Introduction
The benefits of a good SEO strategy are many and varied, but the most important one is this: better search engine rankings which lead to increased traffic for your site. As we all know too well nowadays if you want any chance at success every inch must be optimized!
Many businesses today have an online presence, and all of them want to be visible on the search engine results pages (SERPs). This is where SEO comes in. Search engine optimization is a critical part of any online marketing campaign, and if you want your business to succeed online, you need to understand the basics, along with advanced techniques to improve your visibility.
While advanced SEO can be complex and intimidating, it is important to have a solid foundation in the basics before moving on to more complex concepts. So if you are new to SEO, please check out our other blogs on SEO before learning these concepts. In this article, we will discuss 10 must-know concepts in advanced SEO:
10 essential concepts that every marketer should know about advanced SEO:
Advanced SEO Concept 1. SEO Forecasting
SEO forecasting is the process of estimating the future performance of your website in the SERPs. This is done by analyzing past data and trends to identify patterns that can be used to predict future behavior.
There are several factors that can be analyzed when forecasting SEO performance, including:
• Search volume – This refers to the number of people searching for a particular keyword or phrase.
• Click-through rate (CTR) – This is the percentage of people who click on your listing when it appears in the SERPs.
• Rankings – This measures where your website appears in the SERPs for a particular keyword or phrase.
Using these factors, you can develop a forecast of how your website will perform in the future and make changes to your Advanced SEO strategy accordingly.
For example, if you see that your website’s CTR is increasing but rankings are stagnant, you may want to focus on improving your website’s title and meta description to encourage more people to click through. This will ensure you have a foolproof strategy even if you are on the verge of a breakdown.
Advanced SEO Concept 2. Website Migrations
Website migration is the process of moving your website from one domain to another. This can be a complex process, and if not done correctly, can result in a loss of traffic and rankings.
It takes some experience to be good at them and do it well without errors or flaws in your workmanship! Because many SEO professionals who work exclusively brand-side may find they have not had the opportunity to carry out so many website migrations, you must take on board any such project with care.
When migrating your website, it is important to keep the following in mind:
• Redirects – All old URLs should be redirected to the new URL.
• Change of Address (COA) in Google Search Console – You need to let Google know that your website has moved so they can update their records.
• Backlinks – All your backlinks will need to be updated to point to the new URLs.
• Internal links – All links on your website should be updated to point to the new URLs.
If you are planning a website migration, it is important to plan and execute it carefully to avoid any negative impact on your Advanced SEO strategy. However, if done correctly, a website migration can be a great opportunity to improve your website’s SEO.
Advanced SEO Concept 3. Log File Analysis
Logfile analysis is the process of analyzing your website’s log files to understand how people are interacting with your site. Log files contain a wealth of information, including the date and time of visits, the IP address of visitors, the pages they accessed, and the referrer URL.
This information can be used to understand how people are finding your website and what they are doing once they are there.
Logfile analysis can be used to improve your website in several ways, including:
• Identifying pages that are being accessed frequently and ensuring they are optimized for SEO.
• Identifying pages that are not being accessed frequently and making changes to improve their visibility in the SERPs.
• Identifying referrer URLs and making sure they are sending high-quality traffic to your website.
Log files are a great way to understand what pages search engine bots can or cannot access on your site. You may be able to spot spider traps that could prevent visitors from finding their way around, as well as identify where there might have been an error with how often certain areas of the page get crawled by Google’s robots (spider). And to get good at using them, you need a firm understanding of not just how they work but also what information is contained within and why that might be important for your business or organization!
Advanced SEO Concept 4. Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals is something you should start paying attention to in 2022 as it is a new ranking factor that Google will be using. Google has claimed to be using Core Web Vitals when evaluating your page for its user experience. They include key components and metrics like:
The three core web vitals are:
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – This measures how long it takes for the largest element on the page to load.
• First Input Delay (FID) – This measures how long it takes for the page to become interactive.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – This measures how much the elements on the page move around as they load.
To get an idea of how your website is currently performing, you can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. This will give you a report on your web vitals and how you can improve them. However, Core Web Vitals mainly focuses on critical elements such as the main content, advertising, mobile optimization, site speed, image compression, and other key components that can impact the user experience.
So, making sure your website is properly optimized for mobile devices and has a fast page load time should be a priority if you want to rank well on Google.
Advanced SEO Concept 5. Schema Markup
Schema markup is another concept of Advanced SEO and is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. It is a form of structured data that tells search engines what your content is about and how it should be displayed in the SERPs.
Schema markup can be used to improve your website’s SEO in several ways, including:
• Helping search engines understand your content better and displaying it more prominently in the SERPs.
• Increasing the click-through rate (CTR) from the SERPs to your website.
• Improving the rich results that are displayed for your website in the SERPs.
