SEO Factor
META TAG
- Keep them brief.-> It's best to keep it within 160 characters.
- Expand on the title tag that is missing from your title.
- Align with the intent of the search.
- Use the active voice.
- Add your keyword.
Utilize Header Tags to organize your content.
- Put one <h1> tag on each page.
- For the primary topics on your website, use <h2> tags.
- For sections that provide examples or related concepts to support your primary points, use <h3> tags and beyond.
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Utilize Title to organize your content.
Utilize Meta Tag to organize your content.
- Retain them short—under 160 characters is enough .
- Increase in size on the title tag—insert any additional details not included in your title..
- Be equal to search intent—amplify the desires of searchers.
- Apply an active voice—Talk directly to the searcher.
- Consist of your keyword—These are often bolded by Google in the results.
Setting SEO-friendly URLs
What Is Internal Linking?
Internal linking is when you link from one page on your website to another page on the same site. It’s like creating a web of connections between your content. This helps visitors find related information and makes it easier for search engines to understand your website.
Why Are Internal Links Important?
Helps Search Engines Find Your Pages:
- Crawling: Search engines use bots to crawl the web. Internal links help these bots discover and index all the pages on your site.
Distributes Page Authority:
- Link Juice: When one of your pages gets a lot of traffic or backlinks, it can pass some of its authority to other pages through internal links. This can help boost the visibility of those linked pages.
Improves User Experience:
- Navigation: Good internal linking makes it easier for users to find related content. This keeps visitors on your site longer and helps them find what they’re looking for.
How to Use Internal Links Effectively
Use Descriptive Anchor Text:
- What It Means: Anchor text is the clickable part of a link. Instead of using generic text like "click here," use specific phrases that describe the content of the page you’re linking to, such as “learn about keyword research.”
Link to Relevant Content:
- Stay Relevant: Ensure the pages you link to are related to the content. For instance, if you’re writing about SEO basics, link to your detailed guides on keyword research or on-page SEO.
Keep It Simple:
- Logical Structure: Create a clear structure for your site with main categories and subcategories. Use internal links to guide users through this structure.
Avoid Overlinking:
- Don’t Overdo It: Too many links on a page can be overwhelming and less useful. Focus on linking to the most relevant and valuable content.
Update Links Regularly:
- Maintenance: Regularly check and update your internal links to ensure they’re still relevant and that none of them lead to broken pages.
Examples of Internal Linking
Blog Post Example:
- You write a blog post about “Effective SEO Strategies.” Within that post, you could link to:
- A related post: “Check out our guide on keyword research techniques.”
- A service page: “For professional SEO services, visit our SEO services page.”
- You write a blog post about “Effective SEO Strategies.” Within that post, you could link to:
Product Page Example:
- On a product page for “Product A,” you might include links to:
- Related products: “You might also like Product B and Product C.”
- Support page: “Need help? Visit our support page for more information.”
- On a product page for “Product A,” you might include links to:
Benefits in a Nutshell
- Better Crawling: Search engines can more easily crawl and index your pages.
- Increased Visibility: Helps spread authority across your site, boosting the SEO of individual pages.
- Improved User Experience: Makes it easier for users to find related information and stay engaged with your site.
By implementing a smart internal linking strategy, you not only improve how search engines understand and rank your site but also enhance the experience for your visitors, making it easier for them to find valuable content.
What is External Linking in SEO?
External linking in SEO involves creating hyperlinks from your website to other websites. These links, known as outbound links, direct users and search engines from your site to a different site on the internet.
Why is External Linking Important?
Enhances Credibility: By linking to authoritative and relevant sites, you show that your content is well-researched and credible. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about digital marketing strategies and you link to a well-known source like HubSpot or Neil Patel, it adds credibility to your information.
Improves SEO: Search engines use external links as a ranking factor. If you link to high-quality, relevant sites, it signals to search engines that your content is valuable. For instance, linking to an authoritative site about SEO techniques can help improve your site’s ranking on search engines.
Provides Value to Users: External links offer additional resources and information, enhancing the user experience. For example, if you’re discussing the benefits of a new technology in your article, linking to the official product page or a detailed review can provide your readers with more in-depth information.
Builds Relationships: Linking to other websites can help you build relationships with other industry players. For example, if you link to a relevant blog or news site, you might catch their attention, leading to potential collaborations or reciprocal links.
Example:
Imagine you have a blog post on your website about "The Best Practices for Web Design." In your post, you mention various design principles and techniques. To provide your readers with more information, you could include external links to authoritative sources:
Linking to a Reputable Source:
- "For a comprehensive guide on modern web design principles, check out this article by Smashing Magazine."
Providing Additional Resources:
- "To learn more about responsive design, visit W3Schools, which offers tutorials and examples."
Best Practices for External Linking:
Link to Relevant Content: Make sure your external links are relevant to the topic of your content and add value. For instance, linking to a detailed study or report that supports your claims.
Use Descriptive Anchor Text: The text you use for the link (anchor text) should clearly describe what users can expect. Instead of a generic “click here,” use descriptive text like “learn more about responsive web design.”
Link to High-Quality Sites: Ensure the sites you link to are reputable and authoritative to maintain your site's credibility. Linking to trusted industry leaders or official sources is beneficial.
Don’t Overdo It: Avoid overwhelming your readers with too many links. Balance your content with a mix of internal and external links to keep it engaging and informative.
Optimizing Images
Optimizing your images for on-page SEO is crucial for improving your website's performance and visibility. Here’s how you can do it easily:
1. Use Descriptive File Names
Before uploading an image, rename the file to something descriptive that includes relevant keywords. For example, instead of "IMG1234.jpg," use "red-running-shoes.jpg." This helps search engines understand what the image is about.
2. Optimize Image Alt Text
Alt text provides a textual alternative to images and is crucial for SEO. Use clear and concise descriptions that incorporate keywords naturally. For example, "red running shoes for men" works well as an alt text.
3. Compress Images for Faster Load Times
Large image files can slow down your website, affecting user experience and SEO rankings. Use image compression tools like TinyPNG or JPEG-Optimizer to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. This will improve page load speed.
