What is Good Seo Practice for Campaign Success

 A good SEO campaign begins with a meeting with a client. The client will inform what is the topic of the website, its purpose, and its intent. These aspects are important. Thus, web development begins at the whiteboard stage. All details should be noted down. Using your experience and knowledge the development should be refined and planned before the implementation begins. This is important for SEO results.

What is SEO?

What is SEO or search engine optimization? It is simply following the search engine guidelines fulfilling the metrics set by the search engines that number over 200. Webmasters work to fulfill these metrics. They make efforts to get their site indexed and rank it higher on the search engine result pages or SERPs.

SEO  is important for business, trade, and many other purposes. It is an organic campaign and is literarily free of cost. Although a team of experts is required, the cost is minimal. It is a complex exercise and requires a great deal of creativity and consistency. There has to be a great deal of coordination and cooperation. Without SEO the website will not be indexed and rank high. It will thus, lose visibility. Losing visibility will mean a lack of traffic and no traffic means no lead and no business. Hence, SEO is a must for businesses. 

The Next Step

The next step is content creation followed by deep-seated research and analysis.  You have to know how the web development will take place. This is crucial for the website, it should be fast enough as far as downloading is concerned. Hence, you should keep in mind the web core vitals, Google lays immense stress on these factors. The large images and large blocks of text called the largest content paintful should download fast. The elements on the website should be stable, there should be no element shift taking place. There should be no input delay, the server should respond quickly. Hence the site should be minimal and the page size should not be more than 100 kb.

Most people click on the first few results, thus, the first few blue links are the most important. Search is free it does not cost the visitors any money or fee. Thus, the title and description should be well crafted to make the visitor click.

On-Page Elements

The website should be responsive, it should be mobile-friendly. The link elements should be clickable and at a reasonable distance, and the mobile screen should fit the screen.   The screen should be compatible with all handheld devices including the PC.

For leading SEO marketingagencies these factors should be looked into. Rather these factors are a must. A website that downloads fast will have no bounce rate.  A well-developed website will be a big success if promoted properly. Digital marketing business runs into billions, and there is no dearth of clients. The size of the search engine optimization market is USD 46.7, and it is expected to increase to over 234 USD by 2030 growing at the rate of 17.6% CAGR.  

SEO Best Practices for Ranking

To make your page more secure encryption is important. And that encryption is provided by HTTPS which is a secure protocol that transmits a secure hence moving away from HTTP the older version.

Assure fast downloading of pages.

Visitors do not wait for pages to download forever they expect quick downloads. Page speed is one of the ranking factors as mentioned again and again by Google in Core Web Vital. Many other factors following core web vital will make your pages steady and download fast.

Some of these issues can be complicated, so your best bet is to ask a developer (or technical SEO expert) to fix them.

Here are some general tips for keeping your pages fast:

General Tips

Take the help of technical SEOs, developers, and programmers.

Use a CDN. For some visitors, data has to travel long distances before it is fetched to the browser. This is slow. CDNs solve this by copying critical resources like images to a network of servers around the globe so that resources are always loaded locally.

You must compress the large images that make the loading slow. Compressing large images decreases the file size, and loading becomes fast. You have to be careful enough to balance the quality.

Use lazy loading it prevents the loading of offscreen elements until you need them. Thus the browser does not have to load all the images at once.

The coding should be perfect and you should use a well-optimized theme. 

Optimize content on the best search intent. You should be focused on providing the right solution based on the topic and your content.

Use long-term and secondary keywords to optimize to avoid competition. Avoid tough competition at the initial stage of your SEO Campaign.  

Use target keywords in the title, H1 Tag, and the first line in the content. Use semantic terms naturally in your content and please write for the readers and not for the search engines. Write naturally and do not stray away from the topic. Your content should not be saturated with targeted keywords or it will get penalized.  

Use descriptive URL it should be short and not dynamic in nature.

Add internal links for other important pages.

In the end, try to get authoritative backlinks. Good content and good link architecture draw links naturally. These are the salient points an online marketing agency should follow to get good results.

Right Approach to Search Engine Optimization

 Search Engine Optimization also known by its abbreviation SEO is one of the key activities that can highlight your website on the SERPs. Now with continuous scrolling brought in by Google finding a website on SERP or search engine, result pages have become a great possibility even if it ranks deeper. But the buck does not stop here webmaster's pursuit remains the same. To bring high traffic to the website top rankings are a must as usual.

Search engine optimization is an exercise to rank websites on the top of the first page. Easier said than done, the exercise remains complex and is constantly changing as Google with a 97 % share of the search market keeps evolving. There is a constant update or rather a slew of updates each year which impact ranking and indexing, two vital aspects of SEO Campaigns. 

