poorly selected graphics can do more harm than good. Why? This primarily concerns their impact on page load times.
Images and illustrations that are too large slow down the page's loading time, which negatively impacts its reception – both by users and Google's crawlers. Therefore, image file compression is an essential element of website optimization.
Compression
The optimal image size is one that doesn't slow down page loading, but also doesn't negatively impact user experience. Unfortunately, the question of what the ideal file size is is difficult to answer definitively.
The simplest approach is to find a compromise that allows for the appropriate reduction of image files without significant loss of quality. To successfully accomplish this, it's worth using tools designed for this purpose.
The easiest way to test the health of your website's graphics is to use PageSpeed Insights. This tool will inform you about elements that may be slowing down your website. It will not only indicate whether compression is necessary, but also provide compressed image files that can be hosted on your server.
Basic information about page loading speed can also be obtained from the Google Analytics panel, but PageSpeed Insights offers more useful information and possibilities.
When using images downloaded from PageSpeed Insights or compressed using other popular programs, it's worth remembering that you don't always have to sacrifice good image quality to achieve perfect test results. However, if you decide to make changes to your website, it's worth remembering to back up the original files.
Image file names
Not everyone realizes that properly preparing photos and illustrations can position them in graphic search results and additionally help them obtain key positions in the text version of the search engine.
When choosing a graphic to place on your website, it's worth starting with its proper name. Typically, image files downloaded from a phone or camera, or purchased from stock sites, have automatically generated names like IMG000123.jpg or IMG345_MONTHLY_BIG.jpg. These names don't contain any valuable information about the image's content and therefore carry no value for web crawlers.
By giving files names that describe their content, algorithms can more easily categorize them, making them more likely to appear in Google Images search results.
ALT attributes
This is where the Google algorithm derives most of its information about the image's content, and it largely determines our image's position in the results. Including keywords in the alt description is one of the fundamental ways to optimize your page for specific phrases.
Do you know that…
Alternative descriptions are used not only by Google bots but also by screen readers, i.e., browsers used by blind and visually impaired users. These allow people with disabilities to read the content of images.
It's worth noting that alt="" is not the place to create a list of keywords. A properly labeled image contains a keyword phrase or a derivative thereof that doesn't repeat itself within a single subpage. The alt text should also correlate with the content on the page.
Using CDN
A CDN stores images and other resources on external servers, reducing the load on the host server. CDNs operate by distributing resources across multiple servers located in different geographic locations.
When a user visits a website, content is served from the physically closest server, reducing data transfer times. This results in faster page loads and a more responsive and user-friendly interface.
Google, as one of the major search engines, recommends using a CDN for image optimization. A fast and responsive website is one of the factors that influences search engine algorithms, which can contribute to a website's better ranking in search results.
Off-page SEO – link building and website promotion
These are all activities undertaken outside of the SEO of a website , aimed at improving search engine rankings. For example, acquiring inbound links, PR activities, and strengthening the company's image on social media.
How to build a link profile?
Links, i.e. references that, when clicked, redirect us to another (sub)page, are divided into:
- inside – allowing for efficient movement within one domain and deepening the topics that interest us;
- Outside – referring to external websites; we distinguish spontaneous links, which are the result of Internet users sharing interesting content, as well as links planned by SEO and marketing specialists.
The most popular way to embed links is to add them directly in the text. Standard methods include:
- text links – links that we encounter in the text;
- graphic links – placed under the image;
- frame links – links inserted into the code using iframe;
- redirect links – redirection from domain A to B.
A linking strategy should always be developed with great care. The basis for proper linking is moderation and adaptation to the domain's actual needs.
It's important to remember to diversify, which translates into effectiveness, and to spread the process over time. Bulk-adding too many links can raise Google's suspicions.
How to promote a website on the Internet?
It is worth diversifying your link sources by using:
- sponsored articles (preferably links from paid and valuable portals with traffic, which contain thematically related and unique content);
- forum entries (a method that is becoming obsolete, as forums, due to the growing power of social media, are starting to lose their popularity. However, it is a good idea to diversify in terms of sources);
- online catalogs (another method that loses its importance in SEO over time. If you decide to use links from directories, choose only those that have some value);
- online newspapers (If you run a local business, try to get an article published on the websites of newspapers in your region. If you run a business in a larger area, consider collaborating with a newspaper or trade magazine);
- entries on back-end pages (creating a network of backends and additional landing pages is also an attractive way to acquire links. Make sure that your backends do not become link farms but rather reliable satellite sites);
- blog comments (comment on interesting posts, placing a link to your website in your profile. Remember – don't whisper, just comment!);
- affiliate links (did you participate in a conference, conduct a training course, or does the manufacturer of the products you sell have a strong website? Make sure to place your affiliate link on the organizer or participants of various industry events or on your contractors' websites);
- social media (SEO specialists suggest they are of little use in the context of positioning. However, this topic is interesting and future-proof. It is worth investing free time resources in it, if only because of the increase in website traffic);
- expert content (Have you been running your business for a while? You're already an expert! Share your knowledge and contribute to industry websites. This is a real win-win: you gain links and authority for yourself and your company.)