4. Choose the Right Image Format
Use the appropriate image format to balance quality and file size. JPEG is great for photographs, PNG for images with transparent backgrounds, and SVG for logos and icons. Optimizing formats ensures faster loading times.
5. Implement Lazy Loading
Lazy loading delays the loading of images until they are needed, improving page speed. Most modern websites use lazy loading to enhance user experience and SEO performance.
6. Create Responsive Images
Ensure your images look good on all devices by using responsive images. This involves using the srcset attribute to serve different image sizes based on the user's device. Responsive images improve user experience, which in turn boosts SEO.
7. Use Structured Data for Images
Add structured data, like schema markup, to your images. This can enhance the way images appear in search results, making them more likely to be clicked on. For example, using schema for product images can make them appear in rich snippets.
8. Add Captions and Surrounding Text
Including captions and relevant text around your images can help search engines understand the context. This, combined with keywords, can further improve your image SEO.
9. Host Images on a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Using a CDN can help deliver images faster to users across different locations, improving load times and SEO. CDNs cache images and serve them from the nearest server to the user, ensuring quicker delivery.
10. Ensure Images are Mobile-Friendly
With more users accessing websites on mobile devices, it’s essential to ensure your images are optimized for mobile viewing. Use responsive design techniques and test how images display on various devices.
By following these steps, you can easily optimize your images for on-page SEO, improving both user experience and your website’s search engine rankings.
Content Gap Analysis
Content gap analysis in on-page SEO is a process where you identify missing or underdeveloped content on your website that your competitors may have already covered. It helps you find opportunities to improve your content so that it better matches what people are searching for.
Here's how it works in simple steps:
Identify Keywords: First, you look at the keywords your competitors are ranking for that you aren’t.
Compare Content: Then, you compare your content with your competitors' content. This helps you see what topics or information you might be missing.
Create or Improve Content: Based on what you find, you create new content or improve existing content to fill those gaps. This can include adding more details, covering related topics, or optimizing for specific keywords.
Monitor and Adjust: After updating your content, you monitor its performance. If needed, make further adjustments to improve rankings.
By doing a content gap analysis, you ensure your website provides more complete and valuable information, helping it rank better in search engines.
Featured snippets
Featured snippets in SEO are short, direct answers that Google highlights at the top of the search results page. They aim to quickly provide the information a user is searching for without needing to click on a link.
For example, if you search "What is a featured snippet?", Google might show a box with a brief explanation right above the regular search results. This snippet is pulled from a website that Google thinks best answers the question.
There are different types of featured snippets:
- Paragraph - A brief text answer (often 40-60 words).
- List - A list of steps or items, either numbered or bulleted.
- Table - A table showing data or comparisons.
- Video - A short video clip that directly answers the query.
Featured snippets are valuable in SEO because they appear at the top of the page, giving your content more visibility and increasing the chances of attracting clicks. To optimize for them, it's important to answer common questions clearly and concisely in your content.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is a type of code you add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. It makes it easier for search engines to show rich results, like star ratings, images, or other special features in search listings. This can help your website stand out and attract more visitors.
Here’s an easy explanation of different types of schema markup:
Article: This schema helps search engines understand news articles, blog posts, or other written content. It can show the title, author, and publication date in search results.
Breadcrumb: Breadcrumb schema shows the path of links leading to the current page on a site, making navigation easier for users and search engines.
Carousel: This schema allows you to showcase multiple images or items in a carousel format in search results, like a series of products or articles.
Course: If you offer online courses, this schema can display course details like the name, provider, and description in search results.
Event: Use this schema to promote events by showing details like the date, location, and ticket availability directly in search results.
Fact Check: This schema highlights fact-checking content, showing whether a claim is true, false, or somewhere in between.
FAQs: FAQ schema displays a list of frequently asked questions and answers directly in search results, helping users get information quickly.
HowTo: HowTo schema is for instructional content. It can show step-by-step guides in search results, helping users complete a task.
Image Metadata: This schema adds extra details to images, like the author or license, which can help them appear in image search results.
Job Posting: If you post job openings, this schema can show job details like position, salary, and location in Google for Jobs.
Local Business: Local Business schema helps your business appear in local search results with details like address, phone number, and hours.
Logo: This schema allows you to specify the logo that should appear in search results for your business or organization.
Movie: Movie schema provides details like the title, director, and release date, making it easier for movies to appear in search results.
Product: Use this schema to highlight products with details like price, availability, and reviews, helping them stand out in search results.
Recipe: Recipe schema shows cooking details like ingredients, time, and nutritional info directly in search results.
Review: Review schema displays user ratings and reviews, making them visible in search results to help attract more clicks.
Sitelinks Search Box: This schema adds a search box directly under your website’s listing in search results, letting users search your site right from Google.
Video: Video schema highlights video content, showing details like the thumbnail, duration, and description in search results.
Here’s a very easy way to add schema markup to your website:
Choose Your Schema Type: Decide what you want to mark up, like a product, article, or event.
Use a Schema Generator: Go to a schema generator tool like Schema Markup Generator. Select your schema type and fill in the details.
Copy the Code: The tool will create the schema code for you. Copy this code.
Paste the Code on Your Website: Place the code in the HTML of the relevant page on your website, just before the closing
</head>or</body>tag.Test Your Markup: Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check if your schema is correctly implemented.
Publish Your Page: Once everything looks good, publish the page. Your schema markup is now live!
Using schema markup in Yoast SEO is straightforward. Here’s how you can do it:
Install Yoast SEO: Make sure you have the Yoast SEO plugin installed and activated on your WordPress site.
Set Up Your Site Information:
- Go to Yoast SEO > Settings.
- Under the General tab, fill in your website’s details, like the name, logo, and type of site (e.g., blog, online store).
- This helps Yoast automatically generate basic schema markup for your site.
Configure Schema for Each Page or Post:
- When you create or edit a post/page, scroll down to the Yoast SEO meta box.
- Click on the Schema tab.
- Choose the most relevant schema type (like Article, FAQ, HowTo, etc.) for that specific content.
