• NoIndex: Don’t add my page to the search results.
• NoFollow: Don’t look at the links on this page.
• Disallow: Don’t look at this page at all.

These directives allow you to control which of your site pages can be crawled by search engines and appear in search.

What does No Index mean?

The noindex directive tells search crawlers, like googlebot, not to include a webpage in its search results.

How Do You Mark A Page NoIndex?

There are two ways to issue a noindex directive:

1. Add a noindex meta tag to the page’s HTML code
2. Return a noindex header in the HTTP request

By using the “no index” meta tag for a page, or as an HTTP response header, you are essentially hiding the page from search.

The noindex directive can also be used to block only specific search engines. For example, you could block Google from indexing a page but still allow Bing:

Example: Blocking Most Search Engines*

<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

Example: Blocking Only Google

<meta name=”googlebot” content=”noindex”>

Please note: As of September 2019, Google no longer respects noindex directives in the robots.txt file. Noindex now MUST be issued via HTML meta tag or HTTP response header. For more advanced users, disallow still works for now, although not for all use cases.

What is the difference between noindex and nofollow?

It’s a difference between storing content, and discovering content:

noindex is applied at the page-level and tells a search engine crawler not to index and serve a page in the search results.

nofollow is applied at the page or link level and tells a search engine crawler not to follow (discover) the links.

Essentially the noindex tag removes a page from the search index, and a nofollow attribute removes a link from the search engine’s link graph.

NoFollow As a Page Attribute

Using nofollow at a page level means that crawlers will not follow any of the links on that page to discover additional content, and the crawlers will not use the links as ranking signals for the target sites.

<meta name=”robots” content=”nofollow”>

NoFollow as a Link Attribute

Using nofollow at a link level prevents crawlers from exploring ad specific link, and prevents that link from being used as a ranking signal.

The nofollow directive is applied at a link level using a rel attribute within the a href tag:

<a href=”https://domain.com” rel=”nofollow”>

For Google specifically, using the nofollow link attribute will prevent your site from passing PageRank to the destination URLs.

Why Should You Mark a Page as NoFollow?

For the majority of use cases, you should not mark an entire page as nofollow – marking individual links as nofollow will suffice.

You would mark an entire page as nofollow if you did not want Google to view the links on the page, or if you thought the links on the page could hurt your site.

In most cases blanket page-level nofollow directives are used when you do not have control over the content being posted to a page (ex: user generated content can be posted to the page).

Some high-end publishers have also been blanket applying the nofollow directive to their pages to dissuade their writers from placing sponsored links within their content.

How Do I Use NoIndex Pages?

Mark pages as noindex that are unlikely to provide value to users and should not show up as search results. For example, pages that exist for pagination are unlikely to have the same content displayed on them over time.

Domain.com/category/resultspage=2 is unlikely to show a user better results than domain.com/category/resultspage=1 and the two pages would only compete with each other in search. It’s best to noindex pages whose only purpose is pagination.

Here are types of pages you should consider noindexing:

• Pages used for pagination
• Internal search pages
• Ad-Optimized Landing pages
  • Ex: Only displays a pitch and sign up form, no main nav
  • Ex: Duplicate variations of the same content, only used for ads
• Archived author pages
• Pages in checkout flows
• Confirmation Pages
  • Ex: Thank you pages
  • Ex: Order complete pages
  • Ex: Success! Pages
• Some plugin-generated pages that are not relevant to your site (ex: if you use a commerce plugin but don’t use their regular product pages)
• Admin pages and admin login pages

Marking a Page Noindex and Nofollow

A page marked both noindex and nofollow will block a crawler from indexing that page, and block a crawler from exploring the links on the page.

Essentially, the image below demonstrates what a search engine will see on a webpage depending on how you’ve used noindex and nofollow directives:

Marking an Already Indexed Page as NoIndex

If a search engine has already indexed a page, and you mark it as noindex, then next time the page is crawled it will be removed from the search results.

For this method of removing a page from the index to work, you must not be blocking (disallowing) the crawler with your robots.txt file.

If you are telling a crawler not to read the page, it will never see the noindex marker, and the page will stay indexed although its content will not be refreshed.

How do I stop search engines from indexing my site?

If you want to remove a page from the search index, after it has already been indexed, you can complete the following steps:

1. Apply the noindex directiveAdd the noindex attribute to the meta tag or HTTP response header
2. Request the search engine crawl the pageFor Google you can do this in search console, request that Google re-index the page. This will trigger Googlebot crawling the page, where Googlebot will discover the noindex directive.You will need to do this for each search engine that you want to remove the page.
3. Confirm the page has been removed from searchOnce you’ve requested the crawler revisit your webpage, give it some time, and then confirm that your page has been removed from the search results. You can do this by going to any search engine and entering site colon target url, like in the image below.
   If your search returns no results, then your page has been removed from that search index.
4. If the page has not been removedCheck that you do not have a “disallow” directive in your robots.txt file. Google and other search engines cannot read the noindex directive if they are not allowed to crawl the page.If you do, remove the disallow directive for the target page, and then request crawling again.
5. Set a disallow directive for the target page in your robots.txt fileDisallow: /page$
   You’ll need to put the dollar sign on the end of the URL in your robots.txt file or you may accidentally disallow any pages under that page, as well as any pages that begin with the same string.Ex: Disallow: /sweater will also disallow /sweater-weather and /sweater/green, but Disallow: /sweater$ will only disallow the exact page /sweater.

How to Remove a Page from Google Search

If the page you want removed from search is on a site that you own or manage, most sites can use the Webmaster URL Removal Tool.

The Webmaster URL removal tool only removes content from search for about 90 days, if you want a more permanent solution you’ll need to use a noindex directive, disallow crawling from your robots.txt, or remove the page from your site. Google provides additional instructions for permanent URL removal here.

If you’re trying to have a page removed from search for a site that you do not own, you can request Google removes the page from search if it meets the following criteria:

• Displays personal information like your credit card or social security number
• The page is part of a malware or phishing scheme
• The page violates the law
• The page violates a copyright

If the page does not meet one of the criteria above, you can contact an SEO firm or PR company for help with online reputation management.

Should you noindex category pages?

It is usually not recommended to noindex category pages, unless you are an enterprise-level organization spinning up category pages programmatically based on user-generated searches or tags and the duplicate content is getting unwieldy.

For the most part if you are tagging your content intelligently, in a way that helps users better navigate your site and find what they need, then you’ll be okay.

In fact, category pages can be goldmines for SEO as they typically show a depth of content under the category topics.

Take a look at this analysis we did in December, 2018 to quantify the value of category pages for a handful of online publications.

We found that category landing pages ranked for hundreds of page 1 keywords, and brought in thousands of organic visitors each month.

The most valuable category pages for each site often brought in thousands of organic visitors each.

Take a look at EW.com below, we measured the traffic to each page (represented by the size of the circle) and the value of the traffic to each page (represented by the color of the circle).

Now imagine the same charts, but for product-based sites where visitors are likely to make active purchases.

That being said, if your categories similar enough to cause user confusion or compete with each other in search then you may need to make a change:

• If you are setting the categories yourself, then we would recommend migrating content from one category to the other and reducing the total number of categories you have overall.
• If you are allowing users to spin up categories, then you may want to noindex the user generated category pages, at least until the new categories have undergone a review process.

How do I stop Google from indexing subdomains?

