How to optimize your natural referencing

Natural referencing, or SEO (Search Engine Optimizationnot), consists of improving the positioning of a website on the results pages of search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo. The goal is to appear as high as possible in search results for strategic keywords, in order to attract more qualified visitors and increase conversions. According to a Moz study, the majority of a site's traffic comes from search engines. Being visible is therefore crucial.

But how optimize efficiently its natural referencing? Many factors come into play: content quality, loading speed, User experience, netlinking, etc. It is a long-term work requiring methodology and regular performance monitoring. In this article, I offer you the techniques for optimizing natural referencing from A to Z. You will discover good practices in terms of SEO. However, there are oultra powerful SEO tools that can help you build your SEO strategy.

Let's go !!

Do a thorough keyword analysis

The basis of SEO is determining the right keywords and phrases for your web pages. These terms must be relevant and match what your potential customers are looking for. Use keyword analysis tools like Google Keyword Planner ou SEMrush to find keyword ideas. Also analyze the terms used by your competitors. Then select a small group of 10 to 20 priority keywords. Choose terms that are not too generic or too specific. Find the right balance between search volume and competition.

For example, for an online clothing store, keywords like "black dress" stated, "Man suit"Or"turtleneck sweater" may be suitable.

The basic idea is to understand what people are really looking for when they type things into Google. It's not just throwing out random words and hoping it works. No, you have to think a little, get into people's heads. Personally, I always start by brainstorming. I write down all the words that come to mind that are related to my topic. Then, I type them into Google and see what comes up. Often you come across things you never thought of. That's how you find gems.

Next, you need to look at the search volume. There are plenty of tools for this, free or paid. I often use the keyword planner from Google Ads, even if I don't advertise. It's free and it gives a good idea. The idea is to find a balance between keywords that have enough searches to make it worth it, but not too many either so as not to end up facing impossible behemoths to dislodge.

One thing people often forget is to check the intent behind the keywords. Like, if someone types in “buy running shoes,” they’re probably ready to pull out their wallet. Whereas “best running shoe brand” is more of a researcher. You need to tailor your content accordingly.

Optimize the structure of your website

This is something that often makes people yawn, but trust me, This is super important. Your site should be organized and optimized based on your priority keywords. Create dedicated pages or sections for each targeted keyword or expression.

First, think of your site as a house. You don't want your guests to get lost in a maze, do you? Same for your site. It has to be logical, so that people can easily find what they're looking for. The home page is like your entrance hall. It has to be clear, so that people know right away where to go. I like to put a simple menu at the top, with the important things clearly visible.

Then you have the categories. It's like the different rooms in your house. It has to make sense. If you have a blog about cooking, you're not going to put dessert recipes with barbecue stuff, that makes sense. A super important thing is the depth of your site. Try to make everything accessible in 3 clicks max. If people have to click 10 times to find something, they are going to leave.

Structure your menu and tree structure in a way that makes sense to visitors and search engines. Use an XML sitemap to indicate important URLs to crawl. URLs should be short, clean and if possible contain the targeted keyword.

Oh, and internal links are like the doors in your house. They allow people (and Google robots) to navigate easily. Don't hesitate to link your pages together when it makes sense. This is called internal linking. Don't forget the site map. It's a pain to do, but it's super useful. It's like the escape plan in a hotel. It helps people find their way, and Google loves it.

Produce optimized content

Text content is a key element for the natural referencing of a page. It must be rich, qualitative and optimized for your target keywords. Write blog articles, product sheets, guides or tutorials around your priority terms. Integrate your keywords strategically and naturally into the content. For example title H1, the chapeau, the first paragraphs, the introduction and the conclusion. Duplicate or low-quality content is sanctioned by Google. Create unique, engaging and useful content for the user.

Optimized content is kind of like the lifeblood of SEO, you know? Well, first of all, you have to get it out of your head that optimized content is just stuffing keywords everywhere like crazy. If you do that, your text will look like a soup of letters, and no one will like it.