- Yoast will automatically add the correct schema markup based on your selection.
Add More Advanced Schema:
- For more complex schema types, like recipes or events, consider using additional plugins or custom code. Yoast can handle the basics, but specialized plugins may offer more detailed options.
Test Your Schema:
- After setting it up, use Google’s Rich Results Test to ensure your schema is correctly implemented.
Yoast SEO simplifies the process by automatically adding most of the essential schema markup, helping your site appear more prominently in search results.
Validating your schema markup is easy. Here’s how:
Use Google’s Rich Results Test:
- Go to Google’s Rich Results Test.
- Enter the URL of the page you want to check, or paste the schema code directly into the tool.
- Click Test URL or Test Code.
Review the Results:
- The tool will show if your schema is valid or if there are any errors.
- If everything is correct, you’ll see a message saying your page is eligible for rich results.
Fix Any Errors:
- If there are errors, the tool will highlight them.
- Go back to your website, fix the issues in the schema markup, and re-test.
Check in Google Search Console:
- If you’re still not sure, you can also check Google Search Console.
- Go to the Enhancements section to see if Google has detected any schema errors on your site.
By following these steps, you can ensure your schema markup is properly implemented and ready to boost your visibility in search results.
Make the Page fast and Mobile-friendly
To create a fast and mobile-friendly page with easy-to-understand content, follow these on-page SEO tips:
On-Page SEO Tips for a Fast and Mobile-Friendly Site
Optimize Images:
Compress images before uploading to reduce their size without losing quality. Use formats like WebP for faster loading.Use a Responsive Design:
Ensure your website design adapts to different screen sizes, so it looks good on both mobile and desktop devices.Simplify Content:
Write short, clear sentences. Break up text with bullet points or headings to make it easy to read on small screens.Minimize HTTP Requests:
Reduce the number of elements on your page (like scripts and stylesheets) to decrease load times.Enable Browser Caching:
Allow browsers to store some data locally so your page loads faster when users visit again.Use a Fast Web Hosting Service:
Choose a reliable hosting provider with quick server response times to keep your site running smoothly.Reduce Redirects:
Minimize the use of redirects, as they can slow down your page load times.Leverage Browser Caching:
Set up caching to store commonly used files on users’ devices, so your page loads faster on repeat visits.Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network):
A CDN helps deliver your site content faster by serving it from servers closer to the user's location.Optimize CSS and JavaScript Files:
Minify CSS and JavaScript files to remove unnecessary code, which reduces file size and improves load times.Improve Readability:
Use larger fonts and clear headings to make your content easy to read on mobile devices.Ensure Fast Mobile Load Times:
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check and improve your site’s mobile performance.Keep URLs Short and Descriptive:
Create user-friendly URLs that clearly describe the page content. This helps both users and search engines understand your page.Use Alt Text for Images:
Add descriptive alt text to images to help with SEO and improve accessibility for users with screen readers.- Core Web Vitals (CWV): Check if your page loads quickly and stays stable while users interact with it.
- Security: Make sure your page connects securely using HTTPS.
- Mobile-Friendliness: Google uses the mobile version of your site for ranking, so ensure it looks good and works well on mobile devices.
- Avoid Intrusive Pop-ups: Steer clear of annoying pop-ups and overlays that can interrupt the user experience.
By following these tips, your website will load faster, be easier to navigate on mobile devices, and rank better in search engines.
Core Web Vitals (CWV) are three important things Google checks to see if your website gives a good experience to users:
Loading Speed (LCP):
This looks at how quickly the biggest part of your page loads. The faster it loads (ideally in less than 2.5 seconds), the better for users.Interactivity (FID):
This measures how fast your site responds when someone clicks or taps on something. It should respond quickly (in under 100 milliseconds) to keep users happy.Visual Stability (CLS):
This checks if things on your page move around while it loads. A stable page (with little to no shifting) helps users interact smoothly without any surprises.Interaction to Next Paint (INP) checks how quickly a page shows changes after you click or type. It measures the time it takes for the page to update and respond to your actions. In other words, it’s about how fast you see results after interacting with the page.
In short, Core Web Vitals ensure your website loads fast, responds quickly, and stays stable, which makes users enjoy their experience and can help your site rank higher on Google.
Loading Speed (LCP):The largest element on a page is often a featured image or the main heading (like an <h1> tag). However, it could also be any of the following:
- An
<img> element - An image inside an
<svg> element - An image within a
<video> element - A background image loaded with the
url() function - Large blocks of text
In the future, elements like <svg> and <video> might also be included as the largest elements.
The largest element on a page is often a featured image or the main heading (like an <h1> tag). However, it could also be any of the following:
- An
<img>element - An image inside an
<svg>element - An image within a
<video>element - A background image loaded with the
url()function - Large blocks of text
In the future, elements like <svg> and <video> might also be included as the largest elements.
Example
- Clicking a link or button
- Typing text into a form field
- Choosing an option from a drop-down menu
- Tapping a checkbox
Visual Stability (CLS):
Common reasons for Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) are:
- Images without set sizes.
- Ads and iframes without defined sizes.
- Adding new content with JavaScript after the page loads.
- Fonts or styles that load late and shift the layout.
Here are some easy ways to improve CLS:
Set Space for Media:
Reserve space for images, videos, and iframes so they don’t push other content around.Optimize Fonts:
Use fonts that load quickly and don’t cause shifts in the layout.Use Stable Animations:
Apply animations that don’t change the layout to avoid shifting content.Enable bfcache:
Make sure your pages can use the browser’s back-forward cache to load quickly when users navigate back.
Causes of delay of FID
Final Thoughts
Core Web Vitals may not have a big impact on SEO, so fixing them might not always be a priority unless your site is very slow. However, improving them can enhance user experience and potentially boost your conversion rates. Better performance often means more data and a better user experience.
