“I want to learn about SEO, but what and how should I learn?”
Have you ever felt like this when you wanted to learn about SEO? Everyone wants to acquire knowledge quickly, so they want to learn efficiently.
In fact, it is important to hold five points to learn SEO.
Therefore, in this article, I will explain the five points that beginners should keep in mind when learning SEO.
If you want to acquire knowledge of SEO and make your site appear higher, please check out this article.
Importance of learning SEO
If you want to attract customers from your website, it is important to learn about SEO.
This is because “searching” has become a daily routine for users, and being displayed in search results is a shortcut to attracting customers.
When you actually shop or solve a question, you search on a search engine, right?
Furthermore, when accessing a site from search results, many people access it in order from the top ranking, so it is necessary to be displayed at the top of the search results in order to get users to click on the website.
And in order to improve the search ranking, SEO measures cannot be avoided.
In this way, understanding how SEO works and taking appropriate measures will lead to higher rankings and website conversions.
5 points that beginners should keep in mind when learning SEO
There are five points that beginners want to keep in mind when learning SEO: “mechanism until search ranking”, “keyword selection method”, “writing”, “internal measures”, and “external measures” .
In order to learn about SEO, you need to learn after holding down the points.
The reason is that if you don’t understand the point, you won’t be able to understand ” what exactly is being explained “.
First of all, it is necessary to understand the essential part of SEO, so I will explain it in order.
1.Mechanism of search ranking
The mechanism until the search ranking is obtained is done in 3 steps of ” crawling → indexing → scoring “, and it is necessary to know this mechanism. The reason is that knowing the mechanism makes it easier to understand “what to do” before it is displayed in the search results.
- Crawling: Collecting information on web pages by crawlers
- Indexing: Organizing and registering web page information collected by crawlers in a database
- Scoring: displaying search rankings by search algorithms
First, a robot called a search engine crawler (called Googlebot in the case of Google) collects information on web pages on the Internet.
Crawlers only know the existence of web pages when they read page information, so it is important to make it easier for crawlers to discover web pages.
Next, the information collected by the crawler is categorized and registered in the database of the search engine.
Just like crawling, if it’s not indexed it won’t show up in search results, so you have to ask Google to index it.
The last web page crawled and indexed will now appear in search results for the keywords the user searched for.
In this way, just because you created a web page does not mean that it will appear in search results immediately .
2. Keyword selection method
When selecting keywords, you need to follow the four steps below.
- Determine the main keyword based on the purpose of the website
- Use tools to check related keywords and search volume
- Select related keywords
- Create content that meets user needs
First of all, when deciding the main keyword of the website, it is important to select a suitable keyword according to the purpose of the website .
In this case, if you select keywords that are completely unrelated, you will end up with a website that ignores user convenience, so be careful.
Then use tools to check related keywords and search volume.
In this case, a mind map format tool is recommended for searching related keywords . The reason is that in the case of the mind map format, related keywords are “visualized”, so keyword selection is smoother, and the hierarchical structure is easier to understand, making it easier to create long-tail keywords.
Also, keywords with low search volume are less likely to be searched, so even if they are displayed at the top of the search results, they will not lead to access.
In addition, when researching related keywords, select them based on relevance and search volume.
Even a little relevance does not mean that it will be a keyword, but it is important to consider whether users search for that concern.
Once you have selected your keywords, you need to create content that meets the needs of your users.
As a result, in the case of web pages that do not meet the needs of users, there is a high possibility that even if they are accessed, they will leave in the middle or will not lead to conversion .
Keyword selection is important, but creating content that meets user needs in line with those keywords is also the most important factor .
Read Also: What is the difference between SEO and listing ads?
3. Writing
When writing with SEO in mind, it is necessary to write with the following three points in mind. The reason is that if you do not suppress these points, it will not be evaluated in SEO .