Webmasters have to keep updated on changes in Google Algorithms so that they can mold their approach the right way. This is a continuous process as algorithms evolve to check spam and bring the best site forward.

Basics About SEO

On-page optimization has become as important as off-page optimization. Hence both should be worked upon diligently. Another factor that matters a lot is relevancy. Your website content should be accurately pointing to the objective or the purpose of the website. Hence not only does the topic matter which anyway should be clearly defined it is the intent also that matters most. Are you simply highlighting a product for awareness or do you wish to sell the product? Hence intent should be specified using the content headlines, subheadlines, and all. Even the inner pages should be relevant. It is not wise to make a site on both coffee and tea you will only end up confusing the search engines if the link architecture and directory structure do not define each clearly by creating well-defined SILOs.

Off-Page Optimization

Off-Page optimization differs from On-Page Optimization as it is carried out on external platforms. This activity's main focus is on link building. Over the number of year link building has changed drastically and relies on sound platforms and not on link farms or advertisement sites. 

Links have to be built naturally due to the usefulness of the website. Other techniques involved are external or inbound links from blogs, internet publishing sites, and article sites. Links on authority sites also matter immensely.  Acceptable links are those that are contextual and carry useful relevant information in form of short-form or long-form write-ups. The old strategy of building links using SEO directories and cheap article sites does not work anymore on the contrary it invites a penalty. 

Conclusion   

Search Engine Optimization is a constantly changing process, hence webmasters should keep in touch with the latest trends. The techniques keep on changing as well as the strategies adopted.  By following the right approach a Professional SEO Firm can reap a lot of business. SEO is an exercise that requires experience and expertise. The campaigns work best when a sincere approach is adopted.      

Tips for Putting Best SEO Techniques into Practice

 Understanding SEO & Traffic

When search engines came into the picture, the major challenge was to index and rank the phenomenally growing number of websites. Visitors search for information using the search column of the web browsers and expect the most suitable answer. Over 90% percent of the search market has been captured by the Google search company. It processes over 3.7 billion searches every day that amount to a whopping 1.2 trillion search annually. Search companies have become the biggest repository of information as people search websites, blogs, forums, Internet publishing sites, and social media.

Responsive websites that follow search engine guidelines rank higher on the SERPs and receive the greatest amount of traffic arising as a result of people searching on the web browsers. This can be best described as www ecosystem. Although search is free, it has generated ample opportunities for revenue generation for search companies and social media. Due to billions of searches made everyday visitors throng the World Wide Web. This allows search companies and social media to publish advertisements that generate revenue for them. Thus, in the www companies vie with each other to capture high-density traffic for various purposes. Site owners can also subscribe to a paid advertisement on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. They can also advertise on Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites.       

Likewise, website owners also seek high-density traffic for the response on the Internet. High traffic yields occur due to search engine optimization campaigns that consultants and agencies execute for clients. Although optimization is free it does cost money to hire a team of experts or an agency.

Search Engine Optimization Best Practices 

There are techniques and website development processes the SEO companies employ to increase ranking on the SERPs. Top listing on the SERPs on target keywords is one of the best practices to focus on the target audience.

Website Development & SEO

Top listing accrues for sites that are well-made and follow the search engine guidelines. The first step while making a website is that it should be topic relevant focused on one topic, and not create a state of confusion among the search engine algorithms.  Next website builders should keep in mind cross compatibility since there are many types of browsers and computer screens most important the site should easily download on mobile screens.

While the website is being developed user-friendliness (UX) should be kept in mind. This will reduce the bounce rate.  The content on the site should be unique, and relevant, and disseminate information as envisaged.  Spam and duplicate content are rejected by the search algorithms and your site will never rank among the top on competitive keywords. Meaningful content in tandem with intent is very important do not create content to fill it with words or do not create it for search engines. The website content should be solely for visitors but at the same time impart requisite information to search engine algorithms. 

The website should download fast on the screens and should be stable as defined by the web core vitals. This adds to the user experience. It should be hosted on secure and fast servers so that it downloads fast and is secure. Use the services of experts in hosting and programming to make your website functional and a top performer.  An SEO should comprise technical experts, content writers, and professional web developers. Teamwork is necessary for search engine optimization if you are not part of an agency you can align with freelancers for technical guidance.  

Regular site audits should be conducted to keep it in conformity with user experience. On-page, optimization is key to success on SERPs and owners should add proper elements like page title, description, keywords, alt text, etc. This helps the SEs index and rank sites appropriately.

Off Page Popularity   

The website should be popular on the www, and attract traffic by being unique and useful. The popularity and usefulness generate natural inbound links that the search engines appreciate. Link popularity arising from authoritative links is important as search engines value them to index and rank websites.  Keep in mind the external links pointing toward your website should be associated with relevant content from authoritative sources. 

