It is often that I come across people when explaining search engine optimization that they say that their website is search engine friendly and think that means the same thing as search engine optimized. There is a huge difference between having a search engine friendly website and actually doing the monthly search engine optimization maintenance on your website.
Many folks have website developers build a website and they say, I’ve got you, your site is SEO friendly/ready… people…that just means that it is ready for YOU to do work. For example, they created a search engine website and added plugins to make your SEO process easier. So, talk about this a little bit more and the difference between the two.
What is search engine friendly
First of all a website that is search engine friendly is one that the search engines find to be friendly. Makes complete sense right? Well, not everyone gets that point…. or the fact that a search engine friendly website is NOT the same thing as having an optimized (SEO) website.
Mobile responsive – For example a website that is mobile responsive is going to be search engine friendly because it’s easier for the consumer. Remember, your website is intended for the consumer as they are the end result or the end user, so build it for them.
Load time – Another thing that would make your website search engine friendly would be the load time. If you have excessively large graphics or something like JavaScript that causes the website to slow down, that will naturally cause you to have problems with your website load speed. Anything that causes a lesser customer experience is not a search engine friendly website.
Sitemap – Something else that makes a search engine friendly website is one that has a XML sitemap, which makes it easier for the search engine spiders to crawl your website. If you want more information on what the search engine spiders look for check out my blogs on that. This is like a map, giving direction to the search engines telling them which pages to crawl and which ones to ignore. Again, if you want more information on what the search engine spiders look for, check out my blogs on that.
HTML – if you are using a WordPress site or website builder, chances are, you have the right type of website that the search engines are looking for. So, be sure you are updating your website if you haven’t in a few years because things (technology) changes and mobile is the big thing, but wasn’t a few years ago. Not to mention, sites were built on HTML only back “in the day”. Update your website!!!! One last thing before we leave that topic… if you have a WordPress site…. you MUST update your plugins several times a month, seriously.. just do it. Pretend it is like your phone and allow those to update when they need to.
Those are just a few of the factors that can make or break a website, next is.. what really is SEO?
What is search engine optimization
An example of an SEO monthly maintenance website is one that it visited on a regular basis, has unique keyword rich meta tags and descriptions for each pages or blogs as well as several other SEO ninja guru stuff along with it.
Time – As I have mentioned several times before, search engine optimization is not a one-and-done type thing. It is something that you spend time on your website every month. Adding a blog or two might be enough but that is only if you have spent quality time on your website previously… and chances are, you really haven’t… so don’t kid yourself!
Major product/services – If you have changed your business model or even your products or services, this may cause you to determine that one of them is more important than the other. If you have a product/service that is more important, you might want to optimize your website for that particular product or service for the search engines.
Time means importance – The more time you spend on your website and more often, you are telling Google, or any other search engine, that this website is current and up-to-date and that it is continuously working to provide value to your consumer. A website that hasn’t been visited in a longer period of time is likely not going to get noticed by search engines or you will see old cached information. Consider this, the older information cached in the search engine, the lesser chances of you being returned in the search engine results.
SEO – main points
As previously noted, the main points of search engine optimization are keyword rich content, linking and tags, such as your title and your description tag. Your title and description tag are what shows up in the search engine results page in the form of a snippet. This snippet is what you want to optimize to encourage the consumer to click through to your website. Ideally the snippets would include keyword rich content that drives action again back to your website.
Other things to note for search engine optimization would be all the tags on your images or heading tags indicating what is each paragraph is about or telling Google the importance of the blog or page. Other things that are not necessarily related to SEO but have to do with overall optimization of your website is the end-user, your customer’s experience. Their experiences through visual appeal, ease of navigation through your website and how the overall look make a huge impact. The look also includes your mobile responsiveness and ease to navigate on your mobile or desktop. Keep in mind the importance of mobile because you are probably getting about 50% of your traffic from mobile.
Hopefully this has given you a little glimpse into the difference between a website developer making your website search engine friendly upon building it and the work YOU need to do on your website this month and every month after is it created because if you recall, it is not a one and done thing. SEO is something that you need to do on a monthly basis. Should you need some suggestions on how you can improve your SEO (not to be confused with having a search engine friendly website) for your website, please contact me with any questions.
~Kristen
That’s a great differentiation, Kristen, and truly helps technophobes like me. I have to confess–there is no way I could do either on my own! Thank goodness for you seo/techy folks!
YAY Susan.. so glad to help.. keep me posted Susan!
Kristen, you’re just so helpful! Wish I was reading your stuff when I was starting out. I was constantly trying to figure all this geek language. Thanks for straightening everyone out about the difference.
Awww, why thank you Joyce… wish I was around then too! lol Let me know if you need any help. I do consulting too.
SEO can be quite confusing. It has taken me years to figure it out and it is always changing. It is like running after a bouncing ball and never quite getting ahead of it. Thanks for reminding people to update their plugins. I keep telling my clients this but they just don’t understand why. I will share this with them.
