What is SEO?

At first glance, SEO seems quite complicated. Given that it is a relatively new discipline, many people are not even aware of its existence. However, it now plays an important role in the lives of all professionals looking to make themselves known. But what exactly is SEO?

SEO, definition

First of all, SEO is the acronym for Search Engine OptimizationAs its name suggests, its main mission is to optimize websites for search engines, in other words: improving the visibility of a site on the internet. In French, the term used is SEOnatural referencing. 

However, SEO does not only concern the website in question. It encompasses a broader domain, including the external environment of the website. That is why in SEO, we distinguish between two different methods:  

• "off-site"

• "on-site"

Before awarding you one of the top positions among search results, they first check if you deserve it or not. For this, they thoroughly analyze your site. If you have followed all the SEO rules By following SEO best practices both on-site and off-site, you are putting all the odds in your favor for one of your content pieces, one of your pages, or even the entire site to appear in the top results. However, continuous work is required to maintain this position: audits, monitoring, planning..

In conclusion, here is a first summary of what SEO is:It is the set of techniques carried out within your website with the aim of positioning it well (in other words: indexing) in search results.

The operation of SEO

In SEO, avoid doing things your own way. You risk over-optimizing your site, which will cause a lot of damage. Instead, stick to the rules imposed by search engines. Each of these rules revolves around these 3 main axes: the technical side, the content part, and the notoriety.

Method

The sidemethodIt generally includes aspects such as system administration, web development... It is of paramount importance because it is considered to be the very foundation of SEO

Content

We call itcontentles textes, images, ou encore vidéos présents sur votre site. Une chose est sûre : avec un contentde bonne qualité, les résultats obtenus se feront sentir sur le long terme ! Gardez en tête que tous les contenus qui apportent une réelle valeur ajoutée sont qualifiés de “contentde qualité”.

Reputation

ThepopularityThe success of your website does not only depend on you, but also on other web actors. Once the site is ready, one of your most important missions will be to share your content, with the goal of retaining internet users.

These 3 main axes depend on each other: web actors will have no interest in recommending your site if it is not well designed, or if the content has no added value! It is a virtuous circle, for which you will need to roll up your sleeves and demonstrate rigor.

In conclusion, SEO can be defined as the set ofmethods carried out in relation to the site in question so that it stands out from the crowd

The basics of SEO

The success of SEO techniques relies on several criteria (which we will see the details of in the following paragraph). In this one, we will first address the basics...

Therelevance Quality is key! Indeed, internet users will not want a long, aimless content that leads nowhere. They expect something relevant instead. In other words, the text should answer a specific question, no matter how simple or complex it may be. For example: what is SEO? how to increase visibility for a website? etc

Next comes thequalityThinking about the website users, whether during its design or content creation, is an effective technique! Ask yourself what they expect from your site, understand their needs..

The relevance of content is the key to success in SEO. It is only by basing yourself on this criterion that you will be able to produce quality content that meets the expectations of users.

The other SEO criteria to absolutely consider

If you want your SEO strategy to be effective, you will need to pay special attention to the following 8 points:  

• The contents

So that your content can be qualified asgoodsFrom an SEO perspective, good writing will not be enough. Indeed, you will need to include keywordsKeywords carefully chosen (and for that, SEMrush can help you!), andplaced intelligently It should be natural and not disrupt the reading, for example, you can place a keyword every 100 words.

Finally, the layout The title of the article plays a major role. It must be carefully crafted to make your article enjoyable to readstructured Is it not better than monotonous blocks of text?

If you want to know how to write an effective article,Follow our guide!

• The structure

As an expert SEO, I work closely with the structure of web content. Search engine robots navigate the internet, visiting various sites. When they arrive on your site, these robots analyze its structure to try to recognize its theme, and then index it.

That is why you must take care of the structure of your site by thinking carefully about:

• Create a link between the pages

• Write the URL of each page correctly

• Insert titles and subtitles

• Write a relevant meta title

All this while taking into account the keywords you have defined!

Theimages Being also considered as "content", images require special attention: each one of them must indeed contain an ALT Text as a short description.