 Social media signals make the site popular among online communities that subscribe to the targeted audience. Thus, social media participation is key to reputation building and creating trust among prospective customers or followers. We do not know if the search engines value social signals for ranking but anyway social media popularity is good for referral building and brand awareness.    

Remember SEO is a subset of digital marketing and compliments the campaign. Both depend upon content creation and distribution. Organic digital marketing should always be carried out with search engine optimization campaigns.

Out of 1.9 million websites, there are currently 600 million blogs on www. Blogging is another good means to create a reputation since the platforms are flexible and feature-rich. Blog popularity arises from consistency, relevancy, and uniqueness. All webmasters should be involved in blogging or use guest blogs for high traffic. Blogs are a good means of creating authoritative and relevant links but use them sparsely. Like your property, blogs should be topic specific and relevant.  

SEO is vital for business and costs much less than paid advertisement with better ROI. Website owners should hire professional SEO firms to rank high on search engines. Without SEO it is next to impossible to rank high on SERPs. 

SEO & Digital Marketing The Chicken & Egg Story

 Search Engine Optimization - The Beginning 

If I remember well SEO started some time way back in the late 90s after the advent of the Internet. It was hard getting connected to the Net those days when I had built my first site on Yahoo GeoCities. The free site built using Yahoo GeoCities tools and space was titled "The Tiger Heavens of India".  

The site was responsible for my entry into the murky world of SEO or search engine optimization and content writing. At that time-on-page factors meant a lot, psssssst they still do. But then a simple insertion of the right terms in profusion in the content and meta worked wonders. The search engines had not yet woken up about spam since the Net was small as compared to the explosion taking place now. 

The Search Market

Before we proceed further let us take a peek at the search market. Google alone commands an impressive share of 87 % in the USA. The other players are insignificant with a share of:

• Bing 6.6%
• Yahoo 3.24%
• Duckduck Go 2.49%    

This comparison should explain the focus on Google of all those in the online marketing business.

End of Black Hat SEO Tactics

Content writing (mine were perfectly written) with the inclusion of semantics,  keywords, and grammar simply meant following the rules without losing the focus on the search terms and reader engagement. It was after the filters like Panda that sudden expediency in proper content writing as science came into the picture. All the spam blogs proliferating WWW became an overnight failure and lost ranking on the SERPs. This was a sensational beginning of the end of spam online. No more keyword or content spam!

Next to follow was link building which brought about an end to factories churning out backlinks helter-skelter. Yes, that was what the SEO agencies were doing and were successful. That too came to an end with Penguin. The black hat link building still exists today but is drastically reduced now. 

Links though remain important have become contextual, naturalized, and effective in smaller numbers. Thus, authoritative link building came into existence as the algorithms evolved. External and internal links still matter but should be built wisely in association with relevant and engaging content on-page and off-page.

Then it was the turn of SEO Directory submission that became irrelevant somewhat as they struck the dead end. Instead content wrapped links on diverse platforms including some authoritative article sites with editorial scrutiny gained ascendency and contributed to higher ranking and authority on the SERPs. 

Well to cut the story short, the search engine algorithms have begun to fight spam with greater efficiency as they evolve. With each and every update the indexing and ranking criteria are changing fast and the indolent webmasters are finding it difficult to keep pace. 

Contemporary SEO and Digital Marketing 

While SEO has become a mix of science, technology, and art, digital marketing encompasses all but is specific platform-dependent.  SEO is considered a larger subset of digital or online marketing. 

SEO is an important subset and contributes to more than 55  % of audience reach on the Internet. It is a gateway to free visibility and audience reach. For the eCommerce industry SEO delivers 65% of web traffic and is a vital component. If conducted properly the optimization campaign yield substantial traffic for portals and blogs on SERPs. This traffic is free, and whence the campaign includes paid Ads, and content strategies on Digital Platforms like Email, Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook to name a few, the whole exercise becomes explosive and leads to potential results.     

Some technical aspects of SEO that call for larger employment of skill sets or a team are becoming as important as gaining an authoritative position. For example site speed is the number one metric that requires technical adjustment along with other features that make the website competitive and fit for the mobile world. Other issues that fall under the scope of technical SEO are crawling issues, canonical or duplicate content issues, language-based targeting, and website coding.

We must understand that all algorithmic processes, Internet-based platforms that enable content writing along with attributes like video, image, and infographics become intertwined as they evolve in cyberspace.  Thus digital marketing is becoming more and more complex with each platform being unique, and involvement has become a much-in-demand skill set.  Paid ads using dynamic and smart technologies have increased the complexities faced during the SEM Campaigns and require an understanding of the interplay of various Ad options that search engines are bringing forth to gain accuracy and increase the subscribers' return on investment - the much-touted buzzword ROI.  