Yes ma’am, it sure is.. and I know I still don’t know it all… like the ball you mentioned Sabrina. lol Ughhh, yes on the plugins, why don’t they get that… think of it like a mobile phone and all the apps! Please share!
This is such a valuable posts. You explain the differences so darn well. I am glad that you highlighted the fact that it isn’t a once and done thing. Of course, we all wish that it was but it isn’t. Things evolve, grow and change.
Awww, thanks Renee… I love the “darn well” part. lol We DO wish it was one and done, for sure. lol
Kristen, I really wish I was reading your helpful advice when I started my blog – the time I could have saved! Your posts are so clear and easy to understand. I’ve been going through some of my old posts and looking at the keywords I used and how ridiculous they are because I had no idea what I was doing. I’m only finally realizing the importance of keywords and how to use them effectively, I think.
I hear you Tami… however, do it right now moving forward and go back one blog each week and you’ll catch up in the middle. 🙂 Yes on the old keywords, what were we thinking… esp if you are using Yoast and the “focus keyword”.. not all that it seems, for sure.
Kristen,
Great article on the Seo and I sure need some of these tips , Good article and in depth . LOve it.
Lori English
Why thank you Lori.. appreciate it.
Thanks, Kristen, this is very helpful. I try to make each post give me the SEO ‘green light’ nonetheless I see that I could do more to highlight my ‘best products.’
Green light isn’t what it seems.. it’s only as good as the info you put in.. I wrote a blog on the Yoast plugin too.. check it out so you know you are on top of things Reba.
This is another great post offering clear distinctions between SEO friendly and SEO optimization, Kristen. I am doing my best to also get the green SEO light when I do my blog posts. My latest post had too many of the main keywords and no matter what I did to rewrite it, I couldn’t get it to go green and make sense by removing enough of the main keywords. Thanks to you, I also now make sure my graphics have alt tags and descriptions, so hopefully that is all contributing to my site being optimized. It is definitely an ongoing process and seems to take a lot of time too! Appreciate your help in clarifying this for all of us who continue to muddle our way through the tech aspects of our sites.
Thanks Bev and remember my blog about Yoast and the green light.. don’t rely on it.. you know what your post is about and your keywords.
Love the differentiation you provided. There is a big difference! Optimization can even mean coding differences to some people (like schema.org). Most website owners do think it’s a ‘one and done’ effort versus monthly, but you have made it clear why the maintenance matters. What a terrific checklist this would make as a lead magnet. 😉 Will be sharing this!
Oh yes Meggie, and you would certainly understand it.. since you LOVE SEO so much and well, you build websites. Girl… I have a lead magnet in damn near every blog, just like you, if you would write more. teehee
You are the best explainer and demystify at least about the meanings. We may still not know how to do the techy stuff & everyone should hire you. We are currently working with our Webmaster to update old blogs & we have been taught about all the other important SEO functions. Where were you years ago?
Awww, why thank you Roz. Glad you have someone to help you. Me, I was here 3 years ago! lol
Good to make that distinction Kristen. I’ve been really good about resisting the temptation to do some of these (overdue) tasks myself thus far, but that means that I am ‘in the queue’ waiting for my biz associate to get to it.
Yes ma’am… so if you need help Rachel, just let me know.
Really good to separate these elements. Very clearly explained. I especially appreciate the web friendly ideas.
Why thank you Jill
I get it now. Very good explanation SEO friendly I am, I am, and now I have a better understanding of SEO optimization. One day my blog will get visitors. I am sure of it.
Thank you Celea.. and I hope you get more traffic too.. hopefully you have your analytics set up.
Good information as always, Kristen. Keep telling us what to do! We need you.
Why thank you Carol
Hi Kristen,
I use the yoast plugin on my wordpress site to try and help with SEO on my blog posts. I don’t spend much time on SEO overall though. My site is mobile responsive so it looks like I’m doing some things right but could stand to do a bit more!
Yoast is good.. but only as good as the keyword YOU put in there. I wrote a blog on that too. I am glad you are doing some of the things right Geniece, but you are right.. lots to do, always.
Thanks for this insightful article. I checked my website and still have this horrible 404 errors from my site map and other areas. I must confess that I am not an SEO gig ! Thanks for sharing.
Let me know if you want me to look at it Apolline. Happy to help.
I am so not a techy! Thank goodness for people like you to help those of us who would rather farm it out so we can do what we love rather than get bogged down in SEO and optimization and the million other techy things lol
Yes dear Trisha… well aware, you are getting there. lol I am glad you see me as one of those to help in SEO… happy to help.
Thanks so much for explaining this HUGE distinction between the two. In this day and age. friendly is just not enough to get us noticed!
