Our previous chapter discussed how important keyword research is for driving organic traffic to your website. Now, let’s shift our focus to page optimization, also known as on-page SEO. 

This aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) can greatly improve your website’s visibility and ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs).

This article will define on-page SEO and discuss its key components. We will also share best practices to help you avoid common mistakes hindering your SEO efforts. So, let’s explore the world of webpage optimizations and see how these components and avoidable mistakes can greatly impact your website’s search engine performance.

What is on-page SEO?

On-page SEO, also known as on-site SEO, involves directly optimizing specific parts of a website. The main objective of on-site SEO is to make it simple for search engines and users to:

• Grasp the content of a webpage.
• Recognize the page as relevant to specific search queries or keywords.
• Determine whether the page is valuable and deserves a high ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

You should concentrate on a few essential factors to improve your website’s on-page SEO. These include your content, meta tags, URLs, headers, and internal links. By optimizing these elements, you make your website more appealing to both search engines and users.

Read more: SEO Fundamentals: Key Definitions & 4 Best Practices

Off-page vs. on-page SEO

Understanding the difference between on-page and off-page SEO is crucial to optimizing your website for search engines. By understanding these concepts, you can take a more comprehensive approach to improving your website’s visibility.

On-page SEO refers to the actions you can take directly on your web pages to enhance your search engine rankings. It involves optimizing various elements within your website itself. On the other hand, off-page SEO focuses on external factors that contribute to building your website’s reputation and authority.

Here’s a table that illustrates examples of on-page and off-page SEO techniques:

The importance of on-page SEO

On-page SEO is crucial in achieving overall SEO success for your website. Here’s why it matters:

Search Engine Visibility

On-page SEO helps your site rank higher in search results, increasing organic traffic. Studies show that the first five organic results on a search page receive a whopping 67.60% of all clicks, while the next five only get 3.73%. It decreases further down the list.

Relevance to user queries

On-page SEO helps search engines understand if your web pages are relevant to user searches. By optimizing your content and meta tags, you increase the chances of your website showing up in search results when people search for related topics. On-site SEO ensures that your website reaches the right audience and meets their needs.

User-friendly experience

When you do on-page SEO, you make your website better for users. You optimize URLs, headers, and internal links to improve navigation. These changes make it easier for visitors to find what they want and stay on your site. When people can navigate your site easily, they’re more likely to explore more pages and even become customers.

Boost conversions

Proper on-page SEO optimization improves your website’s user-friendliness, reliability, and credibility. It creates a better user experience, builds trust in your brand, and increases the chances of visitors engaging with your content, trusting your products/services, and becoming leads or customers.

Long-Term Benefits 

On-page SEO is the key to building a strong SEO strategy for your website. Regularly optimizing your content and website elements can create a sustainable plan to improve your search engine rankings. This results in more organic traffic, brand visibility, and ongoing business growth.

Read more: Search Engines: Inner Workings & 6 Ways to Rank Higher

On-Page SEO Checklist

Here are some important steps to optimize your on-page SEO:

1. Create better content

The content of your page is crucial for on-page optimization. It communicates to search engines and readers what your website and business are about. To optimize it effectively, follow these steps:

• Create high-quality, unique, and valuable content that caters to your audience’s needs.
• Naturally, include the primary keyword and related terms throughout the content.
• Structure your content with paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings to make it visually appealing and easy to read.

2. Optimize title tags

The title tag is an important part of your webpage. The title appears in search results, social media, and the browser tab. To optimize it, ensure each page has a unique and descriptive title tag. This description helps people understand what your page is about. 

Other tips include:

• Place the primary keyword at the start of the title tag.
• Keep the title tag under 60 characters for better display in search results.
• Ensure the title tag is relevant to the content on the page.
• Avoid using all capital letters in the title tag.
• Consider including your brand name in the title tag.

3. Write compelling meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are the short page descriptions that appear below the title in search results. They may not directly affect search engine rankings, but they are crucial in enticing users to click on your page.

When crafting meta descriptions, your goal is to create engaging summaries of your page content. Here’s what you should do:

• Include primary keywords and phrases naturally for relevance.
• Keep meta description length around 150-160 characters.
• Avoid alphanumeric characters, like hyphens (-), ampersands (&), or plus signs (+).

4. Use header tags

When you structure your content, it’s important to use header tags. Header tags help hierarchically organize your content, making it easier for visitors to read and navigate.

The main heading, also known as H1, should include the primary keyword when it’s relevant to the content on the page. The keywords help search engines understand the main topic of your page.

For subheadings, you can use H2, H3, and so on. These subheadings further divide your content into sections, making it easier for readers to find specific information.

By using header tags effectively, you improve the readability and organization of your content, which can enhance the overall user experience on your website.

5. Optimize URL structure

To optimize your URL structure, you must consider the following:

• Keep it clean: Create clean URLs free from unnecessary clutter. Avoid including parameters or numbers that don’t add value to the URL.
• Include relevant keywords: Incorporate keywords in your URL that accurately reflect the page’s content. Keywords help search engines and visitors understand what the page is about.
• Use hyphens for separation: Instead of using spaces or underscores, separate words in the URL with hyphens (-). Hyphens improve readability and make it easier for search engines and people to comprehend the URL.

6. Image optimization

To optimize your images and make your website load faster, compress them. Compressing them will improve the overall user experience by reducing waiting times. 

Your images must include descriptive file names and alt tags. Use relevant keywords in these descriptions to improve their visibility in search results. Additionally, provide alternative text that describes the images. This text helps users with difficulty viewing the photos and contributes to better search engine optimization (SEO) for your website.

7. Craft value propositions for each page

Don’t forget this crucial step: create a value proposition for every page on your website. A value proposition is a clear and convincing statement that tells visitors what they’ll gain from that page or content.

Each page should have a goal beyond just ranking for a keyword. It’s not just about targeting keywords for SEO; each page should have a specific purpose or intent. It’s not just about driving traffic or ranking higher but providing unique value to visitors.

8. Internal linking

Create a logical internal linking structure to make it easier for visitors to navigate your website and improve their overall experience. When creating these links, use anchor text, the clickable text of a link containing relevant keywords. 

An anchor text helps search engines understand the context of the linked page. It’s important to ensure that the internal links feel natural and provide value to the user. They should direct visitors to related and helpful content that adds to their understanding or provides further information on the topic they’re interested in.

Read more: Mastering Keyword Research in 8 Steps

4 common On-Page SEO Mistakes to avoid

You must avoid four common mistakes to optimize your on-page SEO and make your website more visible and user-friendly. These practices can harm your SEO efforts and hinder the overall experience for users. Here are the four things you should stay away from:

1. Thin content

Thin content occurs when your web pages lack enough valuable information for users. They may have very little text or content that isn’t relevant or helpful. Search engines, like Google, really appreciate high-quality and informative content. 

