SEO

Articles and code samples created in response to many frequently asked questions about SEO

What is SEO and what should be considered when doing SEO?

What is SEO? SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization." It's the practice of optimizing a website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords or phrases. The goal of SEO is to increase organic (unpaid) traffic to a website by making it more visible and relevant to search engines and users. SEO involves a variety of techniques and strategies, including keyword research, on-page optimization (such as meta tags and header tags), link building, and content creation. The aim is to create a website that provides a great user experience and is also well-optimized for search engines, making it easier for them to crawl, index, and understand the content. The algorithms used by search engines to rank websites are complex and constantly evolving, so staying up-to-date with the latest best practices and updates is important for success in SEO. What are the basic SEO rules? Here are some basic rules for effective search engine optimization (SEO): Conduct keyword research: Start by identifying keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business and that people are searching for. Use keyword research tools to find the best keywords to target. Optimize your website's structure and content: Make sure your website is well-structured and easy for both users and search engines to navigate. Use descriptive, keyword-rich titles, headings, and meta descriptions. Create high-quality, relevant content that is optimized for both users and search engines. Make your website mobile-friendly: With more and more people accessing the internet on mobile devices, it's essential that your website is optimized for mobile. This means making sure it's responsive, loads quickly, and is easy to use on a small screen. Improve your website's loading speed: Search engines favor fast-loading websites. Use tools like GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights to test your website's loading speed and identify areas for improvement. Build high-quality backlinks: Backlinks are a crucial factor in determining search engine rankings. Focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites that are relevant to your business. Monitor your results: Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to track your website's performance and identify areas for improvement. Keep an eye on your rankings, traffic, and conversion rates, and make changes as necessary. Stay up-to-date with best practices and algorithm updates: The algorithms used by search engines are constantly changing, so it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest best practices and updates. Read industry blogs, attend conferences, and take online courses to stay informed. Remember, SEO is a long-term process that requires patience, persistence, and continuous effort. By following these basic rules, you can help your website rank higher in search engine results pages and attract more organic traffic.

What is backlink and what is the importance of backlink for SEO?

A backlink, also known as an "inbound link" or "incoming link," is a link from one website to another. In the context of search engine optimization (SEO), backlinks play an important role in determining a website's search engine ranking. The more high-quality backlinks a website has, the higher it is likely to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). Backlinks serve as a vote of confidence for search engines, indicating that other websites consider the content on a particular site to be valuable and relevant. This is why search engines like Google use backlinks as a factor in their ranking algorithms. The quality and relevance of the linking website, as well as the relevance and context of the linked content, are also taken into account. For website owners, acquiring backlinks from reputable, authoritative websites can be a valuable way to increase their visibility and improve their search engine rankings. However, it's important to build backlinks in a natural and ethical manner, as search engines penalize websites that engage in manipulative link building practices.

What to do to earn more money from Adsense ads

If you own a website and feel that your Adsense earnings are not high enough, there are several strategies you can use to increase your income by 20-40%. Here are some effective methods to earn more money from Adsense ads: Optimize your content: Adsense algorithm favors displaying ads that are relevant to the content on the web pages where they are displayed. Therefore, optimizing your content is crucial to achieving a higher click-through rate (CTR) and cost-per-click (CPC). This entails targeting specific keywords, updating your content frequently, and utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Improve your ad placement: Ad placement is a crucial factor in increasing the likelihood of ad clicks. Better ad placement can result in higher click-through rates. You can experiment with various ad placements, such as placing ads next to or above your main content. However, excessive ad placement or compromising user experience may reduce your ad click-through rates. Ensure mobile compatibility: As mobile device usage continues to rise, ad click-through rates are also increasing accordingly. Hence, it is critical to ensuring that your website is compatible with mobile devices. Make certain that your ads look attractive and clickable on mobile devices. Drive more traffic: More traffic means more clicks and more revenue. You can employ social media marketing, search engine optimization, and other online marketing techniques to attract more traffic to your website. [[reklam]] Adsense CPC and CTR values are crucial metrics for measuring the performance of your Adsense account and optimizing it to increase your earnings. CPC in Adsense means "cost per click," which refers to the amount that advertisers pay for their ads. CTR represents the number of clicks per ad impression. To calculate CPC value, you need to divide the total earnings by the total number of clicks. For instance, if you earned 20 USD for 10 clicks, the CPC value is 2 USD. To calculate CTR value, you need to divide the total number of clicks by the total number of ad impressions and multiply the result by 100. For example, if your ad was viewed 1000 times and clicked 20 times, the CTR value is 2%. You can easily track your CPC and CTR values in your Adsense account by logging in and selecting the "Performance" tab. Here, you can view metrics such as cost per click (CPC) and click-through rate (CTR). You can also compare your performance for different ad placements and ad types. To optimize your CPC and CTR values, it is important to focus on high-quality content and appropriate ad placement. High-quality content can increase ad click-through rates, while appropriate ad placement can increase the likelihood of clicks.