Happy to explain Alene and glad you are getting it! 😉
Ohhh, still need to get all this sorted out….I will contact you very soon, am still a bit all over the place with stuff to do. 😉
I know you are… you are fine Katarina, keep me posted! 😉 However, if business is going well, you are getting found just fine.. or great word of mouth channels!
Kristen your articles are always so full of great information. I’m going to work on my SEO a page a day. I am happy to know that google likes it when we are in our site. I am in the dashboard almost daily updating plug-ins. After being caught up in the Revolution Slider hack last year, I have installed Word Fence and am prompted to update plug-ins. I love it!
A page a day is great if you have a ton but can quickly be overwhelming… so maybe like a few a week.. for sure. Glad you are finding the value and updating your plugins! I have WordFence too Candess, love it.
Love the article! Really hit home that done does not mean done forever. i needed this now as I really need to spend some time with old content. Suppose evergeen does not mean evergreen?
Evergreen could be evergreen if it is still valuable and technology of fashion hasn’t changed.. depends on the post. lol Thanks Robin
Wow. Great differentiation. Loved this article #justsayin Done doesn’t mean you can leave it alone — it’s an ongoing process. That’s my key takeaway from this article. Thanks!
Yes Tandy, great take aways… #justsayin lol and thank you so much! Glad you loved it. 😉
Oh boy!! I am afraid that I am guilty in some of these options to keeping traffic coming to my site! However, I am also very good at doing other things! I need to check this on how it compares and make sure I am good standing! Great list! Thanks for making it easier for me!
Yes Cheryl, we are all guilty but there is plenty of work to do.. so you aren’t alone.
I went through your article like a checklist. I think I’m hitting most of the things you suggest fairly well. I do want to read your Yoast article and also delve deeper into some study on the meta data. Here’s a Yoast question for you: do you find that the premium versions of Yoast offer that much more than the basic plugin? I’ve not spoken to anyone who uses it, that I am aware of, and thought you are probably in the know.
Awesome Jennifer, glad you are finding the value.
As far as Yoast, I don’t buy the premium so I wouldn’t be a great example either. However, I find the free version is great and as long as you do all the work to make it work for you, you are golden. I did buy the Yoast Local for a client once and some of their tools are great, a lot of which I would do anyways, manually… so for storefront, the Local would be helpful.
This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job.
I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
Thank you David. You really need a blog!
Hi Kristen,
Thanks for explaining the differences between SEO friendly versus SEO optimized! I can now say that I truly understand both 🙂 All I knew was that having an SEO optimized and friendly site was a very good thing for the search engines 🙂
Awesome post and share!!
Yep.. most certainly Joan and hope you can take it and apply it to yours.
Fantastic explanations Kristen thanks!
Why thank you Leanne. Hope you took a look at your site.
Such good information. Glad to know my weekly/daily tweaks help with SEO! I love how you have the click to tweet in this blog post. What app or plugin did you use to do that? Also love Catherine recently posted…..xyz what tool did you use for that. Great information and help. Thanks
I love using CTT’s Catherine… as it gives someone the opportunity to share something and not have to think of what to say as I teed it up for them. I use TweetDis and have used Better Click to Tweet. TweetDis affiliate link is under my Tools page on my website.
As for this… that wasn’t me, you must mean someone else – however it is likely an automatic recipe, like that from IFTTT, however, they, in my opinion are kind of crappy.. it auto posts what you said, regardless of what you say. Not a good option “Also love Catherine recently posted…..xyz what tool did you use for that.”
Great information and love the explanation of how and why optimization so so important!
Glad you found it valuable Catherine
Wow, Kristen! Your gift for chunking down hard info. is awesome, thank you! After reading your blog, I know I need to come out of denial of how important S EO really really is, LOL! I enjoyed not just your blog, but your reply’s to the comments as well; I too have been a little confused by Yoast and will be shooting over to read your blog on that. Thank you for making it all look easy, Lord knows I need to see that! ?
Awww, thanks so much Robin.. I really appreciate that.. and hope that you do find more information about Yoast and will get started with SEO!
Incredibly helpful, You made SEO simpler for me. Thanks. I’m running off to make sure my meta tags are updated so all those overwhelmed lawyers can find me!
Baby steps Dina… but glad you see the value and want to be on board with your site too!
I feel like a baby in this area. When you say tags, I assume you mean in the tags area on the dashboard. Some people talk about tagging or linking their meme’s or photos and it is Greek to me. I will be contacting you in the future Kristen for some help. Not into motorcycles, but would love to have a margarita with you!
Awww, I’d love to have a rita with you Candess! lol It’s okay that SEO is a little foreign.. your industry is foreign to me. There are various tags – meta title, meta description, alt tags, heading tags.. and I mention them in various SEO blogs. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for helping to keep this simplified for folks like me! Great tips and insight. I appreciate the reminder to be consistent!!! Things we know, but love the reinforcement!
Glad to help Erin and consistency is surely key