There are a few options to stop Google from indexing subdomains:

• You can add a password using an .htpasswd file
• You can disallow crawlers with a robots.txt file
• You can add a noindex directive to every page in the subdomain
• You can 404 all of the subdomain pages

Adding a Password to Block Indexing

If your subdomains are for development purposes, then adding an .htpasswd file to the root directory of your subdomain is the perfect option. The login wall will prevent crawlers for indexing content on the subdomain, and it will prevent unauthorized user access.

Example use cases:

• Dev.domain.com
• Staging.domain.com
• Testing.domain.com
• QA.domain.com
• UAT.domain.com

Using robots.txt to Block Indexing

If your subdomains serve other purposes, then you can add a robots.txt file to the root directory of your subdomain. It should then be accessible as follows:

https://subdomain.domain.com/robots.txt

You will need to add a robots.txt file to each subdomain that you are trying to block from search. Example:

https://help.domain.com/robots.txt

https://public.domain.com/robots.txt

In each case the robots.txt file should disallow crawlers, to block most crawlers with a single command, use the following code:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /

The star * after user-agent: is called a wildcard, it will match any sequence of characters. Using a wildcard will send the following disallow directive to all user agents regardless of their name, from googlebot to yandex.

The backslash tells the crawler that all pages off of the subdomain are included in the disallow directive.

How to Selectively Block Indexing of Subdomain Pages

If you would like some pages from a subdomain to show up in search, but not others, you have two options:

• Use page-level noindex directives
• Use folder or directory-level disallow directives

Page level noindex directives will be more cumbersome to implement, as the directive needs to be added to the HTML or Header of every page. However, noindex directives will stop Google from indexing a subdomain whether the subdomain has already been indexed or not.

Directory-level disallow directives are easier to implement, but will only work if the subdomain pages are not in the search index already. Simply update the subdomain’s robots.txt file to disallow crawling of the applicable directories or subfolders.

How Do I Know if My Pages are NoIndexed?

Accidentally adding a no index directive pages on your site can have drastic consequences for your search rankings and search visibility.

If you find a page isn’t seeing any organic traffic despite good content and backlinks, first spot check that you haven’t accidentally disallowed crawlers from your robots.txt file. If that doesn’t solve your issue, you’ll need to check the individual pages for noindex directives.

Checking for NoIndex on WordPress Pages

WordPress makes it easy to add or remove this tag on your pages. The first step in checking for nofollow on your pages is by simply toggling the Search Engine Visibility setting within the “Reading” tab of the “Settings” menu.

This will likely solve the problem, however this setting works as a ‘suggestion’ rather than a rule, and some of your content may end up being indexed anyway.

In order to ensure absolute privacy for your files and content, you will have to take one final step either password protecting your site using either cPanel management tools, if available, or through a simple plugin.

Likewise, removing this tag from your content can be done by removing the password protection and unchecking the visibility setting.

Checking for NoIndex on Squarespace

Squarespace pages are also easily NoIndexed using the platform’s Code Injection capability. Like WordPress, Squarespace can easily be blocked from routine searches using password protection, however the platform also advises against taking this step to protect the integrity of your content.

By adding the NoIndex line of code within each page you want to hide from internet search engines and to each subpage below it, you can ensure the safety of secured content that should be barred from public access. Like other platforms, removing this tag is also fairly straightforward: simply using the Code Injection feature to take the code back out is all you will need to do.

Squarespace is unique in that its competitors offer this option primarily as a part of the suite of settings in page management tools. Squarespace departs here, allowing for personal manipulation of the code. This is interesting because you are able to see the change you are making to your page’s content, unlike the others in this space.

Checking for NoIndex on Wix

Wix also allows for a simple and fast fix for NoIndexing issues. In the “Menus & Pages” settings, you can simply deactivate the option to ‘show this page in search results’ if you want to NoIndex a single page within your site.

As with its competitors, Wix also suggests password protecting your pages or entire site for extra privacy. However, Wix departs from the others in that the support team does not prescribe parallel action on both fronts in order to secure content from the crawler. Wix makes a particular note about the difference between hiding a page from your menu and hiding it from search criteria.

This is particularly useful advice for less experienced website builders who may not initially understand the difference considering that removal from your site menu makes the page unreachable from the site, but not from a prudent Google search term.

The post Noindex Nofollow and Disallow: Search Crawler Directives appeared first on LinkGraph.

Over the past year, Google has pushed out an astounding number of updates. From the Link Spam Update to the Page Experience Update, Google’s on a mission to weed out black hat SEO tactics and improve the SERPs by emphasizing quality content, optimal page speeds, and mobile SEO. What does this mean in terms of your SEO strategy in 2023? Stick to best practices and ensure your SEO foundation remains strong.

If you’re planning to prioritize increasing your site’s search visibility, we’ve put together a plan that will get you through 2023 and have your site sailing through the SERPs for time to come:

2023: Quarter 1

Begin the year with a focus on gaining a clear understanding of where your metrics are at now and where you want to go.

1. Know Your Numbers & Set Goals

When it comes to planning out your SEO strategy for the year, spending time with your metrics is vital. What metrics should you be mindful of going into 2023? 

A great place to start studying your SEO metrics is with your

• Overall organic traffic: the number of people that land on your website via a search engine
• Organic click-through-rate (CTR): the number of times searchers click on links to your page in the SERPs divided by your impressions.
• Keyword rankings: Where your pages appear in the SERPs for keywords you rank for 

Once you feel comfortable with where these numbers are, you will want to examine your domain rating (DR) and page speed analytics.

What SEO Goals Should You Set for 2023?

Not all websites have the same SEO needs. We recommend you aim for a robust and well-rounded balance between all pillars of good SEO for the best results. 

However, if you’re looking for specific numbers to achieve in 2023, consider:

• Increasing your organic traffic by a set percentage: examine last year’s MoM growth and increase the percentage by 5%-10% MoM this year.
• Setting a goal for your Total Keywords or Keyword Positions.
• Increasing your DR and earning high marks in PageSpeed Insights. This is always a great way to boost your rankings, too.

2. Keep Your Competitors’ Metrics in Mind

Ultimately, you want to have a higher DR than your competitors. But knowing where to aim is part of the battle. Use the Bulk DA Checker to compare your domain authority or DR to your competitors’. 

While you’re looking into your competitors’ sites, take note of what keywords they rank for and if they have any keyword gaps.

3. Create a SERP-Winning Blog Content Calendar

Google continues to strive to uphold its core values in order to provide the best results for its users. In regards to your content, this means providing thorough, long-form blogs that demonstrate quality information and increase your site’s topical breadth and relevance.

To establish your content calendar for 2023:

1. Set up pillar topics that relate to your site.
2. Then use the Keyword Researcher to find long-tail keywords that you can potentially rank for. Keep in mind that quality matters when deciding how many blogs to produce each month. Don’t bite off more than you handle.
3. Use the SEO Content Assistant tool to ensure you maximize your blog’s ranking potential with the right keywords, length, and other quality indicators.

4. Audit Your Site Speed

As we saw in 2022, Google will continue to reward sites with fast loading times, stable pages, and responsive design. We anticipate these signals will continue to play a major role in how Google ranks its results. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these also benefit your users, reduce your bounce rate, and can increase your conversion rates.

So, perform a site speed audit and use that information to make a plan to tackle any issues that arise. First, identify your slowest pages. Then focus your efforts on optimizing images and elements above the fold. Finally, work your way through any other content shift issues and loading delays.

