So now you know what SEO is and why it matters, it’s time to take a quick look at how SEO tools can help. SEO doesn’t involve just one thing, it encompasses several major areas including these:
1. Keyword Research
There are several great, free tools that can help you find the best keywords to use in your blog posts (and related keywords you should consider). This helps you to create exactly the sort of content that people are already searching for.
A keyword is a word or (more often) a short phrase that someone types into Google to run a search. For instance, to find this post, you might have typed in a keyword like “free SEO tools” or “best SEO tools for bloggers” and made your way here. My free keyword research tool is what helped me hone in this article to make sure more readers like mexico phone number search discover my content.
2. On-Page Optimization
For your blog post to rank well for your chosen keyword, you need to be sure that Google understands your post is relevant to that search. This means carrying out on-page SEO: using your keyword in your post’s title and appropriately in the content.
Google is becoming more advanced all the time in understanding language, so on-page optimization also means using keywords that are semantically related to your topic (sometimes called LSI keywords).
3. Getting Backlinks
Another cornerstone of good SEO is getting backlinks to your blog content. Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your content (or your homepage). Google and other search engines “crawl” the web by following links, so the more links that point to your site (from more authoritative websites), the easier it is for search engines to find your content and rank it higher.
Google also sees backlinks as a type of vote for your site. If lots of websites link to yours, then Google knows your site is well-regarded. This means that for most sites, link building is a big part of their SEO strategy.
4. Technical SEO
The final aspect of SEO you need to know about is technical SEO. This includes things like making sure your blog’s pages load quickly, giving Google a sitemap of your blog (so it can easily find all your posts), and having a blog that is easy for people to use on a mobile device.
A lot of bloggers feel a bit daunted by technical SEO, but the good news is that there are lots of free tools out there to help you with getting these things right.