The acquired links must lead to the best optimized page within the website – therefore, linking is the last stage of SEO.
Technical SEO – optimizing page speed, UX, and other technical aspects
The technical aspects of a website's operation relate to its structure, correct indexing, speed of operation, as well as identifying factors that influence the deterioration of these parameters.
Technical optimization, alongside valuable content and proper linking, is an element that will ultimately lead to top search engine rankings. Let's take a closer look at technical SEO.
Website responsiveness
The number of users accessing the internet via mobile devices is growing. In 2018, nearly 60 percent of all Google searches originated from mobile devices – phones and tablets.
Type of devices used on the internet at the beginning of 2022 (Poland):
- smartphones – approx. 51.8%;
- computers – approx. 47.5%;
- tablets – approx. 0.7%.
* statistics from https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/poland
Google, to some extent, rewards websites that function well on mobile devices. Furthermore, mobile-friendliness is one of the official ranking factors affecting SEO , as confirmed by Google.
Some websites struggle to display properly on mobile devices. It's important to cater to smartphone users, as they may make up the majority of your website visitors.
You can check for any issues with your website's mobility in the Google Search Console under the "Mobile Usability" tab. The most common errors include:
- small font makes the text difficult to read,
- clickable elements too close to each other,
- content wider than the screen.
URL structure
Proper website layout is crucial from the design stage. The website structure should be built like a good encyclopedia – from general to specific. Avoid overgeneralization, for example, by placing all cameras available in the store on a single "Cameras" subpage.
In this case, it's better to divide your offer into more specific subcategories like "SLRs," "Compact Cameras," etc. This will also be a great opportunity for an SEO specialist to help optimize new tabs. Also, take advantage of the option to create a sidebar or footer menu, as well as the popular breadcrumb navigation.
Breadcrumbs, or breadcrumb navigation, originated from the use of breadcrumbs to mark the path traveled by Hansel and Gretel, the characters from the popular fairy tale. The main purpose of breadcrumbs is to allow users to track their current location on the website.
Don't create artificial subpages, as web crawlers may detect that these pages have low-quality content and are unhelpful to the user. As a result, they won't be indexed.
Robots.txt – the ability to index pages
Website indexing is performed by web crawlers. The process involves collecting information about the content, keywords, links, and images published on your website and storing it in the search engine's database. This way, every time a user uses the search engine, the crawler searches this database instead of searching every page on the Internet.
The sitemap address should be added to Google Search Console, in the "sitemaps" tab. Submitting a report speeds up indexing and allows you to monitor feedback from bots, such as 404 errors or slow page load times.
If the sitemap.xml has been split into several smaller ones, all of them should be reported to Google Search Console.
Sitemap (sitemap.xml)
A sitemap helps Google's crawlers navigate your website and index its content. To maximize the chances of a complete domain scan and identify all website elements, your website should include an XML file called a sitemap.
The sitemap.xml file is not a mandatory part of the website, but we recommend implementing it. Online SEO auditors such as SEO Quake can help assess the sitemap.xml file's implementation.
Sitemap.xml can be prepared manually or using generators. Sites based on the popular WordPress CMS can solve the sitemap issue by installing a plugin such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, or Google XML Sitemaps.
A sitemap is also essential for the proper indexing of online stores. Most engines allow for dynamic map generation, ensuring that the information about active subpages available to Googlebots matches the actual number of product pages.
If such information is missing, other products will not be indexed – i.e. they will not appear in search results.
To check the appearance of your sitemap, you can visit: yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml . The absence of such an address, or a surprisingly small number of links, indicates that this area requires action. It's also recommended that you submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
Canonical addresses
Canonical links are crucial in SEO . They help eliminate duplicate content within a website. They indicate to web crawlers which subpage variants are worth indexing. If duplicate subpages already exist and are indexed, adding the rel="canonical" tag will inform the crawler which subpage is the most important.
If you have duplicate content on your website, you should choose which content is the primary content and set a canonical URL on all other pages pointing to the original.
For this purpose, a canonical tag (rel = ”canonical”) is used in a code snippet that looks like this: on each page of copy. This is the job of an SEO specialist who, when accepting a website for corrections, will certainly take the issue of duplicates into account.
Errors – 500, 501, 505 and others
A break in your favorite store means you won't be able to buy new shoes, mugs, or other goods. If you're considering a brick-and-mortar store, you'll simply be turned away. Perhaps a laconic notice on a sign will explain that they're taking inventory or taking a vacation. What about online stores?
Temporary unavailability of the website may be due to:
- failure of the hosting service (e.g. server overload, maintenance work);
- error on the website due to a problem with a CMS update, plugin or template (e.g. in WordPress);
- incorrect configuration of files and directories that prevent the website from loading (e.g. htaccess);
- hacker attack (e.g. redirecting the website to an undesirable domain, data theft);
- intentional, temporary shutdown of the website by the owner (e.g. due to going on holiday).
What information can we expect on the website if these issues occur? Most often, these are 5xx errors, which include:
The Google robot often "looks" at our website to look for possible changes.