2023: Quarter 2

Build on your SEO fundamentals and diversify your approach as the year progresses.

5. Stay Active on Social Media

Voice Search continues to trend upward. What does that have to do with your social media profiles? While Google has never formally released how heavily social media weighs into their PageRank (if at all), Bing factors social signals into their rankings. And the majority of voice searches are performed on Alexa smart speakers… And Alexa uses Bing’s search results. This means that optimizing slightly more for Bing can give your site a bump in traffic.

6. Update or Create a Google Business Profile

Mobile searches continue to outnumber desktop searches, averaging 60% of all searches throughout 2022. And when it comes to finding local businesses, mobile search far surpasses desktop.

If you haven’t created your Google Business Profile, now is the time. Without a business profile, you’re missing out on local search traffic and the opportunity for better reputation management.

For those that already have a Google Business Profile, check your photos, reviews, and questions. Take the time to answer questions potential customers may ask, reply to positive and negative reviews, and update photos of your business.

7. Spring Clean Your Links

Broken internal and external links can disrupt a Google crawl resulting in a negative effect on your SEO.

Perform a Site Audit using the Page Explorer tool. 

1. Using the Inaccessible and Orphaned report to identify broken links and pages that are not loading. 
2. Fix the pages with the highest Search Impressions and Organic Traffic first. 
3. Replace or redirect internal links and replace outbound links with relevant newer links.

8. Increase Backlink Outreach

Backlinks have a direct effect on your site’s domain rating. Poor quality inbound links can have a negative impact on your DR while high-quality links can strengthen your DR. Gaining backlinks can be a time-consuming process, but it pays off.

Begin a link outreach program or use a service to streamline the link building process, targeting websites with high DR scores. Offering quality guest posts can increase the quality of your backlink profile.

2023: Quarter 3

Don’t lose your momentum and keep your eye on the prize of increasing organic traffic.

9. Revise Tired Content

Once your content strategy is running smoothly, you can begin to update your existing content. This signals to Google that your content is still relevant and gives you the opportunity to add depth to your blogs. Use the Top Pages tool in GSC Insights to identify pages that aren’t reaching their SEO Potential.

As you update blogs and landing pages, remember to update meta tags, especially for pages with high impressions and low CTRs.

Adding rich media is another great way to liven up your pages. And don’t forget to make your pages accessible.

10. Check Your SEO Progress

Throughout your SEO journey, it’s important to reflect on what’s working and where you should pivot. The SearchAtlas’s GSC Insights tool makes it easy to compare the most telling metrics like Keyword Rankings. Use these analytics to begin forming an ongoing plan for 2023.

Don’t forget to celebrate your successes.

11. Respond to Google Algorithm Updates

There is no doubt that Google will release several updates in 2023. By focusing on best practices, you’re in a great place to respond to any new updates Google rolls out. However, you will want to tailor your approach to the specifics of the changes. 

If you’re a SearchAtlas user, you will stay in the know throughout the year with our “What’s New in Search” emails. Additionally, our suite of SEO software reflects the latest changes to Google’s PageRank.

2023: Quarter 4

Finish off the year strong. Cut ties from toxic backlinks and prune any pages that don’t reflect the strength of your new content.

12. Remove Toxic Backlinks

Toxic backlinks can wreak havoc on how Google views your site. Eliminating low-quality backlinks is like cutting an anchor when your pages are sinking the SERPs. Gather your backlink information with the Backlink Analyzer. Then, submit disavow files using Google’s disavow tool.

13. Prune Under-Performing Pages

In the spirit of preparing for the new year, prune your pages that don’t perform to your standards or pages that present keyword cannibalization issues. The SearchAtlas Page Pruning tool allows you to easily identify low-performing pages that can bog down the quality of your content and overall site.

14. Set SEO Goals for 2024

As 2023 comes to an end, begin projecting new goals into the upcoming year. Stay current with changes to algorithms and audit how your target audience’s search and what your site’s strengths are.

And enter the new year with confidence by building on your successes in 2024.

Innovative SEO Software, Unbeatable SEO Experts

Planning for record-beating organic traffic in 2023? With SearchAtlas and the LinkGraph team, you can ring in the new year with SEO insight that will make this year the best yet when it comes to your site’s performance. Contact us today to learn more about our SEO services or SEO software.

The post Celebrate the New Year with a New SEO Strategy for 2023 appeared first on LinkGraph.

What does it mean to build your brand?

When you’re starting a business, one of the most important things you can do is build your brand. But what does that mean, exactly? And how do you go about doing it?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but in general, building your brand means creating a consistent, recognizable presence for your business in the marketplace. It means developing a strategy for how you want your company to be perceived by customers, clients, and the public at large, and then putting that strategy into action.

Building a brand online can be a challenging but rewarding process. By following these simple steps, you can create a successful brand that will resonate with your target audience.

What Should be Included in my Brand Strategy?

Your brand strategy should include the following components:

• Brand name
• Brand logo
• Your brand positioning
• Your brand values
• Brand story
• Your brand personality
• Target market
• Competitive landscape
• Marketing strategy
• Branding guidelines

How to Build your Brand Online

Whether you’re starting from scratch or you already have key components of your brand identity and messaging established, here’s how to move from zero to hero in your online presence.

1. Define your brand

When it comes to marketing, branding is key. Defining your brand and creating a cohesive message is essential in order to connect with your target audience. But what does it mean to have a brand?

A brand is more than just a logo or a slogan. It’s the overall perception of your company, product, or service. It’s the feeling people get when they think of you. And it’s what sets you apart from your competitors.

So how do you create a brand that your target audience will connect with? The first step is to define your brand. What are you selling? What is your mission? What are your values? Defining your brand is essential in order to create a cohesive message that your target audience will understand and connect with.

Once you’ve defined your brand, you need to create a brand identity. This includes your logo, tagline, and other visuals that represent your brand. Be sure to use consistent visuals and messaging across all of your marketing materials.

Creating a brand that resonates with your target audience takes time and effort, but it’s worth it in the long run. By defining your brand and creating a consistent message, you can connect with your audience and build a successful business.

2. Create a website

The next step is to create a website. This is your online home base and where you will showcase your brand and products. Make sure your website is visually appealing and easy to navigate.

Creating a website is one of the most important steps in starting your own business. This is your online home base and where you will showcase your brand and products. Make sure your website is visually appealing and easy to navigate.

There are a number of website builders out there that make it easy to create a professional-looking website without any coding experience. Some popular options include WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.

When designing your website, be sure to include clear and concise information about your business, including what you sell, your mission statement, and your contact information. You should also include high-quality images of your products and a blog to keep your website fresh and updated.

Building a website can be a lot of work, but it’s essential for any business. By taking the time to create a well-designed website, you’ll be able to reach a larger audience and sell more products.

3. Establish a social media presence

In order to reach a wider audience, you need to establish a social media presence. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer great opportunities to connect with potential customers and build relationships with them.

But what happens when you’re not sure where to start? Or when you feel like you’re not getting the results you want? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of social media for your business.

Choose the right platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal – some are better suited for certain businesses than others. For example, if you’re a small business, Facebook is a great platform to use because it has the largest user base. If you’re a B2B business, LinkedIn is a better option. Do some research and find the platforms that are most relevant to your business.