So, it’s imperative to avoid having thin content on your website to rank high in search results. Google aims to provide the best results matching users’ searches. To convince Google that your page is the best answer, you must provide comprehensive information on the topic you want to rank for. 

Thin content rarely meets Google’s criteria for being the best result. Therefore, make sure your pages have important and useful content to achieve good search rankings and provide value to your visitors.

2. Duplicate content

Duplicate content means having the same or very similar information on different web pages. This repetition can occur within your website or even across other websites.

Duplicate content causes three main issues for search engines:

• They confuse which version to show in search results.
• They struggle to distribute the credibility and value of links among the different versions.
• They find it challenging to decide which version to rank higher for specific searches.

Having unique and valuable content on each website page is crucial for maintaining strong SEO practices. Make sure you don’t repeat information that already exists on other pages, whether it’s within your site or on other websites.

Providing unique and informative content improves your chances of obtaining higher rankings in search results. It boosts your visibility and enhances the overall user experience by offering new and valuable information.

3. Keyword stuffing

Keyword stuffing is when you put too many keywords on a webpage, even if they don’t make sense or are irrelevant. People do this to trick search engines into ranking their websites higher. 

However, search engines see this as cheating and can punish your website by lowering its rankings. Instead, using keywords naturally and only when they fit well within your content is better. It makes your content more helpful and enjoyable for users.

For example, let’s say you have a website about healthy recipes. You want to include the keyword “healthy dinner recipes” in your content. Here’s an example of how you can incorporate it naturally versus keyword stuffing:

4. Cloaking

Cloaking is a sneaky tactic that involves showing different content to search engines and regular users. Here’s how it works: when search engines crawl your site, they see one set of optimized content designed to boost your rankings. However, when people visit your website, they see something completely different. 

The reason behind this deceitful practice is to trick search engines and manipulate the search results in your favor. However, search engines don’t like this behavior because it’s all about trying to deceive and manipulate the search results. If you get caught using cloaking, it can seriously harm your website. Search engines might lower your rankings or, in some cases, even remove your site from their search results altogether.

It is important to make sure that the content displayed to both search engines and users is identical in order to prevent any unfavorable outcomes. Transparency is the key here. So, don’t try to outsmart search engines by using cloaking techniques. Instead, focus on creating valuable, relevant content that genuinely helps your users. That’s the best approach for long-term success in SEO.

Summary

On-page SEO is essential for improving your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines. It’s not just about keywords; you must also focus on other important factors. These include your content, meta tags, URLs, headers, and internal links. By optimizing these elements, you make your website more appealing to search engines and users.

To achieve effective on-page SEO, avoid four common mistakes: thin content, duplicate content, keyword stuffing, and cloaking. These practices can harm your SEO efforts and create a negative user experience. By removing these pitfalls, you can ensure your website is more visible and user-friendly, improving its search engine performance.

Next, we’ll explore technical SEO in the upcoming chapter. This SEO type deals with the technical aspects of your website that can impact its visibility and ranking. By understanding and implementing technical SEO best practices, you can enhance your website’s performance and make it search-engine friendly.

Picking is when we take the items customers order from the warehouse shelves and send them out. It’s one of the most expensive parts of the warehouse process.

Picking has its challenges. It’s hard to automate, needs careful planning, and mistakes can happen quickly. Most importantly, it affects customer service directly. Despite these challenges, managers want to increase productivity in picking to reduce warehouse costs. They must consider the trade-offs between speed, price, and accuracy.

In the past 20 years, there has been a shift in order taking. Previously, we would gather items in large quantities. However, nowadays, it is more common to pick smaller amounts and have deliveries occur more frequently. Concepts such as Just in Time, the rise of online shopping, and the desire for shorter waiting times have driven this change.

We’ve talked about warehouse management before. This article focuses on picking orders and explaining them in more detail.

Linking the picking process

The 2009 Benchmarking Survey showed that Aberdeen Group uses specific measures to identify the best picking operations. They present the data in the table below:

Metrics	Best Practices	Industry Average	Delays
Percentage of accurately picked orders	99.8%	97.7%	88.4%
Percentage of orders delivered on time and as expected	99.5%	95.6%	88.2%

The figure below illustrates how labor, technology, equipment, and warehouse layout interrelate.

Moving between different picking spots is one of the most significant expenses in the picking process. Depending on the method, these charges can account for up to 60% of the time required to complete the picking process. That’s why managers need to choose the right way to do the picking based on the conditions in the warehouse to reduce these costs.

Read also: Warehouse Manager: Roles and 10 Challenges to Overcome

We use various strategies to handle orders, pick items, and determine the necessary equipment in the picking process. The picture below illustrates the methods and tools utilized in the picking process. We will delve deeper into this topic in the following article.

Preparation and layout in a warehouse’s picking process

A little preparation can go a long way when it comes to getting your warehouse ready for efficient picking. Setting up the proper layout and organizing your space can streamline the picking process and save valuable time. 

Warehouse preparation

According to Frazelle (2002), only around 15% of SKUs are inefficient locations, which leads to higher costs due to increased travel time and unused spaces. To avoid this, you can take some steps before picking items. Start by using the right equipment, setting up a storage system, deciding on a picking method, and conducting an ABC inventory analysis.

Pareto’s Law, or the 80/20 rule, explains the ABC classification. This rule states that:

• The top 20% of product lines account for 80% of sales.
• 20% of customers generate 80% of sales.
• 20% of customers (not necessarily the same ones as mentioned before) contribute to 80% of profits.
• 20% of the products use 80% of warehouse space.
• 20% of the products hold 80% of the inventory value.
• 20% of suppliers are responsible for 80% of problems.
• 20% of staff members contribute to 80% of staff problems.

ABC classification is a way of organizing goods based on their importance using Pareto’s Law. Different companies and market sectors may have their classifications. When it comes to sales, here’s how ABC classification works:

• The ‘A’ category includes the most essential products. These products comprise 20% of the total but contribute 80% of the sales.
• The ‘B’ category is also significant. Around 35% of products fall into this category, but they only contribute to 15% of the sales.
• The remaining 45% of products are in the ‘C’ category. These products have the lowest importance, generating only 5% of the sales.

Many companies use ABC analysis to optimize their warehouse layout effectively. Relying solely on traditional ABC analysis has limitations. It only provides a snapshot of the situation based solely on sales levels. As a result, relying exclusively on this analysis can reduce productivity.

Let’s look at an example that compares two products over a specific period using only ABC analysis:

Product	Sales	Orders
Product A	10,000 units	4
Product B	1,000 units	200

Although Product A achieved the highest sales, it received only four selections during that period. In contrast, Product B, despite having lower sales, received 200 orders. This data indicates that Product B demonstrates faster movement and warrants placement near the dispatch bay.