Here’s what you should know:
Work with Developers:
Page speed can be complicated, so it's best to consult with experts. If you're handling it yourself, consider using tools like WP Rocket or Autoptimize.Future Improvements:
As new technologies develop, optimizing your site will become easier. Many platforms, like WordPress and Cloudflare, are already implementing features to help with performance.Ongoing Support:
Expect continued advancements that will make performance improvements more automatic, reducing the need for manual adjustments in the future.
HTTPS
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP, which is the main protocol for transferring data over the web. It encrypts the communication between your browser and the server, protecting it from being intercepted or tampered with by attackers. This ensures that the data remains confidential, integral, and authenticated.
When you see a lock icon in your browser’s address bar, it means the website is using HTTPS.
Understanding HTTP vs. HTTPS
Data Protection:
- In a regular HTTP connection, attackers can intercept sensitive information like login credentials or payment details.
- HTTPS encrypts the data, making it unreadable to attackers.
Risks of HTTP:
- Public WiFi networks are especially vulnerable to attacks.
- HTTPS prevents these attacks by securing the connection.
How HTTPS Works:
- HTTPS relies on TLS (Transfer Layer Security) to secure the connection.
- A TLS certificate is needed, which is issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs).
Types of TLS Certificates
Domain Validation (DV):
- Only confirms that the certificate owner controls the domain.
- Suitable for basic websites, but not for those handling sensitive information.
Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV):
- OV and EV certificates provide more thorough validation.
- EV certificates are the most trustworthy and recommended for sites with logins or payments.
Wildcard and SAN Certificates:
- Wildcard certificates secure unlimited subdomains.
- SAN (Subject Alternative Name) certificates secure multiple domains and subdomains.
How HTTPS Benefits SEO
Ranking Signal:
- HTTPS is a lightweight ranking factor for Google, helping to slightly boost your site’s search rankings.
Security and Privacy:
- A secure site builds trust with users, which can improve dwell time and reduce bounce rates.
Preserves Referral Data:
- HTTPS maintains referral data in analytics, helping you track the source of your traffic accurately.
Modern Protocols:
- HTTPS allows the use of modern security and performance-enhancing protocols, improving site speed and user experience.
Summary
HTTPS is essential for securing data and improving user trust. It not only protects sensitive information but also offers SEO benefits, making it crucial for any website, especially those handling logins or payments. Implementing HTTPS involves obtaining a TLS certificate, with different types available based on your site's needs.
Setting Up HTTPS:
New Website: Start with HTTPS right away to avoid issues. Choose a good hosting provider, set up HTTPS, and enable HSTS for extra security.
Already HTTPS-Enabled Website: Double-check your setup. There may be errors to fix.
Running on HTTP: Migrating to HTTPS can be complex. The difficulty depends on your website’s size, CMS, hosting, and technical skills. Follow a checklist carefully or hire a professional if needed.
Checking for HTTPS Migration Mistakes:
Leftover HTTP Pages: Make sure all pages are on HTTPS. Crawl your site to find any HTTP pages and redirect them.
Mixed Content: Ensure that all resource files (images, CSS, JavaScript) are also served via HTTPS, not HTTP.
Internal Links: Update all internal links to use HTTPS to avoid unnecessary redirects.
Tags: Update canonical and Open Graph tags to use HTTPS.
Failed Redirects: Check for broken redirects, chains, and loops. Simplify redirects where possible.
Final Thoughts: Moving to HTTPS is essential for security and performance. After migration, continue to monitor and update your setup to stay secure.
What is a Canonical Tag?
A canonical tag (rel="canonical") is a piece of HTML code that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one. If you have similar or duplicate content on different URLs, the canonical tag helps you specify which version should be indexed by search engines.
What Does a Canonical Tag Look Like?
The canonical tag is placed in the <head> section of a web page and looks like this:
html<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/sample-page/" />
In simple terms:
rel="canonical": This marks the linked page as the primary version.href="https://example.com/sample-page/": This is the URL of the main page.
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Why Are Canonical Tags Important for SEO?
Canonical tags are crucial because search engines don’t like duplicate content. If there are multiple versions of a page, it can be hard for Google to decide:
- Which version to index.
- Which version to rank in search results.
- Whether to combine “link equity” (SEO value) into one page or split it between multiple pages.
Having too much duplicate content can also reduce your website’s “crawl budget,” meaning Google might spend time crawling duplicate pages instead of more important content.
But I Don’t Have Duplicate Content, Do I?
Even if you’re not publishing the same content multiple times, duplicate content can still exist due to how URLs are structured. For example, URLs with different parameters or filters (e.g., size or color on an e-commerce site) can create multiple versions of the same page.
Common Causes of Duplicate Content
- URLs with different search parameters.
- URLs with session IDs.
- Separate printable versions of pages.
- Different URLs for posts under various categories.
- Different URLs for mobile and desktop versions.
- AMP and non-AMP versions of a page.
- Non-www and www versions of a site.
- HTTP and HTTPS versions of a site.
- URLs with and without trailing slashes.
- Default page versions like
index.htmlordefault.htm. - URLs with different capitalization.
Cross-Domain Duplicate Content
If you syndicate your content on other sites, use canonical tags to point back to the original version on your site. This helps avoid issues where syndicated content might outrank the original content in search results.
Final Thoughts
Canonical tags are essential for managing duplicate content and ensuring that search engines know which version of your page to prioritize. By using them correctly, you can avoid SEO issues and improve your website's visibility in search results.
Canonical Tag Implementation
Canonical tags help prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a URL for search engines. Here are the key rules and methods for implementing canonical tags:
Golden Rules for Canonical Tags:
- Use Absolute URLs: Always use the full URL (e.g.,
https://example.com/page/) instead of relative paths (/page/). - Use Lowercase URLs: Ensure all URLs are in lowercase to avoid confusion between uppercase and lowercase versions.
- Use Correct Domain Version: If your site uses HTTPS, make sure the canonical tag reflects this (e.g.,
https://example.cominstead ofhttp://example.com). - Use Self-Referential Canonical Tags: Each page should point to itself with a canonical tag to clearly indicate the preferred URL.
- Only One Canonical Tag Per Page: Avoid using multiple canonical tags on a single page, as this can lead to them being ignored.
