# What Are the Main Components of SEO? **URL:** https://www.singlegrain.com/res/seo-101/main-components-seo/ **Published:** 2016-09-18 **Updated:** 2022-08-29 **Author:** admin **Summary:** \[sg\_epic\_intro title=&\#8221;What are the main components of SEO?&\#8221;\] Unless your marketing budget is astronomical, you probably won’t find Google’s list of 200 ranking factors that useful\. There’s a reason for\.\.\. --- \[sg\_epic\_intro title=”What are the main components of SEO?”\] Unless your marketing budget is astronomical, you probably won’t find Google’s list of 200 ranking factors that useful. There’s a reason for that. Google doesn’t want companies to be able to game the system. That’s why it keeps adding different ranking factors to its algorithms. That’s why it relies on [semantic search](http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101-semantic-search-care/119760/) to go beyond keywords. \[/sg\_epic\_intro\]\[sg\_epic\_focus title=”Challenge”\]\[sg\_epic\_focus\_left\] Ultimately, Google is on the side of its users, and it will do everything it can to empower them. So if a brand really wants to stand out from the crowd, it has to understand why Google has set up modern search the way it has. It’s not that Google doesn’t want to empower brands—it certainly does. But it only wants the right brands to win the SEO game, and it wants those brands to win in full sight of its users. That means playing by Google’s rules. \[/sg\_epic\_focus\_left\]\[sg\_epic\_focus\_right\] As we mentioned earlier, basic SEO is about things like words, titles, links, and reputation. To be more specific, SEO factors can be divided into on-page SEO and off-page SEO. Everything a marketer needs to consider when trying to improve SEO will fall under one of those two categories. \[/sg\_epic\_focus\_right\]\[/sg\_epic\_focus\]\[sg\_epic\_section title=”What is On Page SEO?”\] ![Single Grain Homepage Screenshot](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/singlegrain-home.jpg) On-page SEO refers to everything on the page itself that affects your SEO. For example, on the [Single Grain homepage](https://www.singlegrain.com/), visitors can see everything from written content to visual design. But if they click CTRL-U (Windows) or Shift Cmd U (Mac), they can also see the HTML code. On-page SEO includes everything that exists on the page, both in published and HTML format. The three major types of on-page SEO factors are **content**, **architecture**, and **HTML**. ### What Is Content? Content refers to the text and images you create for your website. In other words, everything that a visitor looks at or interacts with after stumbling upon your homepage for the first time. And as you may have heard, [content is king](http://www.craigbailey.net/content-is-king-by-bill-gates/). Bill Gates made that prediction way back in 1996, long before Google won the search engine wars. By the end of 2014, [over 211 million pieces of content were created every minute](http://aci.info/2014/07/12/the-data-explosion-in-2014-minute-by-minute-infographic/). Yet [nearly 70%of all content](http://marketingland.com/is-poor-grammar-killing-your-content-marketing-study-says-69-of-brands-fail-to-make-the-grade-123573) doesn’t make the SEO cut and continues to fall short of Google’s SEO standards. In order to improve content for SEO, marketers need to optimize: ### Quality Google rewards brands that produce **high-quality content** that people would want to read. This means extensive research that translates into useful information that actually answers a visitor’s questions. Great content can’t be “thin” fluff, either. That’s why many marketers focus on creating _long-form content_ that outclasses the competition. “Big” content positions your brand as a go-to authority on a topic of interest to your target buyers and can greatly increase your brand awareness. Hubspot, for example, is the authority on [Inbound Marketing Methodology](http://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing), and has created an Inbound Certification for marketers. If you want to learn more about content strategy and how to create quality content, click here: - [The Complete Guide to Developing and Using Buyer Personas](https://www.singlegrain.com/buyer-personas-2/complete-guide-developing-using-buyer-personas/) - [How to Start a Successful Content Marketing Campaign From Scratch](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/start-successful-content-marketing-campaign-scratch/) - [Out of Ideas? 10 Ways Thought Leaders Create Content](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/ideas-10-ways-thought-leaders-create-content/) To learn more about big content, read: - [Want to Cut Through The Noise? Embrace the Idea of ‘Big’ Content.](http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232678) If you want to learn how to get the most out of your longform content, like high-quality PDFs and presentations and videos, take a look at: - [How to Implement PDF SEO Techniques](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/how-to-implement-pdf-seo-techniques-2/) - [SEO Tips for Your Web Videos](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/seo-tips-for-your-web-videos/) ### Words Of course, content wouldn’t be anything without smart, strategic, and well-written (not to mention correctly-spelled!) words. Understanding how **keywords** work is essential to an effective SEO strategy. **Keyword research** is always the first step in successful marketing plans, and focusing on long-tail keywords over short-tail keywords is the next step. Recently, Google has started to favor **branded keywords** as well. It’s important to note that old SEO tactics, like **keyword stuffing** (overusing a keyword in a page), no longer work. In fact, Google actually punishes web pages that resort to stuffing. Keyword placement is still important, but we’ll get to that later. For more