Learn SEO - Think Like Your Customers to Get More of Them

By Bruce Jones

Learn SEO is the perfect way to learn search engine optimization at your own pace and in your own time. Learn SEO offers Google-proven techniques backed by decades of SEO consulting and agency experience.
1. Start improving your website's SEO today - Create an SEO strategy shaped by your knowledge of your market, enhanced by search engine optimization. Approach SEO from the perspective of a seasoned inbound marketing specialist and SEO coach who has helped innovative companies grow for over twenty years.
2. Build and optimize a customer-friendly website - Employ strategies for on-page optimization to make your pages and content search-engine friendly. Learn how digital marketing agencies perform on-page SEO and use the same methods on any number of websites to get the best results.
3. Finally, understand how Google Search works - A glut of information rarely answers the most critical questions. Get the facts about Google's quality guidelines, significant algorithm changes in the past few years, and what these mean for website owners.
4. Think like your customers - SEO with content and strategy is like a soul without a body. Improve clickthrough rates, reduce bounce rates, and increase sales and conversions through customer-centric SEO.
5. Identify SEO problems on your website and solve them, one by one, and see traffic and dwell times increase over time.
6. Write the best content and design the best pages - Over half the battle for SEO is directing the creation of quality content and other website assets. Improve your content with SEO copywriting guidelines and other content quality guidelines.
7. Perform content audits with the book's step-by-step checklists - Combine your new skills with keyword research and topical development. The goal: be the next guru of content SEO and make your website future-proof.
8. Start a successful link-building campaign - Backlinks are the foundation of off-page SEO. But not all links are helpful or relevant to your website. Backlinks result from the effort, but how do you get there?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387574902

Bruce Jones

Bruce D. Jones directs the Project on International Order and Strategy of the Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where for four years he was also vice president for foreign policy. He has lived and worked in Asia, Africa, and Europe, including serving with UN operations in Kosovo and the Middle East. He has documented the changing dynamics of world power in several previous books about international affairs. He has been a senior advisor to the World Bank and has lectured or been a nonresident fellow at Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and New York University.

Book preview

Preface

There's been no shortage of books about search engine optimization in the past decade, especially when the concept solidified as SEO or as an entire discipline comparable to the older bodies of knowledge like business management or marketing.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, most businesses still viewed search engine optimization with endless scrutiny and doubt, as if it was some form of voodoo or black magic for the Internet.

Granted, not many people knew then how search engines worked. And even fewer understood the connection between what happened in the more prominent online ecosystem, the websites, and the content on the page.

I write this almost two years after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. No one was spared from the health restrictions and lockdowns, least of all the world businesses. The global supply chain is still trying to restore normalcy, while much of the world is attempting to live with the virus because life must go on, right?

While ordinary people like poking fun at the concept of marketing/digital marketing because they associate marketing mainly with telemarketers and other types of cold calling, we can't deny that digital marketing has helped countless businesses survive the pandemic.

The pandemic was perhaps the biggest litmus test for the global SEO industry. There are thousands of SEO vendors throughout the world. However, the US is just one country with SEO professionals and experts.

The SEO industry has become global mainly because all businesses now need to be online. As a result, digital marketing is no longer a cursory effort or something interesting to do in your spare time.

Some two decades ago, people said, that's nice, when they heard that your brick-and-mortar business had a website. Of course, people already had desktop computers and Macs then, but traditional marketing and mass media, in general, were still powerful.

Traditional marketing still exists today, but the 'conventional steps' in reaching and interacting with audiences have moved online. Between the printed flyer and the potential to immediately reach hundreds or thousands of potential viewers on your website or Instagram account, it's clear that the compression of time and space via the Internet will be here for good.

Is it a bad thing that everything's moved online?

Not necessarily. However, as an SEO consultant, I must admit that getting people up to speed with SEO takes time and considerate effort.

This has been the driving force behind 1ON1 SEO Training, where I am an instructor-slash-SEO director for many professionals and business owners.

When people find me on Google or places like my LinkedIn profile, they eventually ask me where they could learn SEO.

And while there are so many free resources on SEO online, how do you know that you're getting correct answers? On top of my teaching, I decided to bring people much closer to SEO wisdom by writing my first book. Within these pages, you will find the areas that need closer inspection. The knowledge is already out there, but you need to be organized and conscientious with learning how SEO works.

I'll see you on the other side.

Talk Soon,

Bruce Jones,

SEO Consultant, BruceJonesSEO.Com

What is SEO?

Every new effort in digital marketing needs to be organized, and SEO is a form of digital marketing. Specifically, SEO is a type of inbound marketing method because it relies on a lot of planning to target potential audiences who might be interested in what your business offers, whether physical products, digital products, or professional services. So, if you hear someone say that defining SEO in just one sentence or phrase is challenging because it encompasses so many things. Concisely, SEO is:

Developing a user-friendly and ADA-compliant website.