Data Analysis & Trends     

Complexities are not limited to SEO or SEM, the whole digital marketing exercise is becoming embroiled in a tangible result-oriented campaign stressed by the employing digital enterprises to beat the cutthroat competition online. In the contemporary era, webmasters, and content writers are living in a stressed environment. They have to beat the heat with tangible success online.

Data analysis provided by analytical tools and search engine consoles, online reports, and statistics is becoming more and more important with the passing of time. Data and understanding of the latest technologies and trends help in shaping productive content strategies and digital campaigns that lead to the goal conversion.   

SERPs & Complex Features

It is no more the 10 site links anymore the search engines result pages are inundated with Ads, free product listings from eCommerce sites by Google, knowledge panel, people ask, carousal, site links, snippets, videos, and images to name a few.  The SERPs can show nearly 2000 feature elements based on search intent but thankfully not at once. 

Though there are been a negative outlook related to inundating the SERP with these features the company assures higher traffic due to their inclusion. The negative reviews the features receive arise from visitors ignoring the ranking sites as answers are available without any clicks. The inclusion of free product listings and this Google Shopping is a free source of web traffic for many companies and so are the presence on local listings (GMB) and Maps. 

Please note to qualify for free product listing the company should be on the Google Merchant Center and follow the prescribed guidelines. 

Constant Updates & SEO 

With the induction of RankBrain (2015), Google has successfully integrated AI with its indexing and ranking process making search optimization more difficult. Will these changes lead to the end of SEO? Well, most unlikely but increased importance to monetization is certainly having an impact that has to be skillfully maneuvered. The stress should be on accurate information on board provided by the search engine specialists. You should aim to be found out on targeted terms by the visitors and with the right optimization, AI will certainly come to your help! 

Artificial intelligence together with the inclusion of machine learning methodology casts greater challenges on webmasters. Now it has become difficult to grasp what actually the search company derives from the search query or the content with the inclusion of these technologies.  

By the year Google made 5000 changes to search with the help of over 800,000 experiments in order to refine the search results and thus keep its market share intact as a leader. 

Additionally, visitors have an option for localized or personalized results. Though this does not complicate things, there is greater stress on search engine optimization specialists and writers. The content creation should take care of the right user (semantic) intent that has to be fulfilled. SEOs should anticipate queries that would be generated by the target audience and gauge the site metrics' ability to solve or provide solutions. This is imperative for loyal followings and to attract new user traffic.  This is in order to reach the right target audience.   

The SEO best practices include:

• Keyword Research
• Unique Relevant Content 
• Natural Backlink Acquisition 
• Constant Analysis 
• Authoritative External Link Building
• Internal Linking

These practices remain relevant after all that has evolved in the case of algorithms that track, index, and rank a website. The search engine optimization service providers should also keep in mind the way content and site attributes are structured. 

With the increasing popularity of structured data, a technical SEO element search engines now offer schema for a variety of topics. This should be made use of to be included in rich results for higher traffic. Please note structured data will not enhance ranking but will certainly increase CTR due to being included in the dynamic rich results. 

Digital Marketing  

Much has been written about this popular mechanism. A comprehensive understanding of the main platforms including some fantastic eBook sites is necessary if you wish to conduct campaigns online. How FB, Linked, or Instagram work?   How you can create an online reputation and brand awareness? How you can increase your popularity as a subscriber? How you can benefit from intense relevant blogging? 

These are the questions you must answer before framing a content marketing strategy on social media and networking sites. Email marketing is yet another marketing tool that you should be familiar with. In case your employers choose paid advertisements on social media you should be able to adapt if not already familiar.  

Digital marketing is a fast-growing and constantly evolving field though SEO came first both are now included in marketing strategies be prepared.

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Uday provides a search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website content and content for authoritative links. He also works as SEO Content Writer for digital companies on a remote WFH basis.

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323          

Optimizing YouTube Video Performance

YouTube videos are often made with passion because they are an extension of one's preferred recreation or hobby. The buck does not stop here they are also made for professional purposes for business, highlighting and promoting brands, advertisement, and just for increasing awareness as knowledge portals. 

Partner Program

As a YouTube partner, the owner can promote videos for various purposes besides earning revenue from the partner program.   In this, you get part of the revenue generated from ads on the platform. The eligibility of becoming a partner is based on some set conditions you can find details under the monetization section in your dashboard.  

