How to do SEO for your website

March 23rd, 2021

Index

What is search engine optimization
How to do SEO with Webnode
How to optimize a website step by step
Conclusion

What is search engine optimization

Whether you have a business website, online store, blog or a personal website, you naturally want to be seen on the internet. The term SEO is often used in connection with this. This English acronym stands for Search Engine Optimization.

SEO can be defined as a marketing discipline that improves the display of your site in organic search results. These are the links to pages that appear when you type your query into a browser.

What organic search results look like

Some links are labeled as “Ads” which means that these positions are reserved for paid advertising. Your website can get into the search results naturally, with the help of SEO, or you can invest in paid positions using PPC.

PPC is an online advertising model. An advertiser is participating in the auction to place their ad in search results. If the advertiser is successful in the auction, their ad will be shown to users. However, the advertiser then pays the bid each time a user clicks on their online ad. This is a form of buying visits to your site, rather than trying to “earn” those visits organically.

Both methods have their pros and cons:

SEO PROS	PPC PROS
You don’t have to pay for visitors	The results appear immediately
Organic traffic is more stable	Paid traffic can be easily influenced
SEO CONS	PPC CONS
The results do not appear until a longer time	It is necessary to pay for each visitor
Performance is affected by several factors and is therefore less predictable	Maintaining performance is conditioned by money

Table comparing the pros and cons of SEO vs PPC

For easier understanding, SEO can be divided into:

On-page, Off-page SEO factors

On-page SEO includes settings and adjustments you can make directly on your website. For example, setting up titles and meta descriptions. Off-page SEO, on the other hand, is an off-site activity. For example, building backlinks or working with social media.
The advantage of On-page SEO is that you have them completely under your control. Off-page factors cannot be so easily influenced. Getting a backlink is not as easy as setting a title on a web page. On the other hand, Off-page factors can have a greater effect on page ranking. Relevant backlinks from an authoritative website will be appreciated by search engines more than a properly set page title.

A website is considered authoritative if it is trusted by search engines, providing truthful and up-to-date information of good quality. It is very popular, referenced on other websites and shared on social networks. It usually has a rich web history and is easy to find.

Technical and content SEO

Technical SEO involves activities that try to make your site safe and indexable. This does not mean that your site will be interesting for users. However, properly mastered technical SEO will allow a user to visit the site in the first place. Therefore, technical mistakes can be fatal. Technical SEO tasks include domain registration and setup or page speed optimization.
Content SEO involves activities that try to improve the content of a website. It helps attract users and get your site on the first position in search results. Content SEO tasks include optimizing titles and meta descriptions or keyword analysis (see below).
Both the technical and the content SEO are important for websites. It is therefore necessary to develop both areas equally. However, Webnode provides a great advantage because it will take care of the technical SEO for you so you can focus on the content.

White hat or Black hat SEO

SEO activities are also sometimes divided according to their legality. White hat techniques are those that are supported by Google and should benefit your site in the long run.
The term Black hat SEO, on the other hand, brings together activities that try to circumvent the ranking algorithm and artificially improve the impression of the page in the eyes of search engines. When practicing Black hat SEO, there is a risk of the site getting penalized.
There is also a Gray hat SEO. These are the techniques that Google does not support, but is currently unable to detect.

How does SEO actually work?

The mission of search engines like Google is simple – find all the content that is created on a topic and sort it according to its quality and relevance to answer users’ questions.

When you work on SEO of your website, you want to “convince” the search engines that your content is more relevant, has higher quality and is more accessible than the content on the same topic from other websites.

The goal is to try to improve the visibility of your site in search results. The more phrases you cover and the better you rank in the search results, the more visitors you will get. A number of SEO methods and activities are used for this purpose, for example:

Keyword analysis
Content analysis of competition
Web speed optimization
Optimization for mobile devices
Building backlinks

SEO is a long and continuous process. Therefore, it is advisable to decide on a strategy. This means planning the gradual application of SEO methods step by step according to their priority. The procedure is then as follows:

You choose the SEO method >> you apply it to the website >> you evaluate how the organic traffic has improved.

Strategies make your job easier and determine the direction of optimization. Each website is unique and is in a different stage of development. Therefore, the SEO strategy will always be different and will gradually evolve. For example, this is what an SEO strategy for a new blog might look like:

Keyword analysis
- It will help you find the topics to write about
Analysis of TOP pages in search results
- It will help you find the best existing content
Creating articles to cover key phrases
- You produce content that is better than or different from the competition
Internal link settings
- Improve navigation and help increase the authority of new articles
CTR optimization
- Increase click-through rate in search results by improving titles and meta descriptions or optimizing rich snippets.
Creation of audio or video content
- You will create unique content
Promotion of articles on social networks
- You will encourage visitors to read the articles
Getting backlinks for published articles
- You will increase the authority of articles
Updating articles
- You update and improve your content based on new search trends

Rich snippet is an element on the search page that includes extra information such as stars for rating, picture etc. making the link visually more attractive

Why to optimize your website

Do you know why search engine optimization is important? It’s not just another source of traffic. SEO supports the growth of all your channels because optimization affects the look and quality of your site. So what can proper optimization bring you?

