Are you looking to improve your website’s search engine rankings? SEO is an essential online marketing tool that helps boost organic traffic and drive more web visitors. But do you know what makes up the three main pillars of SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become necessary for businesses wanting to outrank competitors in search engines like Google. It is a complex process, and it can seem overwhelming and difficult for people who don’t have loads of experience with SEO.
Fortunately, once you understand the fundamentals, it becomes easier to implement a successful SEO strategy for your business’s website. Your success depends on understanding what the three core components of SEO or better known as the “Three Pillars Of SEO are”.
If you focus on these three aspects of SEO, your content will have more chances to be seen, and your website will receive more natural traffic in the long run. Skilled SEO professionals know that the top organic search sites balance their basic elements to create effectiveness.
In this article, we discuss the importance of each pillar so that you can start optimizing your site and begin ranking higher in search engine results.
A brief overview of the three pillars of SEO is given below:
- Authority
- Relevance
- User Experience
If a website pays attention to all three of these components, it will likely be favoured by both search engines and users, resulting in an increase in organic traffic.
Let’s explore each of the Authority, Relevance and Experience categories to understand how they should be combined in an overall SEO program.
Authority
In today’s digital world, authority is an important factor when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). The authority of a page is determined by how important it is compared to other web pages in response to a search query. Google and other search engines use metrics, like link popularity, content quality, and user engagement, to measure the authority of a webpage.
Google cares about assessing the authority of a page because, for most queries, there are thousands or even millions of pages available that could be ranked. This means that Google needs to be able to differentiate between pages in order to determine which ones should be displayed at the top of the search results. As such, having an authoritative page can help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of appearing higher in the rankings.
Additionally, having an authoritative page can also help you build trust with potential customers and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Global Marketing Day on February 16-17, 2023 is a unique 24-hour online conference with the world’s leading marketers that will provide valuable insights into how you can create an authoritative presence online and make sure your website matters.
Authority Came First
One of the first challenges for search engines was assessing the credibility of web pages. As the World Wide Web rapidly expanded, it became impractical to rely solely on human evaluators for search engine optimization; therefore, new methods had to be developed.
Google was able to become a dominant force in the industry because Larry Page and Sergey Brin created PageRank, which leveraged links from other web pages as citations to determine a page’s credibility. Page and Brin discovered that existing links could act as a form of dynamic polling system in which respected websites would “support” pages seen to be relevant and trustworthy for their audience.
Just like academics evaluate scholarly citations, search engines evaluate links; the more related documents linking to a source, the greater its credibility.
Exploring authority was the first step in our three-step process since it is the simplest of all hyperlinked elements on the web. As machine learning and AI technologies progressed, relevance and user experience were further enhanced.
For Authority Links are Still Primary
Google’s rapid rise to become the leading search engine was made possible by its use of link analysis as a key ranking factor.
For website publishers, linking to a third-party site seemed like a waste since it could cause visitors to leave their own site unless the link was of great value to their audience.
In essence, by linking to an external website, it’s almost as if you are publicly expressing that you think the page is a reputable source of knowledge or information related to your topic.
Relevance
Relevance is one of the three pillars of SEO, and it is arguably the most important. Relevance refers to how closely a website’s content matches up with what a user is searching for. If a website has content that is relevant to the search query, then it will be more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
To Build relevance, website owners must create content that is tailored to the specific search query. This means that they must use keywords and phrases that are related to the topic of their website, as well as other related topics.
A link from Car and Driver magazine to a webpage selling a used Ford Mustang would have significant relevance. Without a doubt, Car and Driver magazine has extensive knowledge of Ford Mustangs.
On the other hand, what if there was a link to that Ford Mustang from a website typically focused on sports? Would this link still be valuable? Although feasible, it is not as effective due to the lack of proof demonstrating that the sports website holds a great deal of knowledge on second-hand Ford Mustangs.
There are some ways that Google evaluates relevance.
- Internal Linking
- Content Itself
- Role Of Anchor Text
User Experience
The third pillar of SEO is user experience (UX). UX refers to how easy it is for a user to navigate a website and find what they are looking for. If a website is difficult to navigate or has a confusing layout, then users are likely to leave the site quickly.
Google and other search engines take UX into account when ranking websites, as they want to ensure that their users have a positive experience when using their services.
In order to improve UX, website owners must make sure that their website is easy to use and understand. This includes having clear navigation menus, well-structured content, and a responsive design that works on all devices.
Google users expect a positive experience on the pages they are directed to.
What is a “good user experience”? It includes at least the following:
- The page which users are directed to should be relevant to their query; there should be no confusion or unexpected content.
- The landing page contains relevant information to the user’s query.
- A webpage should not only answer a user’s query effectively but also include links to other related sources and topics.
- Google’s Page Experience Update results in speedy page loading, readily evident content, and swift placement of page elements.
3 Basic Stages Of SEO
The three stages of SEO are an important part of any comprehensive SEO strategy and can make a huge difference to your ranking in the search engine.
Technical SEO
The first stage is the technical aspect. This covers all the behind-the-scenes factors that affect a website’s ability to be crawled and indexed by the search engine, including factors such as speed, sitemap, navigability, and mobile-friendliness. Ensuring your technical setup is up to scratch will ensure that your content has a chance to get indexed properly and maximize its visibility.
On-page Optimization
The second stage of SEO is on-page optimization – this includes optimizing all elements of your content for maximum search engine visibility. This includes things like E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness), tags, correctly structured content, and more. It also involves making sure you have compelling titles and descriptions for each piece of content on your site so that it resonates with potential visitors in the SERPs.
Off-page Optimization
Finally, off-page optimization is the third stage; This part focuses on optimizing factors outside of your control, such as backlinks, social media shares, etc. Obtaining backlinks from good sources as well as ensuring all other off-page aspects are taken care of
Off-page optimization deals with aspects that are outside of your control, such as backlinks and social media shares. It focuses on optimizing these factors to help improve your website’s rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the three pillars of SEO are Authority Links, Relevance, and User Experience. By focusing on these three elements, website owners can ensure that their websites are optimized for search engine rankings. In short, Google will prioritize pages that fit a user’s query and are easy to comprehend.
Search engines are constantly striving to provide users with trustworthy, authoritative content that fulfils their search queries. Similarly, creating quality content is essential for gaining the types of links you need to ensure a high ranking in relevant searches.
Publishing quality, relevant content that other sites want to link to or feature on their own website with appropriate backlinks to your own is an effective way of improving your site’s search engine rankings. By concentrating on three key areas of SEO – authority, relevance, and user experience – you can make link-earning much simpler and create more chances for your content to be seen.