Doing your own SEO
Google SEO cursus
What are the 3 SEO pillars?
The three pillars of SEO are essential for effective search engine optimization and together form the basis for the success of any website in the online world. These pillars for your SEO are Authority, Content and Technique.
Authority: This is the reputation and credibility of your Web site. High authority means that your website is seen as a reliable source in your field. One way you achieve this is by obtaining backlinks from reputable websites through your SEO and SEA strategy and by publishing high-quality content. A strong authority contributes to your SEO, and leads to a higher ranking on the first page of search results.
Content: The content of your website is crucial. This includes everything from text to images and videos, and is essential to your SEO. Good content should be relevant, informative and aligned with your target audience’s search queries. Using the right keywords is important here, as is avoiding duplicate content. Unique and engaging content attracts visitors and keeps them on your site longer, which in turn sends a positive signal to search engines.
Technical: The technical aspects of your website, such as crawlability, load time, mobile responsiveness, security, and structure, play an important role. Search engines should easily index your site and users should have a positive experience. Fast load times, a mobile-friendly design, a secure connection, and a clear navigational structure are all factors that contribute to better SEO performance.
Can you do SEO (search engine optimization) yourself?
“Can you do SEO yourself?” is a question many website owners and business owners ask themselves. The answer is yes, you can definitely take care of SEO yourself. With the right commitment and an investment of time, you can learn the basics of search engine optimization and apply it to your own website.
This includes optimizing content, improving the technical aspects of your site, and building authority.
However, there is a distinction between what you can do yourself and the expertise of a specialized SEO agency. These agencies have years of experience and in-depth knowledge of the latest search engine trends and algorithm updates. They know exactly what to look out for and how to implement more complex SEO strategies.
That said, this does not mean that you cannot successfully perform SEO yourself. Many small businesses and individual website owners have achieved significant improvements in their online visibility and traffic by implementing SEO practices on their own.
It does require a willingness to learn and spend time regularly updating and adjusting your SEO strategies. With the right approach and dedication, you can effectively take control of your own SEO and improve your online presence.
Do your own SEO and rank in Google?
“How do I get started with SEO?” is a common question for anyone looking to improve their online visibility. A good start is to take the Google SEO course. This course provides a solid foundation in the basics of search engine optimization and helps you understand the strategies and techniques needed to optimize your website.
In addition to courses, it is also helpful to follow well-known blogs and news websites that focus on SEO. Websites such as Search Engine Journal, Moz Blog, and SEO round table offer regular updates, tips, and insights on the latest trends and changes in the world of SEO.
In addition, there are several tools available that can help you analyze and improve your SEO strategies. Popular tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, NeuronWriter and SurferSEO offer a range of features, including keyword research, competitive analysis, and content optimization. These tools can give you insight into how your Web site is performing and where improvements can be made.
How do you create an SEO plan?
Creating an SEO plan is crucial to the success of any online marketing strategy. A well-thought-out SEO plan provides clear direction and prioritizes optimization efforts.
It starts with setting goals, such as increasing organic traffic, improving search engine rankings, or increasing conversions. Next, the plan includes a thorough analysis of keywords, looking at terms relevant to the business and what potential customers are searching for.
An effective SEO plan also takes into account on-page optimization, such as improving website structure, optimizing content for relevant keywords, and ensuring a mobile-friendly experience. In addition, it includes off-page strategies such as link building and improving online authority.
Regularly updating and adjusting the SEO plan is essential, as search engine algorithms and market trends are constantly changing. A well-planned and executed SEO plan not only increases the visibility and findability of a website, but also contributes to the overall growth and success of the business.
Create a buyer persona
A buyer persona is a detailed description of an ideal customer, based on market research and real data on existing customers. Creating a buyer persona is essential for effective marketing and sales strategies because it helps companies better understand and reach their target market.
By having a clear picture of who the customer is, including demographics, behaviors, motivations and challenges, companies can more accurately tailor their products, services and marketing messages to that customer’s specific needs and preferences.
A well-defined buyer persona helps personalize communications, develop more targeted and effective marketing campaigns, and improve the customer experience. It enables companies to show empathy and build deeper relationships with their customers, leading to higher engagement, loyalty and ultimately more sales.
