The first step in SEO is finding out what people are searching for on Google. The best way to do this is to use Google's keyword tool. This will analyze all the searches done on Google within a given time period and provide you with a list of the top 10 most popular keywords. You should then go through each of these and try to come up with an idea of how well your website matches each one. For example, if you own a business that sells shoes, you might choose to optimize your site for "shoes" or "sneakers".
Optimizing title tags
One of the best ways to improve your ranking is by ensuring that your website has good title tags. These are typically made up of two words and have a maximum length of 60 characters. They must contain relevant keywords related to your website topic. They also need to be concise but descriptive enough to make it clear exactly what your site is about. If possible, avoid using any abbreviations or acronyms when writing a title tag because this may confuse Google's algorithm and lower your ranking.
You can also add some meta descriptions to each page on your website. These are brief excerpts of text that describe the content on your site. They should be between 120 and 160 characters long, and ideally include the same keywords used in your title tag. It is also important to keep them brief because many users will only see the description while scrolling down the page.
Optimizing page titles
These are similar to the title tags mentioned above, but instead of being limited to two or three words, they can be longer. As well as containing your main keyword, they should also include other keywords that help users understand what your site is about.
Optimizing alt tags
Alt tags are used to describe images on your website. Because they are not visible to viewers, they are less likely to affect your rankings than title tags and meta descriptions. However, they still play a significant role in helping Google decide which images to display at the top of its search results. Alt tags should be written using plain English and include the exact keywords used in your site's title tag.
Using keywords in H1 and H2 headings
H1 and H2 headers are the main heading tags on your site, which appear above the body text. Using your primary keywords as both the H1 and H2 tags helps Google find your website more easily. This is particularly useful if you want to show search engines that you know what your site is about.
Optimizing internal linking
Internal links are the connections between pages on your website. When a user clicks on one of these, he or she will usually land on another page on your site. Internal links can be broken into five different categories: navigation, category, product, page, and blog posts.
Navigation links are the easiest to set up because they are not specific to any particular page on your website. By linking to other sections of your site, you can give visitors a sense of direction and help them navigate around your site.
Category links are helpful if your site contains a large number of topics and sub-topics. Visitors may click on various categories to browse your site in greater detail.
Product links are useful if you sell something through your website. Many customers will click on these to learn more about your products before buying them, so you can increase sales.
Page links are the most complex since you need to ensure that no duplicate content appears on your site. There is no point having a link from page A to page B if page B already exists. To prevent this, you should always check for duplicates and remove them if necessary.
Blog post links are the same as page links except that they're associated with a separate blog post. Blog posts are a great way to promote new content and get traffic to your site.
Creating a sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists every single page on your website. It does this by showing links to those pages that haven't been optimized yet. The purpose of a sitemap is to allow search engines like Google to crawl your site quickly and effectively. Having a sitemap on your site will mean that Google knows where to look for new content and will index your site quicker.
Google will also be able to find your site faster because it will be able to follow the links contained in your sitemap. The more often your sitemap changes, the better. Search engines like Google update their algorithms regularly, so it is important to stay on top of things.
It is recommended that you upload your sitemap to Google Webmasters Tools. This is a free service that allows you to easily monitor the performance of your site.