Your site will rank better in search results.
You will improve the accessibility of the website and user experience – whether visitors are using a PC or a mobile phone, are in a place with a poor internet connection or visually impaired.
Make it easier for users to explore your site – so they can search and navigate web content effectively and in a few clicks.
You will persuade them to spend more time on the website – because you provide all the information and resources they need in one place.
Paid search positions will cost you less

All site visitors will benefit from these. They will help build the authority of your domain and the reputation of the site.

What is the goal of Search Engine Optimization

Many people think that the goal of SEO is to please Google or other search engines. In reality, however, the goal is to please people. Search engines only respond to people’s behavior. They try to guess their needs and rank the results according to what they like.

Google has developed an evaluation algorithm – a set of metrics and factors it employs to measure websites. The list of pages in the search results is then sorted for each user according to this evaluation. The algorithm is constantly evolving and improving. In fact, Google releases an update every month. Unfortunately, the algorithm is not public.

However, experience has at least led to a compilation of a list of factors related to Google’s ranking algorithm. These are the so-called Ranking factors. There are many of them and the list is constantly evolving just like the algorithm itself. Some factors are undeniably influential and others have more of a questionable influence. We will show you the important ones.

A list of the 10 most important factors that are guaranteed to affect SEO:

Backlinks
- The quality of the links and the number of domains that link to your site are vital
Content context
- Google considers whether the content satisfies users’ questions sufficiently. Whether they found what they needed on the page or whether they had to search further.
Page load speed
- The average page load speed is 3 seconds. Longer loading times cause negative ratings. On the other side, a shorter period is evaluated positively.
Mobile devices’ friendliness
- If a page is unable to adapt its display to smaller screens, it will receive a negative rating.
Site security
- Sites that are not HTTPS secured will receive a negative rating.
Credibility of the site
- Google evaluates whether the content is up-to-date, whether the author is listed, or how often the content is updated. This factor is especially important for content related to health and money (such as pages about medical drugs, loans, etc.).
Domain and site authority
- Authority depends mainly on the age of the domain and the number of backlinks (see point 1).
Complexity and accuracy of content
- Google compares your content to other sites, verifies whether you cover the topic sufficiently and provide accurate and true information.
User experience
- It is evaluated whether users do not leave your site, for example due to pop-ups or excessive advertising
Social signals
- Google researches how your content or brand is discussed on social networks

To achieve this goal, follow 3 basic steps:

Make the site accessible
- Enable secure and fast access from any device. Every Webnode template can be transformed into an accessible website.
Offer quality content
- Write a blog. Find out what users often ask about. Create an FAQ section to answer their questions.
Allow for an easy orientation
- Create a simple and clear navigation menu and include links to related pages in your content. Webnode templates make your work easier.

If you have created your site with a website builder like Webnode, accessibility and security will already be covered, so it will be easier for you to focus on the content.

If you follow these steps, your visitors will be satisfied and more likely to fulfill the goals of your website, whether it’s selling a product or a service, filling out a contact form, or spending time consuming your content.

How long does SEO take to start showing results

SEO cannot be set up with a single click. It is a process that you continuously develop and the results will appear if:

You regularly produce content.
You keep your site up and running – regularly check that your links are working and don’t lead to 404 error pages
Build authority for your domain – get backlinks, promote it on social networks, participate in discussion forums

In SEO, it is difficult to evaluate performance. Every website is unique. That’s why it is useful to set milestones. They will help you create a time frame and set priorities. A milestone can be, for example:

“Achieve stable operation with 100 organic visits per day within 6 months.”

Thanks to this milestone, you now know:

What is the priority
- In our example, you need to attract visitors. Therefore, focus on the content. Producing blog articles would be ideal. Need ideas to write about? Focus on keyword analysis (see below).
When should the results come?
- With a milestone, you can estimate and schedule content production. E.g. you aim to publish articles on the 5 most searched topics.
How to evaluate success
- The milestone will help you determine which metrics to track. This allows you to choose the appropriate analytical tools. Here, an overview of performance in the Google Search Console would be useful. You can check how many clicks has each phrase brought you. Or, as an alternative, you can use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free. At the same time, in the Acquisitions report of Google Analytics you can track how many visitors your articles generate and bring you each day.
- You can now evaluate the success. 120 visitors a day from an organic search means a 120% success rate. At the same time, you will find out to what extent the created articles contributed to the achievement of the goal. Did you choose the right strategy or were your expectations unrealistic?

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and evaluate your site’s presence in Google Search results.

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is a free SEO tool that offers diagnostic data for websites. Allows you to scan web pages and report problems found. Allows you to monitor site keywords and backlinks.

Google Analytics is a free web analytics service from Google that allows you to analyze data about visitors on your site.