Create a customer journey
Creating a customer journey, the journey a customer takes from the initial contact moment to purchase and beyond, is critical to a company’s success. Mapping this journey helps companies understand and optimize customer experiences and interactions with their brand. By analyzing each step of the customer journey, from awareness to consideration, purchase, and loyalty, companies can identify bottlenecks and make improvements to their marketing strategies, sales processes, and customer service.
A good understanding of the customer journey enables companies to create personalized and relevant content and offers, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. It also helps in predicting customer behavior, improving customer experience and increasing the overall efficiency of marketing efforts.
In short, mapping the customer journey is essential for building strong customer relationships and driving business growth.
Doing your website SEO optimization yourself
If you decide to get started optimizing your website, online store or blog yourself, you’re making a smart choice. This path offers you the chance to learn a lot and gives you a sense of pride when you see your website getting better and better results.
Below are 30 practical tips that you can get started with right away. These tips are an excellent starting point for your SEO journey and will help you improve your online presence step by step.
Increase your findability in Google with these 30 practical SEO tips
The tips below will help you rank better in Google’s organic search results with your own website. Investing in SEO is very smart to increase your ranking in Google. Google sees the pages of your website, and notices that you are working to offer the visitor the best possible results. Google gives you plus points for this.
So optimizing for Google is a good use of your time, and you will definitely benefit from it.
With the SEO roadmap below, you can improve the pages on your website and rank higher in Google. Try to implement them one by one and make them a habit, so that with each page you create, you can take full advantage of improved findability.
1. Strong and relevant HTML titles
Strong and relevant HTML titles are essential for both search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience. They are the first indication to search engines and users about the content of a web page.
Well-worded titles improve visibility in search results and increase click-through rates. They should be concise, reflect the core content and contain relevant keywords.
2. A strong and relevant meta description
A strong and relevant meta description is crucial to the success of a Web page in search results. This short summary, which appears below the title in search results, plays a key role in convincing users to click through to your website.
An effective meta description succinctly summarizes the content of the page and includes relevant keywords, making it clear to both search engines and users what the page offers.
3. Provide strong and relevant headings
Strong and relevant headings are essential for structuring content on a Web page. They make texts scannable and improve readability, allowing visitors to quickly find the information they are looking for.
Well-worded headings, which contain relevant keywords, also contribute to search engine optimization by highlighting the relevance of the page for specific searches.
4. Put the user first, then comes Google
When creating content, it is important to put the user first and only then think about Google. Write with the intention of answering your target audience’s questions and needs as best and completely as possible.
This makes for valuable and engaging content that appeals to visitors. When your content finds resonance with your audience, it will also be positively noticed by search engines. A user-centric approach leads to natural optimization for search engines, with user satisfaction always at the core.
5. Get found on your main keyword
When optimizing your content for SEO, it is crucial to incorporate your main keyword tactically. This means integrating the main keyword naturally into the text without undermining the readability or quality of the content.
Make sure the main keyword appears in key sections such as the title, introduction, headings and conclusion. This helps search engines understand what your content is about, making you better found on this specific keyword.
6. Also pay attention to long-tail keywords
When optimizing your content, it is important to pay attention to long-tail keywords in addition to main keywords. These longer and more specific search terms are often less competitive, but can be highly relevant to your target audience.
By including long-tail keywords in your content, you increase your chances of attracting a more specific and often more engaged audience. This can lead to higher conversion rates, as these visitors often search more specifically for specific information, products or services.
7. Provide relevant internal links
When optimizing your website, it is essential to include relevant internal links. These links connect different pages of your site to each other, which not only helps improve navigation for users, but also strengthens the SEO structure of your website.
By using relevant internal links, you direct visitors to additional, valuable content, which improves the user experience and extends the time they spend on your site. Moreover, these links help search engines understand the context and relationship between different pages of your site, which can help improve rankings.
There is no ideal number for the number of internal links, but try to establish between one and three internal links per article.
8. Provide quality images
Using quality images is an important aspect of website optimization. Good images not only increase the attractiveness and professionalism of your website, but also improve the user experience. They can clarify complex information and hold the visitor’s attention.
9. Optimize your images
Optimizing images on your website is crucial for both loading speed and SEO performance. By compressing images correctly, you ensure that they load quickly, which is essential for a good user experience and for retaining visitors.
Fast load times are also an important factor for search engines when ranking Web sites.
