This article will look into the four aspects of SEO: technical, content, searchable, and data, and the respective terms involved, to better understand the terminologies and establish correct concepts in the process.
SEO terms: Technical Aspect
Search Engine Friendly (SEF)
To do well in SEO, the first step is to ensure that your website is SEO-ready (not every website can do SEO), so a website that meets the search engine’s criteria is called an “SEF website”!
Responsive Web Design (RWD)
Nowadays, mobile website development involves RWD, as responsive design is not based on the size of the device, but on the size of the browser, usually with four different “breakpoints”:
- Mobile (sm): usually around 480px
- Tablet (md): usually around 768px
- Desktop (lg): usually around 1200px
- Extra Large (xlg): usually anything above 1201px
Core Web Vitals
Google has emphasized the importance of user experience metrics, known as Core Web Vitals, which include loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. Ensure your article highlights the significance of optimizing these metrics for better rankings.
SEO terms: Content Aspect
Long-tail Keywords
High-search-volume keywords are usually called the “big words” or “fat-heads” commonly referred to as main keywords, which are highly competitive and difficult to manage. Compared to big words, users usually add other attributes to related terms during searches, making the search terms more precise, so long-tail keywords are not just a single word, but more often a combination of words.
For example, instead of “Hotel”, we may choose “Hotel in Kyoto” or even “5 stars hotel in Kyoto”.
Another related term is the “chunky-middle”.
Alt Text
Search-engine-friendly content management systems (CMS) usually have an ALT field, allowing us to fill in relevant text for images to explain their content to Google, so its function is to let Google understand what the image is about.
SEO terms: Searchable Aspect
Sitemap
In SEO, you often hear about “submitting a Sitemap,” which is a “list or index” of your website’s content, structured by hierarchy, allowing you to list the pages, organize the data file paths, and submit it to Google to crawl, which is a very important step.
Search Engine Result Page (SERP)
After a series of improvements and optimizations to the website, “SERP” is the battleground for us. In recent years, Google’s search results pages have become increasingly rich, featuring images, videos, and other multi-format content.
Snippet
A single result in Google search results usually consists of a webpage title and a “snippet”. Some people call the snippet a “description”, but it’s usually a description of what this content is about in 50~60 words. After reading this article, remember to use “snippets” to show your professionalism!
Local Pack
When users search for related products/services in a specific area, the search results will display the “Local Pack” section. Local search result is not only a necessary strategy for physical stores but also an important task for the export industry to increase customer confidence.
Local Search
For businesses with a physical presence, local SEO is crucial. the importance of optimizing for local search with accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information, Google My Business listings, and local keywords WILL greatly enhance your presence via Google’s E-A-T principal (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
SEO terms: Data Aspect
Search Traffic
Website traffic is mainly divided into four categories, one of which is the traffic that comes from users searching on a search engine and being recommended to visit the site. If you want to check your website’s search traffic, you can refer to the “Organic Search” section in the Google Analytics backend.
You may read more about website traffic here: Mastering the Flow: A Guide to Understanding and Leveraging Website Traffic
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
KPI is the most important indicator for measuring performance and is also one of the tools for data-driven management. To audit an SEO project, you can use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track KPIs before and after visiting the site.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the basic concepts of SEO involves familiarizing yourself with terms related to its four main aspects: technical, content, searchable, and data.
By understanding and applying these concepts, you can establish a strong SEO strategy that enhances your website’s visibility and performance in search engine results.
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