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    How to SEO a website yourself? - Up&More

    Is effective SEO by your own efforts possible? Yes, but you have to put in a lot of time learning how the whole Google ecosystem works. If you want to SEO your site here is a guide on what you need to focus on to take care of SEO and page analytics.

    Is it possible to position pages yourself?

    Yes, it is possible to position your site by yourself. The condition is to take more time to understand the processes involved in SEO and what factors affect it. Positioning your site without any plan can bring disastrous results – including blocking your site.

    Self-positioning a website – step by step

    If you want to position your website yourself review all the steps. You can apply them to the positioning of your store or company website.

    1. Do an SEO audit 

    Beginning the process of SEO for your website on your own, the first and key step is to conduct an SEO audit. An SEO audit is an in-depth analysis of your site for search engine optimization. Its purpose is to identify strengths, weaknesses and optimization opportunities that can improve your site’s visibility in Google results. Here’s how you can conduct a SEO audit for free, using the available tools:

    How to conduct a standalone SEO audit?

    1. Google Search Console: Start with Google Search Console, an invaluable and free tool from Google. It allows you to see how your site is seen by the search engine, detect indexing errors, understand the queries that attract users to your site, and analyze site performance data. Pay attention to any error messages or warnings, as these are the first steps to improvement.
    2. Google Analytics: Another essential tool is Google Analytics, which provides detailed information about your site’s traffic, user behavior and conversions. By analyzing this data, you can identify which parts of your site are working well and which need improvement.
    3. PageSpeed Insights: Page load speed is crucial for SEO and overall user experience. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to evaluate your site’s speed on mobile devices and desktops. The tool will also give suggestions on how to improve your site’s performance.
    4. Ubersuggest or SEMrush: There are also free versions of tools such as Ubersuggest or limited trial versions of paid tools such as SEMrush. They allow you to perform a more detailed analysis of keywords, backlinks, competitor positions and help identify SEO opportunities on your site.
    5. SEO Optimer: SEO Optimer is another tool that can be very useful when doing an SEO audit yourself. It is an easy-to-use yet effective tool for quickly reviewing key SEO aspects of a website. It allows you to perform a basic audit, focusing on elements such as meta tags, header structure, content, internal and external links, site accessibility, and mobile optimization. After entering your site’s URL, SEO Optimer will conduct an analysis and provide a detailed report with recommendations on what and how to improve to increase your site’s visibility in search engines.

    2. Rethink how you want the listing on your site to look

    To effectively design an offer on your website that will not only attract the attention of potential customers, but also support your SEO efforts, you should follow the following list of tips:

    1. define your target audience – learn about the needs, preferences and behaviors of your customers to tailor your offer to their expectations and better communicate benefits,
    2. focus on clarity and message – use simple language and clearly communicate the benefits of your products or services. Make sure your offerings are easily understood by site visitors,
    3. optimize for keywords – select and integrate keywords relevant to your industry into your offer content to improve your site’s visibility in search results,
    4. Use compelling visuals – include high-quality product images, infographics or videos that visually convey the value of your offer, keeping in mind to optimize images for SEO,
    5. emphasize unique features and benefits – highlight aspects that set your offer apart from the competition to attract attention and convince potential customers,
    6. provide easy navigation – make it easy for users to access your offer through intuitive navigation and clear call-to-action (CTA) buttons,
    7. include feedback and reviews – add feedback and reviews from satisfied customers to build trust and increase the credibility of your offering.

    By following these steps, you will not only improve the presentation of your offer on your site, but also increase its attractiveness to search engines, which can contribute to a better position in search results and, ultimately, an increase in conversions.

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    3. Check the keywords that potential customers use in Google search

    When preparing to  position your website, a key task is to identify the keywords that customers type into Google search. Identifying and using the right keywords is the foundation for successfully reaching your target audience and improving your site’s online visibility. To carry out this process effectively, you can use a number of available tools to make the task easier. Here’s a guide to the best tools and methods for doing your own keyword research, which will help you tailor your site’s content to meet user needs and search trends.