Right now, we have a system called dual ABC classification that combines two categories: volume and frequency. This system helps us create a nine-box lattice, like the one in the picture below.

The figure reveals that AA products have the highest sales and frequent customer purchases. In contrast, CC products have the slowest sales rate. When you visit the picking location more frequently, the number of people present increases. Despite making up only 8% of the product suite, AA products contribute approximately 50% of the total sales.

The figure below explains the connection between how often a product sells and its value. It suggests that each sector requires a different approach. The strategy you choose can depend on the level of service, how often and how you order stock, how often you count your inventory, and the relationship between you and your customers and suppliers.

To make your warehouse more efficient, consider a few things.

First, calculate the weighted volume by multiplying the annual demand by the number of products on the shortlist. This calculation helps ensure that you don’t end up with too many products causing delays in the delivery area.

Remember that the more often you visit the pick face, the higher your labor costs will be. Traveling during picking can make up a significant portion of the total picking time. That’s why arranging your warehouse layout is essential based on the number of pick-face visits needed.

Another critical factor is slotting, which determines the best location for each product in the warehouse. It’s not just about placing fast-moving items near the delivery area. It’s also about grouping frequently shipped products together in the pick-face area. This way, you can reduce travel time and make picking more efficient.

Slotting can also help you determine how many pick faces you need for each product line and what size they should be. It’s a good idea to spread high-demand products across the front of the racking closest to the start and end of the picking run. Slotting prevents congestion and keeps things running smoothly.

Additionally, your system can identify small batches of products that can fulfill large orders. By looking at which items are popular and combining that with completed orders, you can allocate a specific area for those products. Slotting can also consider seasonal changes and suggest moving certain products during different times of the year.

This system can calculate other parameters and help determine the collection method by profiling goods and orders. It also facilitates the preparation and storage of products by strategically placing popular items in easily accessible locations.

Calculating the lines per order allows for the analysis of orders. It helps determine the number of orders per product code and the necessary pick-up locations. When a substantial number of items are on a single line, it is crucial to differentiate between standard and backorders. For standard charges, the appropriate method is the batch pick.

When picking goods, they are placed in smaller containers and combined in a designated area. The Cube per Order Index (COI) is a strategy that calculates the ratio of product line space requirements to the number of daily picks. This ratio helps determine the position of the picking run, with lower COI, indicating better utilization of product space.

Combining these factors enables us to determine the most suitable picking method for the warehouse. We can pick up small cube orders using roll cages or trolleys, while larger ones require trucks or pallet jacks.

By analyzing demand variations, we can determine the pick face size and the quantity to hold for each product type. This analysis ensures we maintain an adequate stock level to meet a day’s demand and reduce refills’ frequency. Calculating the average daily direction and standard deviation allows us to obtain demand figures for each item.

Ensuring sufficient space in the picking area is crucial to accommodate the required stock quantities is vital. The space calculation considers the total warehouse capacity, floor area, and reserve stock storage requirements.

Warehouse layout

Take a look at the image below. It shows a simple layout that uses ABC analysis from a pick-face visit. To make the warehouse run better, we need to minimize the number of trips when picking orders.

When choosing picker routes for order preparation, consider the following:

• Arrange the picking instructions so items are sorted in the most efficient order, starting from the front of the rack closest to the despatch bays.
• Prioritize picking the heaviest items first.
• Ensure the picker can access both sides of the aisle while moving up and down.
• Use programmed shortcuts in the system to reduce travel time. For example, allow takers to take shorter routes during long rack changes and utilize the space on top of the line for storing different products.
• Position the last picker as close as possible to the despatch area.
• Set up picking locations for popular items to prevent congestion in the picking room.

Warehouse layouts typically include racks or freestanding storage areas for spare pallets. The positioning of these storage areas depends on the number of different products and the available floor space. It is vital to avoid having pickers retrieve full pallets from the picking area since they require replacement.

Creating a separate area in the warehouse specifically for these product parts is more cost-effective when multiple orders require them. This approach simplifies picking individual items, especially when small quantities are needed, and provides a designated space for storing unused items.

To improve the picking process:

• Implement shelves or racks that facilitate the flow of items.
• Maintain full frames consistently to ensure efficient operations.
• Replace taken boxes or loads promptly.

When planning the warehouse layout, thinking about the space needed for other services like labeling, packaging, and packing things together is essential. That area should be near where items are picked and delivered to avoid long trips. It’s also necessary to think about the people working in the warehouse and choose equipment and work areas that are safe and comfortable for them.

To figure out the best picking system, you’ll need the following information:

• Get the size and weight of the products (items, boxes, and pallets).
• Categorize the products based on danger, temperature sensitivity, or value.
• Count how many different types of products you have in each category (ABC classification).
• Keep track of the total number of orders you receive in a given time.
• Consider the total number of shipments, including cases where multiple orders are combined.
• Look at the most common number of lines per order and the average number of lines.
• Calculate the average number of units per line and identify the most common number of units.
• Figure out how often each product needs to be accessed (pick-face visits).
• Determine which items require selection by individual items, cases, or full pallets.
• Regularly group any groups of products.

Once you’ve gathered this data during profiling, you can choose the most effective retrieval system.

Summary

We must make essential preparations to ensure an efficient and productive picking process. These preparations involve understanding the products and sales patterns and using available data to analyze them using ABC analysis.

By placing the products in the right spots, we can reduce the distance the operator needs to travel and make their job less stressful. This method will increase productivity and save money overall. So, we have to consider how to arrange the warehouse layout carefully.

The next chapter will discuss the picking process in more detail.

References

Aberdeen Group. 2009b. Warehouse Operations: Increase Responsiveness through Automation. Boston: Aberdeen Group

Richard G. 2011. Warehouse Management. Great Britain: Kogan Page Limited.

Improving the system begins with simplifying processes and procedures. Still, it should be done in the best way possible to get the most out of it. When done correctly, these processes can boost productivity and reduce operational costs.

Warehouses may vary in size, type, function, location, and ownership, but the basic processes remain the same. One way to make warehouse operations more efficient is by using the latest technology.

The chart below shows the costs associated with different warehouse activities. It highlights the importance of pick, pack, and dispatch operations in day-to-day activities. These numbers can vary depending on the type of operation.

Source: Gwynne Richards; Warehouse Management; Warehouse processes: receiving and put-away

Apart from those three steps, pre-receipt and receiving are also important. If the wrong product is received or placed in the wrong spot, it can cause big problems.

This article will discuss the warehouse process from before receiving goods (pre-receipt) to the put-away stage. Put away means everything in the warehouse between getting goods from suppliers and storing them on the shelves.

Read more: Understanding Warehouses: Definition and its Importance

9 vital processes in warehouse management

In warehouse management, 9 vital processes ensure the smooth functioning of operations. These processes are like gears that work together to keep the warehouse running efficiently. Let’s take a closer look at each of these processes and understand how they contribute to the overall success of warehouse management.