Engage with your followers

One of the best things about social media is that it gives you the opportunity to connect with your followers on a personal level. Respond to comments and questions, and let your followers know that you’re listening. This will help build trust and loyalty with your followers.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to connect with other people who are interested in the same topics as you. Use relevant hashtags in your posts to reach a wider audience.

Schedule your posts

One of the best ways to ensure that your social media posts are seen by as many people as possible is to schedule them ahead of time. There are a number of tools available to help you do this, such as Hootsuite and Buffer.

4. Produce high-quality content

One of the most effective ways to build a brand online is to produce high-quality content. This could be in the form of blog posts, videos, infographics, etc. Content that is relevant and engaging will help you attract and retain customers.

The more engaging and interesting your content is, the more likely people are to share it online. This can help you reach a larger audience and attract new customers. Additionally, regularly publishing fresh content will help keep your website visitors coming back for more.

So, what makes good content? There are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure your content is relevant to your target audience.
2. Write in a clear and concise manner.
3. Use interesting and engaging visuals.
4. Keep your content up-to-date and relevant.
5. Make sure your content is error-free.

When creating content, it’s important to think about what your audience wants to read. Make sure you are addressing their needs and answering their questions.

Also, be sure to make your content easy to read. Use short paragraphs, catchy headlines, and interesting visuals. This will help keep your readers engaged.

It’s also important to keep your content fresh and up-to-date. Regularly publishing new content will help keep your website visitors coming back for more.

Finally, be sure to proofread your content before publishing it. This will help ensure that your content is error-free.

5. Invest in SEO

Investing in SEO is essential for any brand looking to build their online presence. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can attract more visitors to your site.

SEO is one of the most essential investments any business can make to grow their online presence. When you optimize your website and content for search engines, you can attract more visitors to your site, who are looking for what you have to offer. And the more visitors you attract, the more likely you are to convert them into customers.

SEO is a long-term investment, but it’s one that can pay off big in the long run. By improving your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), you can reach more people who are looking for your products or services. And the more people you reach, the more business you’ll generate.

But SEO isn’t just about increasing your website’s traffic. It’s also about improving your website’s visibility and authority. When you optimize your website for SEO, you can make sure that your site appears as the top result for relevant search queries. And the higher your website ranks, the more likely people are to click on it.

SEO is one of the most effective ways to improve your website’s visibility and attract more visitors. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can reach more people who are looking for what you have to offer. And the more visitors you attract, the more likely you are to convert them into customers.

6. Create a blog

A blog can be a powerful tool for building your brand online. Not only can it help you share your expertise and build trust with your target market, but you can also use SEO techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages.

People are always looking for information, and a blog can be a great way to provide it. Not only can you share your own insights and expertise, but you can also use SEO techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can help you attract more visitors to your site, and ultimately, increase your sales.

7. Use paid advertising

Paid advertising can be a great way to reach your target market quickly and efficiently. By targeting your ads to users who are already interested in your product or service, you can save time and money while still achieving your marketing goals.

One of the biggest benefits of paid advertising is the ability to target your audience. With paid advertising, you can specifically target people who are already interested in what you have to offer, which means you don’t have to waste time and money reaching out to people who may not be interested in what you have to offer.

Additionally, paid advertising can help you achieve your marketing goals more quickly. When you target your ads to people who are already interested in what you have to offer, you can see results more quickly than if you were to target a more general audience. This means that you can see results more quickly and efficiently, which can help you achieve your marketing goals in a shorter amount of time.

Overall, paid advertising can be a great way to reach your target market quickly and efficiently. By targeting your ads to people who are already interested in your product or service, you can save time and money while still achieving your marketing goals.

8. Establish yourself as an expert

One of the best ways to build your brand online is to establish yourself as an expert in your field. When potential customers see that you’re an authority on the topic, they’ll be more likely to trust you and consider your product or service.

To become an expert, you need to know your stuff. Start by becoming familiar with the basics of your industry, then learn as much as you can about your specific topic. Read articles, watch videos, and take courses to educate yourself on the latest trends and developments.

Once you’ve become an expert, it’s time to start sharing your knowledge. Write articles, create videos, and give presentations to share your expertise with the world. Not only will this help you build your brand, but it will also help you attract new customers and grow your business.

The post How to Build your Brand Online in 3 Months or Less appeared first on LinkGraph.

Learning the ins and outs of what makes up SEO campaigns can mean more keyword rankings, more organic traffic, and more real people browsing the landing pages of your website.

Here’s how to do it.

What is an SEO Campaign?

AnSEO campaign is the coordination and execution of SEO strategies in order rank higher in search engine results pages. There may be a variety of people who are involved in executing an effective SEO campaign, from writers, to web developers, to anSEO agency, and more.

Parts of an Effective SEO Campaign

SEO is multi-disciplinary. As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all SEO campaign.

Some parts of SEO campaigns may include:

• On-Page SEO – On-Page SEO campaigns are focused primarily on improving the relevance and quality signals of web content so it is more likely to be promoted for relevant keywords.
• Off-site SEO – This includes strategies like link building, digital PR, guest posting, reputation management and more.
• Technical SEO – This involves optimizing the technical performance of your website as well as ensuring all of the HTML meta data is optimized for search engine crawlers
• Web Development – This involves working on the backend of a website to improve page load times and speeds as well as site architecture and more

The most successful SEO campaigns will be tailored to the website’s unique goals, industry competitors, budget, size, and its current technical strengths and weaknesses.

But one quality that all successful SEO campaigns share is that they take a holistic approach, combining the various parts of search engine optimization to drive qualified organic traffic to a website.

1. Define Campaign Goals and KPIs for Your SEO campaign

Before you can start any SEO campaign, you need to define your goals and objectives.

What do you want to achieve with your SEO? Do you want to increase traffic to your website? Increase leads and sales? Improve your Domain Authority score? Improve your website’s rankings for a specific keyword in the search engine results pages (SERPs)?

Your goals and objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Having clear goals is the only way to measure whether or not an SEO campaign was, indeed, successful.

Having clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is also essential to understand whether you actually achieve your campaign objectives. Some common SEO KPIs include

• Organic search traffic: The number of visitors who come to your website from search engines, and the percentage of that traffic that is organic (i.e. not paid for)
• Ranking Positions: Tracking the position of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords is a good way to measure how well your SEO strategy is working.
• Keyword rankings: The total number of keywords your website ranks for in search engines, and whether you’re targeting the right keywords to reach your target audience
• Domain Authority: The overall site authority of your website as measured through backlinks and the total number of unique referring domains pointing to your web pages
• Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page
• Impressions: The number of users who see your SERP result, even if they don’t click on it
• Conversion rate: The percentage of visitors who take a desired conversion action, such as filling out a contact form, subscribing to a email list, or making a purchase

2. Perform an SEO Audit of Your Website Before Campaign Launch

Before you start mapping our your SEO strategy, you need to have a solid understanding of where your website currently stands.

This is where an SEO audit can be very helpful. Use the Site Auditor tool in SearchAtlas to get a high-level overview of the technical, content, speed, and crawling statistics of your website.

This high-level SEO audit report will give you a larger sense of whether your SEO campaign will need to include on-page content optimization, technical SEO, web development work, and more.

Then, look to the “Issues,” tab to determine what requires action. This more detailed list of recommendations will help you determine the specific tasks of your SEO campaign.