    How to do keyword research yourself

    1. Use Google Keyword Planner – is a free tool from Google that allows you to search for keywords and analyze their popularity and competition. It is essential for planning effective SEO and SEM campaigns.
    2. Ubersuggest – Neil Patel’s platform offers keyword analysis, their search volume, competition, and also suggests related phrases. The tool is also useful for competitor SEO analysis.
    3. SEMrush – although SEMrush is a paid platform, it offers limited free capabilities that can be valuable in the early stages of keyword research. It allows in-depth analysis of keywords and their difficulty.
    4. Ahrefs – Ahrefs, similar to SEMrush, is a paid tool with some free features. It provides detailed analysis of keywords, their volume, difficulty and potential traffic.
    5. Senuto – Senuto specializes in keyword analysis and SEO strategy, offering insight into new keywords, position monitoring and analysis of competitor activity. The tool is particularly useful for content planning and SEO optimization.

    4. Create documentation and assign keywords to each subpage

    After making keyword selections, an important step is to create detailed documentation in Excel or Google Sheets to effectively assign these phrases to the relevant subpages on your site. In such a document, you should map out the structure of your site, indicating all sections and subpages, and then next to each of them add a direct link to the subpage and the specifically assigned keyword phrases. This documentation should also include the content planned for implementation, taking into account titles, meta descriptions, headings and main content integrated with keywords. Such a structured document will not only streamline the SEO optimization process, but also allow you to easily track your progress and ensure that no element of your site is overlooked in the SEO process.

    5. Think through what kind of content you want to add to your website 

    When you want to position your own site in Google search, it’s crucial to create SEO-optimized content that not only appeals to your audience, but is also friendly to Google’s robots. In order for a site to successfully climb to the top of search results, you need to think carefully about your content strategy – here’s what to consider:

    • integration of keywords – in the content you publish, it is important to naturally incorporate selected keywords. They should be in strategic places such as titles, subheadings, and in the body of the article, making it easier for Google’s robots to understand your site’s subject matter and improve its visibility in search results,
    • communication and value – Google rewards sites that offer unique and valuable content. Focus on providing content that stands out from the competition and addresses specific user needs,
    • optimized media – including media such as images, videos or infographics, with relevant ALT tags containing keywords, will not only make your content more attractive, but also help it optimize for Google’s robots,
    • effective linking – implementing internal and external linking strengthens the structure of your site and improves its SEO. internal links help Google robots better understand the hierarchy and relationship between different pages, while external links to reputable sources can increase your credibility,
    • Matching search intent – when creating content, it is essential to consider the search intent of users. By doing so, a site will not only be more responsive to the needs of the audience, but will also be more appreciated by Google’s robots, resulting in a better position in search results,
    • regular updates – keeping your site content up-to-date and refreshing it regularly signals to Google’s robots that you are an active and reliable source of information, which can positively affect your ranking.

    By preparing content in this way, you increase the chance that your site will be more visible in Google search results, thus attracting more customers and increasing the chances of conversions.

    6. Enable monitoring of Google positions, traffic, conversions, etc.

    Monitoring and analyzing the effects of your SEO efforts is essential. Using tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can track traffic, conversions, as well as your site’s position in search results. This information is invaluable for further optimization and strategy adjustments.

    7. Enter the guidelines from the audit – optimize your site on Google

    After conducting a website audit, a key step is to implement recommendations that will help you position  your website so that it reaches high positions in Google. Implementing the guidelines from the audit is a process that allows you to effectively adapt your website to the requirements of Google’s algorithms, which is essential if you want to position your website yourself. Optimization based on the results of the audit addresses many aspects of the site, from its structure to content to technical aspects such as loading speed and responsiveness. Key activities include:

    • adjusting the site’s structure and navigation to make it easier for users to navigate the site, which also helps Google’s index robots better understand the hierarchy and prioritization of content on the site,
    • optimizing the content for keywords identified during the site audit, which allows for better alignment with the queries through which potential customers may search for the products or services offered,
    • improving the technical parameters of the site, such as loading speed, adaptation to mobile devices and security, which is particularly important in the context of recent Google algorithm updates,
    • increase the quantity and quality of internal and external links, which not only supports SEO, but also makes it easier for users to access valuable content.