Your channel should have clocked four thousand hours of viewership besides having 100,000 visits and a minimum of 1000 subscribers.  Good quality and engagement will lead to greater watched hours while high ranking and relevance will lead to greater traffic. For this purpose, YouTube optimization is important.  

Quality Production 

The first step is to record your preferred topic. The quality of the broadcast should be of high standards this is one of the prerequisites.  High resolution with an output of 4k is the most preferred quality yardstick. The minimum should be 1080p.  The filming should be steady with all important sequences included to the fullest. Always edit your video before uploading for the best viewing experience. 

Shoot for Target Audience

The next equally important is shooting what people would like to view and view often. Happening instances, bizarre events, animals in action, animal behavior, celebrities, gala events, political turmoil and speech, recent news, epic battles,  religious songs, popular music, spectacular sports and events,  wildlife, these are some of the preferences among the masses.  There is no limit to preferences and it depends upon how purposeful, relevant, and how well you have created the broadcast.    

The length of the broadcast should be more than a minute up to a few minutes. Short clips are not very successful unless the event itself is short and engaging. Creating relevant and engaging content is the key to success on this platform. Tell a story to engage the viewers and they will keep coming for more. 

Uploading & Optimizing 

Once you have a video made you can open an account at Google and enter YouTube using the account dashboard. Signing or enter and create a channel. Give a suitable easy to remember the name to the channel, and describe it well in the about us section. The channel URL will help you in promoting it on social medial along with all your works. This is an easy way to promote since all your work is visible under one URL. 

Channel Example

Channel URL

Playlist URL

Upload your property using the option given on the top right hand. If you have more than one videos create a playlist for each topic and add them accordingly. Relevancy is very important and a playlist should help categorize the properties for viewers and search engines. All the optimization elements above can be filled while uploading and this will save time and your product will be ready for viewing as soon as the upload is complete. 

Once the channel and playlists have been created you can begin optimizing each property. If you visit the uploaded videos on the right-hand side, you will come across an option to edit.  

Add a suitable title, description, and keywords. Also, add subtitles and mark the playlist the video belongs to.  The keyword usage is important and besides your personal experience, you can take the help of the keyword tools. It is best to keep visiting the result pages for absorbing fruitful and meaningful terms. You can make easy entry by optimizing on less competitive terms and then rely on the sharing option for further promotion on social media. 

An engaging and well-liked experience will mean that visitors will use the share option extensively to promote your video. You can use the sharing option yourself to promote on social media platforms in the online friends' community or on topic relevant community pages where you are a member.  

Add a title that depicts the video using popular keywords followed by an apt description and keywords separated by a comma, this will help search engines index and rank properly. For ranking, at top spots, the search engines will check quality, keywords, and relevancy. 

Use Card or End Screen Option to race ahead in suggested video performance. 

Many factors are considered while ranking, and you can discover them by visiting the analytics of the channel, and that of each video.  

YouTube Analytics 

The analytics are extensive and you will get details on the performance of the channel and individual videos this will help tremendously in promoting your property. You can view how your property is faring on a daily or weekly basis.  If you keep visiting the analytics or read tutorials you will learn to analyze video performance much better.  

As for the partner program eligibility, you will get an email from the company whence you have complied. 

Ranking & Viewing Determinants

• Quality 
• Engagement
• Video Optimization
• Social Media Promotion 
• Consistency

For ranking purposes hire an SEO and Digital Marketing specialist. Keep producing more and more content to achieve the targets and succeed. It pays to be on youtube!

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Uday provides a search engine optimization service for digital marketing. In addition, he provides website content and content for authoritative links. He teaches Internet Marketing in Jabalpur.

He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323      

Technical SEO: Indexing & Crawl

Website owners cannot take crawling for granted since it is a costly process. Thus Google budgets crawl, especially in the case of large portals.

Different factors impact crawl budget

• Age of the domain 
• Backlink profile, which reflects the authority and trustworthiness of a domain. 
• The size of the domain 
• Also content freshness 
• Accessibility
• Proper http status codes

If the above factors are favorable regular crawls are expected, and hence new updates are indexed fast. Search engines do not like to waste crucial resources ineptly crawling your site; hence core vitals should be within the correct limits. The SE try to achieve more with fewer efforts and save on resources which are data center per unit for a given domain. Crawl requests are judged based on several requests in twenty-four hours. Thus site updates and new content should reflect quickly on the SERPs. Keep a tab of indexing and crawling for each site in GSC or Google Search Console.

As a contingency measure, important URLs should be placed in priority in the site architecture.  

You can use various tools to understand how SE crawls a web page. SEs use many crawlers to ascertain your web page and index various attributes that reflect upon website ranking and user experience. 