How to Submit Your WordPress Website to Google and Bing for Indexing

Your website is ready in every aspect. You have an eye-catching, beautiful theme, equipped with carefully selected plugins, and you have created excellent content that will capture the attention of your followers... But most likely, no one will be able to see your website. Because your website is not indexed by major search engines. Despite their appearance, search engines are not as powerful and intelligent as they seem. They cannot automatically be aware of the existence of your website and cannot present it as a relevant result to a user making a query. That's why your first task is to inform search engines about the existence of your website. This process is called indexing. [[reklam]] What is Indexing? A search engine (especially Google, which is the most well-known and widely used search engine) is essentially nothing more than a giant index, a kind of database that lists known websites. When search engines index a site, they gather as much information as possible about that site using worms/spiders/bots. This information includes various pieces of data such as robots.txt, .htaccess, XML sitemaps, meta descriptions, and more. Below are the steps you need to take to ensure that your newly created WordPress site doesn't go unnoticed by these spiders. [[reklam]] Create an XML Sitemap XML sitemaps provide search bots with information about your website's pages and how these pages are organized or interconnected. You use these sitemaps to provide "directions" for search bots to navigate your content more easily and quickly. This task is very easy in WordPress. Almost every major SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, Premium SEO Pack, etc., includes a feature to create an XML sitemap. There are also dedicated sitemap plugins such as XML Sitemaps by BestWebSoft and Google XML Sitemaps. [[reklam]] After creating your sitemap using these plugins, you will have a ready-to-use URL like www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. This address is an XML document that contains information about what your website is about and where the content is located. As a recommendation, don't forget to generate an HTML sitemap for your WordPress site as well. This process may not provide much benefit in terms of being noticed by search engines, but it can help you rank higher in search results. Submit Website Domain Information to Search Engines As mentioned earlier, the internet is a vast expanse, and search engines, no matter how powerful they may be, cannot automatically know everything about you. Therefore, when you create a WordPress website, you need to inform search engines about it. [[reklam]] How can you do this? GOOGLE If you don't have an account yet, the first thing you need to do is create a Google account. Choose one of the Google products (Google+, Gmail, YouTube, etc.) and create an account. If you are already using any of these products, you can use the same account within Google. Sign in to your Google account. Go to Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools). Add your website URL and click the "Add Property" button. [[reklam]] After that, the Search Console will ask for information to verify that you own the website. The recommended method is to log in to your domain provider account and perform the verification from there. There are four alternative methods available as well: HTML file, meta tag, Google Analytics, or Tag Manager. Google Tag Manager is the best approach for this task, as it allows you to add tracking and analytics codes to your website more securely and easily. The steps to add Google Tag Manager to WordPress (and use it for configuring Google Analytics) are described below. By following these steps, you can properly set up Google Tag Manager. If you prefer to go through HTML, you need to have access to the HTML code of your website. Here's how you can add the HTML verification file to your WordPress site: [[reklam]] Download the HTML verification file provided by Google Search Console. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard. From the left-hand menu, go to Appearance > Theme Editor. On the right-hand side, you'll see a list of theme files. Look for "Theme Header" or "header.php" and click on it. Find the <head> section in the code editor. Copy and paste the HTML verification code provided by Google between the <head> tags. Save the changes. Once you have verified your website ownership using one of the methods mentioned above, you will be able to access Google Search Console for your website. From there, you can monitor the indexing status, submit sitemaps, check for crawl errors, and perform various other tasks related to search engine optimization. [[reklam]] BING Bing is another popular search engine, although it has a smaller market share compared to Google. It's still important to submit your website to Bing to ensure it gets indexed. Here's how you can submit your WordPress website to Bing: Sign in to your Bing Webmaster Tools account (create one if you don't have it). Click on "Add Site" and enter your website URL. Follow the verification process using one of the available methods (XML file, meta tag, or CNAME record). Once your website is verified, you can access Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your XML sitemap. [[reklam]] By following these steps, you can inform both Google and Bing about the existence of your WordPress website and increase the chances of your site being indexed and appearing in search results. Remember, indexing takes time, and it may not happen immediately. Be patient and continue to focus on creating high-quality content, optimizing your website for search engines, and promoting it through various channels to improve its visibility.