10. File name optimization
Optimizing the file name of images is an important part of Web site optimization. A well-chosen file name gives search engines clear and relevant information about the content of the image. This helps improve the SEO value of the photos.
Instead of using generic or arbitrary names, it is advisable to choose descriptive and keyword-rich file names that accurately represent the image.
11. Alt tag optimization
Optimizing the alt tag of images is an essential step in SEO. The alt tag, or alternative text, describes the content and function of an image on a Web page. This description is important not only for search engines to understand the context and relevance of the image, but also for accessibility, especially for users using screen readers.
A well-optimized alt tag contains relevant keywords that match the content of the page and the image itself, without falling into “keyword stuffing.
12. Place external links
Putting external links on your website plays an important role in SEO and user experience. By linking to reliable and relevant external sources, you enrich your content and offer additional value to your visitors. This shows that your content is well-researched and provides users with additional information.
For search engines, external links are indicators of the quality and relevance of your content. However, it is important to ensure that these links are reliable and relevant to the topic of your page. This adds to the authority of your website and can contribute positively to your SEO performance.
13. Optimize your website speed
Optimizing the speed of your website is crucial for both SEO and user experience. A fast website keeps visitors from getting frustrated with long load times and increases the likelihood that they will stay on your site. For search engines, speed is an important ranking factor; faster websites are often ranked higher in search results.
You can achieve this by compressing images, removing unnecessary code, using browser caching and choosing a reliable hosting provider. By optimizing your website for speed, you not only improve your search engine rankings, but also provide a more pleasant and efficient experience for your visitors.
14. Fix broken links
Fixing broken links on your website is essential for both SEO and user experience. Broken links lead to so-called “404 error pages,” which can be frustrating for visitors and cause them to leave your site.
For search engines, these broken links are a sign of a poorly maintained website, which can negatively affect your SEO ranking.
15. Use synonyms and avoid keyword spam
Using synonyms in your content is an effective way to avoid keyword spam while improving your SEO. By using synonyms and related terms, you can increase the relevance of your content for a wide range of searches without overusing the same keyword.
This makes your text more natural and readable for visitors, while also helping to avoid “keyword stuffing,” a practice discouraged by search engines.
Varied language shows that your content is deep and informative, which improves the user experience and makes your website more attractive to search engines.
16. Use related keywords
Integrating related keywords into your content is an important strategy for improving SEO. By using related terms in addition to your primary keywords, you expand the reach of your content and make it more relevant to a wider range of searches.
Not only does this help attract a more diverse audience, but it also increases the relevance and depth of your content in the eyes of search engines.
Related keywords can be synonyms, as well as terms that are closely related to the main topic. Using these terms creates a natural and informative writing style, making your content more valuable to both users and search engines.
17. Provide quality backlinks
Obtaining quality backlinks is a fundamental part of a successful SEO strategy. Backlinks, links from other websites to your site, are an important indicator to search engines of your website’s authority and credibility.
High-quality backlinks from reliable and relevant websites can contribute significantly to improving your ranking in search results. It is important to focus on the quality of backlinks rather than just the quantity.
18. Make use of Pillar pages and content clusters
Using pillar pages and content clusters is an advanced and effective SEO strategy. A pillar page is a comprehensive and informative page that covers a broad topic in detail, while content clusters consist of related subpages that go deeper into specific aspects of that topic.
This structure helps search engines better understand the context and depth of your content, which can improve the findability and relevance of your website.
By creating a network of interconnected pages, you build a thematically cohesive whole that helps both users and search engines find and understand information more easily.
This not only increases the time visitors spend on your site, but also strengthens your website’s authority on specific topics. Pillar pages and content clusters are thus powerful tools for building a strong, SEO-friendly website structure.
19. Apply rel attributes to outbound links
Applying rel-attributes to outbound links is an important technique in SEO. Rel attributes, such as “nofollow,” “sponsored” and “ugc” (user-generated content), give search engines context about the nature of the link.
For example, a “nofollow” link suggests that the link is not necessarily an endorsement of the linked content, while “sponsored” indicates a paid link.
Using these attributes correctly helps search engines better understand the structure of the Web and assess the value of links. This is especially important to prevent your Web site from being associated with spammy or low-quality content.