1. Pre-receipt

To ensure the buyer gets the correct quality goods, the supplier must deliver them correctly to the warehouse. The buyer doesn’t know how the goods are received, so they should receive goods that match the description.

The warehouse manager plays a crucial role in this process. They have to choose and give the okay for the packaging, decide how many items go in each box, how many packages go on each pallet, any unique labels needed, and the transportation method. 

Read more: Warehouse Manager: Roles and 10 Challenges to Overcome

In the end, containers with many products still need to be sorted in the receiving area. It includes products on pallets and those without pallets, just loose in the container.

When the loose products arrive in the container, someone must place them on a pallet before storing them on the shelf. These boxes should be stacked neatly on the pallet without sticking out or being at risk of getting damaged.

Using ready-made software can make improving how we load the products more accessible. Pallets not only look nice, but they also help reduce the chances of the products getting damaged.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has rules about the size of pallets. These rules are in ISO 6780: Flat pallets for moving things worldwide – main sizes and limits. The table below shows the six dimensions that ISO specifies.

Dimensions in mm (Width x Length)	Dimensions in inches (Width x Length)	Countries that use
1219 x 1016	48.00 x 40.00	North America
1000 x 1200	39.37 x 47.24	UK and Asia, commonly referred to as industrial pallet
1165 x 1165	44.88 x 44.88	Australia
1067 x 1067	42.00 x 42.00	Most countries
1100 x 1100	43.30 x 43.30	Asia
800 x 1200	31.50 x 47.24	Europe, commonly known as euro pallet

To figure out how to arrange the racks, you need a solution that can handle different sizes of pallets. One option is to use plastic pallets called iGPS. These pallets are unique — you can recycle them, and weigh 30% less than wooden ones.

The good thing about iGPS pallets is that they don’t need any maintenance, which makes them great for moving groceries in warehouses.

Labeling products in boxes is essential to ensure easy identification. One way to do this is by using barcodes. These barcodes are like special codes that machines can read. They store information such as the product code, description, and how many packages there are.

In the supply chain, it’s essential to have consistency. You must ensure that the number of packages provided, stored, and sold matches the demand. This way, there won’t be too much or too little product available.

Many products often arrive at the warehouse in poor condition, with improper packaging, incorrect labels, or the wrong number of items. Therefore, it’s important to discuss certain things before placing an order. These include:

• Determine the size and type of cardboard required.
• Choose the appropriate packaging: cardboard, plastic, tote bags, metal stillages, roll cages, or pallets.
• Decide whether to ship the products with or without pallets.
• Specify the size (length, width, and height) and type of pallet needed, such as a euro pallet or a pallet with a four-way entry.
• Determine special labeling needs, such as product description, barcode, and quantity.
• Estimate the number of cartons needed, including both inner and outer cartons.
• Plan the transportation method, including the number of shipments and the delivery frequency.

Selecting shipping methods that align with the warehouse’s available equipment is crucial to ensure smooth operations. For instance, if there is no loading bay, it is necessary to use vehicles equipped with tail-lift or side-unloading capabilities.

Shipping many goods overseas increases container traffic. You must choose between loose loading or palletizing your cargo as a business owner. Using pallets protects your stock from loss and damage during handling. It reduces the number of people needed to load and unload containers.

However, there’s a downside. Pallets take up space in the container, using up to 10% depending on the type used. Some pallets can’t be stacked, which further reduces space.

Due to the reduced space, pallets can increase shipping costs by 15-33%, depending on the load. However, it also lowers costs for delivery. It decreases the chances of damage to your products and injuries to your staff.

To reduce this drawback, you can use slip sheets instead of pallets. Slip sheets are made of thick cardboard or thin plastic and have a width of about 2 centimeters.

In this method, you place the load on a slip sheet inside the container. When the goods arrive, a special forklift attachment removes the slip sheet and the pack and then puts them on a pallet for storage.

The number of packages will depend on the product’s value, weight, and size. It’s important to note that boxes cannot weigh more than 20 kg, as legal restrictions exist. We must maintain a consistent product flow to ensure we count our stock accurately and reduce mistakes when picking items.

We need to have discussions with warehouses, procurement, customer service, and suppliers. For instance, we should talk to suppliers about our specific requirements and ask them to change their usual processes.

Another vital thing to remember is the 80/20 rule. This principle means roughly 20 percent of our suppliers provide about 80 percent of our stock. Likewise, around 20 percent of suppliers are responsible for 80 percent of the problems we encounter with our goods. It’s something we should keep in mind.

Problems often arise because suppliers may not realize how their actions affect our operations. So, it’s better to address the issue directly and work with the supplier to fix it.

2. In-handling

Warehouse managers face the challenging responsibility of aligning work hours with the workload. They can reduce the hours needed and achieve cost savings by minimizing the time required to handle products.

Labor costs are the most considerable expense for warehouses, making up around 48% to 60% of the total cost, depending on automation levels. Handling activities alone account for roughly 20% of the overall expenses in retail warehouses.

3. Preparation

To prepare correctly, make sure the supplier sends the product to the warehouse when you decide, not when it’s convenient for them, except when the shipping company is struggling to deliver on time.

To provide delivery times, match the time slot with how long you estimate it will take to complete the task.

For example, unloading a 45-foot pallet trailer might take 30 minutes, and moving the pallets to a storage area could take another 15 minutes. Depending on the number of items and available staff, unloading a loosely packed 20-foot container could take up to three hours.

Keep track of the time required for each type of delivery and share this information with the ordering team. The ordering team can plan more efficiently by understanding the necessary labor and equipment.

The warehouse staff needs to know the products being sent, the type of vehicle used, and the equipment required for unloading. Once everything is confirmed and the time is calculated, assign appropriate order slots and provide order references to the supplier.

Also, make sure you understand the details of the pallet exchange agreement. If you’re using a pallet rental system, both parties need to record the movement of pallets in the system accurately.

Providing advance notice of the shipped products is also a good idea. It allows the Warehouse Management Software (WMS) to enter the details and prepare for the arrival of the products. 

4. Offloading

When the goods arrive, you must check the vehicle’s condition and compare the seal with the order reference. Then, assign the vehicle to the loading bay or a spot in the yard.

Before you change the vehicle’s temperature for unloading, check how hot or cold it has been during the trip and how hot or cold the goods are right now. Once the vehicle is in the room or yard for unloading, ensure the team has enough people and the tools to do the job quickly and satisfactorily.

The most common way to lower pallets into the loading bay is using a powered pallet truck, hand pallet truck, or pallet jack. Some companies use counter-balanced forklift trucks, but be careful because accidents can happen if the truck, driver, or floor weights are weak or damaged.

