Member Article

How do I know if my website is SEO-friendly?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results pages (SERPs). A well-optimised website is more likely to appear higher in search results, which can lead to increased traffic and conversions.

There are many factors that contribute to SEO, including:

• Content: Your website’s content should be high-quality, informative, and relevant to your target audience. It should also be keyword-rich, but not keyword-stuffed.
• Technical SEO: This includes factors such as your website’s structure, code, and speed. Your website should be easy for search engines to crawl and index.
• Link building: This involves acquiring links from other high-quality websites. Links are a signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy.

Recent Google updates

Google is constantly updating its algorithms and features, including those related to SEO. Some of the most recent Google updates include:

• Core updates: Google releases core updates several times a year to improve its ranking algorithm. These updates are designed to reward high-quality content and websites that are helpful to users.

• BERT: BERT is a natural language processing (NLP) model that Google uses to better understand the meaning of search queries and content. This update has had a significant impact on SEO, as Google is now able to better rank websites that provide relevant and helpful results to users.

• Passage-based ranking: Google has recently begun to use passage-based ranking for some search results. This means that Google is now ranking individual passages of content rather than just entire web pages. This update is designed to help users find the most relevant information more quickly.

How to know if your website is SEO-friendly in light of recent Google updates

To assess the SEO-friendliness of your website in light of recent Google updates, you should focus on the following:

• Content quality: Make sure your website’s content is high-quality, informative, and relevant to your target audience. Your content should also be well-written and easy to read.

• Keyword relevance: Use relevant keywords throughout your website, but avoid keyword stuffing. Your keywords should be used in a natural way, and they should reflect the content of your website.

• Technical SEO: Make sure your website is easy for search engines to crawl and index. This includes having a clear and well-structured website architecture, using valid HTML and CSS code, and optimising your website’s speed.

• Link building: Build links to your website from other high-quality websites. Links are a signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy.

In addition to the above, you should also be aware of the latest Google updates and how they may impact your website’s SEO. You can do this by following Google’s Search Engine Optimisation Starter Guide and by monitoring the Google Search Central blog.

Here are some specific things to look for:

• Your website’s performance in search results: Track your website’s rankings for your target keywords and see how they change over time. If your rankings are declining, it may be a sign that your website is not SEO-friendly.

• Your website’s traffic: Monitor your website’s traffic from search engines. If your traffic is declining, it may be a sign that your website is not SEO-friendly.

• Your website’s analytics: Use Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic and user behaviour. Pay attention to metrics such as bounce rate, pages per session, and time on site. If these metrics are high, it may be a sign that your website is SEO-friendly.

If you find that your website is not SEO-friendly, there are a number of things you can do to improve it. Here are a few tips:

• Improve your content: Make sure your website’s content is high-quality, informative, and relevant to your target audience. Your content should also be well-written and easy to read.

• Optimise your website for technical SEO: Make sure your website is easy for search engines to crawl and index. This includes having a clear and well-structured website architecture, using valid HTML and CSS code, and optimising your website’s speed.

• Build links to your website: Build links to your website from other high-quality websites. Links are a signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy. Although Google does not currently rank links in the top 3 things they consider important for ranking, having a small amount of high-quality links that are relevant to your industry is sure to do more good than harm.

SEO is an on-going process, so it’s important to monitor your website’s performance and make adjustments as needed. By following the tips above, you can improve your website’s SEO and boost your search engine rankings.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by iCONQUER Ltd .