on keyword research, check out: - [Little Known Ways to Perform SEO Keyword Research Revealed](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/little-known-ways-to-perform-seo-keyword-search-revealed/) - [Uncovering the Keywords You’re Missing Out On](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/uncovering-the-keywords-youre-missing-out-on/) - [Keyword Research Mistakes to Avoid](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/keyword-research-mistakes-to-avoid/) To learn about branded keywords, read: - [Targeting Branded versus SEO Keywords](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/targeting-branded-versus-seo-keywords/) ### Freshness The final factor for content SEO is **freshness**. How often are you updating your website? And are you producing new content regularly? The best brands are always generating new content on as many distribution channels as possible to maximize their freshness factor. That’s why most brands have **blogs** that they update regularly. Google also takes _social media channels_, _vlogs_, and _new landing pages_ into consideration as well. To make sure you’re staying fresh, read: - [Leveraging Google’s Freshness Update for SEO](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/leveraging-googles-freshness-update-for-seo/) \[/sg\_epic\_section\] \[sg\_epic\_section\_gray title=”What is Site Architecture?”\] ![What is Site Architecture?](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SEO-Site-Architecture-1-1.png)**Website architecture** refers to a holistic approach to website design that considers _technical_, _aesthetic_, and _functional_ criteria at the **back-end** and **sitemap level**. For example, did you know that [40% of visitors will abandon a site](https://saleshigher.com/how-b2b-websites-generate-leads/) if it takes longer than three seconds to load? Or that [46% of mobile users have a hard time reading web pages](http://www.keynote.com/docs/reports/Keynote_MSQ_Survey_2014_Full_Report.pdf) on their phones? The best websites take these pain points into account and design accordingly. To really nail site architecture, marketers must consider: ### Organization The way a site is organized matters a great deal to Google. Everything from **site speed** (loading times) to **site layout** (pages and subpages) matters for SEO. Google has ways to auto-detect whether your site is easy to use or stuck back in 1995, and will rank you accordingly. If you want to find out more about how organization affects SEO, read: - [The Client’s Pre-Web Design Checklist: 3 Steps to Responsive Website Glory](https://www.singlegrain.com/conversions-2/the-clients-pre-web-design-checklist-3-steps-to-responsive-website-glory/) - [How to Improve Site Speed in Nine Steps](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/how-to-improve-site-speed-in-nine-steps/) ### Visual Design You could have the best organization in the world, but if your website still looks like the [official Space Jam site](http://www.warnerbros.com/archive/spacejam/movie/jam.htm), you’re not going to rank very high. Visual design is constantly _evolving_. to meet user demands and expectations. One of the biggest drivers of visual design is **mobile optimization**. [Mobile search volume surpassed desktop search volume in 2015](http://searchengineland.com/its-official-google-says-more-searches-now-on-mobile-than-on-desktop-220369), and will only become more important for marketers. It’s why **single page, scrolling websites** are becoming popular, and multi-page websites are going the way of the dinosaur. For more information on visual design best practices, take a look at: - Color Theory and Website Design: What You Need to Know To learn more about mobile design, check out: - [4 Ways to Launch a Mobile Website Design](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/mobile/4-ways-to-launch-a-mobile-website-design/) \[/sg\_epic\_section\_gray\] \[sg\_epic\_section title=”What is HTML?”\] ![What is HTML?](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/html-source.png)The final piece of the on-page SEO puzzle is **HTML optimization**. HTML is what a **browser**, like Google Chrome, uses to read your website. Think of it as the webby scaffolding on which Google’s search engine spiders crawl. Poor HTML practices mean that Google’s spiders _won’t know_ how to properly index your webpages or rank them in search. ### Best Practices The easiest way to make sure your HTML follows best practices is to do what WordPress does: pay attention to **titles**, **headers**, **tags**, and **meta-descriptions**. You can publish a webpage without optimizing any of this, but your page ranking will suffer greatly. Titles and headers must be keyword-optimized, and every page of your website should be tagged accordingly to make them easier to find. Good meta-descriptions will help users decide whether to click on your link among several others in their search results. If you use a WordPress website like the vast majority of small business owners, read: - [Essential WordPress Plugins to Maximize SEO](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/essential-wordpress-plugins-to-maximize-seo/) If that all sounds a bit complicated and you just want to do something simple to improve your on-page SEO, check this out instead: - [10 Easy Onpage SEO Changes](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/10-easy-onpage-seo-changes/) SEO Case Studies[Get It Now](#signupModal) \[/sg\_epic\_section\]\[sg\_epic\_section\_gray title=”What is Off-Page SEO?”