SEO optimization of a website with your own hands

Using a WEB site in their business, each owner strives to get the maximum number of visitors from organic “free” search, that is, to get positions in the TOP-3 or TOP-10 for key queries. Getting the result SEO promotion – this is not a matter of one month. You should not expect instant results here. This is a complex process, including organizational, technical and analytical measures, the results of which can be seen only after at least 2-3 months. In rare cases, quick success is possible, but this is rather an exception. Website promotion is a long-term project that requires careful analysis, constant interaction with the target audience and regular monitoring of competitors.

Advantages and disadvantages of website optimization with your own hands

The benefits of doing your own SEO

1. Saving money. If you decide to work with an agency or a freelancer, the costs will be higher. However, doing SEO yourself will save you money, but you need to approach the process responsibly, as competitors do not forgive mistakes.
2. Gaining experience and skills. Working on a website yourself, you will learn new things. You may not become an SEO expert, but you will be able to understand the basic principles of promotion, which will be useful even when transferring the work to professionals.
3. Personal control. If you have enough time, knowledge and patience, doing SEO on your own can be effective.

Disadvantages of independent SEO promotion

1. Lack of knowledge at the start. It will take time to learn the basics of SEO before you can get started.
2. Lack of practical experience. Theory is easy to understand, but applying knowledge in practice is a completely different level. Without the opportunity to “practice” on another site, you can face difficulties. Incorrect steps in SEO can lead to financial losses.
3. Time costs. This process requires a lot of time and patience. Search algorithms are constantly changing, and even if the site is already at the top, work on its optimization must continue.
4. Long way to results. Even a professional team spends a significant amount of time on effective SEO optimization. If you do it yourself, it is worth considering that it will take even more time.
5. High probability of errors. Beginners tend to make mistakes, and in SEO it is important to strictly follow the algorithms. Using illegal promotion methods (so-called “black” technologies) can lead to a site ban after several months or even a year. This means that your efforts and investments may be in vain.

Stages of independent SEO optimization

What to pay attention to and what can be improved when doing search engine optimization of a website yourself? Let’s consider the main stages and tools for their implementation when doing independent SEO optimization:

1. Statistics collection and analytics
2. Semantic collection, clustering and grouping
3. Technical website optimization
4. Content, filling pages
5. Optimization of commercial factors
6. External optimization

Below we will consider each stage in more detail.

Statistics collection and analytics

The first step in SEO promotion is collecting statistical data, which includes:

Installation of meters

For successful SEO optimization, it is important to have a complete picture of user activity on the site. You need to install tools for analyzing indexing, tracking the number of visits and sources of transitions. It is important to configure counters so that they collect only the necessary information, otherwise it can slow down the site.

Connecting web analytics

Regardless of the type of site and promotion goals, two important steps must be taken:

• Register in Google Search Console. Here you will manage the promotion process and receive reports on the site’s status: number of visits, dynamics and user behavior.
• Install counters. Google Analytics is enough. Analysis of the main resource indicators, quality and volume of traffic, setting goals will allow you to determine priorities for work and evaluate the results of the work done.

Semantic collection, clustering and grouping

The semantic core is a set of search queries that are planned to attract traffic to the site. It is best to collect it before the site is developed so that the resource structure meets the needs of users. When compiling semantics, you should pay attention to the key pages of the site, focusing on priority areas.

It is worth considering the specifics of this process, as it includes many nuances. For example, if semantics are selected for a commercial site, informational queries will be less useful, and vice versa. However, in highly specialized commercial niches, informational traffic can be effective if it is aimed at attracting buyers.

Collecting key queries for which a site should be present in search engine results, clustering and grouping is a very labor-intensive and important task.

The following services will help you work independently with site semantics:

• Keyword Planner by Google;
• Google Trends;
• Google Correlate.

After collecting the semantic core, it is necessary to distribute key queries across pages, grouping them into clusters. Based on these groups, each page is promoted, adapted to important keywords.

Clustering can be accomplished using different methods:

• manually,
• using software,
• through specialized online services.

First, try to think logically: if you were searching for information on a specific request, what exactly would you expect to see on the site? In some cases, individual requests will require creating new pages, which is a common practice in SEO.