Before you get started planning out your SEO strategy, make sure you know the answers to the following questions:

• Are the pages of my website accessible to search engine crawlers? If not, use XML sitemaps and robots.txt files to control how and when pages are crawled and indexed.
• Do I have content on my website that is relevant to the keywords I want to rank for? If not, content creation will need to be a major focus of your SEO campaign.
• Does my backlink profile contain toxic links from spammy websites? If so, leverage the disavow tool or link building services to nullify the impact of those low-quality backlinks

These high-level issues are common among websites that are struggling to rank in search engines. Making sure that your website is not suffering from one of these larger indexing, content, or backlink issues is important before moving into a highly-targeted SEO campaign.

3. Research Your SEO Competition

To achieve your SEO goals, you need to know what your competition is doing. You need to know what keywords they are targeting, what techniques they are using to improve their rank in SERPs, and what content they are publishing.

There are a few different tools that you can use in your SearchAtlas dashboard to do your competitor research.

If you have a good idea of who your competitors are, enter a competitor’s homepage url in the Competitor Researcher tool to get a high-level overview of all of the keywords they are ranking for, their Domain Rating, and there current organic traffic.

If you don’t know who your competitors are yet, use the Content Researcher to discover your competitors via the keywords you want to rank for.

Enter your target keyword and the Content Researcher report will highlight the top 20 ranking urls, the quality of their content, the authority of their domain, as well as how likely your website is to compete based on your current site authority signals and the Keyword Difficulty of your target keyword.

4. Identify Your Keyword Targets

The foundation of any successful SEO campaign is keyword research.

Keyword research involves identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is most likely to use when searching for information or products related to your business.

Once you have identified these keywords, you can then focus your SEO efforts on optimizing your website and content for those terms.

You can use the Keyword Researcher tool in your dashboard to identify target keywords for your on-page SEO strategy. You can brainstorm a list of keywords that are relevant to your business and then do some research to find the ones that have the highest search volume and the lowest competition. Easily add keywords to lists with 1-click.

Tips for Keyword Selection for your SEO Campaigns

Data-driven target keyword selection is essential to a successful campaign. Some tips for choosing the best keyword targets include:

• Choose a realistic goal: Don’t make the mistake of targeting a keyword that is just too competitive. Use Keyword Difficulty to find keywords that are realistic goal for your website based on your current Domain Authority.
• Cluster Keywords into Groups: Optimizing for multiple keywords in the same semantic cluster can help you increase the total short-tail and long-tail variations of your keyword that your web pages rank for
• Consider long-tail keywords in your SEO campaigns: Long-tail keywords are keywords that are more specific than general keywords. They are often less competitive and easier to rank for than short-tail keywords. By targeting long-tail keywords in your SEO campaigns, you can improve your website’s search engine ranking while also driving more targeted traffic to your site.

5. Publish High-Quality Content on Your Website

One of the most important aspects of SEO is content. You need to publish high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience. This content should be well-written, keyword-rich, and engaging.

Having high-quality content on your website is essential for both on-page and off-site SEO success. It’s easier to acquire backlinks when your content is valuable, original, and insightful. Google crawlers are also more likely to rank content that is in-depth and explores a topic comprehensively.

What makes content high-quality? Google’s Quality Rater guidelines outline how they perceive quality.

• Original insight, analysis, or reporting
• Expert authorship and sourcing
• Reputation of the website and content creator
• Main Content Quality and Amount
• High levels of E.A.T

Google’s E.A.T. — which stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness — is one of the largest parts of their Quality Rater Guidelines. Google wants to show searchers the highest quality original content, and E.A.T. is a guiding principle for what quality means.

Creating high-quality content is easier said than done. It is arguably one of the most time and resource intensive parts of any SEO campaign. That’s why working with reputable content marketing professionals or a marketing agency that specializes in SEO content can be extremely integral to a SEO campaign’s success.

6. Optimize your Web Content for Your Keyword Targets

After you identify your target search queries, you then need to perform on-page optimization across your landing pages.

Google ranks web pages, not websites, and each page that you want to rank in the SERPs needs to follow SEO best practices.

1. Title tags, meta descriptions, h1s-h6s, and other HTML tags should be keyword-rich and meet best practices with length (50-60 characters for page titles, and 130-160 for meta descriptions)
2. Web pages should outlink to other relevant, authoritative websites that provide additional value to the user
3. Also, web pages should include relevant internal links that point to other important pages on your website
4. Any images should include optimized alt text for better accessibility and to rank in Google images
5. For local businesses, web pages should include key contact information like a phone number, address, and business name in a prominent place on the web page
6. Web pages should be fast loading and mobile-friendly

To speed up the content optimization process, use the SEO Content Assistant. You can use the tool to do on-page SEO from start to finish.

7. Earn as Many High-Quality Backlinks As You Can

Backlinks are still one of the most important factors in SEO. It is unlikely you will see success in your digital marketing strategy without building links to your website from other high-quality websites to improve your rankings in SERPs.

How do you get backlinks? There’s only one right way to earn backlinks, and that’s through original content.

Some ways to earn links the right way include:

• Guest blogging
• Partnership outreach
• Public relations
• Broken link building
• An SEO agency with publisher partnerships that does link building through original content

 Some backlink strategies you should avoid include:

• Buying backlinks from link farms or low-quality providers
• Strategies like “Niche edits” – adding links to existing content on other websites
• Dropping links in the comment sections of blog posts
• Questionable Link exchanges

When you get backlinks the right way through original content, keyword-rich anchor text will make the link even more valuable, but don’t overdo it. Most of your backlinks will be branded, and that is okay. Backlinks will tell search engines that your website is relevant to the keywords you’re targeting.

8. Prioritize Site Optimization for Mobile

In addition to optimizing your on-page elements, you also need to optimize your web pages for mobile SEO if you want to see campaign success.

This is because mobile-friendliness is one of Google’s ranking factors.

To optimize your website for mobile, you can review this guide to mobile seo, but in summary, your web pages need to be responsive and your content should be readable and easily navigated on mobile devices.

8. Leverage SEO Tools Throughout Your SEO Campaign

To really see SEO success, you should not only follow basic SEO best practices, you should also leverage the power of technology. This is particularly true for enterprise brands competing against incumbents for competitive keywords.

There are a number of SEO tools and digital PR tools available that can help you improve your search engine optimization campaign. These tools can help you research keywords, track your website’s rank in SERPs, and analyze your competitors.

You can start a free trial with SearchAtlas and get access to the below SEO tools to supercharge your SEO campaigns:

1. Content Optimizer – Produce rank-worthy, quality content in a shorter period of time. Our AI content generator can help you produce more website content
2. Keyword Research tool – Find hundreds to thousands of keywords that will connect you with potential customers
3. Content plan tool – Generate blog topics and titles for new content with automated topic clusters
4. Rank Tracker – Track keyword rankings and organic search KPIs with comprehensive data straight from Google Search Console
5. Backlink Analyzer – See if you have high spam links, diverse anchor text distribution, and more
6. Site Audit tool – Identify technical issues on your website, see your page speed, identify content or keyword gaps
7. Site Authority checker – Check your Domain Authority score for your website and your competitors

9. Supplement Your SEO Techniques with Paid Search Advertising

Paid search advertising can be a valuable tool for SEO campaigns. By targeting your ads to users who are searching for your target keywords, you can help to increase your website’s exposure and improve your search engine rankings.

You can also us Google Ads campaigns to prospect traffic quality for SEO. When combined with SEO techniques, PPC can jumpstart traffic to your website so you can start testing and iterating on your website design, user experience and conversion funnel.