If it encounters an error, it will deem the site unhelpful to the user and quickly lower its ranking in search results. A friendly history and site reliability can be a saving grace. Then, after re-enablement, it's highly likely that we'll recover a significant portion of the losses and get back on track.
Trailing Slash
Trailing Slash in SEO refers to the presence or absence of a slash at the end of a website's URL.
Example:
- www.example.com/
- www.example.com
The importance of Trailing Slash comes from two main reasons:
- URL uniqueness Some servers and content management systems (CMS) may treat URLs with and without a slash as two separate URLs. To search engines and content indexing, these URLs appear to represent different pages, even if they actually point to the same resource. This can lead to duplicate content issues, which negatively impacts a page's ranking in search results.
- Readability and consistency – The visibility of a slash at the end of a URL can influence the perception of users visiting your site. URLs ending in a slash are considered more traditional and can convey greater trust. Furthermore, consistency in the form of URLs across a website can facilitate navigation and understanding of the site's structure.
It's important to carefully define your slash preferences and use them consistently throughout your site.
Structured data (important for stores!)
Properly implemented structured data allows search results to display expanded information about the content of a given page. In the case of online stores, this allows insight into product pricing and ratings. In the case of a service company website, structured data grants access to data on service ratings submitted by previous customers.
The presence or absence of structured data does not directly impact a page's ranking in search results. However, it will likely result in an increase in CTR in search results.
Correct implementation of structured data doesn't always result in enhanced content appearing in search results. The exact algorithms that determine whether a given page will receive enhanced content are unknown. Many factors contribute to this, including the popularity of a given domain.
Internal link optimization
Internal link optimization refers to the process of creating and managing links that connect different pages within a website. They are used for navigation between pages and define the website's structure. Optimizing them is an important element of an SEO strategy because it influences the indexing rate and value of pages to search engine crawlers.
Here are some key aspects of internal link optimization:
- A properly designed and optimized link structure – helps search engines and users better navigate your website, which can lead to better results in SERPs and more conversions.
- Clear and logical website structure – it is important to place the most important pages as close to the home page as possible to highlight their importance.
- Anchor text – is clickable text that links to another page. By using descriptive and relevant anchor text, you help search engines understand the topic of the linked page and improve the user experience.
- Using internal links to related content – Internal links should connect thematically related pages. This helps search engines understand the structure of the information on your site and improves navigation for users.
- Using a Sitemap – contains links to all important pages within the domain, making it easier for search engine robots to index and understand the structure of the page.
- Avoiding broken links – Regularly check that all internal links are working properly. Broken links that lead to invalid pages can negatively impact users and search engine indexing of your site.
Internal links should be scattered throughout your content and link to relevant sections to emphasize their importance.
SSL certificate
Secure Socket Layer is a protocol that is part of the HTTPS protocol and is responsible for data security on the network and is used to encrypt data transferred between the web browser on the user's computer and the website server.
An SSL certificate is now a standard. Implementing https:// increases the security of data sent and received by users when using a website. It also allows for the use of HTTP 2.0 technology, which is characterized by faster data transfer. Therefore, it has an indirect impact on a website's SEO, depending on its nature – service or sales.
SSL in e-commerce involves changing the initial part of the domain address from http:// to https:// and the appearance of a green padlock. While smaller websites can still function effectively without an SSL certificate, for online stores, https:// is practically essential.
While switching from http:// to https:// usually yields good results, it can sometimes result in errors on your website. These should be addressed immediately, as they can lead to domain restrictions.
The most common complications that arise during and after https implementation are:
- no 301 redirects from http,
- incorrect redirects from http (redirect using header 302),
- no update of links in the content of subpages,
- no update of subpage URLs in sitemap.xml,
- no update of paths to graphic files,
- no update rel=”canonical”.
It is extremely important to renew the certificate periodically to prevent it from expiring.
Code optimization – HTML code validation
Properly optimized code can speed up page loading, which impacts user experience and is appreciated by search engines. Code validation helps avoid display issues across browsers and devices.
Correctly constructed code can make it easier for search engines to index a website and ensure better responsiveness, which is important in the context of the increasing number of users using mobile devices.
How to optimize HTML code step by step?
- Code review – Identify redundant, unnecessary, or repetitive elements. Check that the code is readable and logically structured. Ensure that each element is properly tagged and closed.
- Code minimization and compression – Remove unnecessary spaces, indents, blank lines, and comments that are not necessary for the page to function. You can also use HTML compression tools to reduce its size without affecting functionality.
- Using the latest HTML standards – modern standards (e.g. HTML5) enable a more semantic structure and allow for more precise definition of the page content.
- Responsiveness and accessibility – Make sure your code is mobile-friendly and can scale and display properly on different screen sizes.
- Validation accuracy – Verify the validity of your HTML using tools such as the W3C Markup Validation Service.
- Optimized CSS and JavaScript – Confirm that your CSS and JavaScript usage is optimized and minimized. Consolidate and merge CSS and JavaScript files to reduce the number of HTTP requests.
- Page loading speed – Test your page's loading speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse. Use the results to identify optimization opportunities, such as compressed images, browser caching, minimizing network requests, and more.