Tools like SEMRush Audit, Deep Crawl, and Screaming Frog help you analyze crawling and problems associated with it. But GSC is unavoidable if you wish to understand how a client's websites is crawled. The tools emulate Google Bot to furnish information about site crawl.

Robot.TXT Exclusion Protocol 

This exclusion protocol placed in the root directory keeps away certain pages, scripts, and pdfs from search engine crawl. All SE does not follow this protocol, but Google, Bing, and Yahoo follow. This is a bit risky for excluding wrong coding, errors, and other issues that may prevent proper functioning.

If you want to make sure that your robots.txt file is free of dangerous issues, there are several checks available in the SEMrush Site Audit. With these checks, you can find out:

• Whether your robots.txt file has format errors
• If there are any issues with blocked internal resources in robots.txt
• Whether Sitemap.xml is indicated in robots.txt
• If the robots.txt file exists
• If no exclusion is required do not use this protocol at all.
• Exclusion Using Meta Tags
• This is a preferred method to exclude pages from Google crawl or from other search engines. This robot meta tag directive is placed in the <head> section linke all meta tags.
• <meta name="robots" content="noindex" /> 
• To block ad bots like Google Ad Bot use a specific directive.
• <meta name="AdsBot-Google" content="noindex" />
• <meta name="googlebot" content="noindex" />
• <meta name="googlebot-news" content="noindex" />
• To exclude multiple crawlers use the script below
• <meta name="googlebot" content="noindex">
• <meta name="googlebot-news" content="nosnippet">

The exclusion can be set in the headers as well.

Another advanced protocol in SEO is PRG. In this, you can define how the URLs look like using CSS code. Use Java Script to submit a post form and send it to a controller which redirects clean URLs.   

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Uday provides a search engine optimization service for digital marketing. In addition, he provides website content and content for authoritative links. 

He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323      

Image Optimization for Seo & Visual Search Using eCommerce Portals

Often neglected by web masters, image optimization is a key to website optimization. It has assumed greater significance after weight-age given to core web vitals by Google. Images play a major role in enhancing user experience which is vital for success online. 

Though less complex and time consuming than the rest of optimization exercise it plays a major role in garnering traffic from SERPs. Visual search is growing by leaps and bound people search using photographs as lead in the image search section of  the browsers. 

Billions of searches take place using them and the importance has increased with the proliferation of eCommerce sites in the cyber space. Optimizing photos on your website will enhance user experience, reduce poor performance as far as web vitals are concerned besides increasing conversion through enhanced engagement and higher ranking. 

Website owners and some web developers add pictures as if to fulfill a formality. On the contrary this is a serious aspect of web development. Relevant images accord a greater meaning to the content and attract buyers in eCommerce sites.  Attention should be paid in sincerity to visual attributes of a web page and photos besides video are essential for a complete page experience.   

Availing good pictures is a difficult task and often relevant free ones available on Internet are not up to the mark. Hence a professional approach should be in place to acquire the valuable visual attributes.  Buying them from stock photo sites is the best option for general images while a photographic stint using services of a professional lens men for topic specific images should be carried out. 

Compression 

After acquisition images should be compressed without using quality. Google Squoosh , Tinyjpeg and Adobe Photoshop have proved to be worth their salt as far as compression is concerned. The light images in latest formats enable swift downloads  on browsers and this is gauged by search engines as good for user experience and hence good for higher ranking. Adjustment should be made without compromising quality or resolution and Squoosh offers a preview that helps in minimizing the image to right size.  

Once compressed pictures added to a page should be defined by their height and width, Whence dimensions are mentioned the photos load separately from contents mitigate bad experience if they load slowly.   

URL Naming 

A responsive URL structure performs very well on SERPs and keyword driven approach should be followed whence naming an image.  The name should explain what the image stands for clearly to the users and the search engines. 

Alt Text

Adding Relevant alt text is very important and helps the search engines to understand content which is essential for indexing and ranking. This should used for keyword spamming rather used as description which also acts as screen reading tools for the visually impaired. Alt text should be contextual and exactly describe the image. They are automatically embedded in the HTML of the web page and are easy to add using a suitable editor.  Never use long sentences are use natural phrases to describe whenever possible.  Remember search engines calculate the incidence of a keyword on a web page and too many added artificially would be spamming.  

More on image optimization 

Storing images in  directory structure. Best is to create silos or specific directory to store images this will help create a topic specific identity which will help search engines as well. 

Create an image sitemap and add it to the web pages. 

Create structure data for images in a web page. 

These techniques are of immense help in case of large portals especially eCommerce sites. 

Save images in next gen formats for better performance.  There are many formats available for saving images but most suitable is JPEG. Newer versions of JEPG format are available as JEPG 2000 and JEPG XR. The next gen formats support multiple color formats as support for HDR Imagery which stands for high dynamic range imaging.      

