Definition of SEO or Search Engine Optimization
SEO or Search Engine Optimization defines the set of techniques implemented to improve the position of a website on the results pages of search engines (SERP).
It is also called natural referencing. The objective of an SEO expert is to improve the visibility of the websites they support by making them gain positions on search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.).
The goal is to bring together Internet users interested in products/services or informative content.
We consider a well-optimized website when its web pages rank in Google’s first positions.
What are the main criteria in SEO?
In Thailand and generally in the world, the sites most visited by Internet users are those that appear on the very first page of results (among the top 10). Of these top 10 results, the top 3 sites are the most visited.
According to studies, here is the volume of clicks that were received on the first three positions:
- 1st position: 33% of computer clicks
- 2nd position: 15.6% of clicks on computers and the same on mobile phones
- 3rd position: 10% of clicks on computers and the same on mobile phones
The first three results thus represent almost 60% of the clicks on search engines. Hence the importance of being well placed in the natural results.
Google rates websites by a degree of relevance. The better the ratings, the more visible they are, and the closer they are to the 1st page. Several criteria need to be respected to make your web page relevant to Google’s eyes.
On-page Optimization: textual content of the site pages
On-page or on-site Optimization is the set of techniques aimed at improving the quality of the content of a website/web page.
Several elements are to be perfected from your keyword strategy:
Off-page Optimization: External links (Link Building)
Conversely, the off-site part represents everything that concerns the environment of a site, and therefore the links that redirect to a page of it. It is about:
- The provenance of external links (backlinks coming from quality sites will be more relevant to Google)
- Link anchor (which keyword anchors point to your website)
- The backlink quality is also a factor, but it is much more important to focus on links quality than on their quantity.
User Experience (UX)
This is the last part that Google has taken into account, but over the years, we have seen that this is a point that needs to be seriously taken if we want to be sure of being in the top search results.
We can distinguish several essential criteria for SEO:
- Site ergonomics, appearance, and quality
- Bounce rate
- Translation rate
- User path
The following elements, if well worked out, are likely to save you a lot of space in the results and make you much more visible.
Conversely, putting aside the user experience aspect would be a severe mistake.
You risk being penalized by search engines, and this is more and more because they will continue to increase their standards in the field. Don’t neglect them!
Technical elements related to the infrastructure of the site (HTML code, domain name, crawl, etc.)
These are all elements that affect the user experience (UX).
These factors are also critical, especially to decrease the bounce rate or to improve the conversion rate of a site. Weight and loading speed of a page (very important)Appearance and quality of the site architecture and tree structure
These various points are essential to address, but they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Indeed, natural referencing requires a multitude of actions and a regularity of acts.
It is all these operations that will improve the image of your site for Google or a search engine. In all cases, natural referencing takes time.
How to optimize your SEO in 2020?
SEO is a sector in constant evolution, which requires permanent monitoring to be aware of the latest news and criteria to apply.
Here are a few points that you will need to integrate into your digital strategy or monitor in the coming months.
Mobile First
It’s been several years now since the number of mobile device searches has surpassed desktop searches.
That’s why Google and other search engines are adapting and tend to favor so-called “responsive” sites in their SEO algorithms.
Switching to HTTPS
Google has already officially announced it. The hunt for non-HTTPS sites (especially e-commerce) is on.
These are and will be banned from the first search results. It is, therefore, better to take the lead and migrate to HTTPS as soon as possible.
Local SEO
Increasingly, local geo-referenced results are appearing in the SERPs
Voice search
“Ok Google!”This sentence shows what voice search is all about today. In terms of SEO, practices are changing rapidly in this direction.
Searches are becoming more and more natural. We focus less and less on keywords and more and more on the semantic aspect and on questions in the form of whole sentences.
Video SEO
Social networks, streaming platforms, live, etc. We see it every day; the visual content is much more represented and impacting in our current information system.
This is why producing, optimizing and integrating videos in your content can only be beneficial for you.
SERP: What criteria should be used in SEO?
SERPs analyze sites with algorithms that identify several hundred different criteria.
These criteria vary from year to year, and these algorithms are more and more precise and worked.
They filter the sites according to their nature and the type of request they answer.
Thus, there are filters corresponding to a geo-localized, image, current, musical, etc. request.
In order to better respond to these thematic criteria, SEO is also available in local SEO, video SEO, image SEO, news SEO, etc.
The sites naturally present on the SERPs results are visible thanks to their notoriety, their meticulous work and their popularity.
They are not the result of payment to Google or other SERPs unlike paid search engine advertising (SEA Search Engine Advertising).
SEO is a long and tedious work, while SEA is fast but temporary. An advertising campaign composed of SEA and SEO is called SEM (Search Engine Marketing).
So we get the following equation: SEO + SEA = SEM.
Ideally, an SEO strategy should be incorporated into every site creation so that it can be directly designed according to SERP criteria.
If this is not the case, an SEO audit is necessary to take stock of what has been put in place previously before resorting to modifications/optimizations.
SEO professions must, therefore, be creative, versatile and innovative.
Good ideas” and testing prior to implementing new strategies are essential to keep websites in place or gain new ones in the long term.
In conclusion, mastering SEO tools requires both technical and marketing knowledge.
It is essential for a professional to keep up to date with web evolutions and trends in order to react in case of change or launch of a new algorithm.
Web merchants with large e-commerce sites have teams in charge of SEO which very often work with the DSIN (Director of Information Systems and Digital).
They can also subcontract their SEO to private SEO company or work with specialized experts. In any case, the qualifications and motivations of SEO professionals must remain the same.