- Regular updates – review and update your website code on an ongoing basis.
Server log analysis
It's the process of collecting, reviewing, and analyzing data stored by the server based on user interactions with the website. When a user visits a website, the server saves various pieces of information about that visit in a file called a "log file."
Their analysis allows us to verify what queries and actions users perform within the website. This includes information about:
- IP address,
- time and date of requests,
- tracked pages,
- server response codes,
- browsers and devices,
- website traffic.
Analyzing server logs allows you to track website performance, identify issues like 404 errors that can be fixed, and better understand user behavior on your site. Based on this information, you can make decisions about optimization, improving user experience, and increasing efficiency and performance.
JavaScript and element accessibility and indexing!
Accessibility is about ensuring that interactive components are usable by all users, regardless of their abilities or preferences. This relates to the concept of designing websites that are inclusive and accessible to people with various disabilities.
It's important that interactive elements such as buttons, links, and forms are properly indexed by browsers and screen readers used by blind or visually impaired users. Proper indexing and accessibility ensure that page content is read correctly, allowing users with disabilities to fully utilize the website's content and functionality.
Modern search engine algorithms also evaluate website quality in this regard. Sites that offer a more positive and inclusive strategy are given higher ratings. This impacts not only the user experience but also the site's positioning in search results , a key aspect of success in today's competitive online environment.
How to improve page speed and what to pay attention to?
Page loading speed is one of the SEO ranking factors. For a website to achieve high results on both desktop and mobile, it must meet several basic guidelines. Here are a few tips:
- Compressing CSS and JavaScript files – reducing their size can improve page loading speed.
- Using optimally sized images. Overly large images can slow down page loading.
- Using cache memory, which stores a copy of frequently visited pages, which can improve their loading speed.
- CDN (Content Delivery Network) – This is a network of servers located around the world. Using it can improve page loading speeds because files will be downloaded from the server closest to the user.
- Server performanceChoose one that is designed to handle heavy traffic.
- Page Speed AnalysisThere are many tools available that can help you diagnose problems and find ways to solve them.
A fast website will provide a better user experience and will also improve your website's ranking in search results.
How to improve UX for SEO?
Convenient and valuable websites attract users, which translates into higher engagement rates and better search engine rankings. Google and other search engines prioritize the quality of the experience, so it's worth nurturing.
How to improve UX? Among other things, the following will help:
- Responsive website: adapt the website to different devices.
- Page loading speed: A page that takes a long time to load can discourage users, who will simply abandon it. As a bonus, Google will lower its position in the SERPs.
- Clear and intuitive interface: so that users can easily find what they're looking for. Clear labels and links will help.
- Unique and valuable content: Provide users with content that is valuable, interesting and unique.
- Keyword optimization: Weave them into your content naturally, but remember to use moderation. Too many keywords can be considered spam by search engines.
- Good internal links: helping users navigate the site and find related content. This also facilitates indexing by search engine robots.
- Optimized multimedia elements: that they are of appropriate size and do not negatively affect the page loading time.
- Security and privacy: guarantee HTTPS connection and protect user privacy.
- Minimize ads and annoying elements: avoid intrusive ads and annoying elements that make it difficult for users to use the site.
- Testing and analysis: Regularly test various elements, collect data, and analyze user behavior. This will allow you to continuously improve your UX and optimize for SEO.
SEO tools and techniques – how to improve website visibility?
Google and other search engines fetch 100 million results in half a second. You need really good SEO to get into the top 10.
The race to the top of search results is won by those who incorporate Google's most important ranking factors into their SEO strategy and skillfully utilize available tools. Let's analyze the most popular ones!
Free tools
Whether you're just building your own website or already actively selling online, you shouldn't do it haphazardly. The key to success is a strategy based on understanding your target audience, constantly keeping your finger on the pulse, and implementing corrective actions as needed. Data is essential! Where can you get it?
There are many marketing tools (paid and free) that can help you increase your online visibility. Below are some you can use at no extra cost.
Google Search Console
It allows you to monitor your website's indexing in Google, report errors and indexation problems, and provide information on your website's position in search results.
Google Tag Manager
A free tool that allows you to easily add, remove, or modify scripts (also known as tags) to your website. It allows you to manage all the tags you need in one place to more effectively analyze website data, improve conversions, track traffic sources, and more.
This acts as a middleman, eliminating the need to hard-code any tags, which would otherwise slow down the page. It also avoids errors that can occur when trying to implement the tag manually.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
It provides comprehensive information about all website and mobile app traffic. By incorporating machine learning and a data-driven attribution model, Google Analytics 4 allows for more detailed analysis of user interactions with your website and the identification of key metrics.
GA4 also introduces new ways to identify users across devices while respecting privacy and fully complying with data protection regulations.
Google Insights PageSpeed
A Google platform designed to analyze website content to determine its loading speed. In addition to providing feedback, the tool also suggests which elements need improvement to optimize page load times and reduce bounce rates.
Google Mobile Friendly Test
This tool, provided by Google, is used to check whether a website is mobile-friendly. The Mobile-Friendly Test analyzes a website and assesses whether its design and layout are suitable for users using mobile phones and tablets.