The Acquisitions report in Google Analytics provides data on how visitors come to your site: from search engines, social networks, or referrals from other websites. The report will help you determine which online marketing tactics are bringing in the most visitors to your site.

You can set more milestones. Thanks to them, you can realistically evaluate how long it takes for SEO to start producing desired results. It will help you plan better in the future, set goals and expectations.

How to do SEO with Webnode

How Webnode can help you optimize your website

If you decide to create a site with a Webnode website builder, you will save a lot of time and money on SEO. Webnode will solve many things for you. And these are no small things. Read which items from your SEO list you can check as resolved thanks to Webnode:

1. Webnode creates responsive websites

Research shows that more than 51% of all users now view websites exclusively on their mobile devices. Forecasts indicate that this number will increase every year.

Therefore, Google switched to so-called mobile-first indexing. This means that Google behaves like a mobile device as it crawls the page and therefore prefers mobile display. If a site does not have a mobile version, it will receive a negative rating. This is an important evaluation factor.

The website can have either a mobile version or a responsive design. The mobile version is a standalone website that is customized for mobile devices. The responsive website is programmed to accommodate a smaller size of the display. The images, titles, texts and other elements remain the same and only their arrangement and size change. Both methods are equivalent. It is only important for Google whether the chosen solution works properly.

All Webnode templates are fully responsive. We take mobile-first indexing seriously. Even the Webnode website builder is accessible on mobile devices so you can create and edit the content of your site directly on your phone or tablet.

2. Webnode secures your site

Has Google ever warned you that the site you want to visit is not safe? Security is one of the evaluation factors of the Google algorithm and insecure sites are disadvantaged in search results.

Secure site connection icon

Webnode uses HTTPS to secure the site with an SSL certificate. So you don’t have to worry because your site will offer a secure connection. We will generate a free SSL certificate even if you use your own domain for your project.

HTTPS (= HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is an encrypted variant of the HTTP Internet protocol for transferring web pages. The protocol allows protected access to the web server by encrypting all transmitted traffic using the SSL or TSL algorithm. This is important when transmitting sensitive information (such as credit card numbers).

3. Webnode creates user-friendly URLs

Each website page has a unique URL. If we write this address into the address bar, we will get straight to that page. This is how a lot of users visit their favorite sites. But what if the URL is long or contains incomprehensible numbers and characters? You will definitely not remember such an address and it does not even look professional.

Setting up your own page URL

Fortunately, Webnode only creates comprehensible URLs. The editor sets the address automatically according to the name of the newly created page. Additionally, the format of the URL can be modified. Here are some tips for creating URLs:

Above all, the address should stay permanent since each URL builds authority. The content of the page may change over time but we should try to keep the same URL unless a change is absolutely necessary. A new address always competes worse with the older ones.
User-friendly URLs should be easy to read and remember, and appear credible. For example, the URL of a blog article could look like this: https://www.mydomain.com/natural-and-memorable-article-name/
With the right URL structure, you can make the website easier for users to navigate. The URL of the article can look like this: https://www.mydomain.com/natural-and-memory-article-name/
But be careful. You may change the categories in the future. Then the URL navigation would stop being up to date.

4. Webnode optimizes website speed performance

Page load speed is also one of Google’s important ranking factors. Webnode templates are therefore created with an emphasis on loading speed.

You can influence the performance of your website by optimizing the data size of images and other content such as videos. At the same time, avoid a large number of ads, banners and pop-ups. If you follow these recommendations, you don’t have to worry about site speed at all.

5. Webnode handles duplicates

One of the common problems SEO deals with is duplication of content. Search engines evaluate duplicated content negatively. They can also consider content that is not the exact copy as a duplicate. If a search engine encounters duplicate content, it always selects the oldest or most authoritative variant. Other duplicate pages are then ignored or displayed deeper in the search results. There are 2 basic forms of duplication:

External duplication – usually your content copied and posted on another page. Even Webnode has to deal with external duplication of its content. The rule here is simple – just don’t copy someone else’s content.
Internal duplication – occurs when multiple pages with identical content are created on a single website. It can be, for example, similar products or categories, another language version of the same page, etc. Webnode helps to deal with internal duplications.

Due to internal duplicates, some pages may stop appearing in the search results and may have indexing issues. A large number of internal duplications can penalize the entire site. Different types of internal duplications are handled differently:

In order for your site’s content to be included in search results, it must be included in the index. Indexing is the process of crawling and storing web page content in a search engine database.
The search engine index is similar to the index in the library. It contains information about the available books. However, instead of books, the search engine index lists all the websites it has visited and which it considers to be original, secure, and trustworthy. When a search engine visits your site, it detects new and updated pages and updates the index.

Redirection
- Duplicate content on the old page is redirected to the current version using status code 301.
- When you change a URL, Webnode automatically sets up a redirect.
Language version solution
- Use the “hreflang” tag to distinguish among pages with identical content in another language.
- Webnode allows you to easily create different language versions of the site and sets the hreflang tag for you.
Canonical version
- For a large number of identical pages (e.g. different product colors), the “rel canonical” tag is used to determine the preferred page.
- Webnode website builder allows you to create various variants and set the correct canonical version.

