Tracking and Analytics

Tracking and analytics are great tools to have when it comes to dealing with SEO. Some reasons why people may want to use these techniques are to learn how people are finding their site, how they navigate the site, and how they become customers. Google Analytics is an awesome tool to use and I highly recommend it, because I have used it in one of my other courses and found it extremely useful. Also, on the plus side it is FREE to use, which is a bonus. In addition to Google Analytics, there are some common metrics that you can track in order to better understand search engine optimization. The common metrics include:

• Visitors - People who visit your site in (typically) a 24 hour period.
• Unique Visitors - How many different people have visited the site in a set time period.
• Page Views - Each time a visitor loads a page.
• Bounce Rate - The percentage of visitors that exit your site without visiting any other page on the site.
• Time on Site - The average time a person spends on the site. 
• New Visitors - Percentage of visitors that have never been on the site before. 
• Referring Sites - Where the visitors found a link to the site. 
• Goals - To track when a visitor has completed a specific objective.
• Conversion Rate - The percentage of visits that resulted in a conversion for at least one goal. 

Search Results

In today's world, search engines use a variety of sources and web pages in order to generate a search result. Many refer to this type of search as the "Universal Search", because any given search query can generate results from a lot of different sources. For example, depending of the specific search query, it can vary anywhere from Videos, News, Images, to Google Posts as well.

These types of search results all depend on:

1. the query

2. time

3. location

Google Universal Search is a way that Google "blends" results from multiple searches that appear within the main Google web search results, instead of appearing as a separate box at the top of the search results page. The reason why this universal search is so important is because it is able to search across all its content sources and be able to compare and rank all the information in real time. Therefore, users are able to find exactly what they are searching for all in one place. 

Negative Ranking Factors

SEO is extremely beneficial to people who write content in hopes to gain more traffic on their sites. When done the right way, content optimization can help increase traffic, build lasting relationships, and be ranked higher on the Google results page. On the other hand, there are situations that may occur that prohibits SEO to be as successful as it could be. The term used for this type of situation is referred to as, Negative Ranking Factors. The most common Negative Ranking Factors include:

• Hidden text and/or links
• Keyword Stuffing
• Getting links from bad sites
• Low quality content 
• Redirecting the user with the intent to mislead
• Server down or connection problems with web site
• Linking to low quality or bad sites

Therefore, your first goal in SEO should be to avoid making these mistakes because these could
make or break your site. By avoiding these mistakes listed above, this could help your site not to get banned or penalized. Next, try to get your on-site elements optimized so more traffic will come to your site. Also, make sure to focus on continuously keeping your off-site strategies updated. The last thing you want to do is get Google mad by making the easily avoidable mistakes, because no matter what happens if you make these mistakes then the rest of your SEO efforts has truly been a waste of time.

Writing SEO Content

Google tends to be constantly changing the rules for content optimization. Therefore, it is important to stay up to date with the changes and new rules Google tries to enforce. Although there is no such thing as writing the "perfect" content for Google, it is still important to write content people are willing to look at. In order to write good content, the goal is to write clear and engaging content that will make viewers value what is being said and want to read more. The way to do this is by following the 5 simple steps that are listed below.

1. Do you have enough information about your target reader?

•    Before writing anything, picture your target audience in mind. Who are you trying to target? What do they like to read? How can you attract them to your site? All these questions will help you further engage with your audience and help create a lasting relationship with them.

2. Does the topic relate to your readers?

• Having content unrelated to your readers will make them not interested in what is being said, which is the last thing you want to happen. Therefore, make sure you are writing must-read content that will interest readers. For some ideas you can look at Google Treads or LinkedIn. 

3. Did you conduct keyphrase research?

• Keyphrase research will help optimize your page because it helps Google see your page and move it higher on the results page. Therefore, for having certain keyphrases that Google will pick up on will overall be beneficial for your site.     

4. Is your content too long?

• Sometimes it is easy to write a novel when writing something you are passionate about. However, by having too much content can actually hurt you in the long run because most people like reading stuff that is short, sweet, and to the point. Therefore, before posting anything step back and look at the content from another person's perspective, if it is too long or something they would not want to read, then do not post it. 

5. Does your content stand out?

• Lastly, SEO is important and everyone wants the top position on Google, but in order for that to occur your content needs to stand out from the rest. Your competitors all want the same thing for Google to place their content as the #1 content on the results page. Therefore, make sure you have a site that contains must-read content and will make readers want to come to the site and read what you have to offer.  

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free service that lets individuals learn a lot of information about their website and the people who visit it. The service can be used to find out a lot of great things, such as, how many people are visiting your site or even how they found out about it. Also, the service can help figure out which pages are the most popular on the site. Another great part about this service is that it can help you find and fix any website errors you may have, so it can appeal to more users. Before even starting with Google Search Console, you will have to first add and verify your site(s). By adding and verifying a site, this tells Google that you are the site's owner, webmaster, or other authorized user. Having someone verify he/she is the owner of a site is extremely important, because Google does not want to just hand over valuable information to anyone.

The main steps taken in order to successfully add a site to Search Console and understanding how it works is very simple. The following steps are displayed below:

1. Adding and verifying a site in Google Search Console
2. Adding an HTML tag
3. Uploading an HTML file
4. Verifying via domain name provider
5. Adding Google Analytics code
6. Using Google Tag Manager
7. Linking Google Analytics with Google Search Console
8. Adding a sitemap
9. Checking a robots.txt file
10. Fetch as Google and submit to index
11. Site errors in Google Search Console

SEO Certification

After learning about SEO and what it entails, it is highly recommended to take the Hubspot Certification test and/or the Search Engine News Certification test. I personally have taken the Hubspot Certification test and passed it. I thought that the material presented was very helpful

and relevant to learning about SEO. The content provided by Hubspot was easy to understand and follow along with. The first thing I did before even getting to learn the material was I printed out the study guide because I knew that it would be a great resource to have when it came to taking the timed test. The test was broken up into different sections and consisted of multiple choice answers.

Hubspot is a really good foundation for SEO because it places SEO in context, and the emphasis is on content. Hubspot has a lot of different certifications that people can get, but the one that is extremely beneficial is the Inbound certification. The videos that are shown are an excellent visual tool for individuals who need to see things. I found the information and examples important in order for me to master the skills and knowledge for when it came to the test. In addition to passing the Hubspot Certification test, I will also be taking the Search Engine News Certification test soon for class and I believe the material will be helpful in learning more about SEO, which I cannot wait to see what that test entails.

Keeping Up With Changes

Although SEO is extremely useful to know for any business or organization, parts of SEO may change and it is best to keep up with those changes. The one key component that will never change though is to make sure to have quality content. Quality content is what everyone looks for and without it there will not be that much traffic on one's site. Google is known for evolving and changing its ways over the years; therefore, it is important to stay informed and updated with new content that may be presented. Reading blogs is an excellent example of staying in tune with what is going on and changing, but make sure when viewing blogs to always check the date because some blogs can be outdated, which is not a good reference to use. In addition to blogs, there are also other industry resources that can be helpful when keeping up with changes. Such as, Search Engine News is a great resource and it is worth paying for. Overall, keeping track of new changes can benefit a company and/or website.