few years ago, there was certain predictability in understanding the factors that let to a
site being ranked higher in search results. However, many professionals used black-hat
SEO techniques (such as link farming and stuffing pages with keywords) to gain higher
rankings. Using underhanded techniques may have elevated sites in the rankings initially,
but the sites were penalized later by the search engines. The deceptive techniques were
rank-specific and did not take website users or customers into consideration.
Over time, search engines became more efficient at judging sites based on user
intent and weeding out sites that were using deceit to rank higher on search engine
result pages (SERPs). Today you cannot get away with spamming the search engines—
Google and the others have become adept at knowing which sites are adhering to their
guidelines.
Studies suggest that search engines consider more than 250 factors when ranking
sites. Although the exact attributes that result in better rankings are not specified (they are
a business secret), the fundamentals have shifted toward an enhanced user experience
(UX) and providing meaningful content. “Content is king” is an adage you may have
heard a million times, but the scenario has changed: “ Relevant content is king” is the new
mantra and is an apt motivator toward a streamlined UX. You should focus on user intent
and user satisfaction rather than design sites for the search engines.
SEO is an amalgam of relevance and best practices designed to help users find
information related to their queries. This chapter looks at on-page, on-site, and off-page
SEO factors that form the crux of SEO.
On-Page SEO
On-page optimization is related to factors controlled by you or your code that have an
effect on your site’s rankings in search results. To create an optimal experience, you need
to focus on the following page-optimization factors:
• Title tags
• Meta keywords and meta descriptions
• Headings
• Engaging content
• Image optimization
• Interactive media
• Outbound and internal links
Title Tag Optimization
In a page’s HTML code, the <title> tag gives an indication of the page content. (You can
find the words used between the <title> tags by viewing the page source in Firefox; the
method varies depending on the browser.)
Search engines display the page title as the title of the search snippet link on SERPs.
However, the title of a search snippet may also depend on the search query.
Over time, depending on the links and their age, a search snippet may change
dynamically for the same result. Thus there is no fixed rule for how to create a page title.
The title may also vary depending on the platform—especially for responsive websites on
small, medium, and large screens.
Do not stuff keywords into a page title, because Google may penalize your site for
manipulating the natural search process. Also avoid using irrelevant phrases or a single
keyword in the page title. Your page title should educate users about the page content
and thus must be relevant and related to the page content. Single keywords face a lot of
competition, because thousands of websites use the same keyword; it is better to use
long-tail terms, which may be a mix of keywords and related phrases. Also keep in mind
that each page on the website should have a unique title.
The best practice, according to SEO experts, is to use a phrase containing relevant
words (say, 8–11 words) with at most 55–65 characters. This makes sense, because
extremely long phrases will not work well on mobile devices where space is a constraint.
Titles must be precise and concise, and can use a mix of uppercase and lowercase
characters. Avoid commonly used titles or duplicate content, because search engines
display a preference for unique titles. Google Search prefers function over form, so it is a
best practice to use a simple, unique title rather than a sensational, irrelevant title. You
should understand and consider user intent rather than looking at titles from a search
engine point of view.
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