Status codes are the server’s responses to requests you send through a browser or search engine. Status code 301 is a response indicating that the requested content has been permanently moved to another specific URL.

The hreflang attribute tells Google what language you’re using on a particular page and which region it is intended for. For example, if you have similar content on one page in German for Germany and another in German for Austria. The search engine can then show this result to users searching in the relevant language and region. .

A canonical tag is a way to tell search engines that a particular URL is the primary version of a page. Using a canonical tag will prevent problems caused by identical content that may appear on multiple addresses (for example, by offering a package size selection for a product, each variant may have its own URL). The canonical tag tells search engines which version of the URL you want to appear in search results.

You can count on Webnode to prevent the creation of internal duplicates.

6. Webnode will take care of the domain and hosting

The domain is the web address. It’s the name under which people will know and search for your site. Webnode provides an opportunity to create a website on a subdomain, such as “webname.webnode.cz”, for free. This is a simple, fast and cheap way to start a website.

Do you want your website to look professional and be more memorable? Register your own domain name and enjoy a number of benefits:

A website with its own domain has a trustworthy effect on people and search engines.
Your own domain is simpler and easier to remember.
Your own domain looks professional. It helps with promotion and brand building.
You can use your own domain name for your email address.

Webnode will provide you with hosting and will guide you smoothly through the entire process of purchasing, registering and setting up a domain. You won’t have to deal with any external hosting services.

Web hosting service is a rental of space for websites on a third-party server. With hosting, you can place your website on the Internet without having to have your own server.

And if you already own a domain, we can help you easily transfer it to Webnode.

With Webnode taking care of all the technical settings, you can fully concentrate on choosing the ideal name. Pick one that is easy to remember and preferably related to the topic of your site.

How to optimize a website step by step

Webnode website builder optimizes a lot of things for you. However, the important decisions will always be in your hands. Let’s go through what you should pay attention to and how best to optimize your site.

1. Create navigation and content structure

Navigation and structure are the cornerstones of every site and fundamentally affect user experience.

They allow users to quickly find information and navigate the content.
Make it easier for search engines to crawl and index pages.
Designing a navigation structure will help you create a content plan, determine the right places for topics and keywords, and create a system of internal links.

Not sure how to create a navigation structure? Follow 4 simple steps:

First, think about the sections of the site you want to create – home page, contact, about us page, product pages, blog, etc.
Think about how the pages will be interconnected – it is not merely about navigation but also about links in the text.
- Give the link structure a clear direction. Organize pages into groups according to topics. Try to direct the flow of links from less important pages to priority pages.
- The golden rule is that it should take a visitor a maximum of 3 clicks to reach a page from anywhere on the website. On the other hand, it is not desirable to flood the site with a large number of links.
- There should be a relationship between the page and the destination of the link, especially if it is a link in the text.
Imagine what navigation would look like – how many levels will there be? In addition to the main one, will you need, for example, a menu in the footer?

Example of visualization of the navigation structure

Choose the Webnode template that best suits your plans and customize it.

Creating a navigation structure is a creative process. But don’t be afraid to get inspired by the competition or your favorite website. An invaluable helper is a pencil and paper. Programs for creating mind maps can also be used well.

2. Optimize the content of your site

Content is the base of successful search engine optimization. Without quality content, setting titles or meta descriptions will never have the sufficient effect. It’s important to keep in mind that you create pages for visitors, not robots.

Search engines can evaluate the quality of content according to user behavior. If the content isn’t compelling enough, users will leave the site and stop visiting. This is a signal for search engines to stop showing pages in search results.

It is always important to identify the target group of readers for whom you create your site and find out their needs. Try asking yourself and answering similar questions:

Who is your site intended for? Is it suitable for the younger generation or older readers, for a narrower group of people in a certain field, or is it for a wide range of readers?
What language does your audience use? Do they speak formally or do they use slang?
Do your visitors expect content full of images and videos, or prefer plain text without unnecessary distractions?
Will your site be visited primarily from mobile devices or computers?

When creating content, you then follow the navigation structure of the website. To simplify your work, you can create a list of instructions for different types of content. It reminds you what to include in the text and helps maintain structure and levels. For example, such a list for a blog article might look like this:

Text length: min. 1000 – max 3000 words
Min. number of paragraphs: 15
Max. paragraph length: 5 lines
Use headings H2 and H3
Use a numbered list or bullets
Insert a splash image
Insert min. 2 internal links

The content should always be unique and related to the purpose of the site and the target audience. However, you can definitely be inspired by some generic tips:

Context – What content are users looking for? Do they need guidance, reviews, or comparisons? And what search queries do they use? Fortunately, there is a simple trick to find out. Type the key phrase into the search. Explore the TOP 10 results. Now you know what type of content to create. At the same time, you have an overview of the competition. You can get inspired or try to differentiate yourself from them.
Originality – always create your own texts. Content of your competitors might be a source of your inspiration, but never copy texts from other websites word for word. It is illegal and search engines can recognize it. And if the authors notice the copies themselves, they can sue you. Sometimes, on the other hand, you can beat the competition by making your website stand out.
Quality – Speak straight to the point and bring important information. Put your keywords in context and don’t repeat them unnecessarily. Use their synonyms instead. Pay attention to clear and natural language. Try to avoid meaningless stop words such as prepositions and conjunctions.
Appropriate text structure – use short paragraphs, headings and subheadings. The text will be easier to follow. These days, no one wants to hunt for information in a long paragraph. You can also highlight important information in bold and use italics for quotes. The underlined text is reserved only for links because users are used to it.
Reasonable text length – if the text is too long, the reader will lose focus and may miss important information. Don’t be afraid to segment the text. Use headings or numbered lists. A table, image, or other type of content can bring in a little life to your text. However, be sure to optimize them properly.
Uniform style – distinguish headings and subheadings from normal text with font size. Choose a readable font. It is highly recommended not to combine more than three fonts as the text then loses clarity. Use color to attract attention to links. The rest of the text should remain consistent.
Easy navigation – users often do not need to read the whole article. Therefore, make it easier for them to orient themselves in the text. Use summaries. They are especially useful when you’re listing several articles. Summary helps readers quickly find out what the content is about. Add a table of contents with anchor links to longer texts. These are the links that take users to a specific spot on the same page. You can also offer users relevant internal and external links to related topics.
Calls to action – If you want to persuade a user to carry out a certain action on a page (to create an order or fill out a form), make it as easy as possible:
- Give them clear instructions on what to do.
- Make sure they don’t miss the call to action. Distinguish it from the background using a different color, size or font. Buttons, for example, are proven to be the best choice for CTAs.
- Try to keep the focus on the call to action. You can place it on the page several times.

3. Find and use relevant keywords

Keywords have two important purposes:

They are the basis of search phrases
- People use search engines to find information. Try to guess how your users will search for a topic. Include the appropriate phrase with keywords in the text on your website and it will help get it into the search results. The position of your site in the results is affected by a number of other factors. However, content and the right keywords play an important role.
They are the core of the content and control what it is about.
- Did you attract visitors to your site? Keep them there. Guess which content they expect and provide it. Search engines examine how people react. Do they leave the page quickly and go somewhere else? Or do they stay and go through the content? If people often leave your site and search elsewhere, this is a signal that your content is not good enough. Next time, you’ll show up in a lower position in the search results.

This is the theory. But how do you use it to create content for your site?

Prefer long-tail keywords with context
- Generic keywords have a huge search volume. However, they are highly competitive and it is impossible to estimate what exact content is the user looking for. Focus on specific multi-word phrases instead. The so-called long-tail keywords include less wanted but also less competitive phrases. It’s easier to guess what visitors are looking for from long-tail phrases. Offer visitors the content they want and you can easily turn them into customers.

How long-tail keyword phrases work for SEO

Avoid keyword repetition.
- Search engines are now smart. They read the content as if they were real users. They can recognize variations of a word. It is therefore no longer necessary to present the keyword in all forms or to repeat it several times. Use the most appropriate form for your text. If you describe the topic in detail, use synonyms or keyword abbreviations later in the text.
Spread the keywords throughout the text
- Keywords used to be inserted one after the other without much context. The intention was to fool search engines and artificially increase the relevance of the text. Do it today and you’ll face a penalty. Instead, write naturally. Search engines are interested in the location of the word in the content and what is in the text around it. Therefore, place the most important and searched for keywords in the headline and headings. Indicate the others in the text. Keywords in the link text are also important.
Target the keyword with only one page
- The Internet is a highly competitive environment. Therefore, do not create competition within your own website if you can avoid it. You should ideally optimize one page for each important keyword. It is not always possible though, and some generic keyword phrases will pop up on your site more often. However, you can single out one page for specific key phrases.
Diversify keyword coverage
- Don’t try to create a superpage where you mention all the keywords. If you don’t have a one-page website, you better break down your keywords by topic and dedicate one page to each.

Where to get keywords?

In order to find out which phrases and keywords to use in the content, it is necessary to conduct a research, the so-called keyword analysis. Its goal is to identify the keywords used, to evaluate and categorize them. This will help you to know where to use which keyword within a text.

You can do the analysis for the whole website to get all relevant keywords for all pages. It is also beneficial for the navigation structure design. The disadvantage, however, is the time it takes and the difficulty of the process. It is often better to do a smaller analysis. Focus only on the part of content you’re currently creating. It’s both faster and easier but you’ll need to repeat the analysis for every piece of content.

There are a number of tools that will make this work easier. Thanks to them, you don’t have to invent keywords or phrases or take any guesses. However, your own ideas are also an important resource and often the initial step. Some applications for keyword research are paid. Luckily, there are also unpaid tools.