- write a sentence with keywords
- write a unique essay
- write a professional essay
For example, if a user searches for the keyword “easy hair arrangement” and browses the content, the user will not be able to solve their problem if there is no sentence that introduces a simple hair arrangement according to the keyword. right.
Articles that are not useful for users will not be evaluated by Google.
In addition, “contents that are just copies of other sites” without originality will not be evaluated as well. It can be said that it is important to transmit “unique information that is unique to that site” with originality.
By the way, copy content may be penalized by Google, so don’t do it.
In addition, highly specialized sites will be highly evaluated by Google, so instead of creating content with keywords in different fields, it is necessary to mass-produce content that specializes in one keyword .
In order to receive a high evaluation in SEO like this, it is important to write with the above three points in mind.
4. Internal measures
In SEO, it is necessary to correctly implement internal measures for the following three purposes.
- Tell search engines exactly what your content is about (setting titles, heading tags, etc.)
- Get search engines to crawl your site (sitemap creation, internal linking, etc.)
- Ensure usability (mobile friendly, faster page speed, etc.)
In the first place, internal measures are SEO measures performed on the company’s website.
The first purpose is to tell search engines exactly what your content is about. Because if you don’t tell search engines correctly, your content won’t be evaluated properly .
For example, we have to help search engines to understand easily, such as setting HTML tags.
Second, you need to let search engines crawl your site. Even if you create good content, it doesn’t make sense if search engines pass by without noticing it.
It is necessary to set up a “Sitemap” and “Internal links” so that the site can be traversed firmly.
And third, it is necessary to ensure usability such as “smartphone support” and “faster page display speed” so that users who visit the site can easily browse the site.
If you don’t feel stress about your actions on the site, the exit rate will decrease, and the site will naturally become easier for users to use.
Enhancing internal measures as described above is important because it makes the site easy to evaluate by both users and crawlers .
5. External measures
External measures are measures to improve the evaluation of the company’s site from the outside of the site, specifically refer to backlinks from external sites.
A backlink is a link from an external site pointing to your site .
The fact that your site has a lot of external backlinks means that your site is ” reputed by users ” and ” reliable “, and it is also evaluated by Google.
However, just collecting backlinks is not enough. Link quality has a big impact on SEO.
By the way, a good link is a backlink that is naturally posted from a well-run website or blog.
On the other hand, Google will penalize you for posting links or buying links from other sites of your company, so be careful.
3 benefits of learning SEO
By learning SEO, you can get benefits such as “the site is easier to evaluate”, “it is easier to attract customers without spending advertising costs”, and “leads to improved conversion”.
If you understand SEO and become a website that is evaluated by Google, it will be displayed at the top of the search results and the number of access will naturally increase.
As a result, the number of users visiting the website will increase, so you can expect to win conversions.
1. Your site will be evaluated more easily
If you learn SEO and reflect it on your own site, it will be easier for your site to be evaluated. Because learning and practicing SEO can improve your search rankings .
In fact, if you are evaluated by Google, the search ranking will increase. If your website is displayed at the top of the search results, it will be easier for users to see it, so there will be more opportunities for users to know about your website.
If you learn and practice SEO in this way, you will be evaluated by Google, and as a result, you will be evaluated by users .
2. Easy to attract customers without spending money on advertising
If you can learn SEO and display your company’s web page at the top of the search results, it will be easier to attract customers without spending advertising costs. This is because users will continue to flow in from search engines if they can be displayed high in search results .
In fact, there is no advertising cost to be evaluated by the search engine and displayed high in the search results. It doesn’t cost money like listing ads, so it’s safe in terms of cost performance.
If you can learn SEO and display it at the top of the search results in this way, you will be able to attract customers to your website without spending money on advertising.
However, even if you take SEO measures, results will not come out immediately, so there is no immediate effect.
Repeat trial and error until the results are obtained, and regular maintenance is required to make it permanent even after the results are obtained .
3. Leads to better conversions
If you learn SEO and can be displayed at the top of the search, conversion may increase. This is because you can expect an increase in the number of accesses by being displayed at the top of the search results .