Technical website optimization

Independent SEO promotion of a website includes optimization of technical aspects. First of all, it is important to monitor the functionality and security of pages, links and the entire website. Each internal link should load in no more than 3 seconds to meet the minimum speed requirements. It is also necessary to adapt the website design for proper display on mobile devices.

One of the criteria for the quality of a website is the absence of duplicate pages. It is important to create an XML sitemap and its HTML version to speed up the indexing process by search engines. Be sure to add the site to Google Search Console to get valuable data on its operation and set up indexing.

So, technical optimization will allow search engines to correctly index the site, the main tasks of which will be:

• robots.txt setup;
• creating an .xml sitemap and adding it to webmasters;
• setting up CNC addresses;
• ensuring the validity of html code;
• setting up 301 redirects, 404 error pages;
• fix duplicate pages;
• microdata setup;
• moving the site to a secure https protocol;
• setting up internal linking;
• organization of a convenient and logical menu;
• ensuring the recommended page loading speed.

Content, filling pages

The content is created taking into account the keywords collected at the initial stage. The format of the texts depends on the type of the site:

1. Commercial websites require sales-oriented texts.
2. Online stores require short product descriptions for catalogs and product cards.
3. Service websites need sales descriptions of services with a call to action.
4. Information sites or blogs on commercial platforms require lengthy articles that provide complete answers to users’ questions.

At the initial stages, you can write articles yourself, and if you have a budget, hire a copywriter. But it is important to provide him with a clear technical assignment.

Tips for writing texts:

1. The heading (H1) must contain the keyword in its direct form. If this violates grammar, correct the query to preserve the natural sound of the text. Without errors, the article is ranked higher.
2. Subheadings (H2-H6) make the text more structured and easier to read for both humans and search engines. Even a quality article written without division is more difficult to perceive.
3. Use bullets, numbers, images, quotes, and frames. This helps to better perceive the material and makes it more visually appealing.
4. Pictures are an important part of the article. Place thematic images for every 2000 – 3000 characters of text.
5. It is better to use bold, italic or underlined text in moderation. Instead of meaningless highlighting, it is preferable to use frames or quotations to emphasize important thoughts.
6. Uniqueness of content is mandatory (not less than 95%)!

Optimization of commercial factors

If you can purchase something, order something, or sign up for a service on your website, it is important to carefully work out the commercial factors (CF).

Key commercial factors:

1. Contact details. Provide full information about the company: addresses of representative offices (with a map or directions), details and all possible means of communication – telephones, instant messengers, email.
2. It should be competitive in terms of the number of products. It is important to correctly design product cards – high-quality photos, detailed descriptions, characteristics, and also add blocks with recommended or similar products.
3. Contact forms. Make sure the user has multiple options to contact you: request a call back, feedback forms, online consultants. After sending a message, the visitor needs to be shown confirmation that the request was successfully sent.
4. Information about support, guarantees, payment and delivery. This information should be as clear as possible so that the user does not look for answers on other sites.

External optimization

It consists of obtaining links from external resources. It is not just the number of links that is important, but the quality of donor sites. Search engines evaluate:

• domain trust – the level of trust from search engines;
• website positions in search results – use tools such as SeRanking or Serpstat;
• minimal amount of advertising – if there is any, it should not distract from the content;
• lack of sanctions and low quality of the resource.

Effective links can be obtained from catalogs, reference books, thematic forums, review sites, and large web resources. It is important that the donor site’s subject matter matches yours. For example, a link to an auto parts store from a site about products for pregnant women will not be useful.

There are free and paid ways to get links. Free – through work with social networks, forums and thematic sites. Paid – through link exchanges, thematic directories.

When buying links, analyze donors. It is necessary to check:

• the theme of the site – it should be similar to yours;
• site region – it should be as close as possible to the region of your business;
• the site must be “live” with regular updates;
• it should not be under search engine filters and should have good positions;
• you can check the quality of links using Ahrefs or Serpstat.

To summarize

Keep in mind that search engine requirements change regularly. Information that was relevant a few months ago may no longer be relevant today. The basic principles remain the same, but to achieve high results you need to go beyond the basics.

Website optimization takes time, and the first results can be expected in 2-3 months. The decision whether to do the promotion yourself or entrust it to professionals is up to you. If you need help, we are ready to offer professional SEO promotion services.

Oleksandr Romanenko

Team Lead/Senior SEO specialist

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