\] ![Off Page SEO](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/off-page-seo-chart.png)**Off-page SEO** refers to everything that affects a page’s SEO that isn’t necessarily tied down to the page in question; off-page SEO factors exist outside of the page. They’re harder to optimize because they aren’t under the page owner’s control, but best practices still go a long way. Off-page SEO factors include **trustworthiness**, **link building**, and **social engagement**. ### What Is Authority? A website is ranked using its domain authority, while each page on that website is also ranked using page authority. Both types of authority are based on several fluid factors. Google decides whether you’re an authority in your industry and market based on how credible you are, how willing visitors are to engage with your brand, and whether you have anything to say that people actually want to hear. In other words, authority is measured by history, trustworthiness, and engagement. ### History How long a site has been around, and showing up in SERPs, matters to Google quite a lot. Newer sites will have a harder time ranking high compared to older sites. This makes sense, and works a lot like _credit history_—the longer you have good credit, the more the bank trusts you and is willing to extend your line of credit. In this case, Google is the bank and your credit history is your site history. The longer your site has been around, the higher Google will rank you (assuming you have a good site history). But it’s not enough to just _be_. You need to make sure you have a good track record. [Google actually looks at how websites behave over time](http://searchengineland.com/guide/seo/trust-authority-search-rankings). You can’t employ spammy SEO tactics one month and then be good the next month and think Google will overlook it. Like Santa, Google keeps a long list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. ### Trustworthiness [According to NewsCred](http://newscred.com/theacademy/learn/millennial-mind), 62% of Millennials feel that online content drives their loyalty to a brand. And the most important driver of brand loyalty for this group is a great product (77%), followed closely by brand recognition and trust (69%). Trust is an incredibly important part of SEO because it determines _which_ results a user will click on. A page that Google deems trustworthy wouldn’t engage in questionable practices. It wouldn’t use [black hat SEO tactics](https://www.singlegrain.com/social-media-management/best-practices/rank-using-black-hat-seo-tactics-white-hat-way/), and it wouldn’t deliberately annoy its users by doing things like putting prominent ads above the fold. A trustworthy site is as transparent as possible, and even identifies all its blog post writers so that the site is **easily verified**. Google likes real brands with real people behind them creating really useful things. To find out how to get your target audience to trust you, read: - [The Complete Guide to Audience Loyalty: Why You Need It and How to Get It](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/branding/complete-guide-audience-loyalty-need-get/) - Maximizing Conversions with Trust Symbols, Distance and Web Prozac ### Engagement Of course, the amount of **traffic** and engagement your page receives is still the most important factor for determining page authority. How many **unique visitors** does your page have? What about **returning visitors**? How much **time** do visitors spend on your page before moving to another one? Or do they **bounce** away from the site after a few seconds? Engagement is a large and sprawling topic—one that’s well outside the scope of this resource page. To learn more, start with: - [How to Increase Content Marketing Engagement](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/how-to-increase-content-marketing-engagement/) - [5 Killer Blog Engagement Strategies](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/5-killer-blog-engagement-strategies-for-2014/) - [Just the Stats: The Science of Video Engagement](https://www.singlegrain.com/video-marketing/just-stats-science-video-engagement/) \[/sg\_epic\_section\_gray\]\[sg\_epic\_section title=”What is Link Building?”\] ![Link Building](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/seo-link-building.png)As we mentioned before, _links matter_. One of the primary ways Google fought back against keyword crammers in the 2000s was by taking links into consideration. **Link building** is the process of increasing the number of links in a web page or the number of links to that web page. Proper link building means understanding the difference between **inbound** and **outbound** links, and how to build both. ### Outbound Links Obviously, outbound links are easier to build—the page owner has full control over what to link to. By choosing only high-quality links from authoritative and trustworthy sites, and by **hyperlinking** to keywords, page owners can easily increase a page’s SEO. But be careful not to include too many outbound links on any given page—proportion is very important. Always [keep the number of links per page under 100](https://moz.com/blog/how-many-links-is-too-many). If you can, try to use only one to two links per paragraph. ### Inbound Links Inbound links lead to the page in question, and are outside of the page owner’s control. In years past, building inbound links by forming partnerships with other thought leaders and authorities for linkbacks was okay. But [Google has started to downplay the importance of inbound link building](http://searchengineland.com/whats-state-link-building-seo-2015-beyond-215578). Too many brands have tried black hat link-building tactics to build or buy fake links to their pages, and it seems the hammer has finally come down. Now, it’s entirely possible that focusing on link building could actually hurt your ranking. The only right way to build inbound links is to earn them organically. To learn more about link building strategy, see: - [Link-Building Vs. Relationship Building](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/link-building/link-building-vs-relationship-building/) - [The Link Building Tools You Already Have](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/link-building/the-link-building-tools-you-already-have/) - [How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Link