The art of getting websites to rank well on Google and other search engines.

Performing technical audits of your website and see how it compares with standards.

Optimizing pages and content on your blog.

Establishing a backlink profile that supports your goals and increases your website's authority.

Engaging your audience through social media and distributing your content through it.

SEO has grown so much and has absorbed so many disciplines and areas that we can rightly say it is the single most potent intersection point of digital marketing in our era.

I'd like to drive home in this part of the book because SEO touches every part of marketing and digital communication. If you'd like to look at SEO another way, it's a specialized communication system of speaking to search engines and people.

It involves doing these two things at once, so your information will be highly valued compared to other information available. And it's certainly not the most straightforward task, mainly because there's so much competition already out there.

To better understand how SEO works, we must quantify the term competition.

Competition in the case of search engine optimization refers not just to your literal competitors (the businesses vying for a slice of the cake) but various factors, activities/actions, and efforts, which we will cover in the following subsection.

But before we proceed, let me share a powerful story:

I used to work with a very SEO-savvy guy, and there was one situation years ago when he had to optimize a new website that wasn't doing so well.

He goes, Bruce, their website is on WIX.

I go, well, can you work with the website, he responds, have you ever seen a Wix website on top of search results?

His response made me pause for a moment as I racked my memories. I have tons of data on SEO from the past, and I realized that he was right-I don't have a specific memory about Wix sites doing well in SEO. And there are several reasons why this might be happening.

But first, let me chime in quickly that I encourage people to go out and see things themselves. It's sometimes easier to make essential realizations when you get out of the sandbox of SEO theory and try out things on your own.

The best SEO strategies are the ones created through experimentation. So when people ask me about their websites and how they might harm their digital business through their SEO experimentation, I ask them, what could be worse than not having sales or leads right now?

So, this is part of the development of a healthy SEO mindset. Don't be anxious or afraid of experimenting because that's how you make progress with SEO.

SEO is experimentation 100% of the time since no precise SEO manual will give you 10/10 results all the time.

I'm here to teach you how you can carry out these critical improvements and experiments, so you're in the right direction.

Back to Wix: as I said, there might be a couple of reasons why this is happening in the first place, and we will touch upon some things here later in our breakdown of critical ranking factors. What do website developers see when they work on Wix websites?

They'll probably tell you that the coding isn't elegant, and you have miles and miles of code per page when it shouldn't be that way. The optimization steps for Wix websites are also a nightmare, even though they now have an SEO function on their dashboard.

You're free to try, but I'm saying that not all content management systems and website builders offer excellent SEO performance. We shouldn't confuse this with how easily you can get pages off the ground or if you can add cool plugins to the equation. However, it bears repeating that website builders and content management systems are often apples and oranges, and you may not get the same SEO performance of WordPress on a Wix site, even if you prefer Wix for other reasons.

The State of SEO

SEO trends evolve in time. Therefore, it's essential to keep reading, learning, and applying newfound skills and techniques to keep your website relevant and at the top of SERPs.

But how can you compete in your local market if you don't know what SEO trends are working? A new SEO trend appears and then vanishes every time you investigate it. Moreover, Google's algorithm is constantly changing, so what worked last year may no longer be relevant.

It's tricky to determine which SEO trends are working if you don't monitor essential website data. And this would be your protection when testing new SEO trends or theories. Are you seeing improvements in website data and analytics? Are you getting more sales? Are you getting more leads? Maybe a combination of new techniques can help your website? In any case, staying abreast of what's happening in the industry is still essential. Let's keep reading.

Core Web Vitals

In 2022, Core Web Vitals will be the most important ranking criteria, not only because it has been but because it is becoming more critical each year. Google utilizes a set of ranking metrics called Core Web Vitals to judge a website's overall quality based on how users interact.

Core Web Vitals consist of three measures of speed and interaction: the largest contentful paint (LCP), the first input delay (FID), and the cumulative layout shift (CLS).

A site's LCP counts the time it takes to load its most excellent content, whereas a site's FID gauges how quickly a user may engage with the site. In addition, CLS measures the number of times a page's design has been altered.

Your search engine rankings will rise dramatically if you work on your Core Web Vitals.

People Also Ask

One of the most often used search features is people also inquire. More than half (48.4%) of the 2.5 million questions were based on people also ask.

To improve your search engine rankings, you must give solutions to frequently requested topics in your content. Here, the featured excerpt is further developed. The correct keywords your viewers are searching for may be found using a keyword tool. When writing material, include your queries in the body of the article or a FAQ section.

E-A-T

The standard of online material rises in tandem with the sophistication of search engine algorithms. Therefore, adhering to the EAT concept while developing content: eminence, authority, and trustworthiness. To identify if a website has high-quality content, Google uses EAT.