To speed up this process, we have installed an automatic unloading system that can unload 26 pallets in just 5 minutes. The picture below shows one of the unloading methods, which uses tracks.

Image source: Robotics and Automation News

Unloading loose-loaded containers consumes much time. It takes at least two people to unload and place the goods onto pallets. At the same time, another person waits to transport the stacked pallets to the inspection area.

This process lacks productivity. Staff inside the containers must wait to replace full pallets with empty ones. At the same time, forklift drivers await the construction of the pallets.

Containers often contain a mix of products, so sorting is necessary at the unloading dock. This sorting process is inefficient and poses risks to staff constantly bending and stretching in the confined space and near Material Handling Equipment (MHE). Moreover, the lighting is poor, making the conditions unfavorable.

Pallets or stillages can be placed on either side of the conveyor and stacked with the right items to improve this operation. The operator can reduce the amount of bending and stretching required by using platforms that adjust to the height of the pallet they are building.

Instructing suppliers to load the same product in each container is crucial for smooth operation. This change could increase productivity gains by up to 50%.

Using more automation will make the cartons more consistent. We now use robots to build pallets when we bring items in and send them out. We also have other equipment like forklift trucks with clamp attachments for unloading big appliances and larger boxes. And we have forklift trucks with slip sheet attachments for unloading containers.

Read more: Warehouse Cost: 2 Determination Systems & Reduction Tips

5. Checking

Once you unload the goods, you must decide whether to check them before storing them. Ideally, move incoming goods directly from the loading bay to the storage or discharge areas if they are cross-docked.

The problem with this process is trust unless you’re sure the supplier can deliver the right product. There’s a solution to this problem: you can randomly inspect some of the products instead of checking everything.

Some retailers employ a method known as Good Faith Receiving (GFR). In GFR, they receive products at the distribution center without conducting immediate checks. They randomly inspect the products and report any issues to the supplier in proportion. This approach allows drivers to continue making deliveries and pressures suppliers to enhance accuracy.

Managers can establish rules and inspection requirements if they don’t use GFR. The manager measures supplier performance based on the accuracy of their recent shipments. 

New suppliers may feel concerned when their first shipment undergoes a check. Still, you will continue checking until you have confidence in their accuracy. As for experienced suppliers, you can inspect 10% of each shipment. If an issue arises, you can check the next 10%.

There’s a trade-off between the time it takes to inspect shipments, the number of problems found, and the time it takes to deal with them.

Barcodes have accelerated inspections and increased accuracy. When we scan products, we can instantly compare their details in real-time if we have wireless capability.

After scanning, we can move the goods directly to the next step, such as checking quality, selecting items, storing them, or shipping them out. Using RFID technology will make inspections even faster in the reception area. When products with the proper tags come into the warehouse, we can quickly recognize and count them, sending the information immediately to the warehouse management system.

Aberdeen Group (2009b) found that 70% of the best companies prefer receiving goods without paper documents. They use barcodes, RFID, or voice technology instead.

Noting and reporting discrepancies in the received goods is crucial in the admissions process. It plays a vital role. Here’s an example of a report for goods that do not meet the requirements.

Receiving Date	Supplier	Product Code	Purchase Order Number	Order Reference	Non-Compliance
03/04/21	ABC	59193	26620	1128	Barcode cannot be scanned
03/04/21	ABC	105729	26620	1128	Outer carton exceeds 20 kg
06/04/21	DEF	541037	29901	2832	Barcode located outside, not inside
07/04/21	FHI	925739	29992	3314	Quantity does not match expectations
07/04/21	FHI	017592	29992	3314	Barcode cannot be scanned
08/04/21	JKL	752948	3210	2109	No price sticker present

6. Cross-docking

Most warehouses want to move products quickly and hold less stock. Cross docking is a way to move products straight from receiving to shipping without storing them in the warehouse or picking them up.

For cross-docking to work, suppliers must ensure clear labeling of products and provide timely notifications of their arrival and delivery. We also need systems to identify products and processes that encourage shipments.

After checking the products, we transport them directly to the delivery area. We actively track the temporary storage locations of these products in the system, enabling staff to be aware of their readiness for delivery. Additionally, we maintain comprehensive records for auditing purposes.

It’s essential to have enough space in the entry and exit areas. Having enough space helps us move products quickly and safely. If there are any bottlenecks in these areas, it slows down the process and can cause tension between teams.

Additionally, it’s crucial to establish a marked area for the placement of products before shipping them. Drive-in rack areas can assist in organizing loads for specific collections.

Companies widely employ cross-docking in the supply chain to transport perishable goods. Retailers actively utilize this system at their distribution centers to receive products from various suppliers, sort them, and dispatch them to different stores.

The just-in-time system also relies on cross-docking to send parts to a central location for assembly and delivery in a specific order. The image below shows an example of how cross-docking works.

7. Recording

Every product needs records beyond the usual information like product code, description, and quantity when it arrives. It can include extra details such as batch or slot numbers and serial numbers.

8. Quality control

Certain products require stricter acceptance checks. These include high-value items, food, dangerous goods, and products that need specific temperatures, like medicines.

Create a designated area close to the receiving point to check goods upon arrival. It’s crucial to carry out this process with speed and efficiency to avoid any hold-ups and ensure prompt integration of the products into the system.

If there’s a problem with a product, put it in a separate area for quarantine. If the issue is with the storage room, put the product there but label it as damaged or wait for test results.

Most WMS systems actively block access to blocked products and prohibit their selection. Adding physical markings on the site provides an additional measure to ensure proper handling of the products.

9. Put-away

Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) actively assign product locations beforehand and instruct workers where to place goods. Workers can perform this task directly at the dispatch area for cross-docking, at the pick face to restock, or in backup storage.

To ensure the effective functioning of this system, we must input a wealth of information. This information encompasses various aspects such as:

• Size, weight, and height of palletized goods
• ABC analysis or slotting results, which means putting fast-moving goods closest to the delivery area
• Current order data
• Grouping products together
• A mix of actual sales data
• The current status of each product’s pick face
• The size of the space for pallets
• How much weight can the shelves hold

Without a system, the warehouse manager has to figure out the best spots for goods and tell the operators where to put them. When you use fixed locations, you have to assign a specific area for each product. Random locations mean putting pallets where they fit best.

When placing products, it is crucial to consider certain factors. We must allocate dangerous goods to a specific area and provide special storage for valuable items that we can lock or place on a secure carousel.

It’s best to put the fastest-selling items in the middle row when putting boxes away. That way, the people picking orders don’t have to bend or stretch too much. Slower-selling goods can go on the top and bottom shelves.

The warehouse manager also needs to group similar items. Some warehouse systems combine putting things away with picking pallets, called insertion duty. The system tells the operator where to store pallets while they gather the full ones needed to restock.

