Yoast? Pfft, but please. No it is not true. Sorry Yoast. You are an irreplaceable tool that saves copywriters lives every day of its existence. Returning to us, in this article we have developed a rather exhaustive list of all the SEO elements you need to take into account when writing for the web.

In short, not pizza and figs, but one checklist of items that will help improve the ranking of your articles on Google, so as to create an algorithm-proof piece which, due to its transitive property, will also become more accessible to reading by users and ordinary mortals.

Since the checklist is quite long, we have decided to divide it into macro-categories that will help you make sense of everything we are going to list from here on out.

  • Basic SEO
  • Keyword Research
  • Technical SEO
  • On-page SEO and content
  • SEO off-page

Basic SEO

We assume that your article, no matter how well written, will never rank as it should if your website doesn't cover SEO basics and does not respect some parameters. Here it is not yet a question of writing well, but of knowing how to configure the technical aspect of things.

  • Set up Google Search Console

It seems little, but it is a lot. GSC is a tool that gives you all the information you need to verify and monitor the performance of your website, as well as a wealth of data that will help you understand if you are heading in the right direction.

  • Configuring Google Analytics

The right data helps you make smarter decisions. Analytics is THE go-to tool when you need to delve into the technical aspects of your website's basic SEO. Here you will find out how many and what types of people visit your website, who they are and how they interact.

If you're a beginner, it may sound Arabic to you, but don't worry. We are here to help you. On our site you will find all the guides you need to navigate this world of information that only appears to be insignificant. In fact, they are invaluable!

  • Installing SEO plugins for WordPress (or whatever you use)

We like to think that WordPress has been the go-to choice for your CMS. That's why from here on out you need a list of plugins that will help you with your magical SEO journey. As you probably already know, any information you post will need SEO support to work at its best. Let's start from Yoast, or WordPress SEO to understand which are the strategic fields to insert and, above all, to be sure that our article is Google approved.

  • Create the sitemap and submit it to Google

The sitemap is used by search engines like Google and Bing to understand the structure of your website. The sitemap consists of a list of URLs that specify the main content of your site and ensure that they are crawled and indexed by Google. If you're not sure how to do this, install WordPress plugins to do it for you. Then send it to the appropriate person, i.e. the search engine, and expect them to send you a “crawler”, which is a small digital spider that will come and check that everything is in order before allowing you access to search engines.

  • Create a robots.txt file

The robots.txt file tells the aforementioned crawler which pages are to be indexed and which are not. You can find the aforementioned file at this address: https://www.dominio.com/robots.txt. By changing the appropriate data, of course.

If you don't have it, you can create it using a WordPress plugin.

At this point you will need to check if Google is actually indexing your site. It's not impossible that Google won't pass it on the first check. Use the SEMRUSH site audit to make sure your site can be crawled successfully. A blocked crawler prevents access to search engines, and then the next steps in this guide won't do you any good.

If everything works correctly, however, continue reading.

Keyword Research

Now that your site is "on Google", and when we say Google we also refer to other search engines, because you never know, you'll need to start a keyword research campaign. Let's start with the hard truth: someone before you will have already done the dirty work for the same sector. This is why the first point under analysis is certainly…

  • Identify your competitors

Yes, that's right, you are you and they are them. But the search for keywords starts with those who may have done it before you. Not only will this allow you to better understand which terms work for the competitor… but also understand which ones don't. From the outside you will be able to pick up the vibrations of a competitor that works and one that is struggling to stay afloat. Imitate the good one, avoid the mistakes of those who can't make it.

  • Find your keywords

Now that you know how your industry fares on the web, you're ready to find your keywords. Those that will allow you to work alone and identify your industry niche. The main keywords are the most important and reflect the product or service you really offer, without many frills. “craft beer” is a great main keyword. It will have to be implemented with supporting keywords that better specify its identity. For example: "craft beer in Modena", "craft beer weiss", "craft beer tasting".

If you are not sure that you can capture all the keywords, you can use the paid tools available online. Great idea is Keyword Magic Tool. Don't miss a single one!