In fact, we can use the search engine itself. The search box has a whisper function. Let’s say you’re writing an article about rebuilding an ebike. So ask the question “ebike conversion”:

Google AutoFill feature.

The search engine will start offering you some variations. These are frequently asked questions from users, but also your questions from the past. So if you want to use the auto-fill function as a keyword source, open an incognito window. This will prevent you from being shown your past questions.

Sometimes Google also offers related queries. You can find them at the bottom of the page below the search results. These are thematically related types of queries that users ask Google.

Related queries that Google offers below the search results.

Google will also provide a FAQ box for some questions people ask. When clicked, it also offers an answer with a link to the page. Thanks to this, you will get not only user questions, but also an idea about the competition. Want to know a secret trick? As you start clicking on the answers, new and new questions will appear. You can get many query phrases for your analysis.

Frequently asked questions from Google.

The disadvantage of data from search engines is that there are no metrics for keywords. You know the phrases were searched for, but you don’t know how often or how much competition there is. It is then difficult to evaluate the importance of the key phrase.

These metrics are usually provided by paid tools but you can use Google Trends. It provides data on currently most searched queries, including search volume and trend metrics. However, it is difficult to find here. Also, the tool displays only short generic phrases.

Google Trends interface

If you use paid advertising in search and use Google Ads, you can use the keyword planner tool. The more you pay for ads, the more accurate the data in the keyword planner. Keep in mind, however, that the tool adds up related keywords, so the data is very inaccurate.

Keyword planner interface

Have you managed to accumulate enough keywords and phrases? For the next step of the analysis, it is necessary to upload their list to Excel or a similar spreadsheet editor. Here you can sort phrases alphabetically and delete duplicates.

Table with collected keywords for analysis.

If there are a lot of phrases, you can group them according to their meaning. Most importantly, you can start sorting and classifying them. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every website is unique. In principle, however, you always need to:

Determine the context
- The purpose is to estimate the intention with which the user will ask the query. The phrase “conversion kit for 350w e-bike” is likely to be used by the user when searching for a specific conversion kit. On the contrary, the phrase “conversion to e-bike experience” will be used by the user, who is just looking for the possibilities of conversion.
What type of content do you want the keyword to use for: category, blog, product, etc.
- Determining the type of content is closely related to context. For that article, the phrase “350w e-bike conversion kit” would probably be used as an entry in a list of some engines. The phrase “conversion to an e-bike experience” could be the title of a separate chapter.
Determine keyword priority
- For example, according to the volume of search. But don’t forget about competition and relevance as well. The keyword “electric bike conversion” has almost 400 searches per month. However, the “conversion to a central-wheeled electric bicycle” expresses much more precisely what the user is looking for. The long-tailor phrase has only 25 searches, but lower competition. An article optimized for this phrase will be easier to get to the 1st position. A smaller number of visitors will see it. However, there is a much better chance that they will visit the site and be satisfied with the content.
Where in the content should the word appear
- You will use generic and searchable keywords such as “conversion to an e-bike” mainly in the H1 title or headings. You can insert synonyms or specific phrases such as “mountain bike to e-bike conversion” in subheadings H2 – H6 or text. Remember that you can also add them into the titles of images or link texts. Important keywords can be highlighted in bold text.

Excel or other similar programs will help you create a clear classification, which in our example may look like this:

Example of keyword classification. For the purposes of the article on the reconstruction of electric bicycles, the words are classified according to priority and location in the text.

4. Create good titles

The headline is the first place of contact between a visitor and your website. It is the first piece of content that people will see in search results. It works as a link. It indicates what your site deals with and whether it is relevant to the user’s needs. It can persuade users to click on your page in search results. The content of the title is also taken into account by indexing robots and is therefore an ideal space for inserting the most important keywords.

The title of the page in the search results

In addition, the headline appears in the previews of posts on social networks whenever someone shares your site. You will also see it on the browser tab. This makes it easier to navigate between the individual search tabs.

Display of title on the browser tab

The title should clearly describe the content. Create a unique one for each page of the site.
Create a title primarily with the user in mind. Remember that the main goal is to entice readers to visit the site. The text should therefore attract attention and make the user click on it.
The length of the title depends on the characters used. The maximum length is 600 px, which corresponds to about 60 common characters. If the title is longer, it will not be displayed fully. We therefore recommend using shorter and more readable titles.
Try to optimize the text from left to right. Keywords or calls to action are ideally listed at the beginning of the headline, where they attract attention first. But don’t overdo it. Ideally, use one or two of the highly searched keywords that are as relevant as possible to your content.
If you have space left in the title, you can mention your brand name. Just add it to the end of the title.
Be creative. You can use numbers or emoticons in the title.

Example title: “Do you know¹ 5² revolutionary tools ?³ for creating your website? | BRAND⁴”

¹ A question and a call to attract attention and arouse curiosity.

² The number saves space in the title and attracts more attention than the text.

³ The emoticon attracts attention.