Improve your eating habits by adhering to a few simple rules:

Create material that people want to read.

Use authoritative sources and cite them.

Add biographical information to website authors.

Overwhelming marketing or paid link campaigns should not be used.

You may have come across PR websites that offer press releases. Should you use press releases? Yes, but only when necessary. The SEO value of these press releases depends on the public's response to your press releases. Press releases aim to inform people that something notable has happened.

This content type can help people learn more about new businesses. If the content is substantial, people might share it. They will want to connect with you by visiting your website and social. However, in recent years, Google has made it clear that they do not reward backlinks from massive PR networks. So even if a company promises you 1,000 backlinks from reproducing the same press release across their network, that may not count as much as a genuine, high-quality backlink from a website that cites your content as a great resource.

High-Quality Backlinks and More High-Quality Backlinks

Do I see this trend continuing past 2022?

Definitely, and I don't expect it to go away very soon.

In my experience, the strength of your backlinks significantly impacts how quickly and far you rise in the rankings. There is no such thing as a neutral backlink. Each year, the argument for value above quantity gains traction.

Video for SEO?

It's important to incorporate video into your SEO strategy since video platforms have grown in popularity over the past several years. By the year 2022, the video content format will account for 82% of all worldwide IP traffic, according to studies.

Better Text Content Matters

When it comes to search engine rankings, high-quality material always takes precedence over low-quality information, especially on Google. Although content length isn't a factor in search engine rankings, I've found that longer articles fare better in the long run. This is because long-form content delivers many qualities that Google is looking for, such as original research and analysis, depth, source, and much more.

Google favors websites with high-quality content when deciding where to place it in search results. Hence, no ranking component, although there is a significant association between better ranks and lengthier content. Why? In-depth information, unique research, and expert authorship and sourcing are all characteristics that Google looks for in high-quality E-A-T signals. Therefore lengthier articles tend to rank higher in search results.

As Google improves its NLP algorithms, it will continue to increase its ability to identify quality. To achieve the best results, ensure detailed information about your target keywords so that you may acquire higher ranks and better average positions.

Keyword Clustering

Search engine optimization is built on the pillars of keyword research. As Google's NLP (natural language processing) technology has improved, keyword targeting has become a more precise and time-consuming procedure.

Using a single keyword as the sole focus of your landing pages and blog articles is a relic of the past. In any case, Google ranks our landing pages for various keywords. Therefore we should target higher in 2022. Keyword clustering is a more sophisticated method to boost your overall search engine results. Multiple keywords with similar search intent are identified, and web pages are created to target these clusters of keywords.

Increase the number of keywords that your web pages rank for and position your website as an authority in essential subject areas by using keyword clustering. When done correctly, this strategy may result in Google ranking your website for hundreds of additional search terms.

Content Optimization with AI

Content optimization is now easier with AI tools.

Search engine crawlers seek keywords, subtopics, synonyms, and frequent website queries. As a result, we're already seeing an intense number of websites using content tools. As a result, content optimization influences a website's overall keyword rankings and its average position within those rankings.

Schema Markup

Search engines employ schema markup, code inserted into your website's HTML, to better comprehend your pages' content. For example, Google creates rich snippets using schema markup. Users will find these snippets more attractive because they provide more information.

Schema markup or structured data are one of the most frequently disregarded factors in SEO and also happen to be one of the simplest ways to improve your website's content. For example, all website owners should re-evaluate their material and include more details, lengthier prose, and better photos.

Schema markup primarily benefits your website by allowing search engines to feature-rich snippets. These rich snippets become more logical, practical, and, therefore, more appealing to consumers. Believe it or not, schema markup makes items on any SERP more clickable.

Schema markup is the microdata that helps Google better comprehend your site's content and extract it. Crawlers rely on rich snippets to deliver more relevant search results, which means a better user experience for everyone. While new schema markups like video and education sites are being supported by Google each year, they're not likely to stop anytime soon.

Schema markup users have an advantage over their competition because many digital marketers currently underutilize it. Check out the entire list of Google's rich results, and then set a goal for 2022 to implement the necessary schema markup for your website's content.

New Sites Have a Fighting Chance

Search engines have improved their capacity to distinguish high-quality information and sites that offer an enjoyable browsing experience. If a brand-new website is putting out high-quality material and doing well, it has a better chance of ranking.

Early in 2022, we've seen many of these SEO trends take hold. As SEO becomes increasingly crucial, you'll need a strategy to keep track of what's working and what isn't. Because Google has improved its ability to detect high-quality content and a positive customer experience on web pages, reputation will have less impact in the next few years.

Domain authority and backlinks will still be necessary for 2022, but the search is getting more democratic. A high-quality, high-performance online experience for users will provide younger websites a better chance of ranking than an established site that relies solely on authority signals.