  • Keywords: The intent of the pages that rank

Now that you have your keywords, you need to make sure your page content matches the user's search intent. In other words, the text must reflect the user's needs. Only in this way will you be able to intercept his needs and transform keywords into… money keyword. No need to translate this word, right?

One trick to understanding the intent of pages is to ask yourself what the possible needs of users searching for your product are. In short: people use the search engine to get answers. And the answer must be you!

  • Know that it is a thankless job

You're applying all the information we've given you to the letter, yet your brand new site is on page 2 of Google. And we all know there's no better place to hide a dead body than the second page of Google. You don't want to be there. However, you will probably have to stay there for a while. To classify a site and get it ranked you will need time, perseverance, patience and a lot of hard work. Some words are more difficult than others to rank for the simple fact that they have much more competition.

Technical SEO: the tough part

Technical SEO concerns all those IT aspects that allow you to index and position your site. The most common areas you need to pay attention to are the ones we are about to list:

  • Use the HTTPS protocol

We are in 2020. Everyone must have the https protocol. If you're http, it's time to migrate.

  • Avoid duplication of your site on the Google index

Google should always have one and only one version of your site. No more, no less. If there are multiple versions, remember to implement a redirect.

  • Find scan errors and fix them

Google Search Console will identify for you all the errors that occur on your site. Go to the coverage report and you will see that the errors are almost all easily fixed. One at a time, without haste.

  • Improve the speed of your website

A slow site is a site that I, personally, close sooner rather than later. If it takes more than 3 seconds to load, I'm probably not interested in reading what's inside. I can find an equivalent that opens in half the time. Lighten up your website experience and work to make it blazing fast. If your efforts aren't producing results, it's time to say goodbye to your hosting and move on to the next one.

  • Fix broken internal links and outbound ones

Broken links are a serious mistake that penalizes your ranking. As soon as you spot them, correct them.

  • Your site must be mobile friendly

Optimizing for mobile devices is not optional in 2020. The majority of users will find you from their smartphone, so make sure your site is "fluid" and adapts to every screen and system.

  • Structured data: no escape

Google creates a web increasingly linked to semantics. Each page should have structured data such as SEO title, meta description and other elements that cannot be ignored.

SEO On Page

Now that you have excellent content and your pages are performing relatively well, you may still struggle to rank. The competition is fierce and sometimes you need small tricks that will help you become better with each passing day.

  • Find and delete duplicate, missing or incorrect title tags

The title tag is the basis of SEO positioning. The first thing people see and Google ruthlessly judges. A title tag that doesn't align with Google's criteria will be penalized. And even duplications are frowned upon.

Do the same for missing or duplicate metadescriptions, multiple H1s, and anything that looks like duplicates.

  • Prune excess or outdated content

If you can't update your old content, delete it. Run a content audit to find out what the issues are with items that don't rank, are of low quality, or don't perform as they should. Removing low-quality content is an underrated job that has immense value. Lack of content is better than bad content. Sorry to say it, but it's the truth.

  • Images must have ALT attributes, always

Your photos may be beautiful (and not heavy, so they load faster), but if they don't have the ALT tag, they're not much use. Optimizing images for SEO is a very important job that you can't overlook. It takes little and makes a big difference.

  • Improve internal link structure

Internal links are a link building technique that shouldn't be underestimated by anyone. Investing the time to synergize links is what you need to boost your SEO strategy. Site audit will help you understand which links are wrong and which ones create strategic potential.

OFF PAGE SEO

Brand monitoring helps you quickly identify mentions of your brand that don't have a link. Offpage SEO, after all, is what you need to create link building that really works.

  • Find new link building opportunities

Link building has a thousand opportunities. Are you using them all? Try to get great links to your site, using the right tools such as the Link building tool, which helps you see the flow of opportunities that you may be missing.

  • Set up Google my Business

Here we are. Off-page factors affect not only links, but also Google itself. Opening your GMB will help you better geolocate your page and rank it accordingly. You need it: if you don't have it, you're giving away users to the competition.

Each of these points could be explored at length in a specific article. What we can tell you is that this is your go-to guide for giving structure to your work. To learn more about individual topics, you will find everything you need on our website. And if you are not sure… Contact us!