Methods for Implementing Canonical Tags:
HTML Tag (rel="canonical"): Add a canonical tag in the
<head>section of the page. Example:<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/canonical-page/" />HTTP Headers: Use HTTP headers to set canonicals for documents like PDFs, where HTML tags can't be used.
Link: <https://example.com/canonical-page/>; rel="canonical"Sitemaps: Only include canonical URLs in your sitemaps, signaling to Google which pages you consider most important.
301 Redirects: Use 301 redirects to direct traffic from duplicate URLs to the canonical version, ensuring consistency across different URL versions (e.g.,
http://,www.).Internal Links: Consistently link to the canonical version of a page across your site to reinforce the preferred URL to search engines.
By following these guidelines, you ensure that search engines correctly index the desired version of your content, improving your site's SEO.
How to find and fix canonicalization issues on your site?
To quickly identify and fix canonicalization issues on your website, you can use Ahrefs' Site Audit tool, which checks for over 100 SEO issues, including canonical tag problems. Below are twelve common canonical-tag-related issues and how to address them:
Canonical points to 4XX: Replace dead (4XX) URLs in canonical tags with working (200) URLs to ensure proper indexing.
Canonical points to 5XX: Replace or troubleshoot 5XX URLs as these indicate server issues, leading to inaccessible canonical pages.
Canonical points to redirect: Update canonical tags to link directly to the most authoritative, non-redirecting version of the page.
Duplicate pages without canonical: Add canonical tags to duplicate pages to ensure search engines index the correct version.
Hreflang to non-canonical: Ensure hreflang tags point to the canonical version of pages to avoid confusing search engines.
Canonical URL has no incoming internal links: Update internal links to point directly to the canonical URL for better accessibility.
Non-canonical page in sitemap: Remove non-canonical URLs from your sitemap to avoid misleading search engines.
Non-canonical page specified as canonical: Avoid canonical chains by directly linking to the final canonical page in all tags.
Open Graph URL not matching canonical: Ensure the Open Graph URL matches the canonical URL to maintain consistency across social networks.
Canonical from HTTPS to HTTP: Update canonical tags to point to the secure HTTPS version of the page, as HTTPS is a ranking factor.
Canonical tags help search engines decide which version of a webpage to show when there are multiple copies. They might seem tricky at first, but they’re easy to understand with a bit of practice.
The key thing to remember is that canonical tags are suggestions, not commands. Search engines like Google might not always follow your suggestion and could choose a different page to show.
You can use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to see which page Google has chosen. This tool shows both the canonical tag you set and the one Google decided to use.
Google groups canonical URLs in a few ways:
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag: Your tag is working correctly, and Google is showing the page you wanted.
- Duplicate without user-selected canonical: There are duplicate pages, but none have a tag, so Google picked one. If you don't like Google’s choice, add a canonical tag to the page you prefer.
- Duplicate, Google chose a different canonical than user: Google ignored your tag and picked a different page to show.
- Duplicate, submitted URL not selected as canonical: Google ignored the page you submitted and chose another one.
In short, canonical tags help guide search engines, but they don’t guarantee which page will be shown. Using Google Search Console regularly can help you keep track of which pages Google is indexing.
Canonical from HTTP to HTTPS: Implement a 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS and update internal links accordingly.
Non-canonical page receives organic traffic: Verify and correct rel=canonical tags and use Google Search Console to ensure the specified canonical is recognized.
Open Graph meta tags
<head> section of a webpage, identified by the "og:" prefix.Why are Open Graph tags important?
Open Graph (OG) tags are crucial for improving social media visibility and engagement. Here’s why:
Enhanced Visual Appeal: OG tags make your content more eye-catching in social media feeds by defining how your link preview looks, including the image, title, and description.
Clear Content Preview: They provide a quick, clear summary of what the content is about, making it easier for users to decide if they want to click through.
Improved Search Visibility: OG tags help Facebook understand and categorize your content, which can increase your brand’s visibility in search results and when content is shared within the platform.
Additionally, OG tags ensure that link previews are consistently formatted across various messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Slack. This consistency helps in maintaining a professional appearance and enhances user engagement across different platforms.
Which Open Graph tags should you use?
Here's a simplified summary of the key Open Graph (OG) tags you should use for Facebook, focusing on ease of understanding:
og
: This tag specifies the title of your page.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" /> - Best Practices:
- Add to all shareable pages.
- Keep it short (40 characters for mobile, 60 for desktop).
- Focus on accuracy and clickability.
- Syntax:
og
: This tag indicates the URL of your content.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page-url" /> - Best Practices:
- Use the canonical URL to consolidate data.
- Syntax:
og
: This tag provides the URL of an image that will be displayed in the social snippet.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg" /> - Best Practices:
- Use custom images for key pages (e.g., homepage, articles).
- Ensure images are at least 1200x630 pixels with a 1.91:1 ratio.
- Syntax:
og
: This tag defines the type of content you're sharing.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:type" content="article" /> - Best Practices:
- Use "article" for articles and "website" for other pages.
- Syntax:
og
: This tag provides a brief description of the content.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:description" content="A brief description of your content" /> - Best Practices:
- Complement the title to make it appealing.
- Keep it concise; 2-4 sentences is ideal.
- Syntax:
og
: This tag defines the language of the content.- Syntax:
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_GB" /> - Best Practices:
- Use for content not in American English; otherwise, Facebook assumes en_US.
- Syntax:
These tags are essential for optimizing how your content appears when shared on Facebook, enhancing click-through rates and engagement.
Setup Open Graph
Here’s a simplified guide for setting up Open Graph (OG) tags on various website platforms:
WordPress
- Install Yoast SEO Plugin: Go to the editor for any post or page. Scroll down to the Yoast SEO box.
- Social Settings: Click on the “Social” tab, then select “Facebook.”
- Add OG Tags: Enter your desired OG title, description, and image.
- Note: Yoast automatically sets the ogand other useful OG tags, like image dimensions.
- If a post has a featured image and you haven't set an OG image, Yoast uses the featured image by default.