Finally test download speed on tools mentioned below

1) https://www.webpagetest.org/

2) Google Lighthouse 

3)https://www.dareboost.com/en

For Visual Search Use Google Lens

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Uday provides search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website contents and content for authoritative links. 

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323          

White Hat Seo for Ecommerce Sites: Must Read

 eCommerce Portal Optimization

eCommerce sites or portals are usually large, they sell long list of products online. These are intensely designed and are capable of according a three dimension view of the products being sold. The portals maybe dedicated to one company or may be marketing hundreds of products as in case of Amazon or Flipkart to name a few.  Secure online payment systems facilitates instant payment which is the mainstay of purchase on the Internet. Online payment is a boon for both B2B or B2C business since instant purchase becomes possibly. For the eCommerce company secure online payment systems or electronic fund transfers attract a large number of customers and the instant purchases help in augmenting the turnover.       

Coding

In the back drop or back office a large number of programs facilitate display and transactions like the content management systems (CMS) and inventory management platforms but these are not subject of search engine optimization their function depends upon the technical service providers which keep the systems running.   

Taking into account a mid sized eCommerce website the search engine optimization needs intense involvement by webmasters not only because they are large but the complexity of site design needs thorough understanding of the platform.

During website promotion most of the optimizing techniques applied are the same as in case of smaller websites but here the work load quantum becomes four fold. Though the basics remain the same a major impediment can occur during indexing if the robot.txt file is improper hence regular check on the search console is mandatory. Any instruction regarding indexing and caching should be carried out expertly. The search console facilitates in discovering as to how many pages are being indexed and this has to be followed using the corrective path. Most of the time the scripts on boards are the cause of this malady and removal usually helps in indexing.   

Use of  response codes 301 and 404 should also be kept into consideration as there may be structural changes in the portal time to time especially if the product list is long. One should avoid using absolute link pathways since they make the pages vulnerable to infectious elements. Using a relative path is much safer. 

Google Tools   

In eCommerce site the website architecture need follow a smooth path or create a funnel which takes the visitors in such a manner  that he encounters desired products without too many clicks. You can check this in Google Analytic. This Google tool becomes imperative in case of eCommerce portals not only to realign the architecture but also to understand many dimensions of product pages that influences the buyers. Demographic details in the tool will help in gauging the characteristics of the audience which is very crucial in understanding the demands and thus the trending. Understanding market dynamics using this analytical tool leads to better grasp of audience profile and desires and thus higher sales.         

The analytical tool is also of immense help when an Adwords program is on going the analysis of market dynamics makes better uses of implementing the terms being selected and placed for bids. This tool is indispensable for running PPC Ads. If used expertly primary and secondary dimensions along with many variables facilitate accurate picture of  demographic factors in play. Using various sections we can also discover indexed pages and their popularity. Poorly developed pages can lead to low ranking on the SERPs hence this tool is vital to gauge the characteristics of a page.     

Website Aesthetics & Essentials  

The pages have to comply with search engine guidelines in order rank high on SERPs. The page essentials are unique descriptive contents. Please note anomaly may arise whence we use CMS and lot of pages will turn up with similar product descriptions, titles and meta tags. This has to be rectified by the web designers upon instruction from the webmasters. Unfortunately some website owners do not understand basic of search engine optimization and the SE guidelines. Even page contents often carry similar paragraphs which dilutes their authority and can get them penalized by search companies. These are actually on page factors which should be rectified before the off line campaign begins. Contents should be descriptive as well as persuasive in order to make the visitor spend time on the site and eventually make a purchase.    

Image optimization in case of eCommerce sites is very important since they have to download fast and without a hitch. Compression works fine but it does take off the sheen from the image hence light weight images should be obtained right from the start of product photography. The quality should excellent and the pictures should be true to real life - no cutouts will work mind you. These factors play an important role in conversions while the visitor is onsite.  In an eCommerce site there are no quality concessions be it in design and development or optimization usually designers and webmasters or seo consultants charge higher. There are no cheap solutions online.   

Site Search & Ranking Metrics

Implement product search through a box on each and every page. This facilitates quick access to product line. Remember visitors are impatient online and like to skip through whatever arrives belatedly or does not appear to be of standard or quality. Fast escape from web pages will lead to higher bounce rates and spoil your ranking on SERPs. 

Web Core Vitals 

Take assistance of the known web developer in order to make the site responsive since product search on smart phones is the norm these days. All vitals should be taken care of so as not to mar the user friendliness or UX. Heavy images, hindering scripts all impact website download or stable experience for visitors. Remember bounce rate is one of the important metrics used by search engines for ranking thus higher the bounce lower the rankings.     