No, the idea is to produce something that makes you want to read it. Personally, I always try to write as if I were talking to a friend. It makes it more natural, more fun to read. Afterwards, yeah, you still have to think about the keywords. But the trick is to place them naturally. Like, you put them in the title, in the subtitles, and you sprinkle them in the text. But without forcing, you know.

An important thing is the length of the content. Google loves long and detailed articles. But be careful, don't write a block of text just to please Google. If you can say something in 500 words, don't write a 2000-word novel. Don't forget the images! It makes your content more pleasant to read, and in addition, you can optimize the alt-text for SEO. It's win-win.

Get quality backlinks

The idea is to have links that come from respectable sites in your field. It's like recommendations in real life. If it's your friend Kevin who recommends you for a job, it doesn't have the same weight as if it's the CEO of a big company. One thing that works well is to create content that is so good that people want to share it naturally. Like infographics, original studies, stuff like that. It's work, but it pays off in the long run.

Otherwise, there's guest blogging. You'll write articles for other sites in exchange for a link to yours. You have to choose your partners carefully, though, otherwise it could backfire on you. Also, don't hesitate to contact sites directly that might be interested in your content. Don't spam, eh, but if you have something really interesting, chances are they'll be up for putting a link.

And then there are directories, forums, blog comments… But be careful, it has to be relevant. If you put links everywhere like a brute, it will do you more harm than good. Basically, getting quality backlinks is a bit like making friends. It takes time, you have to be nice and interesting, and you can't force things.

Improve loading speed

La page load speed is now a key factor in SEO and natural referencing. A fast site improves user experience and SEO. Optimize images, JavaScript, CSS, fonts and videos to make them weigh less.

Enable Gzip compression to lighten the weight of pages. Delete unnecessary redirects which increase the loading time. Clean up the database, remove inefficient queries. Use a good web hosting and a CDN to distribute the content. Imagine, you arrive on a site and it's lagging like crazy. What do you do? You leave, obviously!

First thing to do: check the size of your images. This is often the thing that sinks everything. Personally, I use online tools to compress them without losing quality. It's crazy what you can gain just with that. Then, the cache. It's a bit technical, but basically, it allows you to store stuff so that it loads faster next time. There are plenty of WordPress plugins that do this well if you're on this platform.

One thing that can make a big difference is using a CDN (Content Delivery Network). It distributes your content on servers all over the world. Result: it loads faster, no matter where your visitors are. Also, be careful with plugins if you're on WordPress. It's tempting to put a lot of them, but each one slows down your site a little. Sort them out, keep only those you really need.

And then there's hosting. If you have a site that's starting to get a lot of traffic, you might want to think about moving to something a little more robust. It's like a car, if you drive a lot, you don't take a Twingo. Test your site regularly with tools like Google PageSpeed ​​Insights. It gives you lots of information about what's wrong and how to improve it.

Optimize for mobile

Make a site responsive allows you to increase your web traffic. With the rise of mobile, optimizing sites for smartphones has become essential. Adapt the size of text, buttons, and menus to facilitate touch navigation. Check the loading speed on mobile and use AMP format. A responsive design adapted to all resolutions is recommended. Mobile-first indexing is one of the latest advances in SEO.

Let's face it, everyone is glued to their smartphone 24/XNUMX. If your site isn't perfect on mobile, you're dead. First, responsive design. It's the basis. Your site must adapt to all screens, from the small, crappy smartphone to the latest iPad Pro. Personally, I always test on lots of different devices. You'd be surprised to see the differences sometimes.

Next, think about the thumb. Seriously, it's stupid but super important. Buttons, links, all that must be big enough so that you can easily click with your big finger. Nothing is more annoying than zooming in to click on something tiny. Speed, we've already talked about it, but it's even more crucial on mobile. People are often on 4G, sometimes even on 3G in remote areas. It has to load quickly, otherwise they break.

One thing that many forget: forms. If you have to fill out stuff on your site, make sure it's not hell on mobile. Like, set the right keyboard type for each field. For a phone number, throw in the numeric keypad, not the full alphabet.