⁴ Mentioning a brand will increase the chances that people will remember it.

What happens if you do not fill in the title? Then only the main title of the page is displayed. You can easily set up titles in the Webnode website builder. Just click on the “Pages” button at the top right of the main bar and select the appropriate page. In the “SEO page settings” section, you will find the “Page title” item, which you can edit as you wish.

Change the title in the Webnode website builder

5. Create good meta descriptions

The description has a similar function as the title. It appears in search results or on social networks and tries to attract users. It’s an additional text that aims to introduce the content visitors will find when they visit the website.

This is how the description appears in the search results

However, unlike a headline, its content is not taken into account by crawlers, so simply placing keywords in the description can’t affect the page’s position in search results. On the other hand, you can use it to increase your click-through rate. Just create a good description that will engage and persuade users to visit the site. Search engines will respond positively to a better click-through rate and the position of your site will improve.

What if you don’t fill out the description? Google will display an excerpt of the page content which may not be ideal. There can be excerpts from different places in the content and the text will not be continuous. Remember that Google can also choose to display their own text instead of yours, even if you have a description created. This is because it can evaluate that snippets of content are more relevant to a search query than a manually generated label.

Create a description for users. Remember that the primary goal is to persuade readers to visit the site and increase your click-through rate.
Try to optimize the label for a specific search query or group of related queries.
The label limit is about 160 characters. This corresponds to two or up to three short sentences. If the label is longer, it will not be displayed fully.
In the description, try to present the benefits, calls to action or important information about the product, offer, contact details.
To increase the attractiveness, try using numbers or emoticons in the text.

Example of meta description:

“Are you building your own website?¹ Discover 5² tools ?³ that will revolutionize the design of your site. You will save time ⏱³ and your site will look professional.⁴ ”

¹ Start with a question. It arouses curiosity.

² The number attracts more attention than the text and saves space.

³ The emoticon attracts attention.

⁴ Presenting the main benefits.

The meta description can be set in the Webnode website builder in the same place as the title – in the “SEO page settings”.

Where to insert meta description in the Webnode website builder

6. Optimize images

More and more people are searching the internet for images. They are either looking for the images themselves or looking for more detailed content based on the image. It would be a shame to ignore this opportunity and not adapt your website to it.

You can also get to the top positions in image search using relatively generic keywords. The competition is lower than in full-text search. Therefore, it is worthwhile to focus on image optimization.

Before embedding an image on the website, optimize its data size. This is done in two steps:

If necessary, adjust the image to the maximum size that you will use on the web. For PC displays, a size of approximately 1400 x 800 px will generally suffice. You can do this in any image editor.
Use software to compress the data size of images. Compression may slightly degrade the image quality. However, the difference is not discernible to the human eye. There are many applications on the Internet that do compression for free. Just enter the search query “image compressor”.

Reducing the data size of an image will improve the loading speed of your site. This is one of the important evaluation factors. Therefore, do not underestimate data optimization of images.

Now you need to optimize the image information:

The name itself plays an important role. Therefore, name the image file before uploading to Webnode. In the title, describe what is in the picture. It is also worth using keywords.
At the same time, don’t forget to fill in the title of the image in the editor, which Google indexes as an alternative description of the image – the so-called alt text. It is displayed to users instead of the image if it fails to load or helps blind users navigate the content.

How to edit an image in Webnode website builder

Image title settings

Why enter these labels at all? Even these days, search engines are still unable to identify exactly what is in a particular image. Instead they analyze texts related to the image for indexing purposes. In addition to the title and alternative text, the search engine also examines the surrounding text. That’s why it’s a good idea to put images in context with the content and not just in bulk at the bottom of the page.

7. Get backlinks

Link building is an important SEO discipline. It is a strategy for obtaining external backlinks for your website. The number and quality of backlinks is one of the most important factors in page ranking:

Backlinks help search engines find your site.
When other sites cite your website, it’s a sign to search engines that it’s important.
Users can visit your site through backlinks. Traffic from this source is usually lower, but it is more relevant.

Link building is difficult because you do not have full control over external links. You cannot simply add or edit them as content. You need to persuade other sites to place and maintain links leading to your site.

If you build quality content, good services and a strong brand, you can get a lot of links naturally. People will refer to you because it’s useful. However, it takes time to create quality content and become an authority. The competition is trying to do the same. Still, there are a number of tactics that you can employ to actively seek out backlinks and improve your link profile:

Existing relationships:
- Do you have a business and do you collaborate with other companies or suppliers? Ask them to include a link to your website. They might be interested in promoting you to the customers and you get a relevant link. Did you do interesting work together? You can suggest that they include a “success story” article on their website.
Unlinked mentions
- If you’ll come across relevant content focused on a specific topic, but it doesn’t point to an important source of information that you created or that already exists on your site, you can notify the author and suggest that they add a link. Usually this tactic is applied to mentions of your brand.
Broken link building
- If you’ll find a link that does not work or leads to an outdated content or one of poor quality, you can notify the author of the site. In exchange, you can offer him your own relevant content to which he could redirect the link.
Guest posting
- You can arrange a cooperation with the author of a website to create content for him. In return, you can place a link to your site in the content. The topic should always be related to the content on your site.
Case studies
- Create an analysis of your niche with fresh data and news. You can contact other professionals to answer questions related to your field and include the answers in the content. If the data is interesting, you will receive links from other related websites, and if other people have participated in creating your article, they will help you promote it on their social networks.
Community link building
- Go through thematically-related discussions. Try to answer user questions and if applicable, insert a link to a relevant source of information on your website. It is important to choose a discussion thread that is active and spam-free.