- Sitewide OG Image: Set a default OG image under Yoast > Social > Facebook. Ensure the toggle is “Enabled” and upload a brand image.
Shopify
- Sitewide OG Image: Go to Online Store > Themes > Customize > Theme Settings > Social Media, and select an image.
- Code Customization: To view or edit OG tags, go to Online Store > Themes > Actions > Edit Code > Snippets > social-meta-tags.liquid.
Wix
- Page-Level OG Tags: Customize the OG title, description, and image for each page in the “Social Share” settings.
- Sitewide OG Image: Set a default image via Settings > Social Share on the main menu.
Squarespace
- Page-Level OG Image: Go to Page Settings > Social Image, and upload an image.
- Advanced Customization: For other OG tags, use Page Settings > Advanced > Page Header Code Injection. Paste the necessary code here.
Manual Setup
If you prefer to add OG tags manually, simply paste the relevant code into the <head> section of your web page. You can use tools like Mega Tags or Web Code Tools to ensure correct syntax
How to test and debug Open Graph
To test and debug Open Graph (OG) tags, follow these steps to ensure they display correctly when shared:
Use Testing Tools:
- Facebook Sharing Debugger
- Twitter Card Validator
- LinkedIn Post Inspector
These tools check how your tags appear and help identify any issues with display.
Check Image Tags:
- Include
og:image:widthandog:image:heightto ensure your images display correctly. Example:html<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" /> - WordPress with Yoast handles these automatically.
- Include
Update and Refresh:
- If changes are made, use the “Scrape Again” button to refresh the data. If issues persist, clear the cache using the Batch Invalidator.
Verify Across Platforms:
- Test with all three tools to ensure consistency across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Note: Twitterbot follows robots.txt rules, but Facebook and LinkedIn may still scrape content even if crawling is disallowed.
By following these steps, you can ensure your OG tags are working correctly and your content appears as intended when shared.
How to audit Open Graph tags ?
To audit Open Graph tags on a site with many pages, you can use a tool like Ahrefs' Site Audit to check your pages in bulk. Here's a quick overview:
- Run a Site Crawl: Use Ahrefs' Site Audit to crawl your site.
- Check Social Tags Report: After the crawl, go to the Social tags report to identify any issues related to Open Graph and Twitter Card tags.
- Review and Fix Issues: Click on flagged warnings to get explanations and advice on how to fix them. You can also view affected URLs and prioritize fixes based on metrics like organic traffic.
- Prioritize High-Traffic Pages: Focus on pages with high traffic, as they are more likely to be shared on social media.
Final Thoughts: While OG tags are important for social media, focus on the basics—adding tags, checking previews, and debugging. Prioritize your efforts on high-impact pages.
How to build links
Here's a simplified summary of the four main strategies for building backlinks:
Adding Links: You manually add your link to other websites. This can include directories, forums, or any place where you can submit a link yourself.
Asking for Links: You reach out to website owners and request them to link to your content. This is often done through email outreach.
Buying Links: Similar to asking for links, but you offer payment or another form of compensation in exchange for the link.
Earning Links: You create high-quality content that naturally attracts links from others because it's valuable, unique, or interesting.
These strategies can be done on your own, or you can hire a link-building expert or agency to do it for you. Even if you outsource, understanding these basics helps you evaluate the quality of the work being done.
Adding links
Start with foundational links:
- Social profiles (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Business directories (e.g., Yelp, Trustpilot)
- Review sites (e.g., Glassdoor, ProductHunt)
- Forums, communities, and Q&A sites
Key points:
- These links have little SEO value but help establish an online presence.
- Google notices these profiles, which may gain SEO value over time if they attract quality backlinks.
- Focus on relevant sites—don't waste time adding your link everywhere.
Tip:
- Study your competitors' links to find quality sites to target.
Asking for links
Link Outreach: Asking other website owners to link to your page.
Link Prospecting: Finding relevant websites to target for outreach. The more effort you put in, the better your success rate.
Reasons Websites Might Link to You:
- They find your page valuable or impressive.
SEO Tactics for Link Building:
- Guest Posting: Write articles for other sites that link back to yours.
- Skyscraper Technique: Improve upon a popular but outdated page and ask those linking to it to link to your new page.
- Resource Page Link Building: Request to be added to resource lists on relevant sites.
- Broken Link Building: Find dead links on other sites, create a replacement page, and ask them to link to you.
- Image Link Building: Ask for a link if sites use your images without attribution.
- HARO and Journalist Requests: Provide expert quotes in exchange for a link.
- Unlinked Mentions: Turn brand mentions into links.
- PR: Share compelling stories to gain links.
Success Rate: Typically low, but you can improve it.
Build Relationships: Connect with industry people before asking for links. This makes them more likely to respond positively.
Natural Link Acquisition: Established relationships lead to natural link-building over time without direct requests.
Buying Links: A Brief Overview
Buying links can seem like an easy way to boost your website's SEO by acquiring backlinks from other sites. However, this approach carries significant risks:
Google Penalties: Google views buying links as a manipulation of its search algorithms. If detected, it may penalize your site, potentially removing it from search results.
Wasted Money: You might end up spending money on low-quality links that don't benefit your site or improve its ranking.
While some in the SEO industry use this tactic, it's generally advised to avoid buying links to protect your website and budget. Instead, focus on building quality, organic links through reputable methods.
Earning Links: A Quick Guide
What It Means: Earning links involves getting other websites to link to your content because it’s valuable or noteworthy, without you asking for it.
What Makes a Page Link-Worthy:
- Proprietary Data: Original research or data unique to your company.
- Experiment Results: Significant findings from your experiments.
- Unique Ideas: Strong opinions or thought leadership.
- Industry Surveys: Valuable insights or data from surveys.
- Breaking News: Timely and relevant updates.
Example: In 2017, a unique research study on Google ranking times earned nearly 3,000 backlinks, showing how valuable proprietary content can be.
Other Link-Worthy Aspects:
- Business Itself: Sometimes, the business or products can attract links, like mentions of your company or products.
- Promotion Needed: Even great content or products need promotion to be noticed and linked to.