    Remember that positioning your website is an ongoing process, requiring regular action and adjusting your strategy to changing Google algorithms and user behavior. By implementing the guidelines from your site audit, step by step you will get closer to achieving high positions in Google, which translates into greater visibility in Google’s index and better business results.

    8. Start link building activities

    Starting link building activities is a key component of an SEO strategy to increase your site’s authority and visibility in search results. In this context, platforms such as Linkhouse and WhitePress can prove to be invaluable tools for effectively acquiring valuable links from external websites. Both services offer access to a broad database of sites where you can post content with links to your site, a form of collaboration with other sites to mutually increase traffic and improve search engine rankings.

    When selecting domains for link building, it is important to pay attention to several key parameters that indicate the strength and credibility of a site. Examples of good domain parameters include Trust Flow (TF) of 60, which indicates high quality and trust of links leading to the site, Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR), which reflect the strength of a domain in the eyes of search engines. For example, a domain with TF=60, DA=50, DR=55 will be considered very valuable and can significantly contribute to the authority of your site.

    On the other hand, domains with low parameters, such as TF below 10, DA and DR also at a low level, may be less effective or even harmful to your SEO strategy. Such sites often do not have enough trust or authority in the eyes of search engines, which can negatively affect the perception of your site.

    Self-positioning websites – advantages and disadvantages

    Deciding to  position websites yourself, you should be aware of both the potential benefits and challenges that this strategy brings. It is important to emphasize that without the proper SEO knowledge and experience, there is a real risk of doing more harm than good to your site– here are thoughts on the pros and cons of this approach.

    Benefits:

    • control over the process – having in-depth SEO knowledge, you have the ability to fully control your SEO strategy, allowing you to react quickly to changes and adjust your actions to the current needs of your site.
    • Reduce costs – the low costs associated with SEO on your own are only realistic if you have advanced SEO knowledge and are able to effectively manage all aspects of the process. In such circumstances, the savings from not needing to hire an outside agency can be significant.
    • development of competencies – by undertaking SEO on your own, you are investing in the development of your own competencies, which can benefit not only your current projects, but also future ones.

    Disadvantages:

    • risk of errors – without in-depth SEO knowledge, it is easy to make mistakes that can not only delay the achievement of the intended results, but even cause the site to drop in visibility in search results or be penalized by search engines,
    • large time commitment – effective SEO requires devoting a significant amount of time to ongoing optimizations and monitoring changes in search engine algorithms. For those unable to commit to continually learning and updating their knowledge, SEO on its own may prove too time-consuming,
    • difficult to keep knowledge up-to-date – SEO is a rapidly evolving field, and Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. For those without relevant experience, keeping knowledge up to date and adjusting strategies can be a major challenge.

    In conclusion, while SEO on your own may seem like a tempting option due to the potential cost savings and full control over the process, without a solid foundation of SEO knowledge and experience, the risk of undesirable results is significant.Only those who are well-prepared and constantly improving their skills can effectively and safely take on the responsibility of SEO for their site

    Don’t want to position a website yourself? Position it with us!

    If you are not convinced to position your site yourself and realize how complicated and time-consuming the process is, the best solution may be to trust specialists. Positioning your site in Google search is a task that requires not only in-depth knowledge of current SEO algorithms and techniques, but also experience in effectively applying these tools to improve online visibility. SEO professionals can not only help you effectively optimize your site, but also develop a strategy that will attract more traffic and increase conversions. Instead of spending months learning and experimenting, working with an experienced team will allow you to focus on growing your business, confident that your site is in good hands and achieving the best possible positions in search results. If you want to position the site yourself, be aware of the complex challenges this brings, and consider the support of experienced professionals.

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    Kamila Dębska
    Kamila Dębska

    She has been in marketing for 3 years. She feels most confident in the area of SEO and UX. At Up&More, as an SEO Specialist, she is in charge of increasing the visibility of our clients.