It verifies, among other things, whether the text is readable without the need to enlarge the screen, whether elements on the page are sufficiently spaced to prevent accidental clicks, and whether there are no elements that may cause errors on smartphones.
Google Trends
It allows you to analyze trends to better understand changing user preferences and adapt your content or marketing strategy depending on current interests.
Google Looker Studio
A BI solution that enables advanced data analysis, the creation of interactive reports and charts, and the visualization of data from various sources. It helps you make more informed business decisions.
Paid tools
In addition to many refined free solutions, you'll also find a fairly extensive range of paid tools. Some of these tools allow for more detailed analysis of a domain's SEO- critical capabilities.
Technical audit of the website
A comprehensive assessment of activities, conducted at a strategic moment and by an independent observer, provides an excellent basis for organizing further work. The knowledge gained from a site audit will make planning the work and the necessary time and financial outlays much easier.
Screaming Frog
The tool allows you to analyze your website's structure, identify technical errors, and optimize for SEO. Screaming Frog's key features include crawling and indexing your site, analyzing meta data and internal links, and finding errors, technical issues, and duplicates.
Website visibility analysis
This analysis involves assessing how a website is displayed and ranked in organic search results on search engines like Google. It's a process that takes into account factors that influence visibility, such as rankings, the number of indexed pages, keywords, and links pointing to the website.
For this purpose you can use:
- Senuto is a tool for monitoring website rankings in search results and analyzing the visibility and performance of keywords in Google and other search engines. Its main advantages include an intuitive interface, extensive competitive analysis features, tracking the effectiveness of SEO activities, and identifying new optimization opportunities for your website.
- Semstorm is a comprehensive SEO and SEM tool that allows you to monitor your website's search engine rankings, analyze keywords, analyze your competitors, and analyze the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaigns. Experts value Semstorm for its comprehensiveness and advanced data analysis features that support an effective marketing strategy.
- Ahrefs is SEO analysis software that provides comprehensive data on backlinks, keywords, competition, and other factors that influence the visibility and positioning of websites in search engines, enabling an effective SEO optimization strategy.
Keyword analysis
By far the best and most reliable tool for analyzing organic traffic (from Google search) is Google Search Console. It's a free platform designed for website owners and administrators.
If you're a verified user, simply go to the "Performance" section and analyze the bottom of the page. There, in the "Queries" tab (which opens by default and is sorted by most popular), you'll see the keywords users are entering into search engines and finding your domain.
Clicking on a selected phrase will display graphs showing its visibility and click-through rate over the selected time period (the last 3 months by default, and a maximum of 16 months). Go to the "Pages" tab and you'll see which subpages users are redirected to on your website.
You can also search for phrases that contain the word you're interested in: At the top of the report, click the "+New" field → "Query containing" → enter the keyword you're interested in and "Apply." GSC will generate personalized statistics for the words you entered.
With this option you can also check the position history in the search results.
Senuto, Ahrefs, Semstorm, Keyword Planner
The tools we described earlier for analyzing website visibility can also be successfully used to monitor important keywords. Below, we describe how to do this using specific programs.
Senuto (paid)
Senuto uses small images to illustrate how Google displays search results for a given keyword. While this is related to Google's suggested ads, it's good to know how individual phrases are displayed in paid ads as well.
AHREFS (paid)
This is a very comprehensive tool for SEO specialists. The "Keywords Explorer" tab helps you examine all the factors influencing the positioning of a given phrase. In addition to the standard features offered by other keyword analysis tools, it's worth examining the section related to the position history of various websites for a given query over time. This allows you to assess the strength of competing subpages over time for a given keyword.
Semstorm (paid)
This paid tool, described earlier, allows you to perform a wide range of SEO analyses . One of its features, called "Suggester," is checking keywords for:
- the possibility of creating a "long tail",
- monthly number of searches,
- monthly number of local searches (in the selected city),
- competitiveness,
- seasonality on an annual basis from January to December of a given year.
Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is an SEO tool that helps you identify and analyze popular keywords entered by users in search engines.
Using the planner, you can find relevant keywords related to a given page or industry, allowing you to optimize your content, meta tags, and other page elements. This increases your chances of achieving higher search engine rankings, which can lead to more traffic, more leads, and ultimately, increased conversions.
Website content analysis
It's the process of researching, evaluating, and optimizing website content to increase its visibility and ranking in search results. The analysis examines the quality and usefulness of the content, its relevance to selected keywords, and its uniqueness.
Performing proper analysis can bring benefits such as better search engine rankings, increased organic traffic, higher conversions, improved user retention rates on your site, and building authority and trust among your visitors.
What might be useful for you?
Surf SEO
This tool enables comprehensive analysis of website content for search engine optimization. It uses advanced algorithms and data from competitive sites to identify key areas for improvement.
After entering a URL, it analyzes the content, its length, provides keyword suggestions, keyword density, and identifies potential gaps in comparison to competitors. This tool allows users to effectively optimize their website's content, which can lead to improved search engine visibility and increased organic traffic.