However, paid media is expensive, so make sure your PPC campaigns are optimized and don’t get comfortable over relying on Adwords traffic. Once your budget runs out, so will all those clicks, but SEO can drive clicks to your website to perpetuity.

10. Monitor the Results of Your SEO Campaigns

You need to track the results of your SEO campaign to ensure that you are achieving your goals. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and< GSC Insights to track website traffic, leads, sales, or new customers that you earn through search engines.

Carefully tracking the performance of your SEO campaigns is essential to running more successful campaigns in the future. The best SEO campaigns leverage as much data and analytics as possible to drive brand awareness, SERP rankings, and web traffic more quickly.

 Final Thoughts on the Best SEO Campaigns

The best, most successful campaigns will be tailored to your website’s unique goals.

That means there will be no one-size-fits-all approach. But at LinkGraph, we make it easy to create  customized campaigns with our self-checkout SEO campaign products.

Check out our order builder and see how easy it is to build your perfect SEO campaign.

The post 10 Steps to Launching a Successful SEO Campaign appeared first on LinkGraph.

If your business goal this year is to increase your website’s traffic, your best bet is to start with search engine optimization (SEO). However, the broad and complex field of SEO can feel overwhelming, especially if you try to implement everything you can all at once. To make the process easier, we’ve created this 2022 SEO checklist. 

As you go through the SEO process this year, use this checklist as a resource to help you multi-task the differing aspects of SEO, schedule items in a logical order, and prioritize more impactful actions. We hope you will also take advantage of the downloadable SEO Checklist, Downloadable SEO Checklist for Presentations or Google Doc SEO Checklist to track your SEO progress as you work. 

Are you ready to check off some tasks and watch your organic traffic climb? Let’s get started.

How to Use this SEO Checklist

There’s no denying that SEO is a dynamic art and science. This means that you will need to revisit some tasks over time while others are one-and-done. In the printable or editable version of this checklist, you will find that the * indicates a task that is best revisited quarterly.

Additionally, to prevent you from getting overwhelmed, we’ve listed each task in order of importance.

Begin with the Basics: SEO Foundational Setup

While you can dive right into adding schema markup to every page on your site, you may want to hold off on a task like that. Beginning with SEO best practices and being able to start tracking your site’s organic traffic metrics is a bit more important. 

So, if you’re starting from scratch, start here:

1. Become Familiar with SEO Terminology

Plunging into the world of search engine optimization requires learning a lot of new terms. Arming yourself with an SEO glossary can help you build your confidence and propel you beyond the learning curve.

Suggested resource to learn more: LinkGraph’s Complete SEO Glossary

2. Create Your Google Search Console Account

Google Search Console is like an EKG for your website’s SEO health. This free SEO tool provides you with a great depth of insight into how Google views your websites, how you’re performing on their search engine results pages (SERPs), and your site’s Core Web Vitals.

While Google Search Console can be confusing at first, we recommend you spend some time over the next month becoming familiar with the reports this tool provides.

With GSC, you can:

• Learn which keywords your site ranks for
• See which of your URLs performance the best in search results
• Submit your sitemap to Google
• Find crawler errors

Suggested resource to learn more: How to Use Google Search Console for SEO

3. Set Up an Account with Bing Webmaster Tools

While Google receives about 92% of the global search share, Bing does receive almost 3% of searches–many of which are via Amazon’s Alexa. This means if you’re a locally-based business, you want to make optimizing for voice search a priority. Furthermore, Bing’s Webmaster Tools are easy to use.

Suggested resource to learn more: Voice Search Optimization: An Updated & Comprehensive Guide

4. Begin Using Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the perfect complement to Google Search Console. While GSC provides you with a wealth of data regarding your site’s organic traffic and search engine crawlability, GA gives you data about all site visitors.

Setting up your Google Analytics account is similar to setting up Search Console. In fact, you can even link the two, so you can find all of your site visitor metrics in one place.

Suggested resource to learn more: Get Started with Analytics

5. Sign Up for SearchAtlas

SEO is a multi-faceted discipline. Using SEO software that helps to make tracking your SEO campaigns and create the best content can give you a headstart in improving your site’s SERP rankings. 

SearchAtlas is a full suite of SEO tools to tackle every aspect of SEO, including:

• Metrics tracking and deep data analysis
• Content creation
• Keyword research
• Competitor research
• Backlink strategy data
• SEO site audit reports

Suggested resource to learn more: Learn more about SearchAtlas

SEO Content Creation Checklist

When it comes to rankability–your site needs quality content that follows keyword best practices. Building a library of SEO-optimized content takes time and skill, but is well worth the investment.

1. Find Your Best Keywords

Your keywords are key to getting Google’s attention–this is why choosing the best keywords for your site is a vital step in becoming discoverable on Google and other search engines.

However, knowing where to begin can be a monumental task. We recommend beginning with Google Suggest. Then use the Keyword Researcher and competitor research to learn more about the keywords you want to target and have a higher probability of ranking for.

Keep in mind that you will want to target long-tail keywords during the keyword research process. 15% of all Google searches have never been searched before–This leaves plenty of opportunities to capture searchers.

Suggested resource to learn more: Unlock the SEO Potential of Low Competition and Long-Tail Keywords

2. Plan Your Content Calendar

Once you’ve strategically targeted the keywords your site has the potential to rank for, you will want to establish a content plan. This should include primary keywords along with a cluster of related keywords that are relevant to the content topic.

Most sites schedule their content on a quarterly basis, prioritizing keywords that have the most potential SEO value. 

Content creation is a time-consuming process. If you’re pressed for time–or you don’t have a knack for writing–hiring an SEO agency can be a wise choice. The Content Planner lets you create a keyword plan then you can export the brief using the SEO Content Assistant.

Suggested resource to learn more: Content Development: Improve Your Content Strategy for SEO

3. Create Fully-Optimized Content

As you work through your content strategy, live by the mantra: every piece matters. If you approach every blog post, landing page, and product page with an eye for quality and SEO, you will save yourself time, money, and SEO grief.

Using a content optimizer makes creating SEO-friendly content easier. Using a tool like the SEO Content Assistant allows you to produce rankable content without needing to understand every intricacy of the process. 

Suggested resource to learn more: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Web Content for SEO

4. Promote Your Content

To maximize the power of your new, fresh content, you will want to promote it on social media and in emails. This will increase referral traffic to your website. It will also increase brand visibility and support your brand’s reputation within your industry. This can result in organic backlinks–which can boost your domain authority and domain rating.

Suggested resource to learn more: 7 Contextual Link-Building Tips & Techniques

On-Page SEO Checklist

Every page on your site is one more opportunity to rank. This section is designed to be an on-page SEO checklist to ensure each of your URLs reaches its SEO potential. Most on-page SEO tasks should be enacted on an ongoing basis.

1. Optimize Your URLs

Google has an eye for detail. This detail comes down to a granular look at each of your website’s URLs as Google indexes your site. Optimizing your slugs can be one of the many details that promote your site in Google SERPs.

To optimize your URLs:

1. Include your target keyword in your slug
2. Separate words with hyphens
3. Use evergreen methods–omitting dates
4. Avoid redirect chains

Suggested resource to learn more: Campaign URL Builder

2. Optimize Your Title Tags

In addition to optimizing your slugs, you also want to ensure your title tags are also Google-worthy. This means that they include your target keyword in a natural way (at the beginning of the title if possible).

