If you are new to SEO or a business owner who wants to improve your website’s performance and make it easier to find on search engines, you probably have a lot of questions roaming around your mind.
It can be hard to know where to look for answers to even the most basic questions, especially since you can often find contradictory information everywhere.
A lot of this has to do with how often Google’s algorithms change—somewhere between 500 and 600 times a year. Not all of these changes are big, but the bottom line is that things are always changing.
A few years ago, what worked and what was best practice might not be the same as today’s strategy. But there are some most common things that don’t change much in SEO that you must know for your business purpose or anything else.
So for your convenience, I have collected 30+ most common SEO FAQs that you must know about it. From my experience and opinion, I have compiled them. I hope that these will match your interest too.
Let’s get started:
Basic SEO FAQs
In this part, I am sharing the most common SEO FAQs. Like its definition, how it works, how it should be implemented, etc.
1. What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s ranking on search engines so that it will show up more often when people search for relevant keywords and queries.
As you improve a site’s position across a variety of keywords, you will notice a rise in the amount of organic traffic it receives. Organic traffic originates from Google’s natural listings rather than sponsored advertisements. My “What is SEO?” guide goes into greater detail, breaking down what you need to do to get your website to appear on the SERPs (search engine results pages):
- Make certain that these search engines comprehend who you are and what you have to offer.
- Persuade them that you are the most trustworthy alternative for their users.
- Create deliverable content.
02. Do I need SEO for my business?
Yes, of course, your business needs SEO to improve traffic without having to pay for each and every click. When you run PPC advertising, you will be charged for every single click that leads to your website via that channel.
However, if your website ranks organically on search engines, this traffic is virtually free. Of course, ranking a website on the SERPs necessitates an investment in both talents and resources.
If you can get your website to the top of the search engines, you’ll have a steady stream of visitors that doesn’t have any click fees and won’t stop even if ads are turned off. If you rank organically, you will have 24/7 visibility.
03. How does SEO work for a website?
The process of optimizing your website for search engines is known as SEO – we all know about it. What about SEO, though? Nearly, 200 ranking factors used by Google enable the search engine’s algorithms to rank websites according to the authority and relevance of their pages.
Google gives the most priority to that website where it gets the most relevant answer from the most reliable source. To be successful with SEO, you must make sure that your website is viewed as a reliable source and that your material is the most pertinent response to a certain search query.
Common SEO FAQs about keyword research
Here you’ll get some common queries regarding keyword research, how much important it is for SEO, their types, and so on.
04. What is a keyword?
People use keywords to find what they want by typing words and phrases into search engines. If you want to buy a new jacket, for example, you might type “men’s leather jacket” into Google. Even though there is more than one word in that phrase, it is still a keyword.
05. What is keyword research in SEO?
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people type into search engines. The goal is to use this information for a specific purpose or niche, usually for search engine optimization (SEO) or better online marketing.
06. What are the types of keywords?
Mainly there are two types of keywords that you can often hear in the SEO world – short-term keywords and long-term keywords.
Other than these, there are still some other keyword types you will also see on the web.
- LSI keywords
- Market segment keywords
- Customer-defining keywords
- Product-defining keywords
- Product keywords
- Business keywords
- Competitor keywords
- Mid-tail keywords
- Exact match keywords
- Evergreen keywords
- Informational keywords
- Navigational keywords
- Transactional keywords
07. What is the best keyword research tool?
Researching the best keyword for business is important. It’s not that much tough but it’s tricky. You have to be smart enough to find the right keyword at the right time. While researching a keyword for a website, you need to keep some pinpoints in your mind:
- Understanding the user
- Defining the search intent
- Finding the keyword gaps
- Focusing the competitor keywords
- Selecting high search volume low competitive keywords
So using a keyword research tool, you can do all these tasks easily. Here I have shared some of the best keyword research tools with which you can find your niche keywords in minutes.
- The Moz
- Ahref
- Semrush
- Quora
- Keyword Surfer
- Answer the public
- Ubersuggest
08. How do find the relevant keywords that people search for?
You can’t just start using SEO without any knowledge. To optimize your site for these terms, you need to know what people are typing into Google to find websites like yours.
Either Google’s keyword planner or the SEMrush keyword magic tool can help you do this. Load the tool and type in a search term that you think people would use to find your website or business online. Then, you’ll get a list of related keyword suggestions, along with how many times each one is searched for each month.
So this is how you can find the relevant keywords for your business.
Common SEO FAQ about the ranking factor
Here you’ll get some most common SEO FAQs about website ranking factors, how to get it done, and what’s way to rank a website on Google, etc.
09. How long does it take to rank on Google?
A good answer is between six months and a year, but this depends a lot on how much time and money you put into your strategy, how much competition there is, and what other people who are also trying to rank for the same queries are doing.
The days when you could launch a website, tweak your title tags, and rank in a few weeks are long gone. You can’t just put up a website and expect it to rank for popular search terms right away.
Google ranks relevant sites that have built up authority, which takes time for a site to do well on its own. For that, you have to work hard and deserve to be at the top of Google to get there.
10. What are the Google ranking factors?
As talked above, if your website has great content and is optimized properly, then surely your website will get ranked. But it depends on certain factors. Which are called ranking factors!
Let’s see what Google ranking factors you need to know and work on!
- Time on site: If your site has great content and is optimized for SEO, then the user’s time on site will increase.
- Total referring domains: If your site has great and useful content, then surely users will share it and also refer to your content as a resource.
- Content length: Content length is also an important ranking factor for Google. Try to keep your content length standard compared to your rivals.