20. Choose an SEO friendly URL
Choosing an SEO-friendly URL is crucial for both search engine optimization and user experience. A good URL is clear, concise and descriptive, and ideally contains relevant keywords that reflect the content of the page. This helps search engines and users quickly understand the content of the page.
Avoid long and complex URLs with unnecessary parameters or numbers. Instead, use a logical structure that reflects your website’s hierarchy and use hyphens to separate words.
21. Think mobile first
Developing your website with a mobile-first approach is essential in today’s digital landscape. This means prioritizing the mobile experience when designing and building your website.
Since an increasing portion of Internet traffic comes from mobile devices, it is important that your website functions optimally on these devices.
A mobile-first website is responsive, loads quickly and has a user-friendly interface on smaller screens. This not only improves the user experience for mobile visitors, but also benefits SEO.
Search engines such as Google use mobile usability as an important ranking factor. Websites that perform well on mobile devices often receive higher rankings in search results.
22. Place “share” buttons to get your content shared
Placing “share” buttons on your website is a smart strategy for increasing the visibility and reach of your content. By providing visitors with a simple and direct way to share your articles, blogs or pages on social media, you increase the chances of your content going viral or reaching a larger audience.
23. Create a Google my business account
Creating a Google my business (Google My Business) account is a crucial step for any business looking to increase its local visibility online. This free platform from Google allows businesses to manage their information directly in search results and on Google Maps.
By creating an account, you can share essential business information such as your address, business hours, contact information and services. This not only improves findability and attracts visitors to your website, but it also showcases your business in local searches. It also allows you to communicate directly with customers through reviews and questions.
Google loves it when you create a Google my business. In the account, you can also include links to your website which again ensures better findability in Google.
24. Add a call to action
In communication, BLUF stands for “Bottom Line Up Front.” This means placing the core message or main conclusion at the beginning of the communication so that the reader or listener knows immediately what the main point is. This helps promote clarity and efficiency in communication.
25. Use of the keyword in strategic places
Article title: The title is one of the most important places for your keyword. A well-placed keyword in the title helps search engines quickly understand what your article is about. The title should be attractive and descriptive, with the keyword ideally at the beginning.
First paragraph: It is recommended to use your primary keyword early in the text, preferably in the first paragraph. This immediately indicates to both readers and search engines that the content is relevant to the searched term.
Main text: Spread the keyword naturally through the main body of your article. This means integrating it organically and meaningfully, without undermining the readability or quality of your writing.
Avoid overuse, which is known as keyword stuffing, as it can have negative effects on both SEO and user experience.
Subheads: Including your keyword in at least one subhead (H2 or H3) can further improve SEO. This not only helps with structuring your content for search engines, but also makes it easier for readers to scan the content.
Density of keywords: While there is no set rule for the ideal keyword density, a natural and readable approach is essential. A good rule of thumb is not to force the keyword, but to use it only where it fits naturally.
25. Make use of BLUF
BLUF, which stands for “Bottom Line Up Front” in communication, means placing the essence or main conclusion right at the beginning of a message. This way, the recipient immediately understands what the crucial point is. This approach contributes to clarity and effectiveness in communication by making the most important point immediately clear. This is a good SEO strategy that also works immediately for voice searches.
It also increases your chances of ending up on the first page of Google because the most important thing (the answer) is at the top of your text and directly answers the reader’s question.
26. Add sources
Google appreciates it when you offer your visitors additional, relevant information from trusted sources. Suppose you have a blog about fitness. You can increase the value of your article by referencing authoritative sources such as:
https://www.webmd.com/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx
https://www.researchgate.net/
Google really likes it when you share information from reliable coupons to better answer your visitor’s question. You will see that you will rank higher in Google when you refer to relevant and good sources. Google’s algorithm will pick up on this in no time and award you extra points when you reference good sources.
27. Provide good texts
It is essential to understand your visitors’ search intent and respond accordingly. This means that your content should match exactly what your visitors are looking for or want to learn. If your content aligns well with your audience’s search questions and needs, it not only enhances their experience, but also increases the likelihood that your website will rank higher in search engines.
Building authority and trust is another important aspect. By providing in-depth, well-researched and informative content, you establish yourself or your brand as an expert in your field. This not only attracts a loyal readership, but also increases search engine trust in your website.
Interesting and relevant content attracts readers and keeps them captivated, which can lead to a lower bounce rate, longer visit times and more interactions, such as sharing on social media or posting comments. These are positive indicators for search engines, which can lead to better rankings.
