Topic 5 - SEO 2 (Application) Flashcards
What are backlinks and how do you judge the quality of a link?
Backlinks are generated when other websites links your site. When high quality links generate backlinks for you they ad immense quality score to the site.
Quality is judged on 3 aspects
1. Link Relevancy - How relevant is this site that just linked your content?
2. Context - What is the reasoning and context behind this link
3. Source - Links from trusted sources have higher value (Example Governtment site)
What are some link specific white hat strategies to harness and blackhat strategies to avoid in SEO?
White Hat marketing
1. Content Marketing (Standard blogs)
2. Digital PR (Press releases)
3. Link Reclamations (Fixing broken backlinks = More total backlinks)
Blackhat Strategies
1. Paid Links
2. Private Blog Networks
3. Link Spamming
Describe SEO auditing and what Screaming Frog is
SEO auditing is what marketers do to ensure that sites are functioning as intended and the optimal user experience is provided.
Screaming frog is an example of a crawling tool that assists with the auditing process. It crawls in search of errors such as
- Broken Links
- Duplicate Content
- Errors in title pages/meta descriptions/page headers
- 404 errors
Describe the function of Robot.txt and why it’s important when creating a website. Furthermore, describe common errors found in an SEO audit
Robot.txt is a code that tells search engines what they can’t scan and index. It is especially useful for sites when they do not want to show information such as unreleased content and private user data such as login details and shopping carts.
Common issues found in audits include
- Missing Robot.txt
- accidental disallows
- accidental allows
What is a redirect used for in SEO?
A redirect is a technique that allows you to redirect users and search engine crawlers to a separate URL. It can either be permanent or temporary.
Purpose - Redirect away from 404 page
What is a URL Structure and why is it important for SEO?
A URL structure stands for Uniform Resource Locator and represents the site link. It is key that it is simple, logical and relevant to ensure that users and search engines can understand them.
What is a Site Structure and why is it important in SEO?
A site structure represents a heirachy on a webpage and helps breakdown the contents of it. A best practice is to keep it logical and user friendly. It can also be easily audited through screaming frog tool.
What is a Canonical site in SEO?
A canonical represents Google selecting one URL to focus on and show in SERP.
Google judges based on
- site’s preference (In Control)
- user’s preference
Google prefers things such as “nicer” looking URL’s and https than http
What is Page speed and why is it important for SEO?
Page speed is the average time a webpage takes to load and also how efficient search engine crawlers can crawl the site to uncover information. A faster and more optimised page speed tells Google that the site is higher quality and will be more relevant to users thus placed on higher SERP rankings.
What is core web vitals and why is it important for SEO digital marketers today.?
Web vitals are a collection of metrics used by google to test your site against a standard. This standard is UX and it tells you how above or below your site’s UX is compared to everyone else.
Core web vitals highlight 3 core web vitals (LTC). These have a profound impact on site’s ranking in search engine and UX
1. Largest Contentful Paint
- How long it takes to load the largest page on site.
> 2.5s
- Tests site’s loading speed and performance
2. First Input delay
- Time between user trying to interact with the site and when the site can actually respond
< 100ms
3. Cumulative Layout shifts
- the unexpected shifts of elements on screen
- Measured by distance of layout shift
Why are page titles important in SEO?
Page titles are the first thing users see when they open a web page. They are also read by search engine crawlers and thus is key to optimise.
Best practices include
- Include relevant keywords
- Concise but descriptive
What are headings and what are their purpose in SEO?
Headings like page titles bring structure and context to the webpage. They are also read by both users and search engine crawlers.
Their purposes include
1. Give page structure and break up text
2. Help search engines and SEO
3. Improve UX - easier to read
4. Increase accessibility - Visual impaired assistance
Describe the quality indictors of webpage content and common mistakes found in auditing for SEO
Content represents everything found in a webpage including text, images and videos. Google’s guidelines for the quality of content is represented by 3 factors in the acronym EAT
Expertise - Knowledge or skills in particular area. Author should have good understanding of topic
(Example: Medical advice should be by medical professional)
Authoritativeness - Credibility and reputation of both the content creator and website where content is published
(Example: Backlinks from other credible site or endorsed by recognised entities in the industry)
Trustworthiness - Trustworthiness of all of the above. (Example: is the site secure does it follow all of google’s policies)
Common Auditing Mistakes found include
1. Duplicate content
2. Thin Content - Content presented in multiple ways on diff pages
Describe the importance of Images for SEO and the purpose of alt-text in relation to images
Images hold a key purpose in a webpage’s content. Firstly they drive traffic by appearing on google images, secondly they improve the UX by breaking up text and providing additional context to the content. Lastly with strong alt-text, they are able to allow screen readers to understand the image.
As mentioned, alt-text and images goes hand in hand. Alt-text is not only for screen readers but also for search engine crawlers to identify the image. the more descriptive and context driven the alt-text, the more optimised it will be for the search engine to provide when searched.