There are many other link building tactics but we compiled the most famous ones here. So, first find suitable sites for your backlinks, then pick the right tactics and make contact. It is not just about getting a link, you should try to build relationships and think about the long term strategy. Bringing value to the other party is essential in order to succeed.

Let’s say, for example, you want to use some backlinks to support your article on rebuilding ebikes. First, try to find an article that deals with ebikes. Ideally, it should not focus directly on redevelopment, but on another related topic. For example, “How to choose an ebike” or “The benefits of an ebike”.

If you find a suitable article, you can find contact information of its author and contact him. Praise his content and mention that you have created an article on a related topic about the reconstruction of ebikes. Suggest him to refer to your article in his text, as it covers a related area and could be interesting for the reader.

In return, you can provide the author with a link from your site. Or offer to create interesting content for his site. It is important to make contact and not be afraid of rejection. You don’t have to target only articles. Explore videos too. Find out if there are any DIY discussion forums. Also check groups and discussions on social networks. Get creative.

Link building can be time consuming and expensive. There are a number of tools to help you find sites and opportunities suitable for placing backlinks. However, they are usually paid. The easiest option is therefore to look for opportunities manually.

You can put a query into the search engine and browse the results page by page but it will take a lot of time. It’s important to be able to evaluate the quality of backlinks as this will help you identify suitable opportunities. You can also better estimate how much time and resources you can sacrifice to get a single link. It will also be easier to avoid unhealthy links.

We evaluate the following factors:

Domain authority
- This is a numerical score expressing how high a domain is ranked by search engines. The more authoritative the domain, the more valuable the backlink will be. You usually only need one relevant link to your site from each domain.
- Some paid tools have their own evaluation algorithm. However, you can also find free applications. Just type “domain authority checker” into the search engine, even though you can’t be sure of their quality. It is advisable to consistently use at least 2 sources for verification.
- The maximum value of authority is 100. Strong domains reach values above 60. In the range of 20 – 60 you’ll find moderately strong domains. Values up to 20 belong to weak domains. Here, for example, the authority of the e-bike conversion manual is verified. The result of 83 is considered really high. This is a good strong domain to place the link on. But it will probably be also quite difficult to get that link.

Smallseotools interface for evaluating the authority of domains and sites

Page authority
- This is a numerical score expressing how high a page is ranked by search engines. So it works similarly to a domain authority. However, it only applies to one specific page.
- Usually a link is considered more valuable if it comes from a highly authoritative page even if it is on a domain with lower authority than vice versa.
- The score works the same as for domains. In our example, we see a page authority score of 46. The evaluation of the page itself is therefore also good.
Relevancy
- It is important for search engines whether the topic of the referring page or website is related to your content.
- The link text, so-called anchor text, is also important. Ideally, it should include your brand or keywords related to your landing page.
- It is also useful to evaluate the type of users that frequent the referring site. Can your content be of interest to these users?
Link location
- Search engines also evaluate the placement of a link in the content on a page. A link directly in the text, in an image, or even in the title will have more value than a link in a footer or in comments.
- It is also important to consider the overall number of other links listed on the referring page. The fewer links lead from the page, the more power they will have.
Link type
- The link can have the nofollow or dofollow attribute. The nofollow attribute tells search engines not to take the link into account when ranking the page. When it comes to link building, dofollow links are especially valuable, because they can transfer part of the authority from the linking page.

Getting backlinks is challenging. So don’t forget to take care of your existing links. Check your link profile regularly to make sure that your linked pages are working and not leading to an error page. The “Links” section of Google Search Console can help you with this:

Here you will see an overview of your site and how many backlinks lead to it.

Below you will find an overview of the domains that link to you.

And here’s an overview of the most common anchor texts that carry the link.

You can also use the free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools instead of the Google Search Console.

You can track referring domains in the “Backlink profile” report.

Or follow specific backlinks directly.

The tool also provides a clear list of lost or newly acquired links or referring domains.

An important section is also an overview of broken links that you should fix.

Conclusion

Our comprehensive SEO guide explained the whole process of optimization. If you use the Webnode website builder, you now also know which SEO activities should be done step by step. If you are still deciding where to create your website, we have pointed out the benefits of Webnode and how much work it will save you when it comes to SEO.

How is the optimization of your site going? What worked for you and which methods disappointed you? Share your experience with us.