SEO optimization of the site independently

SEO optimization of the site on your own: 10 factors that affect the position in search results

What is SEO site optimization?

10 indicators on the site that you can optimize yourself

Here are the top 10 factors that you can optimize yourself to improve your site's SEO:

• Page title and description meta-tags
  Title and description meta-tags are short pieces of a text that appear in search results. They are an important ranking factor, so it is important that they are well written and contain the keywords you want your site to be found for. The title meta-tag should contain keywords for which you want the page to be found. It should be short and concise, no more than 60–70 characters. The page description meta tag should be more detailed and contain detailed information about what is on the page. It should be no more than 160–170 characters and attract the attention of users, because its content is displayed in the search results in the form of snippets under a link to the corresponding web page.
• Headings h1 and h2-h6
  Headings h1 and h2-h6 are important elements of the internal structure of your site. They help search engines understand what your pages are about. Therefore, it is important that the titles are well written and contain the keywords that you want your site to be found for. The h1 heading should be the keyword you want the page to be found for. Headings h2-h6 should contain keywords that informational complement the keyword of the h1 heading.
• Uniqueness and usefulness of text
  Uniqueness and usefulness of text are important factors that affect the quality of your site. Search engines prefer sites with unique and useful content. Therefore, it is important that your text is well-written, interesting and responsive to user requests. Create content that will be useful to your audience. These can be videos, articles, blogs, etc. It is important that your content is unique and interesting to your audience. You can check the uniqueness of the text using online services such as Plagiarism Checker etc.
• SEO-optimization of the text (keywords)
  SEO-optimization of the text is the process of using keywords in the text of your site in such a way that it is natural and useful for users. Search engines like it when keywords occur naturally in the text and not just as a list. Use keywords that best describe your website. Keywords are terms or phrases that users type into search engines. Place keywords in titles, meta-tags, URLs, and page content. However, do not overdo it with keywords, as this can cause your website to rank poorly.
• Site Structure and Navigation
  Site structure and site navigation are important factors that affect how search engines understand your site. Search engines like it when a site has a logical structure and clear (user-friendly) navigation.
• Page Linkage (Internal Linking)
  Page Linkage (Internal Linking) is an important factor that affects how search engines understand the relationship between pages on your site. Search engines love it when pages on your site link to each other. Use internal links to help search engines understand the structure of your website. To improve internal linking SEO, you can do the following: link to important pages of your site from other pages, use keywords in links, link to highly relevant pages. In this way, internal links can also help you increase the number of page views of your website.
• External optimization (external links)
  External optimization (external links) is the process of getting links to your site from other websites. Links from authoritative sites help search engines understand that your site is valuable and deserves high positions in search results. Use external links to help search engines understand how important your website is. External links can help you increase the ranking and authority of your website.
• Internal image optimization
  Internal image optimization is the process of adding keywords to the title, alt text (attribute alt) to the tag of images img on your site. This helps search engines understand what your images are about. According to the HTML5 specification, the alt attribute is required.
• Site (webpage) loading speed
  Site (webpage) loading speed is an important ranking factor. Search engines prefer sites that load quickly. Therefore, it is important that your site is optimized for fast loading on both desktops (stationary computers) and mobile devices (tablets, smartphones).
• Use social media
  Use social media (networks) to promote your website, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, etc. Social media users will see links to your website and if they are interested in it, they will click on those links, thereby increasing its traffic and popularity.

Recommendations for additional SEO optimization

Here are some recommendations for additional SEO optimization that will help you improve the visibility of your site in search results:

• When SEO-optimizing the text, it is important to follow the following rules:
  • Spread keywords evenly throughout the text.
  • Use different forms of keywords (noun, verb, adjective).
  • Insert keywords into headings, subheadings, meta-tags, and other important page elements.
• Image loading speed
  Image loading speed is an important factor that affects SEO. Search engines prefer sites that load quickly.
  To improve image upload speed, you can do the following:
  • Optimize the size of images for the web.
  • Use low compression image formats.
  • Set image caching on the server.
• The alt attribute for images
  The alt attribute is a text description of the image that is displayed in search results. It is also used by search engines to understand the content of the image. It is important that the alt attribute is unique and contains the keywords you want the image to be found for.
• Avoid duplicate content
  Duplicate content is content that appears on different sites. Search engines don't like duplicate content, so it can negatively affect SEO. To avoid duplicate content, it is important to carefully check the content on the site for duplicates. You can use online services for this, such as Copyscape.
• Site Indexing
  In order for your site to be searchable, it needs to be indexed by search engines. Site indexing is the process by which search engines crawl a site and store information about it in their database. To index your site, you can do the following:
  • Create a sitemap (sitemap.xml) and submit it to search engines.
  • Register your site in Google Search Console.
  • Publish new content regularly.
• Use Semantics
  Semantics refers to the meaning and interpretation of words and phrases. In the context of web development, semantics refers to the use of HTML tags to provide meaningful structure and meaning to web page elements. Semantic elements clearly indicate their content.
  Semantic HTML tags are special elements that give content a certain meaning and structure. For example, <header> is used for the page header, <nav> - for the navigation menu, <article> - for independent content (article), <section> - defines a section in the document, <footer> - for the bottom part of the page.
  Using semantic tags on the site helps search engines better understand the structure and content of the pages. This can have a positive impact on SEO, as search engines can better index and rank your site in search results. In addition, the use of semantic tags makes it easier for users to understand the content and improves the overall experience of interacting with the site.
• Site Security
  The site must be protected from malware and other threats. Avoid (minimize) the use of frames and JavaScript code on web pages. When linking to external resources, use the rel attribute with the values "nofollow" and "noopener".
• Avoid "broken" links
  The site should not have "broken" (non-working) links that lead to "nowhere". This confuses both users and search engines, which negatively affects the ranking of the site.
• Minimize the use of built-in styles and scripts
  Minimize the use of built-in styles on the page - constructions of the type style="" or <style> tags. Use them only in case of extreme necessity. Optimal — transfer the styles to a separate file, using only classes on the html page - the construction class="". Search engines really don't like the use of inline styles, especially Bing (!!!). Similarly, minimize the use of embedded scripts (JavaScript). Move the JavaScript code to a separate external file!
• Do not abuse advertising
  Do not saturate the site with advertisements and various banners that take up a lot of space on the web page. Sites with too many annoying ads or pop-up banners cause a negative reaction from users and force them to leave the site, reducing its value to both users and search engines.

Conclusion

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing a site for search engines. The goal of SEO is to increase the visibility of the site in search results for certain keywords. This will help attract more visitors to the site and increase its conversion.

You can optimize your site for search engines on your own, without resorting to the services of SEO specialists. For this, you need to take into account at least all the above factors.

SEO is a long-term process, and it may take time for you to see results. Be patient and consistent in your efforts, and you will see improvements in promoting your website and moving it up in the search results.