Evaluating Good Links: Links have varying impacts on SEO. While the exact value is unknown, good links generally share certain attributes that are considered beneficial.
This approach focuses on creating high-quality, noteworthy content or products that naturally attract backlinks, rather than buying them.
Key Factors in Evaluating Links
Authority: Links from high-authority sites, like The New York Times, are more valuable than those from lesser-known sites. Authority can be measured using metrics like Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA). Google also evaluates the authority of the linking page through its PageRank algorithm. Pages with more backlinks usually have higher authority. Links with a “nofollow” attribute typically don’t pass authority.
Relevance: Links from sites related to your topic are more impactful. For example, a health blog benefits more from links on other health-related sites rather than unrelated topics like cars or finances. However, relevant links from various related topics, such as nutrition for fitness sites, are also valuable.
Anchor Text: Anchor text is the clickable text that describes the linked page. Google uses it to understand the linked page's content and relevant keywords. While anchor text can be useful, trying to manipulate it excessively can lead to penalties. It's best to let the linking page’s author choose the anchor text naturally.
Placement: Links placed within the main content of a page generally carry more authority than those in sidebars or footers. Links placed higher up on the page are also more likely to be clicked and therefore may transfer more authority.
Destination: Links can point to your homepage, valuable content (linkable assets), or specific pages you want to rank (money pages). Getting links to your linkable assets can help pass authority to your money pages through internal linking.
Effective Link Building Strategies
Effective link building strategies focus on creating valuable content and building relationships with other sites to earn high-quality links. Avoid outdated or risky tactics that can harm your site’s ranking.
Best Backlink Building Strategy
Here’s a simple summary of effective link-building strategies:
Replicate Competitors’ Backlinks: Identify who links to your competitors, especially their homepage, and ask those websites to link to you as well. Use tools like Ahrefs to see which competitor pages have the most links and create similar or better content on your site.
Targeted Link Outreach: Find the top-ranking pages for your target keywords and see where they got their links. Reach out to these sites to request a link to your page. You can also find websites that mention your topic and contact them for potential links.
Create Linkable Assets: Develop valuable content that naturally attracts links, such as industry surveys, studies, or helpful tools. For example, an annual report or research study can earn you links from many websites.
Promote Your Content: Use advertising, influencer outreach, and building a following to get your content in front of the right people. Promote both new and old content to increase its visibility and the chance of getting links.
Guest Posting: Write articles for other blogs to earn links back to your site. Pitch unique content ideas or offer to rewrite underperforming articles on their blog for better results.
These strategies focus on quality over quantity, helping you build meaningful and effective backlinks.
Easy Guide to Link Building Tools
Building links can be done with just a bit of effort and a Gmail account, but using the right tools can make the process faster and easier. Here’s a simple rundown:
Free Tools:
- Ahrefs’ Free Backlink Checker: Shows the top 100 links pointing to any website or URL.
- Google Alerts: Alerts you when specific words or phrases appear on new web pages, helping you find link opportunities.
Premium Tools:
- Ahrefs’ Site Explorer: Displays all the links to any website or URL, with options to filter by SEO metrics.
- Ahrefs’ Content Explorer: Helps you find relevant websites for link requests and guest posts and discover content that attracts links.
- Ahrefs Alerts: Similar to Google Alerts, but with more SEO-focused options.
- Pitchbox/BuzzStream/GMass: Tools for sending personalized outreach emails at scale.
- Hunter.io/Voila Norbert: Services that help you find email addresses for websites in bulk.
Final Tips
Think of link building like making friends—it’s hard if you’re not interesting. The same goes for your website: if it doesn’t offer anything valuable, why would others link to it?
Some SEOs focus on creating great content and sharing it with the right people, letting the links come naturally instead of actively seeking them out.
Understanding Technical SEO
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that search engines can easily find, crawl, understand, and index your pages. This helps improve your site's visibility and ranking in search engines.
How Complicated is Technical SEO?
The basics of technical SEO are not too hard to grasp, but it can get complex and challenging to fully understand. However, this guide will keep things simple for better understanding.
Understanding Crawling
In this section, we'll explain how to ensure that search engines can efficiently crawl through your website's content.
How Crawling Works Crawling is the process where search engines scan the content on your pages and follow the links within them to discover more pages on your site. There are several ways to control which parts of your site get crawled.
Using Robots.txt A robots.txt file is a simple way to tell search engines which parts of your site they can or cannot access.
Did You Know? Even if search engines can't crawl a page, they might still index it if there are links pointing to it. This can be tricky, so if you need to prevent certain pages from being indexed, it's helpful to use a guide or flowchart to navigate the process.
Crawl Rate There’s a directive called "crawl-delay" in robots.txt that allows you to control how often many crawlers access your pages. However, Google doesn’t follow this directive. For Google, you’ll need to adjust the crawl rate in Google Search Console.
Access Restrictions If you want certain pages to be accessible only to specific users and not to search engines, you can use one of these options:
- A login system
- HTTP authentication (requiring a password)
- IP whitelisting (allowing access only from specific IP addresses)
These methods are ideal for internal networks, member-only content, or staging and test sites. They allow select users to access the page while preventing search engines from indexing it.
How to Check Crawl Activity
Google Crawl Activity The easiest way to see what Google is crawling on your website is by using the "Crawl Stats" report in Google Search Console. This report shows details about how Google is crawling your site.
Viewing All Crawl Activity To see all the crawling activity on your website, you need to look at your server logs. This can be a bit technical, but if your hosting service has a control panel like cPanel, you can access these logs. You might also find tools like AWstats or Webalizer to help you understand the data.
Crawl Adjustments
Each website has a different "crawl budget," which is the amount of crawling Google does on your site. This budget depends on how often Google wants to crawl your site and how much crawling your site can handle. Popular or frequently updated pages are crawled more often, while less popular or rarely updated pages are crawled less.
If crawlers encounter problems while crawling your site, they may slow down or stop until the issues are fixed.
After crawling, pages are added to the index, which is the list of pages that can show up in search results. Let's explore what the index is next.
