SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means in English: “Search Engine Optimization”.

This term defines all the techniques implemented to improve the position of a website on search engine results pages (SERP). It is also called natural referencing. The goal of an SEO expert is to improve the visibility of the websites he supports by making them gain places on search engines (Google, but also Yahoo!, Bing, etc.). The goal is to bring together Internet users interested in products / services or informative content.

It is said thata site is well optimized or referenced if it is in the first positions of a search engine on the desired queries.

What are the main criteria in SEO?

In France and generally in the world, the most visited sites by Internet users are those that appear on the very first page of results (among the top 10). Of these first 10 results, the first 3 sites are the most visited.

According to the studies, the figures for the percentage of clicks on Google search results based on their position on the SERP are as follows:

  • 1st position: 33% of clicks on computer
  • 2ndposition: 15.6% of clicks on computer and the same on mobile
  • 3rdposition: 10% of clicks on computer and the same on mobile

The first 3 results therefore represent almost 60% of clicks on search engines. Hence the importance of being well placed in natural results.

Google rates websites by degree of relevance. The better the grades, the more visible they are and get closer to the 1era page. To be relevant in the eyes of the search engine, several criteria are taken into account.

On-page optimization: textual content of the pages of the site

On-page or on-site optimization is the set of techniques aimed at improving the quality of the content of a site / web page. Several elements need to be perfected from your keyword strategy:

  • Title tag
  • Meta tags (Meta description, robots, keywords)
  • Semantic markup (H1-H6)
  • URLs
  • Page Content (Body)
  • Internal mesh (internal links)

Off-page optimization: external links (Netlinking)

]Conversely, the off-site part represents everything related to the environment of a site, and therefore the links that redirect to a page of it. These are:

  • Origin of external links (backlinks from quality sites will be more relevant to Google)
  • Link anchor (what term is used to redirect to your site)

The quantity of links is also a factor, but it is much more important to bet on the quality of the links than on their quantity.

User Experience (UX)

This part is the last to have been taken into account by Google.However, for years, we have noticed that this point is largely to be taken seriously if we want to ensure places in the first search results.

We can distinguish several important criteria for SEO:

  • ergonomics of the site: appearance and quality
  • bounce rate
  • conversion rate
  • user journey

The following elements, if they are well worked, are likely to save you a lot of space in the results and make you much more visible. Conversely, putting aside the user experience aspect would be a serious mistake. You risk being penalized by search engines, and this more and more, because they will continue to increase their standards in the field. Do not neglect them!

Technical elements related to the site’s infrastructure (HTML code, domain name, crawl, etc.)

These are all elements that touch on the user experience (UX). These factors are also essential, especially to reduce the bounce rate or to improve the conversion rate of a site.

  • Page load weight and speed (very important)
  • Appearance and quality of the site
  • Architecture and tree structure

These different points are essential to deal with, emails they are only the tip of the iceberg. Natural referencing involves a multitude of actions and a regularity of acts. It is all these operations that will improve the image of your site for Google or for a search engine. In any case, SEO takes time.

How to optimize your SEO in 2021?

Natural referencing is a sector in constant evolution, which requires a permanent watch to be aware of the latest news and criteria to apply. Here are some points that you will have to integrate into your digital strategy or monitor in the coming months.

SERP: What criteria should be used in SEO?

SERPs analyze sites with algorithms that identify several hundred different criteria. These criteria vary from year to year and these algorithms are more and more precise and worked. They filter sites according to their nature and the type of request they are responding to. Thus, there are filters corresponding to a geo-localized, pictorial, current, musical, etc. query. In order to better meet these thematic criteria, SEO is also available in local SEO, video SEO,image SEO, news SEO, etc.

The sites naturally present on the results of the SERPs are visible thanks to their notoriety, their careful work and their popularity. They are not the result of a payment to Google or other SERPs unlike paid referencing (SEA Search Engine Advertising). SEO is a long and tedious job while SEA is fast but temporary. An advertising campaign consisting of SEA and SEO is called SEM (Search Engine Marketing). We thus obtain the following equation: SEO + SEA = SEM

How to apply best practices in natural referencing?

Ideally, it would be necessary to incorporate an SEO strategy during each site creation so that it can be directly designed according to the criteria of the SERPs. If this is not the case, an SEO audit is necessary to take stock of what has been implemented previously before resorting to modifications/optimizations.

SEO professions must therefore be creative, versatile and innovative. “Good ideas” and tests prior to the implementation of new strategies are essential to maintain their place for websites or to make them gain new ones in the long term.

In conclusion, mastering the tools of natural referencing requires both significant technical and marketing knowledge. It is essential for a professional to keep abreast of developments and trends in the web in order to react in the event of a change or launch of a new algorithm.

Web merchants with large e-commerce sites have within them teams in charge of SEO who very often work with the DSIN (Director of Information Systems and Digital). They can also outsource their SEO to private SEO agencies or work with specialized experts. In any case, the qualifications and motivations of SEOs must remain the same.