Read more: 6 Warehouse Performance Metrics & Tips for Choosing Them

Summary

All warehouses follow a similar process, although they may vary in size, function, ownership, and location. As discussed, the receiving and setup process is vital for an efficient warehouse operation.

Ensuring the smooth running of this process is crucial to achieving optimal results and cost reduction. To enhance productivity in the receiving and setup area, here are five steps you can take:

• Reserve specific slots for most of your suppliers to make things easier.
• Minimize the number of checks needed for incoming deliveries.
• Prioritize incoming goods by using a system. For example, focus on low-stock items and promotional items.
• Plan the setup process carefully to place products accurately and efficiently.
• Whenever possible, prioritize cross-docking to speed things up.

In the following article, we’ll explore another important aspect of warehouse operations: the picking process.

References

Aberdeen Group. 2009b. Warehouse Operations: Increase Responsiveness through Automation. Boston: Aberdeen Group

Richard G. 2011. Warehouse Management. Great Britain: Kogan Page Limited.

In our previous chapter, we explored search engines and how they work. Now, we shift our focus to the crucial role of keyword research in driving SEO outcomes.

Keywords are the foundation of effective SEO strategies. They act as a compass, guiding search engines and connecting users with relevant information, products, or services. However, selecting the right keywords is a common struggle for businesses, often leaving them lost amidst fierce online competition.

This comprehensive guide presents eight simple steps to master keyword research. Whether you’re a digital marketer, a small business owner, or an SEO enthusiast, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to bring your SEO efforts to new heights.

What is a keyword?

Keywords are crucial in SEO. They are words or phrases that describe the main topic of the content. When people search for something, they enter keywords into search engines.

Search engines analyze web pages to determine if they are relevant and of good quality. They look at the content and the keywords used. This analysis affects how well a website or web page appears in search engine results.

As a website owner or content creator, you want the keywords on your page to match what people are searching for. This similarity enhances the likelihood of your audience finding your content on the search engine result page (SERP). By optimizing your website or content with relevant keywords, you improve its visibility in search results when users search for those terms.

Read more: SEO Fundamentals: Key Definitions & 4 Best Practices

Where should your keywords be located?

Strategically placing your keywords in different areas on your website or web page can help improve its visibility. Here are some key locations where you should include your keywords:

• Page title: Put your main keyword or phrase in the title of your web page. This helps search engines understand what your page is about.
• URL: Include your keywords in the web page’s address. This makes the URL more descriptive and helps search engines see the relevance of your content.
• Heading tags: Use keywords in headings (like H1, H2) to highlight important sections. This helps organize your content and makes it easier to read.
• Content body: Naturally, include your keywords throughout the text. But remember to keep it natural and readable. Avoid stuffing too many keywords into your content.
• Meta description: Write a short and catchy description for your page that includes relevant keywords. Although it doesn’t directly affect rankings, it can influence click-through rates.
• Image alt tags: Optimize image descriptions by adding relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand what the images are about and improves accessibility.

Different types of keywords

There are different types of keywords you can use for SEO. Here are some common ones, along with their examples:

• Short-tail keywords are short and general phrases with one to three words, like “shoes” or “digital marketing.” They have a high search volume but lots of competition.
• Long-tail keywords are specific and longer phrases with three or more words, like “running shoes for women” or “digital marketing tips for small businesses.” They have a lower search volume but attract targeted traffic with less competition.
• Exact match keywords are specific words or phrases that match the search query exactly. For example, if the keyword is “red high-heeled shoes,” your page appears when someone searches for that exact phrase.
• Broad match keywords include variations, synonyms, or related terms to the main keyword. For example, if the keyword is “running shoes,” your page may appear for searches like “best running sneakers” or “athletic footwear.”
• Phrase match keywords include the exact phrase within a longer keyword. For example, if the keyword is “affordable digital cameras,” your page may show up for searches like “buy affordable digital cameras” or “affordable digital cameras for beginners.”
• LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are related keywords and phrases that give context to your main keyword. They help search engines understand your content better. For example, if the main keyword is “email marketing,” LSI keywords could include “email campaigns,” “newsletter subscribers,” or “email automation tools.”

Elements of keyword research

Now, let’s head to the keyword research process. When conducting your research, you must consider these three main elements:

1. Relevance

When you use search engines like Google, they focus on showing you the most relevant content. To understand what people are looking for, they consider search intent, which is the reason behind a search. There are four types of search intent:

• Informational Intent: The user wants to find information or answer a specific question. For example, they might search for “How to bake a chocolate cake” or “What is the capital of France?”
• Navigational Intent: The user looks for a particular website or web page. For example, they might search for “Facebook login page” or “YouTube homepage.”
• Transactional Intent: Users planning to buy something or do a specific activity online. For example, they might search for “Buy iPhone X online” or “Book flight tickets to London.”
• Commercial Intent: The user researches products or services before deciding. For example, they might search for “Best laptops under $1000” or “Top-rated hotels in New York City.”

Your content will only rank well for a keyword if it fulfills what searchers seek. Moreover, your content needs to be the best among other resources available. Otherwise, Google won’t prioritize it over more valuable content on the web.

2. Authority

Google values authoritative sources, so it’s crucial to establish yourself as one. To rank higher on Google, you must:

1. Create valuable content: Make your website informative and helpful.
2. Promote your content: Get social signals and backlinks by sharing and attracting attention.
3. Stand out: Even if you’re competing with big players, quality content can still give you a chance to rank well.

3. Volume

Ranking on the first page for a keyword won’t help if nobody searches for it. It’s like having a store in a deserted town. MSV (monthly search volume) measures the number of times everyone searches for a keyword each month.

Read more: Search Engines: Inner Workings & 6 Ways to Rank Higher

8 steps for conducting keyword research for SEO

To conduct effective keyword research and improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, you need to follow a strategic approach. Following these eight steps, you can identify the keywords that match your goals and target audience. Let’s explore each step in detail:

1. Define your goals

To begin, grasp the purpose of your keyword research. Clearly define your objectives and identify your target audience. 

You can customize your keyword strategy by understanding what they are searching for. Set clear goals for your keyword targeting to guide your research process efficiently.

2. Brainstorm word ideas related to your topic

Create a list of seed keywords representing your main topic or business. These core terms capture the essence of your content or business. 

To expand on this list, consider the phrases and words your potential customers will likely use when searching. 

Additionally, it may benefit you to research related search terms and analyze your competitors’ use of keywords. By doing so, you can uncover new keyword opportunities.

3. Analyze for search volume

Now that you have a list of potential keywords grouped by topics you want to focus on, it’s time to evaluate their search volume. Search volume tells how many people search for a particular keyword monthly.

Look for keywords with high monthly searches, as they can increase your website’s traffic.

4. Consider keyword relevance

Besides search volume, it’s crucial to consider the relevance of keywords to your website and target audience. 