Understanding Indexing
In this chapter, we’ll explore how to ensure your pages are properly indexed and how to check their indexing status.
Robots Directives
A robots meta tag is an HTML code that directs search engines on how to handle a page. It’s added to the <head> section of a webpage and looks like this:
html<meta name="robots" content="noindex" />
Canonicalization
When multiple versions of the same page exist, Google chooses one as the canonical URL to display in search results. This choice is based on various factors, such as:
- Canonical tags
- Duplicate pages
- Internal links
- Redirects
- Sitemap URLs
To see which URL Google has indexed as canonical, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console. This tool will show you the selected canonical URL.
SEO priorities to focus on:
Here’s a list of SEO priorities to focus on:
Check Indexing
- Use the Indexability report in Site Audit to ensure pages you want to be found are indexed by Google.
Reclaim Lost Links
- Find and redirect old URLs that have lost links using Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. Filter by “404 not found” and sort by “Referring Domains.”
Add Internal Links
- Use the Internal Link Opportunities tool in Site Audit to identify and add links between pages on your site.
Add Schema Markup
- Implement schema markup to help search engines understand your content and enhance your site’s appearance in search results. Check Google’s search gallery for guidelines.
Technical SEO Tools
Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools):
- Monitors and troubleshoots website appearance in search results
- Finds and fixes technical errors
- Submits sitemaps
- Checks for structured data issues
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools:
- Monitors SEO health
- Checks for 100+ SEO issues
- Views backlinks
- Tracks keyword rankings
- Analyzes page traffic
- Finds internal linking opportunities
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test:
- Checks page usability on mobile devices
- Identifies mobile-specific issues like small text or incompatible plugins
- Shows what Google sees when crawling the page
Chrome DevTools:
- Debugs webpage speed and rendering performance
- Useful for technical SEO improvements
Ahrefs SEO Toolbar (for Chrome and Firefox):
- Provides on-page SEO report
- Traces redirects with HTTP headers
- Checks for broken links
- Highlights links
- Shows SERP positions
PageSpeed Insights:
- Analyzes webpage loading speed
- Provides recommendations to improve performance
Schema Markup
Schema Markup is a type of code that helps search engines understand the content on your website better. Google uses it to show rich results (also called rich snippets), which can help get more clicks.
Here’s a simple example of schema for a movie:
html<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org/",
"@type": "Movie",
"name": "Barbie",
"dateCreated": "2023-07-21",
"image": "https://example.com/barbie-movie.jpg",
"director": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Greta Gerwig",
"birthDate": "1983-08-04"
}
}
</script>
Schema is structured data, which means it follows a specific format that search engines like Google can easily understand. This is why Google uses it for rich results. This guide will show you different types of schema, when to add them, and how to do it.
Types of Schema
Schema markup helps search engines understand website content better. While there are over 800 types of schema listed on Schema.org, Google only supports a few at the moment. They may support more in the future.
Some schema types Google supports are:
- Article
- Breadcrumb
- Carousel
- Course
- Event
- Fact Check
- FAQs (limited to trusted sites)
- HowTo (now for desktop users only)
- Image Metadata
- Job Posting
- Local Business
- Product
- Recipe
- Review
- Video
Recently, Google reduced visibility for HowTo and FAQs results. These schema types can improve how your website shows up in search results.
Article
Article schema helps Google better understand news, blog, or sports articles on your site. It offers two key benefits:
- Google displays improved titles, images, and dates.
- It clearly tells Google what your content is about.
By using Article schema, your content might appear for more relevant searches.
Product Markup:
- Displays key details like price, availability, reviews, and shipping information in search results.
- Benefits e-commerce stores by giving customers more product information before visiting the website.
- Product rich results show pricing, ratings, and other product details directly in search.
- Relevant resources:
- Google Product Structured Data Documentation
- Schema.org Product Structured Data Documentation
Local Business Markup:
- Helps Google better understand your business details.
- Allows search results to show business hours, departments, and more.
- Improves visibility for users searching for local businesses.
- Relevant resources:
- Google Local Business Structured Data Documentation
- Schema.org Local Business Structured Data Documentation
Sitelinks Search Box:
- Sitelinks markup shows related links to important pages of your website in Google search results.
- Helps users find key sections of your site when they search for your brand.
- Improves navigation directly from the search results page.
- Resources for further reading:
- Google Sitelinks Structured Data Documentation
- Schema.org Sitelinks Structured Data Documentation
Event Rich Results:
- Event rich results display your upcoming events (online or offline) prominently in Google search.
- Attracts more attention to your events by featuring them directly in search results.
- Useful for increasing visibility for both online and physical events.
- Resources for further reading:
- Google Event Structured Data Documentation
- Schema.org Event Structured Data Documentation
How to Add Schema To Website
To add schema markup to your website, it’s essential to choose the schema types that best match your content. Here are some basic suggestions:
- E-commerce sites: Use Product, Breadcrumb, and Person/Organization schema.
- Blogs or news sites: Add Article, Breadcrumb, and Person/Organization schema.
- Specialized sites (e.g., food or recruitment websites) can use specific schema like Recipe or Job Posting.
How to Add Schema
Most modern content management systems (CMS) like Wix and Webflow include basic schema settings that you can adjust easily. If you use WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO simplify the process. During setup, Yoast helps you add Organization or Person schema. You can then manage your schema settings for each post under the "Schema" tab.
For detailed steps, guides are available for both Wix and Webflow.
Manual Schema Markup
If you prefer full control, you can manually add schema using code. Schema markup can be written in microdata, RDFa, or JSON-LD (recommended by Google). Tools like Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator or Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper make this easy. Once you generate the JSON-LD code, you can place it in the <head> or <body> of your webpage.
By using schema markup, you’ll help search engines better understand your content, which can improve your website’s SEO.
Validate your Schema Markup
To validate your schema markup, use tools like the Schema Validator or Google’s Rich Results Test. If you have Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar, you can quickly access these tools via the "Structured data" tab. The toolbar shows JSON-LD schema, and when you run the Rich Results Test, it checks for errors. You can click on any issues to view more details.
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