Notable Algorithm Updates

Keeping up with Google's ever-evolving algorithm constantly challenges the search engine. And it also seems to be releasing more and more updates each year.

SEO recommended practices, improving your ranks, and understanding any performance swings may improve if you are aware of recent changes in the search engine landscape. Depending on the relevance and impact of the algorithm update, Google will either announce it explicitly or mention it in passing. Let's look at some of the other changes that have occurred in the year 2021 before we get to the page experience upgrade.

Passage Ranking Update

Google now utilizes artificial intelligence to index web pages and particular sections (paragraphs, phrases) from different websites. To put it another way, snippets of selected texts can be showcased. The goal is to answer exact requests rapidly rather than requiring users to scour whole web pages.

You can take advantage of the Passage Ranking update by:

Making use of more longtail keywords

Give detailed, in-depth information about the subject.

Optimize your website's content so that Googlebot has an easier time crawling it.

About This Result Update

Google's About this result update of February 2021 offers more information on individual search results so that consumers can select which results would be most beneficial.

A person may assess a site's trustworthiness by knowing about the source before accessing the results. User discovery of authoritative, trustworthy, and under-utilized websites would benefit significantly from this.

Rankings are not affected directly by the About this result box, which only provides a list of information about the page. However, it's still a good idea to make your website look suitable for this update:

Make sure that your website has updated SSL

Obtaining high-quality backlinks is still important.

Use keywords wisely and naturally in your content.

Product Reviews Update

Google's guidelines for product reviews changed sometime in 2021. Google now prioritizes reviews that offer more comprehensive information to readers rather than just pure descriptions. Therefore, product reviews that contain demonstrations will get better rankings. To write better quality product reviews material, Google suggests the following:

Make use of your extensive product knowledge.

Share stuff outside what the manufacturer provides.

Measure product performance.

Review the product in light of its predecessors and the competition.

Make it easier for customers to make an informed purchase.

MUM Update

The May 2021 MUM update from Google is an example of the company's efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence into its algorithms. When it comes to natural language processing, the Multitask Unified Model (MUM) is far superior to BERT (bidirectional encoder representations from transformers).

MUM aims to provide complete solutions to complex problems by integrating information from various sources.

MUM may be able to find appropriate replies in languages other than the one in which the question was made because it is being taught in 75 other languages. There is no need to start answering complicated queries in your posts. Simply maintain your original content writing efforts but focus on longtail and query keywords. Do your keyword research passionately, and you should be in the green.

Helpful Content Update

Nearly all of Google's algorithm updates shake the foundations of SEO. Being the largest search engine of them all, Google has plenty of power to cut down traffic and views.

And since many websites rely on a steady stream of traffic to earn from AdSense, affiliate marketing, or any other form of digital marketing, SEO professionals and SEO learners must make sense of these updates to ensure that their SEO methods are still aligned.

In 2022, the biggest upset in search would be the helpful content update.

Websites with a disproportionate amount of content that is neither satisfying nor helpful will be penalized by the helpful content update. This is because the content on these sites was likely written with search engines in mind rather than actual humans.

Google said that the update will have a noticeable effect on search results and will roll out in 2022.

Google's latest update, Helpful Content, is designed to crack down on content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.

Google has stated that this update was made to better assist users in locating high-quality content. Google aims to incentivize higher-quality, more helpful content created with human readers.

SEO content, also known as search engine-first content, has recently been the subject of many articles and online discussions. But, in a nutshell, users' patience is thin because search results featuring content that doesn't answer their questions but still rank high.

Google's new algorithm aims to demote these sites while elevating those that are more user-friendly and built with humans in mind. It's part of Google's ongoing effort to reduce low-quality content and make it easier to find content that feels authentic and useful in search. Google has warned that the following types of SEO content may be negatively impacted by its new algorithms, although the algorithms do not target any particular niche in particular:

Internet-based study guides

Culture and recreation

Shopping

Tech-related

Previously existing content in these fields was geared more toward search engines than readers.

The Google helpful content update may significantly impact there more than elsewhere. For example, previous articles aggregating reviews from other sites without adding perspectives beyond what is already available online may have been found during a search for information about a new movie.

If you're hoping for something fresh to read, this won't do you much good. However, because of this revision, you will be presented with more results containing original data, increasing the likelihood of learning something new.

There will be shifts in formal courseware and a wide variety of other resources with a similar educational goal. However, it does not specialize in any one field.

This new update to the site's helpful content will be applied across the board, unlike many Google algorithms. Your entire site will suffer repercussions if Google finds that yours produces a disproportionate amount of irrelevant content created primarily to boost your search engine rankings. But, again, this will affect the entirety of your site, not just specific pages or sections.

Google won't say how many helpful pages you need before this classifier kicks in, but they have said that it is site-wide and will affect the entire site regardless of how many helpful pages you have. So again, this