Choose keywords that match your goal, content, products, or services. Relevance helps attract the right audience more likely to engage with your website and become customers. 

Think about the purpose behind the keywords and how well they fit with what you offer. 

It’s worth noting that user intent can be inferred through the process of analyzing the top-ranking pages associated with those keywords

5. Evaluate keyword difficulty

Keyword difficulty measures how tough it is to compete for a specific keyword. Assessing keyword difficulty is crucial to see if you can realistically rank for those keywords. 

Higher-difficulty keywords are more competitive, making it challenging to reach the top ranks. Targeting a mix of high and low-difficulty keywords is a good idea. Low-difficulty keywords offer better chances for visibility and ranking. 

In contrast, as you gain authority and enhance your SEO efforts, you can target high-difficulty keywords.

6. Keyword selection

Select keywords that match your goals and target audience after analyzing search volume, relevance, and difficulty. 

Give priority to keywords that balance search volume and relevance to your content or business. Remember the competition for these keywords and ensure they align with your available resources and capabilities.

7. Keyword mapping

After selecting your keywords, it’s important to map them to your website’s right pages or content. 

Assign keywords to specific pages or articles that are closely related to them. Optimize important on-page elements like titles, headings, meta descriptions, and URLs by naturally including these keywords. 

This seamless integration improves the user experience and helps search engines find and rank your content better.

8. Monitor and adapt

Keyword research is a continuous process. Use analytics tools to monitor how your chosen keywords perform.

Monitor changes in search volume, competition, and keyword rankings. Analyze how your keywords drive traffic, engagement, and conversions. Based on the results, adjust your keyword strategy as needed. 

Stay flexible to adapt to new trends, user behavior, and search engine updates. It will help you improve your SEO efforts and reach your goals.

5 recommended keyword research tools

When it comes to keyword research, there are several highly recommended tools available online. Here are five popular options:

• Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO tool that gives detailed keyword information like search volume, difficulty, and related suggestions. It also offers competitor analysis and backlink research.
• SEMrush: A popular tool for keyword research that provides in-depth analysis, including search volume, difficulty, and competitive data. It offers features like competitor analysis and backlink analysis.
• Moz: A well-known SEO platform with a keyword research tool called Moz Keyword Explorer. It suggests keywords, provides search volume data, and shows difficulty scores. Moz also offers site audits and rank tracking.
• Google Trends: A free tool by Google that shows the popularity of keywords over time. It helps identify rising or seasonal keywords and provides insights into search patterns.
• Google Keyword Planner: A Google Ad tool that helps find relevant keywords. It provides data on search volume, competition, and suggested bid estimates. It can be useful for keyword research, even though it’s primarily for advertisers.

These tools have different features and capabilities to help you find valuable SEO or content strategy keywords. Look at each to see which suits your needs and budget the best.

Summary

Mastering keyword research is crucial for successful SEO outcomes. Keywords are a compass connecting users with relevant information, products, or services. However, selecting the right keywords can be challenging due to the intense online competition.

In the next chapter, we will explore on-site optimization or on-page SEO. This aspect of SEO focuses on optimizing individual web pages to improve search engine rankings and enhance user experience.

In our previous discussions about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), we learned the basic concept to help boost your online presence. Now, we will look closely at search engines and how they decide which websites appear at the top of search results.

Search engines have become a big part of our daily lives. We use them to find answers to questions, research topics we’re interested in, and discover products and services. However, have you ever wondered how search engines work behind the scenes? How do they pick which websites deserve the best spots on their search result pages?

In this article, we will explore the inner workings of search engines and the complex algorithms and processes they use to make those decisions. We will also give you six ways to rank higher on their results page. 

What is a search engine?

A search engine is a special set of programs that helps you find things on the internet. It looks through an extensive database of information and tries to find items that match what you’re looking for.

You enter a few keywords to describe what you are searching for. The engine lists relevant web pages, images, videos, or other online content that closely matches your search. This list of results is called a search engine results page (SERP). It shows you all the relevant content the search engine found based on your search.

Search engines are significant for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). They decide how visible and high-ranking websites are on search results pages. SEO techniques help improve websites so that they meet the requirements of search engines and have a better chance of ranking higher.

Search engines look at keywords, how easy it is to use a website, how trustworthy it is, and how authoritative it is. Based on these factors, search engines determine which websites are the most relevant for a user’s search. By using SEO strategies, website owners can make their websites more visible, get more people to visit them, and have a better chance of reaching their target audience.

Read more: SEO Fundamentals: Key Definitions & 4 Best Practices

Examples of search engines

There are various search engines available today that help you find information on the internet. Some popular examples include Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, each offering unique features and services.

Google

Google is the biggest search engine in the world, handling over 99,000 searches every second and more than 8.5 billion searches daily. It’s so popular that it has become synonymous with searching the internet, with people often saying, “I googled it” when looking something up online.

Bing

Bing is Microsoft’s search engine, created as an alternative to Google and released in 2009. It comes as the default search engine in Microsoft’s web browser. While Bing aims to improve, it still has much ground to cover to rival Google. Bing offers various services like image, web, video search, and maps. One notable feature introduced by Bing is “Places,” which provides information about local businesses and locations.

Yahoo!

Yahoo! has been a strong competitor in the world of search engines. However, instead of doing all the work, it relied on other companies to handle its searchable index and web crawling. At first, it used Inktomi and then Google from 2001 to 2004. Later, in 2009, Yahoo! teamed up with Microsoft, allowing Bing to take over the tasks of providing the search index and crawling the web.

Baidu

In China, Baidu is the country’s most popular search engine and acts as an alternative to Google, which is banned there. Founded in January 2000, Baidu provides web search results for websites, audio files, and images. In addition to search, Baidu offers various services like maps, news, cloud storage, and over 55 other internet-related services.

Yandex

Yandex is a prevalent search engine in Russia and ranks as the fourth most visited website there. It is also widely used in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Turkey. Besides its search function, Yandex offers services like maps, navigation, music streaming, e-commerce, mobile apps, and online advertising.

Ask.com

Ask.com, previously known as Ask Jeeves, is a question-and-answer community that provides answers based on a simple question-and-answer format. It incorporates many archived data to address users’ queries. However, it relies on an external search provider for search results. As a result, the information may not be as up-to-date as other search engines.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo (DDG) is a search engine that values your privacy. Unlike other search engines, it doesn’t track or customize your search results based on personal information. Instead, it gives the same results to everyone. DDG also focuses on showing you high-quality search results; its interface is clean and free of too many ads.

Components of a Search Engine

A search engine comprises three essential components that help you find online information. Let’s take a closer look at each of them:

1. Web crawler: Think of a web crawler as a curious explorer searching the internet for information. The web crawler’s job is to collect and prepare data from web pages for the search engine. They are the ones that do the searching when you search online. An example of this would be Google’s Googlebot.
2. Search interface: The search interface is where you interact with a search engine by typing in what you’re looking for. It may have advanced search options and filters to improve search specificity and results.
3. Database: The database stores collected information, acting as the search engine’s memory, including data about web pages with URLs, titles, content, keywords, and other relevant attributes for easy retrieval.