Inbound link analysis
Surfer SEO can be used to analyze inbound links by providing information on the quality, number, and context of links pointing to a given page.
The tool allows you to identify valuable and authoritative websites that link to the page you're investigating, which can improve its reputation with search engines. Inbound link analysis also allows you to detect potential toxic links that can negatively impact a page's ranking in search results.
This allows the user to take appropriate actions, such as acquiring links from credible sites or removing harmful links, to increase their site's authority and visibility in search engines. This, in turn, leads to increased organic traffic, greater visibility, and an increase in potential customers.
Ahrefs
With Ahrefs, users receive information on the number and quality of links, data on domains and pages that link to their website, and can track link growth dynamics over time.
This allows you to identify valuable sources, acquire links from authoritative sites, and monitor your link profile to avoid potential threats to your search engine visibility.
Page loading speed analysis
Faster load times contribute to increased user retention, reduced bounce rates, and improved site engagement. Additionally, search engines like Google consider page load speed when indexing, which can impact a page's ranking in search results.
Below we describe 3 useful tools that will help us monitor and analyze page loading speed.
Pingdom
Software that monitors and measures website performance, including load times and other parameters related to website speed. It can be used to accurately measure load times, identify the most time-consuming elements, and monitor website performance in real time, allowing for quick response to potential issues and keeping the site in optimal condition.
WebPage Test (half free)
The tool can be used to evaluate load times, analyze the loading order of elements on a page, identify issues and bottlenecks, and monitor website performance from different locations.
Thanks to the information obtained, you can better understand how users perceive the speed of the website and take actions to optimize it, which translates into a better user experience and higher positions in search results.
GTMetrix
This is another tool for analyzing website performance. It allows you to measure loading times, analyze various aspects of page speed, pinpoint potential issues and optimization opportunities, and generate reports with test results.
With GTMetrix, users can accurately track and compare their website's performance across devices and locations, allowing them to effectively improve their site and provide the best possible user experience.
SEO techniques – how to improve your website ranking?
The following methods can be used to increase the ranking of your website:
- content optimization,
- link building,
- technical optimization,
- refined meta tags,
- properly selected keywords.
It's important to remember that SEO is one of the cheapest and most effective methods of promoting a website. However, it requires patience and consistency.
Competitor analysis in SEO – how to do it?
Competitive analysis primarily involves evaluating competitors who are trying to rank for the same or similar keywords as your website. Competitive analysis helps you determine the tactics that work best for your niche and which areas should be prioritized.
An in-depth competition analysis will allow you to:
- discover keywords that you can also use,
- discover new backlink opportunities,
- get additional content ideas,
- get ideas for optimizing titles and descriptions of content on your page.
SEO audit – what is it and how to conduct it?
An SEO audit is a comprehensive analysis of your website's search engine visibility. It should help you pinpoint errors, issues, and content gaps that you can leverage in your SEO strategy. There are two types of audits you can conduct to gain insight into SEO issues: a technical SEO audit and a content audit.
Thanks to the knowledge contained in the audit, planning the work and the necessary time and financial outlays will be much easier.
SEO audit content:
- Meta tag analysis – inspection of the elements contained in the part Pages that appear in Google search results. A properly prepared title and meta description will contain well-chosen keywords and encourage visitors to visit the site. The audit will provide information on whether these elements are keyword-rich, of appropriate length, and whether they appear across the entire domain. Duplicates will also be identified.
- Analysis of the page for the absence of duplicates – the audit will indicate all possible copies of the website – whether they are non-redirected http and https versions, or copies created on subdomains or created during the website building process and available to web robots.
- Website content analysis – its comprehensive examination will allow for the assessment of user usefulness, keyword saturation and comparison with the competition.
- Head section analysis – apart from title & meta description, in Other elements important for positioning are also included – meta robots and canonical links.
- Correct structure of subpages – control of access to pages, ease of use and finding information on pages, and internal linking. These are equally important elements – due to the orientation of web robots on the page, but also for user convenience.
- Correctness of the subpage code – indicating errors in the code, incorrect use of HTML, CSS, JS elements or non-functioning fragments that may prevent the page from loading correctly or prevent the use of some of its functionalities.
- Analysis of the website's indexing capabilities – control of exclusions and access bans for web robots that may prevent data collection.
- Website Mobility Analysis – not only whether the website is responsive, but also whether the speed and solutions used enable proper use of the website on smaller screens of mobile devices and with a weaker internet connection.
- Display speed analysis – The issue of page rendering speed also applies to the desktop version. Tests allow us to pinpoint the elements that delay page loading and find solutions to eliminate these issues.
- Search Console Analysis – Data collected in Google Search Console allows you to determine a page's status in the Google index. Auditing older domains without GSC analysis is incomplete – the console provides detailed data on how web crawlers index pages, how Google actually sees pages, and what errors it encounters.
- Standard link profile analysis – performed similarly to GSC analysis – for a domain with a history. The analysis allows us to determine whether and which pages contain links to a given domain.
- Detailed link profile analysis – a more detailed link analysis allows you to determine the dominant link sources and assess their value.
- Detailed analysis of keyword potential – evaluation of keyword selection based on search volume, click-through rates, and Google search trends specific to a given industry.
