Search Engine Optimization

How SEO Works

Ultimately, SEO is about how relevant a computer algorithm determines a webpage is to a given key word or phrase. Effectively, the process looks like this for any given webpage:

A webpage is published to the World Wide Web.
Once a search engine is notified that a new page exists, it sends “robots” to crawl (or programmatically “read”) the page.
The search engine uses algorithms to determine page rankings based on the frequency and placement of words and phrases used on the page.
The search engine indexes (or keeps a record of) pages in a large database along with their rankings for various keywords and phrases.
When a person uses a search engine, they enter in a keyword or phrase. The search engine then returns results of webpages according to the rank it has determined for the search query.

How to Get Started

Developing an SEO Strategy

SEO is concerned with both getting people to your site in the first place (by showing up on external search page results) and making content within a site discoverable through on-site search. The overall goal of an SEO strategy is to increase the discoverability of online content while while remaining true to your original messaging.

SEO Recommendations Template

Step 1

Conduct Keyword Research

For existing sites, you can use tools such as Semrush and Google Search Console to review keywords your site currently ranks for and look for potential keywords to target. You can also look at searches that lead to your site for more inspiration. For article-based content, it can be helpful to conduct research before you write to identify relevant longtail keywords that you could potential rank highly for over time.

Step 2

Integrate Keywords Into Your Web Content

Thoughtfully integrate your chosen target keywords into high-impact locations, such as headings, navigation labels and other on-page content. Remember — all of your content should still make sense contextually. When you force in lots of keywords in ways that don’t make sense, you are “keyword stuffing” — a practice that will lower your SEO.

Step 3

Track Results Over Time

SEO implementation does not provide instant gratification on search engine result pages. SEO also builds on itself; as your site grows in credibility, it is more likely to rank higher on search engine result pages. Gradual movements on the search engine result pages allow us to see what is working and what isn’t and adjust accordingly.

Things to Explore through Keyword Analysis

Using keyword search engine result page (SERP) analysis and related tools can help you determine what keywords, if any, you already rank for and identify potential keywords to intentionally target to improve your ranking.

Questions to Answer

An important part of the strategy is taking the time to figure out:

What keywords do we want to rank for?
Where do we want visitors to go when they search for those keywords?
What information will users expect to find — and is it available on the target page?

Answering these questions as you conduct keyword research will enable you to strategically integrate keywords into your web content appropriately.

Find Keywords Associated with Your Site

You can use Google Search Console to see the top keywords associated with your domain (i.e., tamu.edu). This can help you see what people are searching for when they end up on your site. Using these prompts as a guide, ask yourself “does my site’s content adequately provide answers to these questions? Can I modify the content to answer these questions better?” Sometimes reviewing queries through organic keyword research can help you get ideas for what content people expect to be on your site. This can help you find content gaps or get inspiration for content to include or prioritize in your site.

Explore Keywords to Target

You can use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to see how you rank for specific keywords that may not show up on your Google Search Console top 100. You can choose keywords that are easier to target and start strategically integrating those words into your content to improve your SEO.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

The main thing to avoid when making your website content SEO friendly is keyword stuffing. An abundance of certain keywords and their variations does nothing for actual SEO relevance. It is always better to include keywords in full sentences with relevant context to the rest of the page in order to improve your ranking on search engine result pages or reach a wider audience. When you force in lots of keywords in ways that don’t make sense, you are “keyword stuffing” — a practice that will lower your SEO.

Strategy

Using Keywords to Improve Your SEO

When creating content and deciding on information architecture, it is important to think about the words and phrases your audience will use to search. Strategically using these words and phrases in key places will indicate higher relevance to search engines.

Key Places to put keywords

Navigation labels
Page titles and headings
Links on other pages that link to a given page
Metadata/page description/excerpt
Alt text and link text
Page body content

Keep Learning

Use SEO Research to Inform Paid Advertising

SEO research can help you identify keywords to avoid devoting attention or paid advertising to.

Get SEO research recommendations template

Enhance SEO by Following Accessibility Best Practices

Many of the same practices that make your content more accessible to assistive technologies provide opportunities for improving SEO.

Learn more about Accessibility

Measure SEO Impact Over Time Through Analytics

By setting up analytics reporting on your websites, you can track and measure changes in site visits to your website over time.

Learn more about Analytics