How does a search engine work?

Search engines on the internet use complex algorithms to give you the right search results. But let’s break down the main process into three stages:

1. Crawling: Searching for content.
2. Indexing: The storing and organizing of the content found during crawling.
3. Ranking: Giving you the best results for your search queries.

Now, let’s dive into each stage and learn more about them.

1. Crawling

Search engines on the internet use complicated algorithms to provide you with accurate search results. Let’s simplify the main process. A typical Google search consists of three stages, although not all inquiries go through each step:

Here’s how Google’s crawling process works:

1. URL Discovery: The search engine looks for new and updated pages on the web. It follows links from known pages, checks sitemaps, and sometimes gets direct submissions of page URLs.
2. Page visit: The search engine’s crawler, Googlebot, visits the discovered pages to gather information. It collects the page content using many computers.
3. Crawl Algorithm: Googlebot decides which sites to crawl, how often, and how many pages to get from each site. It adjusts its crawling speed to avoid overloading sites based on their responses and settings.
4. Site Restrictions: Some pages are not allowed by the site owners, and others require login credentials, so Googlebot can’t crawl them.
5. Rendering: Googlebot shows the page and runs JavaScript. It ensures the search engine sees any dynamic content brought in by JavaScript.

2. Indexing

When the crawler discovers information, it must arrange, sort, and save it for later use by the ranking algorithm. Search engines store important details like the page title, description, content type, related keywords, incoming and outgoing links, and other factors that help determine a page’s ranking.

After crawling, Google’s indexing process follows these steps:

1. Understanding Page Content: Google analyzes the text and key tags of the page, including attributes like titles and alt tags of images and videos.
2. Duplicate Detection: Google checks if the crawled page is a duplicate of another page on the internet and groups them in clusters.
3. Selecting Canonical Page: Within each cluster, Google chooses the most representative page as the canonical page, which may appear in search results.
4. Alternate Versions: The other pages in the cluster act as alternate versions, and Google may show them in specific contexts, such as mobile searches or specialized queries.
5. Collecting Signals: Google gathers various signals about the canonical page, including language, country relevance, and page usability.
6. Storing Information: Google stores details about the canonical page and its cluster in the Google Index, a large database hosted on multiple computers.
7. Indexing Variability: Google does not index all the pages it processes because indexing depends on various factors, and there is no guarantee for every page to be indexed.

3. Ranking

After collecting and organizing information from websites, the search engine determines the order of search results through ranking. The process involves assessing the relevance and quality of web pages. Here are some common factors used in ranking:

1. Keyword Relevance: The search engine checks how well a web page matches the keywords entered in the search query. Pages that closely match the keywords are more likely to rank higher.
2. Content Quality: The search engine evaluates the overall quality of the content on a web page. Originality, depth, accuracy, and comprehensiveness contribute to content quality.
3. Backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites that point to a specific web page. Search engines see backlinks as indications of confidence or authority. Pages with high-quality and relevant backlinks rank better.
4. User Experience: Search engines consider signals related to user experience, such as page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation. Preferences go to pages with better user experience.
5. User Engagement: The search engine may consider user engagement metrics like click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, and time spent on a page. If a page attracts more clicks and engages users, it will rank higher.
6. Social Signals: Sharing and mentioning a web page on social media platforms can influence its ranking. The search engine may assess the popularity and social relevance of a page.
7. Internal link structure: Internal links improve search engine ranking by making content discovery more accessible, spreading site’s importance to different pages, and prioritizing user-friendly navigation.

It’s important to understand that search engine algorithms constantly change as they undergo regular updates and improvements. The ultimate goal is to provide users with the most accurate and helpful search results, taking into account their intent, location, and personal preferences.

How you can ensure a higher rank on SERPs?

If you want your business to appear at the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP), you must take certain steps. Most people, around 90%, click on the results displayed on that page. To guarantee a high ranking when people search for your website, follow these guidelines:

Keyword research

Keyword relevance is one of the many factors that determine the rank of your website in a search engine. Therefore, you need to focus on using the right keywords. These keywords should be relevant to your website’s content and what your target audience is searching for. Conduct thorough research using keyword tools to find popular keywords that match your website’s theme.

Optimize on-page elements

Improving the elements on your website’s pages is important to rank higher on search engines. These elements include the title tags (the main heading of each page), meta descriptions (summaries of the page’s content), headers (subheadings that break up the text), and URL structures (the web addresses of your pages).

When optimizing these on-page elements, ensure you include your target keywords naturally and organically. The placement helps search engines understand your content and increases the chances of your pages appearing in relevant search results.

Create better content

To rank higher on search engines, create valuable and engaging content for your visitors. Your content should be original and well-researched.

Additionally, it’s essential to understand why people are searching in the first place. When you know what your target audience is looking for, you can create content that meets their needs. By implementing this, you can increase your chances of obtaining a higher ranking and attracting the appropriate type of traffic.

Read more: Content Marketing: 7 Steps to Strategize for Success

Link building

To rank higher on search engines, having a strong and trustworthy network of links to your website is essential. You can do this by getting links from reputable websites in your industry. 

Look for chances to write guest blog posts, collaborate with influencers, or form partnerships to help you gain valuable links. Remember, it’s better to focus on getting high-quality links rather than getting lots of low-quality links, as those could hurt your rankings.

Improve website performance

Make sure your website loads quickly and works well on mobile devices. People expect websites to load within about 3 seconds. Around 40% of users may leave your site if it takes longer. Fast and mobile-friendly sites are more likely to appear higher in search results.

Improve website performance by compressing images, enabling browser caching, and minimizing unnecessary scripts. Also, logically organize your website and submit a sitemap to search engines. 

By implementing these steps, you can enhance the overall performance of your website and make it easier for search engines to explore and list your site — increasing your website’s ranking.

Monitor and analyze

Keep an eye on how your website is doing using tools like Google Analytics. Look at important numbers like how many people visit your site through search engines, how many leave right away, how many visitors turn into customers, and where your keywords rank in search results. Study this data to find out what needs to be improved and use it to make smart choices for your website.

Summary

Understanding how search engines work and the factors influencing website rankings is essential for improving your online presence. We’ve covered the inner workings of search engines, including crawling, indexing, and ranking. Using effective SEO strategies, website owners can optimize their sites to meet search engine requirements, making them more visible and increasing their chances of reaching their target audience.

In the next chapter, we’ll dive into the crucial topic of keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases users type into search engines to find information or solutions. We’ll discuss how to conduct thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and valuable keywords for your website.