• The links

There are two types of links:

• Internal links creating a link between each of your pages (called internal linking)

• The external links, which are links coming from other sites.

On the other hand, there is also:

• Natural links They require time, as they come from other people who are interested in your content and then recommend it in a natural way

• Unnatural links they are created with the sole purpose of manipulating search engines, a method that is not really recommended..

We are most interested in natural external links. The more links pointing to your site, the more popular and visible it will become: a successful SEO!

• A responsive design

It is said that a site is responsive ifits display is optimized for all devices that it is accessible on both mobile devices and computers.

Do you know that such a website enhances visibility? Indeed, most searches are now done from a mobile device... Hence the importance of adapting your site design to these devices!

Try to put yourself in the shoes of internet users. Let's say you enter the following query on Google, and you do it via your smartphone: what is SEO? You will then click on the site that interests you, but you will only stay there if it is adapted to the screen of the device.

And if you need help with the creation or optimization of your website, I am here to help you!

• The Meta description

The meta description is a short text that appears under the URL, used as a description. At first glance, it seems to have no connection with SEO... And yet, it is largely thanks to it that you will get natural clicks! It generally containsAs an expert SEO, I can optimize your website content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines, and must be consistent with the content in question. You should optimize the meta description to the maximum: the main keyword of your page must absolutely be there, and be written in a natural way.

• The titles

An attractive title is good, but be careful, it should respect a certain number of characters to be as effective as possible: ideally, 55 charactersWithout this, your title may not be fully displayed in search results... Also, make sure that your title is the most clear and explicit possible!

• The Permalinks

In other words, it is aboutthe URL. Une modification de the URL est possible, voire même conseillée ! Put three or four keywords in it, and place the most important ones at the beginning. As a result, search engine robots will have no difficulty identifying your page and then indexing it.

• Social networks

Let's now focus on the social dimension... Yes,Social media marketing is extremely effective In addition, a correlation has been observed between social signals and SEO. This is why you must absolutely be present on social networks: it is up to you to choose the most relevant ones in accordance with your activity. However, be careful to use them wisely and intelligently. And above all, don't forget to be active on them to meet the needs of your target audience!

For some examples of how to manage your social media, visithere..

The risks involved in SEO

SEO does not really present any risks: it is the way people use it that can be dangerous.

In 2000, SEO was very different from what it is today. Back then, nothing was complicated. It was simply a matter of:

• Choose the right domain name

• Fill the content with keyword, in any way possible

• Do not forget about links (yes, even any links!)

The checks and other penalties were not at all relevant at that time..

And now? Everything is evolving, and digital even faster: including SEO, of courseBad practices are now penalized What makes the process much more complicated. Know that these penalties are not just written in black and white;Search engines ensure that all websites comply with the standards they have imposedThey therefore use variousalgorithms, including the now famous Google Penguin and Panda.

At the slightest penalty, sanctions quickly rain down, but not only that... Website optimization procedures are currently much more complicated. But don't panic, I'm not here to discourage you! On the contrary: if many companies have been able to work on their SEO and benefit from it, know that you are also capable of doing so.

But then what do you need exactly? You will need to be able to answer the question "what is SEO", and master its codes. Do not be afraid of the task ahead, and arm yourself with courage, patience, and determination!

The mistakes to avoid in SEO

As SEO is still a practice that the general public may not necessarily understand, some people have false ideas about it and think that anything goes... However, there are practices that must be absolutely banned, otherwise you could face sanctions. So be careful to avoid them! Let's look at some of them:  

• The excesses

It is true that keywords are the backbone of a good (SEO-optimized) article, butThis is not a reason to abuse itIndeed, an abuse of keywords can, as we have seen above, disrupt readability and make it all indigestible.

• Cloning, or duplicate content 

It's not just excesses that bother Google: cloning does too. More commonly known by its English term "duplicate content", it simply refers to content that appears on the internet more than once, in more than one place (meaning, on more than one site). So avoid at all costs copying and pasting from a source that is not your own!

