SEO Optimisation - 7 steps to success

Why is SEO optimisation important? Or: What search engines want

SEO means search engine optimization or in German: Suchmaschinenoptimierung. You design your website for your users - but for success you need to optimise the content for the search engine. Why? Because the search engine is the bridge between your website and people. Without a search engine, no one can get to your site - and without SEO optimisation, Google won't build a stable bridge.

The Aim of the search engine is to provide users with high-quality answers to their search queries. For this reason, all web content is thoroughly checked and evaluated. Anything that does not provide the user with added value is mercilessly sorted out. For this, Google primarily needs content in text form. Text information are collected by so-called crawlers and stored and evaluated in a large database (the "Google Index"). This evaluation ultimately determines the ranking of your page - i.e. whether and where it appears in the results list.

SEO Checklist - 7 steps to a better Google ranking

Important: You rank with your pages, not with your domain. This meansthat you have to optimise every single page and every post on your website individually. The SEO optimisation takes place per page on one keyword - and exactly on what you want to be found with the help of the search engine. The keyword must therefore be defined before you start the optimisation.

It is worth investing time in the development of a SEO strategy to invest. You then implement these for each new page. Don't worry - what seems enormously complex at first will eventually become routine. We provide you with the checklist for successful SEO optimisation.

Conclusion: SEO Optimisation

If high-quality content is the heart of your online presence, then SEO optimisation is the body that goes with it. If the heart is missing, the most beautiful shell is worthless. Without a shell, however, no one will be able to get to the heart.

SEO is therefore important. However, avoid the compulsion to over-optimise - because the focus should clearly be on good content and your target group. Therefore, also invest time in building your customer or reader base, show personality and build trust with your users. Always keep your target group in mind - and write for people, not for Google. This automatically results in good content that is also appreciated by the search engine.

It therefore plays a decisive role not only for Google, but also for the visitor. A good title encourages people to want to know more.

What makes a good title? The optimal title is concise and contains the keyword - if possible, right at the beginning of the title. If the keyword is included in the title, this means for Google: This page is relevant for keyword X. The more meaningful the title, the more likely your page will be clicked on and the more popular it will be with Google. The length should not exceed 60 characters, otherwise the text will be cut off. In addition, each page should have its own title so that the pages can be kept apart.

Meta descriptions summarise what the page is about and are also displayed in search results and on social networks. You can and should definitely create these summaries on your own for each page. If you don't, Google will create one for itself, which is not always advantageous.

What makes a good meta description? The same rules apply to the meta description as to the title: to the point, including keyword and individual for each page. A good approach here is the AIDA principle.

Your pages also rank with your URL. This already starts with the domain name and ends with the path that refers to the individual page.

What makes a good URL? If your website already exists, then you already have a domain (example site.de). If not, it is worth thinking about which domain to use. Domain names you choose best. Does your website focus on a specific topic, e.g. "make your own mustard"? Then you could consider using this keyword directly as a domain name or integrating it (www.senf-selber-machen.de). However, it often makes more sense to use your brand or company name (www.sinas-senf-manufaktur.de). This depends a bit on the goal and purpose of your website - and of course on the availability of the domain.

Each page has its own URL (www.senf-selber-machen.de/feigensenf). This should be concise and well structured. Again, it should be clear: what is this page about? Separate individual words with hyphens and refrain from using special characters.

If the title and meta description were good enough to attract the user to your page, the first important step has been taken. Now the first impression counts. Within a few seconds, the visitor scans the page and evaluates "can I find the answers to my questions here? Headings play an important role here and Google also uses them for "orientation".

What makes good headlines? Good headlines should be informative and short and overall summarise the content of the page in concise sentences. In addition, some of them should also contain the keyword if possible - this applies in particular to the H1 heading. Subheadings are very useful, especially for long texts. Pay attention to the H1 - H6 hierarchy when creating them.

"Nothing matters more in SEO than content. Nothing." (Rebecca Lieb, Content Marketing, 2012)

What makes good content? 

• Quality:

Especially if you run a blog, a certain dynamism and regularity is definitely relevant. Nevertheless, quality is more important than quantity. Content should not just be quickly pulled out of your sleeve, but should be chosen carefully, be clearly laid out and only contain relevant information.

• Added value: 

You design the content for a specific target group - not for yourself and not for Google! You want to provide this target group with concrete answers to a specific search intention. This requires a target group analysis. What do visitors want to know and what questions would they ask? The free tool Answer the public can help with this.

• Uniqueness: 

Content must never be copied from other sources. Uniqueness is incredibly important, because in the worst case, content theft can cost you ranking in the long run.

• Keywords: 

Use the keyword for which you want to rank in the text. You can also use similar search queries or phrases ("make your own mustard without sugar"). Place keywords sensibly and ensure a good reading flow. A keyword density of 1-3% is generally recommended, but less is not tragic.

• Length: 

It is often preached that the longer the texts, the better the ranking. We think this is a misconception. If a piece of content can solve a user's problem in 400 words - then that's great! People want quick answers and endless long texts tend to scare many users away. On the other hand, a detailed text can also be an advantage if it deals with a complex issue. Our tip: Vary and experiment with the length. The "right" text length also depends on the type and structure of the content and on your target group.

The reason: If you rank well with page X, then you also transfer this to page Y through a corresponding link. Therefore, do not be stingy with (sensible) internal links. Always make sure to link with the corresponding keyword. Also external links are welcome if they fit into the context. Do not be afraid that you could strengthen other websites. More importantly, you are sending a signal that quality and added value for the reader are important to you.

Pictures often say more than words. Therefore, not only do your users value visual support, Google also evaluates the presence of images positively.

What makes a good image optimisation? There are 3 things to do:

• Give images meaningful file names (example image.jpg),
• Set an alt text (the image description that appears when the image cannot be loaded).
• Link the image to the media file.

The reason: Google does not "see" the image, but only gets the information from the text that is connected to the image. Name the image file after the keyword ("marmelade- einkochen.jpg") and use this also in the alt text ("Marmelade einkochen aus Erdbeeren"). The Image size should always be less than 100 kb, otherwise it has a negative effect on the loading time.

Conclusion: SEO Optimisation

If high-quality content is the heart of your online presence, then SEO optimisation is the body that goes with it. If the heart is missing, the most beautiful shell is worthless. Without a shell, however, no one will be able to get to the heart.

SEO is therefore important. However, avoid the compulsion to over-optimise - because the focus should clearly be on good content and your target group. Therefore, also invest time in building your customer or reader base, show personality and build trust with your users. Always keep your target group in mind - and write for people, not for Google. This automatically results in good content that is also appreciated by the search engine.