Your title tags can be the same as your page title, but they should also be:

• Between 40 and 60 characters
• Omit parentheses and brackets
• Interesting–click-worthy
• Straightforward

Suggested resource to learn more: A Guide to SEO HTML Tags

3. Create Meta Tags with SEO Best Practices

Whether your site has an existing blog or a long list of product pages, you want to be sure all of your meta tags reflect your keyword targets. So, in addition to your title tag, be sure your meta descriptions, headings (AKA H1 tags, etc.), and alt text follow meta tag best practices.

You will also want to be sure your site uses canonical tags (if you use WordPress or Shopify, these platforms automate this for you).

Robots tags are also important if your site has gated content, a chat forum, or user comments.

Suggested resource to learn more: What Are Canonical Tags and When to Use Them

4. Link to External Resources

Throughout your content, you will want to link to external sources using outbound links. This practice tells Google’s webcrawlers what your content is about in relation to other pages. Providing Google with these signals can increase your chances of appearing in the right Google searches and on other search engines.

To choose authority sites to link to, select sites that:

• Are not your direct competitors
• Not spammy
• Are respected in your industry
• Ideally are high DA sites with original research)

Suggested resource to learn more: Why Are Links Important for SEO?

5. Use Internal Links

Just as external links tell Google what your content is about through the indexing page process, internal links help Google’s crawlers find pages to crawl on your site and understand them better.

The more a page within your site is linked to, the more important Google sees it in the context of your site–and the more often Googlebots will crawl it. 

Through the use of anchor text, annotation text, and strategic internal linking, you can improve your site’s search engine crawlability.

Suggested resource to learn more: Internal Links as a Ranking Factor

6. Use Schema Markup

Schema markup allows you to signal to search engines that a page contains specific information. Search engines then use this information to better place your content in search results. 

Additionally, Schema Markup allows searchers to preview your content in the search results to ensure it fits their query intent. The result: a high click-through rate, a lower bounce rate, and happy searchers.

You can use the Yoast Plug-in on WordPress or Shopify to create and implement schema markup, or you can use Google’s free tool.

Suggested resource to learn more: Complete Guide to Schema Markup

Technical SEO Checklist

When it comes to implementing SEO best practices, Technical SEO can be the most intimidating. However, if you can use WordPress, SearchAtlas can simplify the technical SEO process.

1. Find and Fix Crawler Errors

As a site owner, your goal should always be to do it right the first time. However, this isn’t always possible–especially if you created your site before you learned about SEO. Luckily, a crawl audit can help you identify problems that can occur from page edits, site architecture problems, and more.

If Google cannot crawl your site, your pages will not appear in their search results. Finding and repairing these issues can improve the chances of your web pages being discovered by search engines and appearing in the SERPs.

As a webcrawler works its way through your website, it will travel from one link to another. If it hits a dead end or waits too long for a page retrieval, it can negatively affect your SEO. Fixing these issues is a must for indexing purposes and your visitors’ user experience.

What errors should you look for?

• Chain redirects (multiple 301s in a row)
• Broken links (4XX errors)
• Slow server speeds
• Duplicate content

Note: Some aspects of this task overlap with other tasks–so, don’t stress if it seems like a monumental hurdle. The most important part of this task is to see how Google views your site and what pages their crawlers cannot access.

Suggested resource to learn more: What Is Crawl Budget & How to Optimize for It

2. Learn How Google Indexes Your Pages

Having a preliminary understanding of how search engine crawlers work can work to your advantage as you continue to build out your content library and product or services pages. 

So, how goes Google index your pages?

(As you read through this explanation, keep in mind that it’s an abbreviated version of the process). A Googlebot will first look at your sitemap and robots.txt. Then move onto your homepage, from there, it will begin traveling and collecting information from pages linked to in your navigation menu or internal links. 

Googlebots can index more than one page at once, but they limit the amount of data pulled in order to not ‘clog’ your server and slow down speeds for your site visitors.

As the Googlebot arrives on a page, it will pull information from your page’s:

• Page load speed
• URL text
• Headers
• Alt text & image file names (for content comprehension and Google image searches)
• Links (both internal and external)
• Images & videos (using Google MUM)
• Schema markup
• Overall text
• Text structure

Suggested resource to learn more: How Google Search Algorithm Works

3. Fix Broken Links

One of the easiest tasks that can improve your technical SEO is fixing broken links. These can include internal and outbound links.

So, after you’ve identified the URLs that have broken links, you will want to identify why the link is broken. 

If the link is an internal page, determine if the linked URL has been 

• Redirected and the redirect isn’t working
• Needs a redirect set up
• Deleted and no longer exists

If the redirect isn’t working or needs to be set up, submit a ticket to your web developer to assess the issue or create the redirect.

For pages that no longer exist, remove the link or link to a new page on a similar topic.

For broken external links, you will want to remove the links and add another external link elsewhere within the content or replace the broken link with a fresh link to another page.

Suggested resource to learn more: 10 Bad Links That Can Get You Penalized by Google

4. Ensure Optimal Mobile Accessibility

Google uses a Mobile-First approach to indexing. This means that their crawlers will first revert to viewing the mobile version of a page. This means your site needs to be able to load quickly and correctly for mobile users and Google.

A simple site audit with SearchAtlas will provide you with your mobile page speed load time data. You can also access this info via PageSpeed Insights or your Google Search Console Account.

If your site’s mobile speed loading isn’t up to Core Web Vitals standards, you will want to work with your web developer to improve the issues. Using dynamic page layout and design can do wonders for your mobile loading times.

Suggested resource to learn more: Mobile SEO – The Complete Guide

5. Switch from HTTP to HTTPS

Google continues to emphasize the importance of safety and security for web users, and we anticipate that this trend will continue for years to come. As of now, Google promotes websites that take security precautions higher in the Google SERPs. So, how can your site become one that reflects Google’s security standards?

One of the easiest ways to keep your site visitors protected is to use the more secure HTTP–HTTPS. HTTPS encodes user data so it is less vulnerable to theft. To make the switch, you will need to obtain an SSL certificate or a TLS certificate.

Suggested resource to learn more: HTTPS vs HTTP Protocols and More

6. Check Your Site’s Speed Performance

In an effort to improve the overall search experience, Google uses page load speeds and time-to-interactivity as ranking factors. While the Core Web Vitals are relatively new, page load speed has always affected a site’s ranking. How? Google tracks individual pages’ bounce rate–which is a metric that reflects the number of searchers that ‘bounce back’ to the search engine’s results page. The longer a searcher has to wait for a page to load, the more likely they are to become impatient and abandon waiting.

The first step to this task is understanding your site’s speed metrics. You can find this data in Search Console, SearchAtlas, or by using PageSpeedInsights. 

The next step is to work with your web developer to improve your site’s performance.

Suggested resource to learn more: 30 Ways to Improve SEO Performance 

Backlink Building Checklist

One of the most important aspects of the success of a site’s SEO is its backlink profile. When a website has more backlinks, Google is better able to understand the site’s content, plus backlinks establish a site’s credibility and authority. To begin building your site’s backlink profile, you will need to begin checking items off this list.

1. Reach Out to Industry Peers

Backlink building takes time and effort. One of the most effective ways to begin the link-building process is to plan and implement an industry-rich link-building campaign.

To begin this process, you will need to identify potential sites to reach out to. You can do this with the Suggested Outreach report in SearchAtlas.

