SEO Starter Guide: Optimizing Your Website for Better Visibility,
When creating a website, the main emphasis is typically on your audience.You aim to design it in a way that makes it easy for them to find and engage with your content. But one of the most important “users” you might not initially consider is a search engine. A search engine, like Google, helps real users discover your content. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your content accessible to these search engines so that they can understand, index, and rank your website effectively. SEO, at its core, is about making sure both search engines and users can find and understand your site.
Understanding the Basics of SEO
To have your site show up on Google Search, your website must meet certain criteria outlined in Google’s Search Essentials. These essentials are fundamental principles that increase your site’s likelihood of being crawled and indexed by Google. However, following these guidelines does not guarantee your site will be added to Google’s index or show up in search results.
SEO Starter Guide:
SEO takes it one step further. It involves optimizing your site so that search engines can better understand the content and structure of your pages, which makes it easier for them to recommend your site to relevant search queries. This guide will introduce you to some of the most common and effective improvements you can make on your site to enhance its visibility.
No Quick Fixes to Rank First
It’s important to note that there are no “secrets” or tricks that will guarantee your website a first-place ranking on Google. SEO is a long-term approach that demands continuous effort.
Some of the suggestions in this guide might not apply directly to your business, but following these best practices can help make your website easier for search engines (not just Google) to crawl, index, and understand.
How Does Google Search Work?
Google operates as a fully automated search engine. It uses web crawlers—programs that constantly explore the web—to find and add pages to its vast index. For most websites, you don’t have to take any additional steps beyond publishing your site on the internet for it to be found. The majority of sites listed in search results are discovered automatically as Google crawls the web.
If you’re interested in how Google crawls and indexes pages, there are detailed resources available on Google Search Central that explain how the search engine discovers, crawls, and ranks web pages.
How Long Until SEO Shows Results?
SEO Starter Guide:
Every change you make to your website will take time to reflect in Google’s search results. Some changes may be noticeable within hours, while others might take several months. On average, you should wait a few weeks to see whether your efforts have positively impacted your site’s rankings. Remember that not all changes will result in an immediate improvement. If you’re not satisfied with the results, try experimenting with other SEO tactics and monitoring their impact over time.
Helping Google Find Your Content
Before diving into technical improvements, first check whether Google has already found and indexed your content. You can easily do this by searching for your website using the site: search operator (e.g., site:yourwebsite.com). If your site appears in the search results, it means that Google has already indexed it. If not, you might need to troubleshoot possible technical issues preventing Google from finding your site.
Google typically finds new pages by following links from other pages it has already crawled. For this reason, acquiring links from other websites is a critical component of SEO.Links from other websites to your pages assist Google in finding your content.
While this happens naturally over time, you can also promote your site to encourage other sites to link to your content.
Additionally, you can submit a sitemap to Google.A sitemap is a document that outlines all the key URLs on your website.
Many content management systems (CMS) automatically generate a sitemap for you, but manually submitting one can help Google find your content faster. However, this step is not required, and you should first focus on creating valuable content that people want to link to.
Ensuring Google Sees Your Pages Correctly
When Google crawls your website, it should ideally view it in the same way that an average user does. If your site hides important elements like CSS or JavaScript files, Google may have difficulty understanding your content, which can result in poor rankings. For example, blocking these resources could cause Google to misinterpret the layout or structure of your pages.
If your website delivers different content based on the user’s location (geotargeting), you need to be aware that Google’s crawlers generally operate from the United States. You should ensure that Google sees the most important and accurate version of your page when it crawls from that location. You can check how Google views your website by using the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console.
Controlling What Content Appears in Google Search
In some cases, you may not want certain pages on your website to appear in Google Search results. For example, you might have private information or content that is not relevant to the general public. Google provides several methods to prevent specific URLs or even entire sections of your site from being indexed.
You can prevent Google from indexing certain pages by using robots.txt files or meta noindex tags. These tools allow you to block specific directories or URLs from appearing in search results.
Structuring Your Site for Success
A well-structured website is more accessible for both users and search engines to explore.
By creating a logical structure, you make it clear how your pages are related to one another, improving the overall user experience. This is especially important for larger websites with many sections.
However, you don’t need to reorganize your site just for the sake of SEO. In most cases, Google can still understand your content, even if your site isn’t perfectly organized. .
Creating Descriptive URLsInstead, focus on making gradual improvements to your site’s structure as your content grows , rewrite words
Your URLs play an important role in helping both users and search engines understand your content. Search engines often display parts of the URL in search results as breadcrumbs, which show users where they are on your site. By creating clear, descriptive URLs, you give users and search engines valuable information about the page’s content. Avoid using long, complicated, or generic URLs. Instead, focus on creating URLs that are short and directly related to the page’s topic.
Conclusion
SEO is a continuous process that demands time, effort, and persistence.By following these foundational practices, you can improve your website’s visibility and make it easier for users and search engines to find and understand your content. Although there are no shortcuts to instant success in SEO, consistently applying these strategies will help your site grow and rank higher over time.
Writer
Hasib SEO Expert
Md. Hasibur Rahman
University of Chittagong