The Most Important Elements of Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is general practice for websites and web pages to rank higher on search engines. There are over 200 diverse factors that affect your website’s ranking in search engine results. While enhancing all these SEO components can be beneficial, certain ranking factors carry greater influence and are fundamental to improving your SEO. 

This article highlights 7 crucial elements of SEO that beginners should prioritize to achieve the most amount of improvement. In this blog, we break these 7 elements into two categories, on-page SEO and off-page SEO. 

On-Page SEO

On-page optimizations include what elements should be included on the page to help it rank better. Here are the key on-page SEO elements or factors that greatly impact your site’s search engine ranking:

1. Crawlability and Indexability

If Google cannot crawl and index your site, it won’t appear in search results. Ensuring proper crawlability and indexability is crucial. Google uses bots to crawl the web and discover pages. Crawlability refers to Google’s ability to find and access your content.

Google discovers content primarily through links. Once crawled, Google’s bots send data back to Google for analysis and indexing. Only indexed pages can appear in search results.

Enhance your site’s crawl ability and indexability by:

• Uploading a sitemap: A directory of your site’s important pages, helping Google locate your content.
• Adding internal links: Connecting pages within your site to aid Google in discovering your content.
• Checking your robots.txt file: This file instructs crawlers on which pages to crawl. Ensure it provides accurate information to crawlers.

2. Content Quality

Google emphasizes creating high-quality content that meets user needs, a crucial SEO element. Quality content ensures users find accurate, useful information, enhancing their experience. Google prioritizes such content for top search rankings.

Ensure your pages:

• Provide accurate and relevant information.
• Meet user expectations upon clicking through.

Avoid practices that may harm content quality:

•    Duplicated or automatically generated content.
•    Thin content lacking substance.
•    Unnatural keyword stuffing.
•    Doorway pages are designed solely for search engines.

3. Keyword Usage 

In the past, websites could rank by overloading pages with keywords, but now this can harm rankings. Despite search engines becoming better at understanding content contextually, using keywords strategically remains crucial for SEO.
Include your target keyword in:

• Page title tags, H1 heading, and meta description.
• Throughout your content, especially in the first 100 words.

Aim for natural-sounding keywords that enhance user experience, avoiding forced repetition. Do keyword research to figure out what the most relevant keywords are to optimize content in your blog posts or websites.

4. Search Intent 

Search intent is what users aim to achieve with their organic search queries. Understanding the intent behind keywords is crucial.
Types of search intent include:

• Informational: Seeking knowledge (e.g., “When is the next full moon?”).
• Navigational: Seeking a specific website or page (e.g., searching “YouTube”).
• Transactional: Intent to make a purchase (e.g., “Buy running shoes online”).

Determine search intent by examining top search results for your targeted keywords.

5. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) 

E-A-T is vital for ranking well, particularly for pages affecting health, finances, or happiness (YMYL pages).
Expertise means authors should have relevant expertise, formal or practical, depending on the topic. Authoritativeness establishes a strong reputation through links from reputable sources and endorsements. Trustworthiness implies building trust with accurate information, positive reviews, and robust website security measures.

Off-Page SEO

The key off-page SEO elements include:

6. Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours, crucial for SEO. Google values both the quantity and quality of these links, favoring links from authoritative sites. While you can’t control who links to you directly, you can enhance your backlink profile by:

• Creating high-quality content: Produce content that others find valuable enough to link to.
• Outreach efforts: Contact relevant websites and suggest linking opportunities, such as replacing broken links or inclusion in resource lists.
• Guest posting: Contribute articles to authoritative websites in your niche, including links back to your site.

Avoid spammy link-building tactics like buying links or excessive commenting with links. Monitor your backlinks using tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush.

7. Social Signals

Although social media shares don’t directly impact rankings, they can indirectly enhance SEO. Increased shares can lead to more backlinks and higher traffic, which Google considers positive signals.

To encourage social media sharing, consider these strategies:

• Share content through your business’s social media profiles.
• Build a following by posting regularly on social media.
• Include social sharing buttons on your website for easy sharing.
• Write about trending topics relevant to your business on social media.
• Craft attention-grabbing headlines that encourage sharing.

Improve Your SEO Performance with Abnorml

These 7 elements used to improve SEO strategy are just a few of the many ways to improve your site’s ranking. If you are interested in letting a professional handle your SEO, at Abnorml, we specialize in brand management, digital marketing, and web development. We love to help you improve your SEO and your company today! Reach out to us now!