Once you have a list of sites, you will need to begin reaching out to their sites’ owners. As you do, be cordial and simply ask if they would be interested in a guest blog post, guest infographic, or original data. You can even include the great content you’re offering in your initial email, so site owners are able to assess the quality and fit for their website.

If a site agrees to publish guest content on their website, be sure to confirm that they’re also willing to include a link to your website either as credit or a contextual backlink.

Suggested resource to learn more: Link Exchanges: Do They Work & Are They Safe?

2. Target Your Competitors’ Backlinks

One way to build your site’s Domain Authority and Domain Rating is to acquire backlinks on sites that link to your competitors. By identifying which sites link to your competition, you gain access to a list of pre-qualified sites that will likely be happy to partner with you for guest posts. 

With SearchAtlas’s Free Backlink Analyzer report, you can easily identify which sites have the best backlink potential for your site. Screaming Frog also has a competitor backlink analysis tool that can be quite handy in obtaining a full list of your competitors’ backlinks.

Suggested resource to learn more: White Hat Link Building Methods

3. Attend Conferences & Become Active in Industry Conversations

One way to win organic backlinks is to become a recognized expert and leader in your field. You can achieve this by participating in shaping the future of your niche through forum discussions, conference presentations, and networking.

As you build your reputation and organization reputation, more sites will naturally want to link to yours.

Suggested resource to learn more: How to Find a Conference or Meeting

4. Speak Up: Get Invited to a Podcast

Podcasts are labor-intensive media assets. They’re also highly consumed by internet audiences and a great way to gain highly valuable backlinks. By connecting with podcast creators, you offer them a low-effort option for an episode that will result in high-quality content. In return, you can increase your brand awareness and site authority.

Suggested resource to learn more: Connecting podcasters with great guests

Local SEO Checklist

Whether you provide local services, local eats, or physical goods from a brick-and-mortar shop, local SEO is one of the most important SEO efforts you can implement in your SEO strategy.

1. Set up Your Google Business Profile Listing​

Google Business Profile (or Google My Business) is one of the most powerful tools for local SEO. This is one of the few ways to begin appearing on Google Maps and in local searches. Therefore, if your business (even e-commerce businesses) does not have a Google Business Profile, it is time to set it up.

As you begin the setup process, have images of your business and products available. Be prepared to write a thorough description of your business. And try to be as thorough as possible. The more work you put into your Google Business Profile, the more power it has to attract potential customers to your establishment.

Suggested resource to learn more: How To Set Up Your Google Business Profile Listing

2. Implement Local Business Schema Markup

Schema markup allows you to communicate to search engines information about your web pages and business. When you provide this information, search engines have a clearer idea of what searches your web pages should appear in and help you reach your target audience. Furthermore, schema data markup can help search engines highlight your business and business offerings in the SERPs.

This low-effort task can have a profound impact on your business’s search traffic and revenue. With schema, you will draw in more searches from mobile devices and more traffic to your landing pages.

Suggested resource to learn more: Local Busines by Google Search Central

3. Connect with Local Media Outlets 

Becoming a recognized organization in your community can increase your search visibility and sales. If your business participates in charitable activities and donations, you can highlight your efforts by providing local news outlets with pre-written press releases they can ‘plug and play.’

The result of this is backlinks from a local site to further verify your locale and brand exposure to a greater audience.

Suggested resource to learn more: How to Get a Story on the Local News

4. Respond to Reviews and Questions on GBP Weekly

Your Google Business Profile is a conduit of communication between the public and your business. Like other aspects of your brand reputation, you will want to devote time weekly to acknowledging, responding, and tending to users’ reviews and questions about your business.

Suggested resource to learn more: Tips to Elevate Your Online Reputation

Long-Term SEO Checklist

Search engine optimization is an ongoing process. The search landscape changes based on updates to search engine algorithms. Additionally, your search engine rankings can shift due to your competition’s SEO efforts. Furthermore, 15% of all search queries are 100% unique. To keep your site fully optimized, you and your team will want to plan for ongoing, proactive SEO maintenance.

1. Always Stay Current on Your Organic Traffic Metrics

This is likely the most important task you can do in this complete SEO checklist. By tracking your metrics, you can better understand how your SEO efforts are paying off. Knowing your numbers can also help you respond to an algorithm update that had a negative impact on your organic traffic.

SearchAtlas provide the most in-depth reports and insightful analyses of your Search Console data. 

Suggested resource to learn more: Metrics to Elevate & Measure SEO Success

2. Add Server Space to Maintain Speeds and Reduce Outages

As your site grows in size and traffic, you may find that your users’ site speeds slow. This can lead to a drop in your site’s SERP performance due to page speed loading delays. One way to remedy traffic-related speed issues is to invest in a server that is strictly devoted to your site. This will reduce outages while improving the user experience for your site visitors.

Increasing page load speeds can also improve your site’s crawlability. Run a site index coverage report to understand how Google is crawling your site.

Suggested resource to learn more: How Much Web Hosting Storage Do You Need for Your Site?

3. Reoptimize Meta-Descriptions for higher CTRs

As you track your URLs’ performances in Google rankings, you may find some of your pages garner high impressions and low click-throughs. This can indicate that your meta tags (your meta title and meta description) are not encouraging searchers to visit your pages. To improve your pages’ performance, you can re-optimize these meta tags.

Suggested resource to learn more: A Guide to SEO HTML Tags

4. Perform a Content Audit & Prune Under-Performing Content

One practice that can boost your site’s visibility in Google results is to perform a content audit. A content audit leads to the content pruning process. This task involves finding and fixing duplicate content issues by using canonical tags or removing unnecessary duplicates.

Through the content audit process, you also want to identify and eliminate under-performing blogs and landing pages. Additionally, you want to find outdated product pages or news pages.

After identifying these pages, you will want to create a list of backlinks and internal links to these pages. If the URL has backlinks or internal links, you will want to update the content or redirect the URL to similar content. Pages without any backlinks or internal links can be deleted.

Suggested resource to learn more: Why & How Content Pruning Helps Your SEO

5. Revise Outdated Content

For pages that have SEO potential, the revision process can inject new life into already existing pieces of content. This offers a time-saving strategy to pair with your new content creation process.

Updating content can also attract new attention to the content from search engines. To revise blogs and landing pages, use your target keyword and its search intent to guide your decisions. 

You also want to consider adding depth to your site web pages. This can be easily accomplished with Frequently Asked Questions sections.

Suggested resource to learn more: Content Development: Improve Your Content Strategy for SEO

6. Diversify Your Website’s Content

At some point, you will check all your target keywords off your content calendar. Once this happens, it’s time to revamp your content strategy to include more images, videos, and other media. By appearing in Google searches for images and videos, your site can gain a competitive edge in the SERPs. 

Furthermore, mixed content makes your web pages more engaging to contemporary audiences–keeping visitors on your page for longer periods of time and increasing your site’s time-on-page metrics.

Suggested resource to learn more: Tips for On-Page SEO

Begin Marking Off Tasks On Your SEO Checklist

You don’t have to be an SEO professional in order to begin optimize your page. As you work your way through this checklist, check your SEO metrics to measure your site’s SERP success. Over the next few months, your web pages should climb in rank, and your site’s overall search visibility will increase along with your organic traffic.

If you need assistance on your SEO journey, LinkGraph is happy to help. We offer SEO services for businesses of all sizes.

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