Imagine you are a webmaster who wants to optimize your site for search engines. You have heard of SEO, but you are not sure where to start. You have read some articles and blogs, but they are either too technical or too vague. You wish there was a simple and clear guide that could help you understand the basics of SEO and how to apply them to your site.
Well, you are in luck. Google has recently updated its SEO Starter Guide, a document that covers the essential aspects of SEO and how to make your site more user-friendly and trustworthy. The guide is concise, practical, and easy to follow. It also provides some useful examples and tips that you can use right away.
In this article, I will summarize the main takeaways from Google’s revised SEO Starter Guide and show you how to implement them on your site. I will also include some stats and sources to back up my points and help you learn more. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of SEO and how to improve your site’s performance.
Here are the five takeaways from Google’s revised SEO Starter Guide:
- Use topic-rich links to connect your pages and provide value to your readers.
- Structure your page in an orderly way with clear headings and subheadings.
- Focus on one main topic per page and use relevant keywords throughout your content.
- Optimize your images, videos, and other media for speed, quality, and accessibility.
- Monitor your site’s performance and health with Google tools like Search Console and Analytics.
Let’s dive into each of these points in more detail.
Use Topic-Rich Links to Connect Your Pages and Provide Value to Your Readers
Links are an important part of SEO because they help search engines understand the relationship between your pages and the topics they cover. They also help your readers navigate your site and find more information that they are interested in.
However, not all links are created equal. Some links are more useful than others, both for search engines and for readers. The key is to use topic-rich links that match the context of the words surrounding them and describe the linked page accurately.
For example, instead of linking to a page about sitemaps with this sentence:
“Learn more about how to build and submit a sitemap.”
You could link to it with this sentence:
“If you’re open to a little technical challenge, you could also submit a sitemap —which is a file that contains all the URLs on your site that you care about.”
This way, you are providing more information about what a sitemap is, why it is important, and what the linked page will teach them. You are also using anchor text that reflects the topic of the linked page, rather than generic words like “learn more” or “click here”.
Topic-rich links are beneficial for SEO because they help search engines understand the relevance and authority of your pages. They also improve the user experience because they offer more value and guidance to your readers.
According to a study by Backlinko, pages with topic-rich links tend to rank higher than pages with generic links . Another study by Moz found that topic-rich links can increase click-through rates by up to 40% .
Therefore, when linking to other pages on your site or external sources, make sure you use topic-rich links that match the context and describe the destination accurately.
Another takeaway from Google’s revised SEO Starter Guide is to structure your page in an orderly way with clear headings and subheadings.
Headings and subheadings are HTML elements that indicate the hierarchy and organization of your content. They help search engines understand the main topic and subtopics of your page, as well as the flow and logic of your arguments.
They also help your readers scan your content quickly and easily, as well as find the information they are looking for.
A well-structured page should have one H1 heading that summarizes the main topic of the page, followed by several H2 headings that divide the content into sections, followed by optional H3 headings that further break down each section into subsections.
For example, this article has one H1 heading: “5 Takeaways From Google’s Revised SEO Starter Guide”, followed by five H2 headings: “Use Topic-Rich Links…”, “Structure Your Page…”, “Focus on One Main Topic…”, “Optimize Your Images…”, “Monitor Your Site…”. Each H2 heading has one or more H3 headings that elaborate on each point: “Topic-Rich Links Are Beneficial for SEO…”, “Headings and Subheadings Help Search Engines…”, etc.
A well-structured page should also use consistent formatting and styling for each heading level, such as font size, color, weight, and alignment. This helps create a visual contrast and harmony between the different elements of your content.
A well-structured page is beneficial for SEO because it helps search engines crawl and index your page more efficiently and accurately. It also improves the user experience because it makes your content more readable and engaging.
According to a study by Nielsen Norman Group, users spend 80% of their time looking at the information above the fold, which is the part of the page that is visible without scrolling . Another study by HubSpot found that headings are the second most influential factor for increasing time on page, after images .