- Examination of the substantive content of the website – In the extended version of the audit, we also provide information on whether the website contains the necessary data to enable users to find key information. We will identify any gaps in product or service descriptions and the need to add additional technical information.
- crawl budget – an important element for large websites, which provides information on how many pages in a given domain the Google search engine robot can scan.
- Detailed competition analysis – what they do better, what makes them rank higher and/or have better visibility in search engines. Competitive analysis allows us to identify solutions that work well in a given industry.
Ethics in SEO – white hat SEO vs. black hat SEO
By adopting ethical SEO practices, you ensure fair and transparent competition in the online environment. This, in turn, translates into building lasting relationships with users, avoiding potential sanctions from search engines, and building a positive corporate image.
Adhering to established, “white” standards also impacts your website’s credibility, positive user experience, and long-term SEO success.
What is White Hat SEO?
White Hat SEO is all activities aimed at positioning a website in search results that are both compliant with Google guidelines and ethical and fair towards competitors and web users.
White Hat SEO refers to SEO without the use of prohibited practices, such as acquiring artificial links and automated linking, which unnaturally inflate a website's search engine rankings. Ethical SEO practices are included in Google's webmaster guidelines.
The proper way of acquiring links should result only from natural marketing activities (e.g. an entry in a business directory), PR activities (e.g. an interview with the company owner) or promotions on social media (e.g. a link from the company profile).
There are also no restrictions on an entity unrelated to the company posting a link to the website on their profile, website, or blog. Links to the company's products/services may appear, for example, on the personal or business pages of customers satisfied with the product or service.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Black Hat SEO refers to practices used to improve the ranking of websites that violate search engine guidelines. They are designed to manipulate search engines and tend to ignore human audiences and their experiences.
Black Hat SEO activities include unnatural keyword clustering, cloaking, using paid links, over-optimization, including hidden text, and other changes that violate guidelines.
In order to quickly increase the popularity of the promoted website, some companies are tempted to use a simpler and faster, although unethical, solution – adding links on a mass scale on discussion forums, internet blogs, websites participating in link exchange systems and other locations.
The sites on which the links are published are unrelated to the site being promoted. Often, these sites are automatically generated or prepared in other languages. This violates webmaster guidelines.
Why you should avoid Black hat SEO?
Primarily because it's an unfair and unethical optimization practice. If the ethical aspect doesn't appeal to you, you might be persuaded by the possibility of a penalty, such as a lower search engine ranking or even a complete ban.
Furthermore, black hat SEO negatively impacts user experience because it focuses on cheating algorithms rather than providing valuable and useful content. Long-term use of such practices can damage a website's reputation and brand credibility.
How much does SEO cost?
The price of positioning a medium-sized store in Verseo ranges from PLN 2000 to PLN 5000, while for large online stores it can increase to PLN 6000 or more.
To obtain an accurate and unambiguous answer regarding SEO pricing for e-commerce, we recommend contacting an experienced expert who will tailor the offer to the individual requirements and business goals of a given store.
Enlisting the help of an SEO professional can help you obtain precise information regarding costs and optimal optimization strategies.
Why is it worth investing in SEO?
Investing in SEO has many benefits for businesses. First, it offers the potential for a high return on investment compared to paid campaigns. Organic visibility generates consistent, long-term website traffic without incurring additional costs per click.
Maintaining stability in organic results is more reliable than in the case of advertising campaigns, where positions can fluctuate depending on budget and competition.
It's also worth investing in SEO because of its impact on brand image. By providing rich, valuable, and engaging content, a website becomes a credible source of information, and the organization becomes an expert in its field. This increases customer trust and the perception of the brand as an authority.
Furthermore, an optimized website means better usability for users, which leads to a more satisfying customer journey. Fast loading times, well-arranged information, and ease of navigation make customers more likely to stay on the site, learn more about the offer, and ultimately make a purchase decision.
In the long term, investing in SEO can lead to lower promotional costs, as effective optimization generates organic website traffic, reducing the need for paid advertising. As a result, SEO is a strategic tool that allows companies to build a long-lasting, stable, and profitable online presence.
An effective SEO agency, i.e. Verseo
The effectiveness of SEO work is guaranteed by continuous optimization processes and consistent streamlining of all essential areas related to website operation. If you lack the necessary knowledge or simply lack the time, you can entrust this task to Verseo specialists!
Paulina Michnikowska from e-okularnicy.pl, the star of our case study , will best tell you what working with us looks like in practice!
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO – FAQ
We hope this article has shed some light on SEO. To summarize, here's a quick summary to help you organize what you've learned. Check out the most frequently asked questions about SEO.
Is SEO important for every website?
Yes. Regardless of the size of your website, a well-planned and implemented strategy will increase your domain's visibility, thereby attracting traffic and increasing your chances of acquiring new customers.
Additionally, by cultivating valuable content , you'll positively impact the content delivered to your audience. This, in turn, will help you build your image as an industry expert and strengthen brand awareness.
Although the first SEO results take time to appear, patience pays off. They are significantly more stable than those of paid campaigns.