Measure and analyze your performance

Good SEO is based on a precise analysis of the performance and results of your site. Use Google Analytics and Search Console to collect data. Analyze traffic, bounce rates, time spent per page. To measure and analyze the performance of your web pages, you can use different methods and tools. Integrate Google Analytics to your website to get detailed data on traffic, users and visitor behavior. You will be able to measure metrics such as number of visits, average session duration, bounce rate, etc.

Identify relevant KPIs for your website, such as conversion rate, page load time, number of page views per session, etc. These KPIs will help you evaluate the performance of your web pages in relation to your objectives. Use tools such as Google PageSpeed ​​Insights or GTmetrix to evaluate the loading speed of your pages. Good loading speed is essential to provide an optimal user experience.

Perform A/B tests by varying certain elements of your web pages, such as design, calls to action or headlines, to determine which versions generate the best results in terms of conversions or engagement.

Also make sure your web pages are optimized for mobile devices by using tools such as Google Mobile-Friendly Test. Also check if your pages are responsive and display correctly on different screen sizes.

Create a sitemap

Create a sitemap is essential to help search engines index your website. A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the pages and content on your site. It makes it easier for engines like Google to discover your site's URLs, even the most recent ones. Without a sitemap, it is likely that parts of your site will remain invisible in search results.

A first step is to generate the XML sitemap using an automated tool. Many online services allow you to scan your site and create this structured file. Choose a reliable and free or paid tool according to your needs. Then, it is essential to include all of your pages and content in the sitemap, even the least visited sections. The more comprehensive it is, the better your site will be indexed. Also remember to update the sitemap each time new pages are added.

Finally, submit your file in Google Search Console. This interface allows Google to regularly scrape your sitemap to discover updates. Indicate in your sitemap the modification dates of the pages to facilitate the work of robots. With a updated sitemap, visible by search engines, you will effectively boost your visibility on the web. Optimal natural referencing will involve this key element.

Use https on your URLs

HTTPS is an element now essential for any website wishing to improve its SEO. This encrypted protocol secures exchanges between the Internet user's browser and the server hosting the web pages. Using HTTPS presents multiple advantages. First of all, it strengthens the trust and conversion rate of visitors, who are reassured by the green padlock in their address bar. Sensitive transactions such as payments are also made easier.

In addition, for several years, Google has been promoting the switch to HTTPS in its ranking algorithm. HTTPS sites are given a positioning bonus, which is sometimes decisive for the first search results. Finally, the loading speed of pages is also improved thanks to the security protocol. However, the speed of a site remains a key factor in natural referencing. Thus, all companies today benefit from switching their entire site to HTTPS. SSL/TLS certificates allowing this change are available at affordable prices from hosts. This is a profitable investment to boost your ranking on search engines.

Optimize your URLs

The structure of URLs, also called web addresses, plays a role important role in the SEO of a site. Optimized URLs improve the user experience and crawling of search engine robots.

It is recommended to create short URLs, durable and readable by visitors and engines alike. Each page should ideally have its own URL built with the keywords corresponding to its content. URLs must also be stable over time. So avoid using addresses with session parameters or random codes that could change. Your URLs are intended to be persistent to maintain the authority transmitted by incoming backlinks.

To technically improve SEO, you can also configure your URLs in HTTPS and establish permanent 301 redirects when changing URL. Finally, indicate in your robots.txt how often each page is updated.

Optimize title and meta description tags

The title and meta description tags are among the first elements analyzed by search engines to understand the content of a web page. Their optimization is therefore crucial for natural referencing. The title, or title of the page, must attract attention and make people want to click while remaining concise. It appears in first position in the search results. It must therefore include the main keywords of the page in a natural way.

The meta description does not influence the positioning but is used as a description under the title in the SERPs. It allows you to give an idea of ​​the content and to encourage clicking. Write it in an engaging way, like a summary or a hook, with certain secondary keywords.

For the title, aim between 50 and 65 characters with a maximum of 70. For the meta description, 150 to 160 characters is a good compromise. With careful title and meta description tags on all your pages, you will significantly improve the presentation of your site in search results and therefore your CTR.

Optimize your images

Optimizing images is important for SEO. Indeed, they represent a significant part of web content and are completely scanned by search engine robots. To begin, it is essential to take care of the nomenclature and the image tree. Name your visuals in a short, descriptive and coherent way with their content. Divide them into folders by theme on your server.