Building Mistakes](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/how-to-avoid-the-5-most-common-backlinking-mistakes/) - [25 Search Queries to Help You Find Link Building Prospects](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/25-search-queries-to-help-you-find-link-building-prospects/) To learn more about how to build both inbound and outbound links the right way, read: - [10 Great Link Building Tips for New Sites](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/link-building/10-great-link-building-tips-for-new-websites/) - [11 Unwritten Rules of Link Building](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/11-unwritten-rules-of-link-building/) - [30 Advanced Link Building Techniques](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/search-engine-optimization/30-advanced-link-building-techniques/) - [The Ultimate Guide to Link Building With Content](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/link-building/the-ultimate-guide-to-link-building-with-content/) \[/sg\_epic\_section\]\[sg\_epic\_section\_gray title=”What is Social Engagement?”\] ![Social Engagement](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/social-engagement.png)As of 2015, there are over [2.2 billion active social media users](http://wearesocial.net/blog/2015/08/global-statshot-august-2015/), or about 30% of the global population. Over 1 million new active mobile social media users sign up every 24 hours. Facebook alone sees half a million new signups _every single day_. Despite these daunting numbers, as far as SEO goes, **social media** is fairly easy to understand. The more you share your content and the more your content is **shared** by others, the better your SEO. Social media SEO looks at **channels** of distribution, the reputation of users who share your content, and the total number of **shares** a page has, period. ### Channels Social media channels are the individual **platforms** you use to distribute your content. B2B brands, for example, will rely largely on **LinkedIn** and **Twitter**. B2C brands, on the other hand, would be wise to focus on **Facebook**, **YouTube**, and **Pinterest** (among many others). There are dozens of social media platforms out there. None of them are created equal. Each social media platform has its own best practices, and getting good at all of them would be a massive undertaking. Instead, companies should focus on the channels that best serve their target market and buyers. Social media strategy is an industry unto itself. It’s a challenging topic, to say the least. To learn more about effective, targeted social media strategy, see: - [6 Steps to Creating an Effective Social Media Strategy](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/6-steps-to-creating-an-effective-social-media-strategy/) - [Are You Making These Social Media Marketing Mistakes?](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/are-you-making-these-social-media-marketing-mistakes/) - [The Unwritten Rules of Social Media](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/50-ways-to-increase-engagement-on-facebook-twitter-and-google/) For more information on social media best practices, read: - [10 Ways to Measure Social Media Engagement](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/10-ways-to-measure-social-media-engagement/) - [7 Great Tools for Measuring Social Media Engagement](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/7-great-tools-for-measuring-social-media-engagement/) - [50 Ways to Increase Engagement on Facebook, Twitter and Google+](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/50-ways-to-increase-engagement-on-facebook-twitter-and-google/) ### Reputation The **reputation** of the users who share your content on social media matter, too. A **thought leader** or **industry influencer** who shares your content nets you a high-quality inbound link _and_ tons of new visitors. When they post any of your content, no matter how small, their countless followers will see it as well. This effectively turns a single shared link into a “guest update” that borrows traffic from a high-profile “site”—in this case an industry influencer profile. To see how industry influencers build their social media networks, read: - [The Brand-Building Power of Providing Free Advice: 10 Lessons From Neil Patel](https://www.singlegrain.com/content-marketing-strategy-2/brand-building-power-providing-free-advice-10-lessons-neil-patel/) ### Shares When it comes down to it, social media is an SEO powerhouse because of its potential for “word-of-mouth”, **viral sharing**. When someone posts something, all their friends will see it, too. If even two of their friends like it, they’ll **re-share**, and the circle continues to expand. But you don’t need to aim for virality (and you shouldn’t, since it’s impossible to predict). Even if your social media updates don’t garner thousands of shares, they’ll still have significant visibility. And for new businesses that don’t have tons of website traffic, that’s very helpful. Often, it’s much easier to build brand awareness within social media platforms than it is to drive more traffic to the site. And then once social media awareness is established, it becomes much easier to build website traffic as well. To find out how to build your social media presence and get more shares, take a look at: - [Harnessing the Power of Social Proof](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/branding/harnessing-the-power-of-social-proof/) - [How to Reverse Engineer Viral Content](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/blogging/how-to-reverse-engineer-viral-content/) - [15 Ways to Boost Your Facebook Interactions](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/social-footer/15-ways-to-boost-your-facebook-interactions/) \[/sg\_epic\_section\_gray\]