Site Maps

Use both HTML and XML site maps, the latter is for search engines while the former is for humans. The sitemaps have  to be frequently updated visitors also use them for accessing pages or products they like to seek. The maps should be placed on each page. 

Add Structured Data 

This is one aspect that all search engines like Yahoo, Google and Bing are able to factor well using their algorithms. Sometime content is not able to elaborate properly the details of company or establishment this is where structured data place in the <head> section helps for better.   

Off Page Optimization 

This can be a laborious exercise. Place your site on GMB and local directories as well as create quality back link for each and every page. Please use quality content to create links since many will have to pass editorial scrutiny before being accepted by search engines. 

Although content wrapped links are the best but nothing like the site accumulating natural links. This will depend upon the website contents besides other attributes and finally the site usefulness or utility on SERPs. Links are useful as referrals as well and for this you should set up a campaign.Create Pages on FB and LinkedIn and promote them actively. 

Promotional Techniques and Social Media Participation  

Do not submit to directories or resort blog comments. If you come across niche directories use them rationally. Forums can create authority as well within the scope of guidelines else you will be banned from the site. Social Media Profile links will not offer off page seo benefits but SM participation will yield riches by increasing popularity of the site and reputation.  Regular blog inputs and visual contenting will be of immense help. Remember duplicates and copy cats are no no. If there is a company blog relevant to offerings it should be linked to the eCommerce Portal. 

Hosting        

Stable hosting with advance security features is a must. Frequent outages is a characteristics of poor hosting.  Gauge  the portals space requirement and the good enough bandwidth before finalizing a package. The bandwidth for high traffic websites has to be frequently enhanced.  

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Uday provides search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website contents and content for authoritative links. 

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323          

Image Optimization ; User Experience & Responsive Attribute

An Image on Web

Most important visual elements are images that adorn the web page, blog entry or forums and comments. The pictures act as extension of text or content. Another aspect of photo inclusion is the pleasing note that an image may carry. They can act as mood builders which will attract visitors and perhaps turn them into repeat visitors.  These attributes please and excite or put at rest our mental faculties. Take for example a tiger picture that is so well composed...it excites or a landscape picture with soul in it will put your mental faculties at rest.       

Sun Rise

An image inclusion in a personal album differs from the exercise to include it in a website or a blog. While the photographs in personal album are included by insertion or by sticking, that in the web page is done using HTML or other coding language to embed it.  

Image As Utility 

On a web page pictures appeal, but they also act as addition or extension of the contextual text. The act of adding or including case of amateur web developers is at a nascent stage. Site owners web designers add them to their creation mostly to complete a formality ignoring the visual appeal or message that it could carry. Most of web development companies providing cheap design and development do not have the wherewithal and will to  add visuals using the criteria mentioned above. This also applies to content  creation in which image acts as compliment. Poorly written contents will mar the impact of the best images. Yes the relation with contents is reciprocal and semantic. 

Image Optimization     

When embedding image in a web page or blog make sure that the naming is SEO friendly and is compressed to write size using Image Compressing Tools like Squoosh or Adobe Photoshop. This is necessary to comply with the web core vitals and thus enhance user experience. Other tools that may be used are tinypng and Online Image Compressor. 

Tiger Photo

Do not forget to add a caption in order to further explain its inclusion. According dimensions to image on a web page is important. When  height and width are mention it helps hamper slow download, as the text downloads irrespective of the picture if the later is slow.   

Naming is important and the keyword used should hold relevance with the contextual paragraphs and add to the topic concerned. For example on a hotel wen page alt="accommodation" works fine and so does alt="restaurant" but if you add alt=fashion model it may not be contextual. Hence adding images and optimizing them is not just a formality it has to be done with alacrity mind you...    

It is necessary to check how the image affects download speed using the google download tool. Neglect in this aspect would lead to a bad user experience which serious website owners would not wish for. 

Image  Search 

Like voice search image search is very important and part of search engine optimization but most developers and web masters ignore it completely or take it in a lighter vein. Never proper image optimization can be a good visual content exercise and help in brand visibility as well as good means of referral if a link points to it.     

If you plan to uses pictures as visual content campaign on Instagram or elsewhere do not forget to add hashtags which hold relevance to the topic. 

Searching for Right Photos 

Best option is to photograph relevant images yourself or hire a professional photographer who understand the subject matter very well. If this is not possible ask a friend photographer to donate. Else resort to free image resources online like "UnSplash" they can come up to expectations. If fund allow you can purchase the right image from stock photography sites like Shutterstock or Adobe.  

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Uday provides search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website contents and content for authoritative links. 

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323