If you’re not using schema markup on your website, you’re missing out on an opportunity to improve your SEO. Adding schema markup to your website is relatively simple and can be done with the help of a plugin or by manually adding the code to your site. Check out our blog “A Complete Guide To Using Schema Markup For SEO” to know about Schema markups!
Advanced SEO Concept 6. Breadcrumbs in SEO
Breadcrumbs though is a basic SEO in several aspects, knowing breadcrumbs can be complex, given the several aspects of it. In Advanced SEO, breacrumbs are a great way to improve the usability of your website and increase the chances of users finding the information they are looking for. They are also beneficial for SEO as they help search engines understand the structure of your website and the relationships between different pages.
Breadcrumbs can be used to:
• Improve the usability of your website by making it easier for users to navigate.
• Help search engines understand the structure of your website and the relationships between different pages.
• Increase the click-through rate (CTR) from the SERPs to your website.
Using breadcrumbs in your Advanced SEO strategy; on your website is easy-simply add a few lines of code to your pages. The code is as follows:
<div id=”breadcrumbs”>
<a href=”/”>Home</a>
<a href=”/category/”>Category</a>
<span>Page</span>
</div>
By doing so, you can make it easier for both users and search engines to navigate your website.
Advanced SEO Concept 7. Mobile SEO
Mobile SEO is the most important aspect of SEO today. With over 50% of searches now being conducted on mobile devices, your website must be optimized for these users.
There are a few things you need to do to ensure your website is mobile-friendly:
• Use a responsive design: This ensures that your website will resize itself to fit the screen of any device.
• Use large font sizes: Make sure your text is large enough to be read on a small screen.
• Use short and descriptive titles: Keep your titles short and to the point so that they can be read easily on a mobile device.
• Optimize your images: Mobile users are often looking for quick information, so make sure your images are small in file size and have relevant alt text.
By following these tips, you can ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and will be able to rank well in mobile search results. If you are a mobile-optimized website, you can also add a “mobile-friendly” label to your website in the search results. If you are not, then you may want to consider making some changes to your website.
Advanced SEO Concept 8. International SEO
International SEO is the process of optimizing your website for users in multiple countries. This can be done by targeting specific keywords for each country, using local hosting, and creating country-specific versions of your website.
When optimizing your website for international users, it is important to keep the following in mind:
• Keywords – Target specific keywords for each country.
• Localization – Use local hosting and create country-specific versions of your website.
• Language – Use the language of each country you are targeting.
International SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it is essential for any business with an online presence. By following the tips above, you can ensure that your website is visible to users in multiple countries and maximize your chances of success, and spread your global wings.
Advanced SEO Concept 9. Semantic Search
Semantic search is a type of search that takes into account the context of a user’s search query. This type of search is different from traditional keyword-based search, which looks at the individual keywords in a query and returns results based on those keywords.
With semantic search, the meaning of a user’s query is analyzed to provide more relevant results. This is done by looking at the relationship between different terms in a query, as well as the user’s intent.
For example, if a user searches for “restaurants near me,” a semantic search engine would understand that the user is looking for restaurants in their vicinity and provide results accordingly.
Semantic search is an important part of SEO, as it helps to provide more relevant and targeted results for users. This, in turn, can lead to higher click-through rates and conversions.
So make sure your website is optimized for semantic search to ensure that you are providing the most relevant results for your users.
Advanced SEO Concept 10. E-A-T
Google’s E-A-T guidelines stand for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These are the three main factors that Google takes into account when ranking websites in its search results.
To ensure that your website is ranked highly by Google, you need to focus on creating content that is expertly written, authoritative, and trustworthy. This can be done by ensuring that your content is researched and well-written, and by building up your website’s authority through links and citations.
E-A-T is especially important for sites that offer advice or give information that could have an impact on a person’s health, wealth, or safety. If your site falls into this category, you need to take extra care to ensure that your content is of the highest quality.
Advanced SEO Bonus Tip – AMP
AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages, is a Google-backed initiative that aims to improve the performance of mobile web pages. AMP pages are designed to load faster on mobile devices, and they can be used to improve the user experience of your website.
If you want to make sure your website is fast and responsive on mobile devices, you should consider implementing AMP. This can be done by creating AMP versions of your web pages, or by using a WordPress plugin like AMP for WP.
Conclusion
SEO is a critical aspect of any online marketing campaign, but to be successful you need to understand the basics, as well as the Advanced SEO concepts, alike. The 10 advanced SEO concepts above are a good starting point. By following these tips, you can create a website that Google will rank highly in its search.
But, if you’re not sure where to start with your search engine optimization needs then this task must fall to someone who knows what they are doing – like us!
Advanced SEO can be challenging and time-consuming so we’ll take care of all those pesky problems for you while still making sure everything goes smoothly from beginning to end by providing creative solutions tailored just right according to each client situation at hand. Contact 12 Channels today for a free SEO or Advanced SEO consultation.