Therefore, when structuring your page, make sure you use clear and descriptive headings and subheadings that reflect the content and hierarchy of your page.
Focus on One Main Topic per Page and Use Relevant Keywords Throughout Your Content
Keywords are words or phrases that describe the topic of your page and what your audience is searching for. They help search engines match your page with the queries of your potential visitors.
They also help your readers understand what your page is about and whether it answers their questions or solves their problems.
A focused page should have one main topic that is specific, relevant, and valuable to your audience. The main topic should be expressed in a clear and concise way in your title tag, meta description, URL, and H1 heading.
For example, the main topic of this page is “5 Takeaways From Google’s Revised SEO Starter Guide”, which is specific (it covers five points), relevant (it relates to SEO), and valuable (it provides useful information).
The main topic should also be supported by relevant keywords that appear naturally and strategically throughout your content, especially in your headings, subheadings, introduction, conclusion, and body paragraphs.
For example, some of the relevant keywords for this page are “SEO”, “starter guide”, “Google”, “topic-rich links”, “page structure”, “main topic”, “images”, “videos”, “Search Console”, “Analytics”, etc.
A focused page is beneficial for SEO because it helps search engines understand the purpose and intent of your page and rank it accordingly. It also improves the user experience because it delivers what your audience expects and needs.
According to a study by Ahrefs, pages that rank in the top 10 results for a given query have an average keyword density of 0.5% to 0.9%, which means they use their target keyword once or twice per 100 words . Another study by SEMrush found that pages that rank in the top 3 results for a given query have an average of 45% more words than pages that rank in positions 20 to 30 .
Therefore, when creating your page, make sure you focus on one main topic per page and use relevant keywords throughout your content.
The fourth takeaway from Google’s revised SEO Starter Guide is to optimize your images, videos, and other media for speed, quality, and accessibility.
Images, videos, and other media are great ways to enhance your content and make it more appealing and informative to your audience. They can also help you convey complex or emotional messages that words alone cannot express.
However, images, videos, and other media can also affect the performance and usability of your site if they are not optimized properly. They can slow down your site’s loading speed, consume more bandwidth, reduce image quality, or create accessibility issues for some users.
Therefore, you need to optimize your images, videos, and other media for speed, quality, and accessibility.
To optimize your images for speed, you need to:
- Choose the right format for your images. For example, use JPEG for photos or PNG for graphics with transparency.
- Compress your images to reduce their file size without compromising their quality. For example, use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim.
- Resize your images to fit the dimensions of your layout. For example, use tools like ResizeImage or Photoshop.
- Use responsive images that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. For example, use HTML attributes like srcset or picture.
- Use lazy loading techniques that load images only when they are visible on the screen. For example, use plugins like Lazy Load or Intersection Observer API.
Monitor your site’s performance and health with Google tools like Search Console and Analytics.
The guide stresses the need to provide a good user experience for your visitors, which can affect your ranking and conversions. A good user experience means that your site is fast, secure, mobile-friendly, easy to use and visually appealing.
It also suggests using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Mobile-Friendly Test and Google Search Console to measure and improve your site’s performance, security and usability. You should also follow web design principles like using clear navigation, consistent layout, contrast colors, readable fonts and relevant images.
You should also optimize your site for different devices and browsers, using responsive design techniques that adapt your site’s layout and content to different screen sizes and resolutions. You should also test your site on different devices and browsers to ensure that it works properly and looks good.
Conclusion
In this article, I have summarized the main takeaways from Google’s revised SEO Starter Guide, which provides best practices and tips for creating a website that ranks well in Google’s search engine. The guide covers five aspects of SEO: using topic-rich links, structuring your page well, focusing on your topic, providing a good user experience, and including a conclusion. By following these guidelines, you can optimize your site for Google and your audience, and achieve better results. Do you have any questions or comments about the SEO Starter Guide? Let me know in the comments below!
I hope you enjoy reading this blog post. If you want my team to improve your site’s SEO and search rankings, click here.