Search engines sometimes have their own concepts for different target groups. Google is known to dominate most of the global market with functions such as image and news searches plus other services. An interesting alternative is Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, with a user-friendly interface. DuckDuckGo does not collect any personal data from searches and Ecosia uses the revenue to support environmental protection projects.
By analyzing your blog posts as precisely as possible, you can identify, filter and set relevant keywords. Meaningful words and phrases are crucial for creating content that ranks well in the search engines mentioned. Examining factors such as readability and user-friendliness ensures that your posts are interesting for the (hopefully pre-defined) target group, but also easy to understand.
The analysis makes it possible to optimize elements such as headings, meta descriptions and internal links. You can also try to analyze the content of direct competitors to find out what strategies they are pursuing. However, you should plan how you fundamentally differentiate yourself from them and not blindly imitate current trends just because something supposedly works well.
What regular analyses can support
Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plugin that helps you with many aspects of search engine optimization (SEO). For example, you can set a focus key phrase (consisting of one to three words) for your post and receive tips on how to integrate it effectively. The plugin evaluates the readability of texts (including average reading time) and gives you helpful recommendations for improvement.
The SEO analysis shows whether important elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions or alt texts for images have been used. You can use a snippet preview to compare how your post is displayed in the search results. Yoast SEO automatically creates an XML sitemap for your website, which makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index the content. In the premium version, the plugin offers suggestions for internal linking, among other things, which further improves the user experience.
It usually takes between a few hours and several weeks for new content to be fully indexed. A website with higher authority is often treated more quickly because search engines trust it more. Technical aspects of the site play an important role. In addition, socially relevant and hot topics are indexed more quickly because search engines strive to present their users with fresh information.
Strategies to actively influence indexing
1. Google Search Console: Register your website and regularly submit new pages or posts for indexing. There is also a helpful URL checking function.
2. XML sitemap: Make sure that this overview always contains every new piece of content (including tags) so that search engines can use it.
3. High-quality content: Produce posts that are informative, relevant and appealing, which increases the chance of being shared by users.
4. Internal and external links: Link new texts to posts on your website that are already well indexed. Backlinks from other Internet offerings are particularly valuable, provided they are reputable.
5. Social Media: More visitors signal to search engines that your blog is relevant, so share the content diligently on the popular platforms.
6. Accessibility: A fast-loading website ensures that crawlers can work efficiently. Therefore, optimize the file size of images, use caching and reduce HTTP requests.
7. Sources of error: Check whether there are problems with the robots.txt file or other technical elements that could hinder crawling.
8. Traffic: Use analytics tools to monitor the traffic on your website. Identify well-performing posts to consistently produce quality content.
What costs can you expect?
Search engines like Google do not charge any direct fees for indexing your website. Using Google Search Console is also free. Experienced marketers who generate organic traffic, on the other hand, are not exactly cheap. In addition to freelancers, special SEO agencies also offer services such as keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, content creation and technical SEO analyses. As always, start small and grow big.