The reality is that many users browse web pages in order from the sites that are displayed at the top of the search results. Furthermore, the more you appear in search results, the more chances you have of being seen by users, and the number of accesses may increase.
In addition, since a site that is evaluated by Google can be said to be ” a site that meets the needs of users, ” the user’s reputation will improve, leading to improved conversions.
In this way, learning SEO will increase the reputation of the website, and as a result, there is a high possibility that it will lead to an improvement in conversion.
Google’s philosophy to know when learning SEO
Regarding Google’s philosophy that you want to know when learning SEO, the following two are particularly important from ” 10 facts listed by Google “. The reason is that these two are particularly influential in the evaluation of search results.
- Focus on the user and everything else will follow
- Democracy on the web works
The first is ” focus on the user and everything else will follow .”
This is written at the very beginning of “Google’s 10 facts” and shows that Google’s philosophy is that “user first” is the most important.
If we apply this philosophy to SEO, we can see that we value content that is highly useful for users.
The second is ” democracy on the web works.”
This shows that backlinks affect search rankings.
Regarding backlinks, it says, “We interpret links between pages as ‘votes’ and analyze which sites are voted as the best information source from other pages. ‘ You can see that it plays a big role in the evaluation of the site.
In this way, it is true that “content that is highly convenient for users” and “the number of backlinks from high-quality content” greatly affect the ranking evaluation of Google search.
Based on Google’s philosophy, you can see that creating good content for users is an important SEO measure.
Two things to keep in mind when learning SEO
There are two things to keep in mind when learning SEO: “Avoid black hat SEO” and “Compatible with smartphones”.
It is important to work on SEO by distinguishing between “must do” and “must not do”.
1. Avoid Black Hat SEO
When learning SEO, avoid black hat SEO. Because black hat SEO can get you penalized by Google .
In fact, black hat SEO is an SEO countermeasure that uses spamming, so it’s all about actions that violate Google’s guidelines . However, it is also true that there are SEO consulting companies that recommend this black hat SEO despite the violation.
The difference between black hat SEO and white hat SEO is whether or not it violates Google’s guidelines . Therefore, you should read and understand Google’s guidelines carefully.
Also, another way to distinguish is ” Are you focusing on the user, not just the search engine? ”
Black hat SEO is a method of intentionally manipulating search rankings, so it focuses only on search engines and neglects users.
For example, unauthorized redirects and hidden links fall under black hat SEO, both of which are deceptive practices.
In this way, if you feel that you may be violating Google guidelines or that your site is not user-focused, do not dabble in that SEO strategy.
2. Be compatible with smartphones
In learning SEO, it is also important to be compatible with smartphones. This is because Google introduced mobile-first indexing in 2018 and plans to fully transition in March 2021. (As of January 16, 2022, there is no announcement that the full transition has been completed)
Regarding the actual full migration, Google officially announced as follows.
“Since many Google users search on smartphones, if the PC site remains the ranking evaluation criteria, it means that the page actually viewed is not evaluated, so we will adopt MFI.” Did.
In addition, there is an item in “Google’s 10 facts” that “You want to look for information not only when you are in front of a computer”, and it is written that it will respond to the world’s mobileization.
In this way, in modern times, search rankings are evaluated based on smartphones, so it is important to create web pages that are compatible with smartphones .
Summary
In learning SEO, I explained 5 points that beginners want to keep.
The 5 points you want to keep in mind are “mechanism until search ranking”, “keyword selection method”, “writing”, “internal measures”, and “external measures” .
If you hold down the points and acquire the knowledge of SEO, you will be able to display your site at the top of the search and win conversions.
However, if you only think about acquiring knowledge of SEO measures, you will not be displayed at the top of search results.
The important thing is to create your own site with “user first” as in Google’s philosophy.
If you put yourself in the user’s position and create “content that is useful for users”, it will be a shortcut to be displayed at the top of search results.