How long does it take to see SEO results?
This is where our favorite "it depends" comes in. It depends on the results of the SEO audit and the scope of work to be performed, as well as the business goal the client wants to achieve. The speed of the results is also linked to the pace of implementing changes and recommendations, which the SEO specialist has only a limited influence on.
The question also concerns the pool of texts that will be entered on the website, or the history of the domain itself.
However, it's generally accepted that SEO specialists need 2 to 3 months to rank unpopular phrases. Moderately popular phrases take 4 to 8 months. Highly popular and competitive phrases typically require more than 9 months of work.
Also remember that SEO is permanent and maintaining a specific position requires continuous activities.
Factors influencing the waiting time for SEO effects
The time it takes to see SEO results depends on many factors, including the quality and uniqueness of the website's content, technical optimization and loading speed, links to the website (both quality and quantity), industry competitiveness, and changes in search engine algorithms.
Can I do SEO myself?
If you have sufficient knowledge, plenty of time, and access to the latest tools you know how to use, then sure. However, if you're not an expert, it's best not to test on your own domain or business.
This can cause more problems than benefits, including a drain on the company's budget. It's always better to build on a strong and solid foundation than to fix shortcomings. This can significantly increase the time it takes to rank a domain, and sometimes even prevent it from ranking high in search results.
Why is SEO a long-term process?
Long waiting times are a natural result of the search engine indexing and analysis process, and the effectiveness of SEO efforts may depend on strategy and ongoing optimization.
How to check a website for SEO?
Thanks to an SEO audit, the data obtained will allow you to assess your website's current positioning process and create a roadmap for future actions, both in terms of budget and time. Why? For greater visibility and business growth.
You can opt for a basic free audit (quite superficial, but providing some insight into the current state of your website) or a specialized, more comprehensive paid audit. You'll then receive comprehensive information and guidance from the expert who will perform it.
We can also obtain data on the SEO status of a website from professional tools available online (free and paid).
Is SEO positioning?
SEO refers to the activities of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and organic ranking. Positioning is a part of an SEO strategy that focuses on achieving the highest possible rankings in search results for specific keywords.
SEO also includes other elements such as content optimization, improving link quality, and ensuring proper website structure, which contributes to long-term organic visibility in search results.
What is the difference between SEM and SEO?
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a form of internet marketing that involves paid advertising campaigns on search engines such as Google Ads . SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility in organic search engine results.
FAQs about SEO effectiveness
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing websites for search engines (primarily Google). Its goal is to achieve the highest and most stable positions in organic (unpaid) search results, which requires analyzing the website's code, adapting the content, and understanding search engine algorithms.
The positioning process is divided into two basic areas:
- On-site SEO (on-page activities): Optimizing website code, improving loading speed, adjusting headings, structure and creating unique and valuable content (Content Marketing).
- Off-site SEO: Building a domain's authority on the web, mainly by acquiring valuable backlinks (Link Building) from other websites.
- White Hat SEO: These are ethical activities that comply with official search engine guidelines and build safe and long-term online visibility.
- Black Hat SEO: These are prohibited practices and manipulations (e.g., hiding text, mass link spamming). They may produce short-term results, but ultimately result in severe penalties, including complete removal of the page from search results (a ban).
Investing in SEO primarily means a regular influx of valuable traffic to your website. High Google rankings build an expert image, increase brand trust, and in the case of e-commerce, translate into real increases in sales and conversions, often serving as the cheapest long-term source of customer acquisition.
There's no fixed price list, as each business requires a unique approach. Costs depend on factors such as the size of the website, domain history, industry complexity, competitor activity, and the chosen billing model. It's a good idea to conduct an SEO audit before pricing.
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Google's algorithms need time to detect changes on a website, evaluate them, and calculate the value of new backlinks. Building natural domain authority and overtaking competitors typically takes several to a dozen months.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- SEO is a long-term process of optimizing and positioning a website, which builds its visibility in search engines, increasing traffic, brand trust, and sales.
- Google search engine analyzes websites through crawling and indexing, then ranks them based on over 200 constantly evolving factors, such as content quality, backlinks, and technical optimization.
- Effective SEO is based on the skillful selection of keywords, creating unique content, eliminating technical errors, and acquiring valuable links, which together ensure a high website position and fast performance.
- Comprehensive website optimization (On-page, Off-page and technical SEO) includes adjusting content, URL structure, loading speed and link profile to improve website visibility, security (SSL) and user experience (UX).
- Improving a website's online visibility is achieved through the strategic use of free and paid tools (such as Google Search Console, Senuto or Ahrefs) to conduct a technical audit, analyze competitors, and continuously optimize content and linking.
- Ethical SEO (White Hat SEO) is based on activities that comply with Google guidelines, while the use of manipulative practices (Black Hat SEO) may result in severe penalties and loss of brand credibility.
- Investing in SEO, the cost of which depends on the size of the website, provides long-term returns through stable organic traffic, building an expert image, and improving the website's usability for customers.
- Effective SEO is a long-term process of continuous optimization that requires expert knowledge and patience to build lasting visibility and a strong brand position in search engines through audits and consistent actions.