High-quality content also offers long-term SEO benefits. Well-written and timeless content can continue to rank and generate traffic even long after it is published.
Answering specific questions from your target audience can help you get the coveted “featured snippets” or “position zero” in Google, which can significantly increase visibility and traffic to your site.
Using various content forms, such as text, images, videos and infographics, can increase the quality and attractiveness of your content. This appeals to different types of users and makes information more accessible.
28. Add schema (JSON-LD).
Schema markup (JSON-LD) is crucial for SEO because it helps search engines better understand and interpret a website’s content.
By using structured data, you can accurately convey specific information about your pages to search engines, such as the nature of an article, product information, events, reviews and more. This increases your chances of getting rich snippets in search results, which can improve visibility and click-through rates.
Google and other search engines can handle several types of schema, for a complete overview you can look at the Schema.org website. You will also find many examples here.
29. Surprise the visitor visually
Enrich your pages with various content elements such as text, images, videos, infographics, quotes, and more. This not only contributes to a more organized and enjoyable page layout, but also encourages visitors to stay longer on your website. A longer stay on a page is seen by Google as an indication of the value and relevance of your website.
30. Ask for reviews and comments
Actively soliciting reviews and comments is an essential strategy for businesses and websites. Good reviews have multiple benefits: they increase credibility, build trust with potential customers and can even contribute to better SEO results.
Positive reviews act as social proof; they show that other customers are satisfied with your product or service, which can convince new customers to choose you as well.
It is important to make reviews visible on your website or on relevant platforms such as Google, Yelp or industry-specific review websites. In addition to its value to potential customers, search engines take the quality and quantity of reviews into account when determining a website’s relevance and authority.
If you want to ask for reviews, there are several good platforms such as:
Trustpilot
The Feedback Company
WebwinkelKeur
Custorate
Klantenvertellen
Kiyoh
eKomi
Trusted Shops
31. Take into account voice searches
Optimization for voice search is becoming increasingly important in an era of increasing use of voice-activated assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa. Voice searches often differ from traditional typed searches; they tend to be longer, more conversational in nature and often contain questions.
To optimize your website for voice search, it is important to focus your content on natural language and query-based search terms.
This means including long-tail keywords that match the way people naturally speak. You should also focus on providing clear, concise and direct answers to questions, because voice search users often seek quick and specific answers.
FAQ pages and FAQ sections within articles are effective for voice search optimization. These formats provide direct answers to questions users may ask.
In addition, it is crucial to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, given that many voice searches are done via mobile devices.
Finally, local SEO is also a key factor in voice search optimization, as many voice searches are location-based, such as “Where is the nearest coffee shop?” Keeping your local business listings up-to-date and ensuring accurate location data can improve your visibility in voice-based local searches.
32. To measure is to know
“Measuring is Knowing” is a fundamental principle in the world of digital marketing and website management. Accurately measuring and analyzing your website’s performance is crucial to understanding what works, what needs improvement and how to optimize strategies for better results.
Using tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console is essential to this measurement process. Google Analytics provides detailed insights into visitor behavior on your website, including data on traffic sources, user behavior, conversion rates and more.
This information helps you understand how visitors interact with your site, what content appeals most and what paths they take.
Google Search Console, on the other hand, focuses more on your Web site’s visibility and performance in search engines. It provides valuable data on search terms that bring visitors to your site, the click-through rate (CTR) of your search results, and the technical status of your website, including any crawl errors or security issues.
By using these tools, you can:
Assess the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and make adjustments as needed.
Improve the user experience on your website by gaining insights into user behavior.
Identify technical issues that may be affecting the performance of your website.
Measure the impact of specific content or marketing campaigns.
Better understand how your target audience searches and interacts with your website.
Analyzing this data regularly allows you to make informed decisions and continually improve your digital marketing strategy.
Do you want to do SEO yourself? Improve your SEO knowledge now
Are you also excited, and want to start doing SEO yourself? Check out our great course, the “Google SEO course” and in no time you can take control of your own SEO.
Make sure you can take your website to the next level and independently optimize your website so that Google will rank your website higher in search results.
Get more traffic to your website and get visitors to stay longer on it. Start the course now and become an expert in search engine optimization, and get high up in Google!
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