Submitted by

ARSHA K
MBA-A
Search engine optimization is the term used to describe a set of processes that
aim in optimizing a website for search engines.

SEO is important not only for getting high-quality visitors from search, but it’s also
a way to improve the user-friendliness of your website and increase its credibility.
Search engines are using complex algorithms to determine which pages to include
in their index and the order they show these pages in the search results.SEO is the
way to ‘speak’ to search engines in a language they can understand and give them
more information about website.

SEO has two major components, On Page and Off Page SEO.

On-page SEO

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank
higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the
content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-
page SEO which refers to links and other external signals..
In addition to publishing relevant, high-quality content, on-page SEO includes
optimizing your headlines, HTML tags (title, meta, and header), and images. It also
means making sure your website has a high level of expertise, authoritativeness, and
trustworthiness.

It takes into account various aspects of the webpage that, when added together, will
improve your website’s visibility in the search results. It helps search engines
understand your website better, to gauge if your content would be relevant to
people seeking for information about anything online using a set of keywords.

Some of the most common on-page SEO factors include:

Content
Content is so important for both users and search engines and can take many forms,
including everything from the HTML text on your website to images, videos, recipes,
infographics, and much more. Your website’s content is its primary value proposition
and what makes it unique. Your content should answer questions like, “why should I
visit your website?” or “what’s in it for me?”. Without quality content on your
website, all of the remaining factors are irrelevant.

Keywords
Carefully selecting the best keywords to use throughout your website is an integral
part of on-page SEO; however, using the same primary keywords over and over again
will no longer help your website as much as it used to. Ever since the launch of
Google’s RankBrain algorithm and its transition to machine learning technology,
Google is able to better understand the context of websites without the need to
have the primary keyword repeated over and over.

When keyword mapping, be sure to also plan for long-tail keywords, keyword
variants, and LSI keywords. Long-tail keywords that resemble common phrases or
questions used by people in conversations can help optimize your website for voice
search. It is also important to take the time to perform proper keyword research, as
skipping keyword research can be like heading into the wilderness without a map or
compass.

Meta Tags

Meta tags or a meta title and meta description are the short heading and description
that appear beneath a website’s URL on a search engine results page. Meta tags
should always be written in a way that describes the content on the page, while also
being optimized to include the most relevant keywords, so that they can be picked
up by search engine crawlers.
Alt Attribute
Alt attributes (alternative text) are used to describe the context of an image. This
helps search engines understand the context of an image and can help users
understand the image’s intent in case an image is unable to properly display for
some reason. Inserting relevant keywords, while accurately describing the image, can
help search engines better understand the page’s content, as well as help the image
rank better in the image results. In the United States, alt text is actually a
requirement for images on some websites.

Headings
Since headings tend to be the largest words on a page, search engines tend to give
them a little more weight than the other content. This means that it is always a good
idea to work relevant target keywords into the headings of each website page, so
that search engines can better understand the context of the page content. In terms
of importance, search engines usually give the most value to the Heading 1 followed
by Heading 2s and so forth.

URL Structure

Having organized URL structures can make it easier for search engines to crawl from
page to page on your website, while also making the navigation of your website
more efficient for visitors. A well organized URL structure is important when it comes
to your site architecture and the ability for search engines to properly crawl your
website.

SSL/HTTPS
With Google’s emphasis on EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness),
enabling Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security technology has never been more
important for improving a website’s security, trustworthiness, and visibility. SSL
works to provide a safer website by preventing a third party from coming between
your web server and the user’s web server, ensuring that any information entered on
the site is completely safe.

Search engines, such as Google, also prefer sites that have SSL enabled. This means
that they are more likely to appear at the top of the search results, boosting their
visibility to users.

Internal Linking
Internal links allow your website to distribute PageRank (PR) throughout and provide
search engines with a crawl structure, making it easier for them to crawl the entire
website. Proper internal links structures can also help keep users engaged for longer
periods of time. When developing your internal linking structure, it is important to
properly plan for accordingly, as internal links can actually have a negative impact on
your website’s performance if implemented incorrectly.

Page Speed
Page speed is important for the online performance of websites, as pages that load
slowly or are not mobile friendly tend to frustrate users who will leave your website,
increasing the bounce rate. To help increase the overall page speed on your website,
consider optimizing image file sizes, reducing redirects, improving mobile
responsiveness, and minimizing the amount of CSS and Javascript. While there is still
some debate in the SEO community about the weight of page speed in Google’s
ranking algorithm, most SEOs are now convinced that page speed is a key ranking
factor.

Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO (also called "off-site SEO") refers to actions taken outside of your own
website to impact your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs).

Optimizing for off-site ranking factors involves improving search engine and user
perception of a site's popularity, relevance, trustworthiness, and authority.
Off-page SEO refers to activities you can perform outside the boundaries of your
website. The most important are:

 Link Building
 Social Media Marketing
 Brand Mentions

Some of the most common off-page SEO factors include:

Backlinks
One of the biggest factors in off-page SEO is link building with quality, trustworthy
websites. While the old consensus for backlinks was all about obtaining as many links
as possible, this is no longer the case. When it comes to link building, it is now all
about quality over quantity. This means that having a single backlink from a highly
trusted website with great authority has more value than a hundred spammy links
from websites with irrelevant, low-quality content.

While backlinks can help to significantly improve a website’s performance, they also
pose a high risk if not done properly. Spammy backlink strategies have caused many
websites to be penalized by Google. Using SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and
Google Search Console can help monitor both the number and quality of incoming
links.

Citations
Online citations are important for SEO because they help communicate a level of
trust with users and search engines. Citations (mentions of your business online)
work similarly to backlinks. When building online citations, it is important to ensure
that your business NAP (name, address, phone number) is both accurate and
consistent across all websites. Citations can be done through social media platforms,
online directories, and local organizations like your area’s Chamber of Commerce
website.

Google My Business
A Google My Business listing could be considered both a backlink and citation;
however, in reality, it is its own entity. Claiming your Google My Business listing is
critical for local SEO as it helps users find your business on both Google Search and
Google Maps. While a Google My Business listing will not directly impact the
performance of your website, as it is its own entity, it can definitely improve your
business’s visibility and performance online.

Social Media Signals

While page ranking may not be directly related to social media interactions, social
media marketing can help generate a lot of clicks, boosting website traffic and link
shares. Having a strong social media presence can also make a company appear
more attractive and make it easier for customers to find them online.

While on-page and off-page SEO are technically two separate branches of SEO, using
them together can help drastically improve search engine ranking results.