Next, consider resizing your images to the exact dimensions of your template to speed up page loading time. Also compress your visuals to the right format to reduce their weight without losing quality. Finally, don't forget good practices like adding ALT tags relevant or EXIF ​​metadata attribution. Also add a concise description in the Title property of each image. The Imagify plugin will allow you to convert your images easily.

Create internal networking

Internal linking consists of structuring your content by linking the pages and articles of your website together using internal links. This technique presents several advantages for natural referencing. First of all, it allows'improve navigation' of the Internet user within the site, which reduces the bounce rate and increases the time spent on the pages.

Then, the internal mesh gives more weight to secondary pages by transmitting to them part of the authority of the most visited pages. The engines then see these less popular pages as useful and relevant with regard to the rest of the content of the site. To set up an effective mesh, it is necessary link your pages and articles in a logical and coherent manner, by placing your internal links on keywords relevant to the subject. For example, you can create lists of additional content.

A neat internal mesh, which seems natural to the user, will benefit all of your content. Your site will be seen as a dense and solid structure with a network of pages that feed each other in traffic and popularity.

Choose a short domain

Choosing a good domain name is also important in the SEO of your site. If you have a domain that matches a search in which you want to appear, you have gained a lot of ground. Indeed, if it matches exactly and your website is relevant, you will hardly appear on the first page of results. You should also not choose a name that is too long or difficult to remember. As for the extension, the .com is best considered, followed by .net and .org.

On the other hand, if your business activity is intended only for the public in your country, choosing a domain with the extension of your country would be just as good (if not better) than the .com for this territory. The age of the domain is also a factor that is taken into account in web referencing. The longer the domain has been registered, the more serious search engines will give the project, and therefore they will rank it better.

You can buy a domain that is a few years old or let yours age. You know, domains, like good wine, improve with age.

Optimize your Google My Business listing

Google My Business is an essential tool for improving the local visibility of your business. Appearing on Google Maps and local searches can generate a lot of qualified traffic.

To get started, you must create and completely complete your Google My Business listing. Accurately indicate your address, hours, contact details and categories. Reliable and detailed information will encourage Internet users to contact you.

Also add quality photos and videos of your products, premises or teams. This allows potential customers to get to know your business better. Remember to regularly update these visuals to highlight your new features. Also optimize your posts to inform your customers and followers of your news: new products, events, offers… Write engaging posts and highlight them with striking visuals. The goal is to encourage interactions.

Optimize on-site elements for local SEO

Local SEO requires tailor-made optimization of your website. Internet users looking for local services are demanding when it comes to practical information. Start by optimizing your business listing, clearly indicating your physical address, local phone number and opening hours. This data will reassure visitors about your proximity.

Next, create dedicated pages for each geographic area you are targeting, like “plumber Paris","locksmith Lyon”. Always provide as much local information as possible on these pages. You can also provide your contact page for each area covered, with telephone numbers specific to each region.

Finally, integrate rich snippets into your site schema.org for your company's contact details: postal address, email, telephone number, opening days and hours. This structured data helps engines better understand your local business. With these targeted on-site optimizations, you will perfectly meet the expectations of Internet users carrying out geolocalized searches. Your local SEO will be greatly improved!

Conclusion

SEO optimization of a website certainly requires time and investment, but the results in terms of traffic and visibility on the internet are very important. By following good practices such as in-depth keyword analysis, optimizing content, creating relevant backlinks or even improving the user experience, any website can increase its presence on search engines tenfold.

It is also essential to adopt a long-term SEO strategy and to always stay up to date with the latest advances in natural referencing. The positioning on the very competitive keywords requires continuous effort. It’s a profitable investment for brand visibility and qualified lead generation.

FAQ

✔️ What is search engine optimization (SEO)?

Search engine optimization, also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), is a set of techniques and strategies aimed at improving the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results such as Google.

✔️ Why is SEO optimization important?

SEO is important because it helps drive quality organic traffic to your website. Higher search engine rankings mean more visibility and a greater chance of attracting visitors interested in your products or services.