Indeed, when faced with two identical elements, the search engine will only choose one, the one that appears to be the most reliable and well-documentedThe one who is not selected will be penalized: be careful!

• Link building

We have discussed the different types of links a little earlier in this article, and you have discovered that natural links are indeed the most advantageous... But what about paid links?

Let the facts answer this question: several directories aimed at providing links have disappearedGoogle doesn't like them too much.

But what does it want exactly? Google tends to value links from credible, reliable sites. Obtaining links on these sites will allow you to increase your organic traffic and boost your credibility..

Discover other techniques to increase your trafficClick here!

• The hidden texts and links

It is a technique as old as the world: cheating.

You thought you could outsmart the search engine algorithm by hiding your content from the naked eye? Think again. Even by placing text written in lowercase, Google will still find you, and you know it now: the punishment is never far away! There is no point in trying to hide your links or text by writing them in white on a white background for example..

"All means are good when they are effective," they used to say. This expression is not true in SEO, becauseGoogle will always figure out your tricksto handle it!

Why use SEO?

After reviewing all the previous points, are you still not convinced? Here is a summary of the reasons why you should have itabsolutely use SEO.

• You ensure your visibility

As its name indicates in French, SEO (thereforeorganic SEOThis has a significant impact on organic traffic (traffic generated by natural results). You also have the ability to measure the traffic of your website using SEO tools, including SEMrushFor an overview of what you can do with this tool, feel free tovisit this page.

However, be careful: in general, these are notthe top 3 results What interests internet users. Therefore, being anywhere other than on this podium has no interest, hence the need to master SEO in order to ensure you a good place!

• You create your brand / You strengthen your brand image

By taking SEO into account, you ensure your popularity! Indeed, If you have good visibility, you will have more chances of obtaining backlinks to your site the famous backlinks. And high-quality links, to top it off! As one thing leads to another, all of this issource of fame, quality, and therefore, popularity.

By the same token, the indirect traffic Will be present: this is the traffic generated by channels other than search engines (social networks, links...).

So far, have you been able to see the importance of knowing the answer to: what is SEO? -> interest query, but rephrase differently

In short, By using SEO, you are acting in your favor. 

Close to 80,000 searches are conducted on Google per secondAs an SEO expert, it is absolutely necessary to stand out from the billions of sites on the web; knowing that approximately67% of clicks are focused on the top 5 search results on Google.

What is the current state of SEO?

As I mentioned earlier, SEO is constantly evolving! The only way to survive in this jungle is to stay up to date with the latest trends.

For example, for this current year:

• A migration to HTTPS

Google is banning non-HTTPS e-commerce sites from their first page. Make sure to check yours!

• Geolocated searches

If you have an observant mind, you may have noticed that the results of your Google searches take into account your geographic location. So, you know what you have to do: optimize your site locally (in addition to internationally of course). By doing this, you increase your chances of appearing on the first pages of the SERP!

• Voice searches

Certainly, keywords are important, but with voice search, other parameters come into play... Have you noticed that when performing a voice search, we tend to do it in the form of a question? Hence the need to focus on content that answers a specific question, even if it takes the form of a full sentence. So keep this in mind when choosing your keywords!

• The videos are very popular

Visual content is increasingly in demand. Images had their golden age, but they are no longer sufficient on their own: videos are the new stars of content, and you would be better off giving them a prominent place!

• In 2019, SEO becomes SXO: Search eXperience Optimization

The term SEO is starting to become outdated, hence this new designation. As the name suggests, in addition to the SEO criteria that we have seen throughout this article, we will especially take into account the user experience (UX).

• Focus on user experience

UX includes many things, such as the platform interface (design and structure), site ergonomics (loading speed and weight) ... which only make up the visible part of the iceberg. However, their power is not insignificant: the bounce and conversion rates of the site depend on them!

UX requires continuous work: be patient. SEO is a long process, the results obtained will also last in the long term. But if you want to boost the process a little, I reveal some secrets to you in this article !

There you have it, you now have all the keys in hand to embark on the SEO adventure, or at least to understand the benefits for your businessIf you need some assistance, do not hesitate to ask for helpI am a team that can help you with your projects!