- Backlinks: Getting quality backlinks is also an important metric for a website. It determines how resourceful your website is.
- Website security: It’s one of the important rankings for a website. If your site is not secured with HTTPS, then the chances of getting the ranking will decrease.
11. Does social media play any role to rank a website?
Social media doesn’t have a direct effect on your SEO ranking, but the links you share on social media sites bring more attention to your brand. Your posts on social media sites have nothing to do with how well you rank in SEO. Still, when more people share your content on social media, it sends social signals that your posts are useful to your target market.
Technical SEO FAQ
Get some important and common questions about technical SEO.
12. What is the difference between on-page SEO and technical SEO?
On-page SEO and technical SEO are often used in a similar way, but they are not the same thing.
Let’s see the basic differences between these two terms!
12. What is topical mapping in SEO?
In search engine optimization (SEO), “topical mapping” is the process of making a content strategy that covers all relevant topics related to a certain keyword or topic. It means figuring out what the most important topics and subtopics are about a keyword and writing content that drives into depth about each of them.
The goal of topical mapping is to come up with a content strategy that is complete, helpful, and relevant to people who are looking for information about a certain keyword or topic. If a website covers all relevant topics and subtopics, it has a better chance of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for searches that are similar.
SEO professionals usually use keyword research tools to find relevant topics and subtopics related to a certain keyword. This helps them make a topical map. Then, they make a content plan that includes blog posts, articles, videos, and other types of content for each of these topics.
Topical mapping is an important part of modern SEO because search engines like Google are increasingly looking for comprehensive, informative content that covers a wide range of topics related to a particular keyword. By making a content strategy that covers all relevant topics, websites can increase their chances of ranking higher in search engine results and getting more organic traffic.
13. What is local SEO?
Local SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of making a website or online presence better for searches that are based on location. It is the process of making a website or other online presence for a business more visible in local search results.
Local SEO is important for businesses that operate in a certain area and want to attract customers from that area. It means optimizing the website or online presence for local keywords, like the name of the city or neighborhood, and including important information about the business, like its address, phone number, and hours of operation.
Some of the most important things that affect local SEO are:
- Google My Business: It’s a free tool that lets businesses control their online presence across Google, including search and maps. When a Google My Business page is optimized, it can help a business show up higher in local search results.
- Local keywords: Putting local keywords, like the name of the city or neighborhood, in a website’s content can help it show up higher in local search results.
- Listing a business in relevant online directories can help it show up higher in local search results.
- Customer reviews: Good reviews from customers can help a business show up higher in local search results since search engines like Google give more weight to businesses with high ratings and good reviews.
In general, local SEO is important for businesses that want to bring in customers from a certain area. By making sure their online presence is optimized for local search queries, businesses can make themselves more visible in local search results and get more customers from their area.
14. What is Semantic SEO?
Semantic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving a website or other online content so that search engines and users find it more relevant and understand what it means. It involves improving the relevance of content to search queries by using natural language and context.
The goal of semantic SEO is to figure out what people mean when they search and give them results that match what they were looking for. It means using structured data, like schema markup, to help search engines understand what a website’s content is about.
Semantic SEO also involves using context and natural language to make content more relevant to search queries. This means using related keywords and phrases, synonyms, and words that are used together to help the reader understand the content better.
Some of the most important things that affect semantic SEO are:
- Natural language processing: Search engines like Google use natural language processing to understand the meaning of search queries and match them with relevant content.
- Structured data: Using structured data, like schema markup, can help search engines understand what a website’s content is about.
- Related words and phrases: Using related words and phrases in website content can help make it more relevant to search queries.
- Co-occurring terms: Adding co-occurring terms, like synonyms and related ideas, can help search engines get a better idea of what the content is about.
Overall, businesses that want to make their website or online content more relevant to search queries need to use semantic SEO. Businesses can make their content more relevant and clear to search engines and users by using natural language and context and giving structured data.
15. What are the differences between content planning and content strategy?
Planning content and having a content strategy are related, but there are some important differences between the two.
Planning content includes figuring out how to make and publish content. It tells you what kind of content to make when to publish it, and how to get people to see it. The main goal of content planning is to make a plan for making and delivering content that meets the needs of the target audience.
Content strategy, on the other hand, is a broader, more strategic approach that includes all parts of creating, distributing, and managing content. It means figuring out the content’s goals, objectives, and intended audience, as well as the processes and resources needed to make and share it well.
In short, content planning is a tactical process that focuses on the details of creating and publishing content, while content strategy is a broader approach that involves defining the overall goals and objectives of the content as well as the resources and processes needed to reach them.
Both are important parts of a good content marketing plan, and they should be used together to get the results you want.
16. Is AI-Generated content helpful for a website?
Depending on the use case and application, AI-generated content can help a website in different ways. Here are some examples:
- Content creation: With AI-generated content, you can quickly and efficiently make high-quality, relevant, and interesting content. For example, an AI-powered content generator can make product descriptions, blog articles, social media posts, and other types of content that are optimized to the needs of the target audience.
- Personalization: Algorithms that are powered by AI can look at a user’s behavior and preferences to make personalized content suggestions, like articles or products that are related to the user’s interests.
- Customer service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can automatically enable and support customers by responding to common questions and giving them relevant information in real time.
- SEO: AI-powered tools can look at search engine data to find the best keywords, topics, and content strategies for improving a website’s search engine rankings.
Overall, AI-generated content can be helpful for a website because it can provide high-quality content, improve the user experience, and make the website better for search engines.
But it’s important to remember that content made by AI should always be closely reviewed by humans to make sure it’s real, relevant, and maintains good quality.
More to be added soon…
