What is SEO Website Optimization?

SEO website optimization, where SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, involves enhancing the structure and content of a website. Content optimization must align with the search rules of search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) to achieve the ultimate goal of ranking your website on the first pages of search results.

People's methods of searching for information are now inseparable from the Internet. By entering desired keywords into major search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.), the search engine utilizes the input string to begin comparing it with the data stored in its database from across the web, listing and displaying relevant websites or webpage content in an ordered manner across pages. According to well-known statistical surveys, if the keyword search results rank within the top 10 pages, unfamiliar visitors may enter your site; however, if the results are on the 10th page or beyond, the chances of someone visiting your site are almost zero, as most visitors generally click on and visit websites within the first three pages of search results. This is also the ultimate goal of SEO website optimization (to rank within the top 3 pages).

So, how do you get your website's content to rank on the first pages of search engine results? This is where SEO website optimization comes into play.

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Create Unique and Accurate Webpage Titles

Use Title Tags to Indicate Page Titles

Title tags inform users and search engines about the subject of a specific webpage. The ＜title＞ tag should be placed in the ＜head＞ section of the HTML document. Ideally, you should create unique webpage titles for each page on your site.

Webpage Title Content Appears in Search Results

If your document appears in search results, the content of the title tag usually appears on the first line of the search results. If the words in the title match the user's search query, they will be displayed in bold. This helps users determine whether this webpage is likely relevant to their search.

The title of your homepage can list your website/company name and include other important information, such as your company's actual address, or key areas of content or services offered.

Best Practices

Accurately Describe Webpage Content

Choose a title that effectively conveys the subject of the webpage.

Please avoid:

• Selecting titles unrelated to webpage content
• Using default titles or vague titles like "Untitled" or "New Page 1"

Create Unique Title Tags for Each Page

Each page should ideally have a unique title tag to help Google distinguish it from other pages on your website.

Please avoid:

• Using the same title tag for all or most pages on your website

Use Short but Descriptive Titles

Short titles can still contain rich information. If the title is too long, Google will only display part of it in search results.

Please avoid:

• Using overly lengthy titles that offer little value to users
• Stuffing unnecessary keywords into title tags

Make Full Use of the "Description" Meta Tag

Define Summaries for Each Page

The meta description tag provides Google and other search engines with a summary of the webpage. The webpage title can consist of some text or phrases, while the meta description can be made up of one or two sentences or a short paragraph. The Google Search Console provides useful content analysis tools to identify too short, too long, or overly repetitive meta descriptions (this tool also indicates the same information in the ＜title＞ tag). Like the ＜title＞ tag, the description meta tag is also located in the ＜head＞ section of your HTML document.

What Are the Benefits of the Meta Description Tag?

The description meta tag is very important because Google may use its content to generate a summary of your webpage. We say "may" because if there is a relevant snippet in your webpage that closely matches the user's query, Google may choose to use that snippet instead. Additionally, if your site is listed in the Open Directory Project, Google may also use the description of your site found there. Adding a description meta tag to each webpage is a great practice so that even if Google cannot find text on the page to use as a summary, it can use the description meta tag to generate summary content.

If the text in the summary matches the user's query, it will be displayed in bold. This can help users determine if this webpage's content aligns with what they are looking for.

Best Practices

Accurately Summarize Webpage Content

Please write a description that provides information and attracts users, so that when users see your meta description in the search results (as a summary), it piques their browsing interest.

Please avoid:

• Writing meta descriptions that are irrelevant to the webpage content
• Using vague descriptions like "This is a webpage" or "A webpage about baseball cards"
• Stuffing a bunch of keywords into the description
• Copying all content from the document and pasting it into the description meta tag

Use Unique Descriptions for Each Page

Using different meta descriptions for each page will benefit both users and search engines, especially when the search results contain multiple pages from your domain (for example, when searching using the site: operator). If your website contains thousands of pages, carefully crafting the meta descriptions may seem impractical. In such cases, you can automate the generation of meta descriptions based on the specific content of each page.

Please avoid:

• Using the same meta description tag for all or most pages on your website

Improve URL Structure

Simple and Clear URLs Convey Content Information More Easily

Create descriptive categories and file names for documents on your website. This not only helps keep the site organized but also helps search engines retrieve your documents more effectively. Additionally, this creates simpler, "friendly" URLs for those who wish to link to your content. Visitors may be put off by overly long, ambiguous URLs that contain little recognizable text.

Such URLs can confuse users and create an unfriendly feeling. Users may have difficulty remembering such URLs or linking to them, and they might think a part of the URL is unnecessary, especially when the URL displays many hard-to-recognize parameters. Users may remove part of the URL, leading to broken links.

Some users may use the URL of a webpage as anchor text to link to your page. If your URL contains relevant text, it can provide more information to users and search engines compared to providing an ID or oddly named parameters.

URLs Displayed in Search Results

Lastly, remember that the URL of a document will be part of Google's search results, displayed below the document's title and summary. Like titles and summaries, if the text in the URL appears in the user's query, that text will be bolded in the search results. On the right is another example showing the URL of a page on a domain that contains an article about rare baseball cards. Compared to an ID number like "www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/article/102125/", the text in the URL is often more engaging for search users.

Google is adept at retrieving various types of URL structures, even very complex URLs. However, spending some time to simplify your URLs is highly beneficial for both users and search engines. Some webmasters achieve this by rewriting dynamic URLs as static URLs. Google does not consider this a problem, but we need to remind you that this is an advanced procedure that, if mishandled, could complicate the retrieval of your site.

Best Practices

Use Text in URLs

If the URL contains text related to your site content and structure, it will be easier for visitors to navigate your site. Visitors will find it easier to remember these URLs and may be more willing to link to them.

Please avoid:

• Using overly long URLs that include unnecessary parameters and session IDs
• Selecting vague names like "page1.html"
• Using keyword stuffing such as "baseball-cards-baseball-cards-baseball-cards.htm"

Create a Simple Directory Structure

Use a directory structure that effectively organizes content and allows visitors to easily know where they are on your site. Try to use a directory structure to indicate the types of content in the URLs.

Please avoid:

• Using deeply nested subdirectories like ".../dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4/dir5/dir6/page.html"
• Using directories unrelated to the content

Provide the Same Version of a URL for the Same Document

To avoid some users linking to one version of a URL while others link to another version (which may dilute the content's attractiveness), it is recommended to concentrate on using one URL in your web structure and internal links. If you find users browsing the same content through different URLs, you can set up a 301 redirect to guide the unwanted URL to the preferred one, which is a good solution. If redirection is not possible, you can also use the canonical link element.

Please avoid:

• Allowing access to the same content from both subdomains and root directories (e.g., "domain.com/page.htm" and "sub.domain.com/page.htm")
• Using odd capitalization in URLs (most users prefer lowercase URLs, which are easier to remember)

Make Your Website Easier to Navigate

Website Navigation is Very Important

Website navigation is crucial in helping visitors quickly find the content they need. Additionally, it is also important for helping search engines understand which content the webmaster considers important. While Google provides a hierarchical search result, it also hopes to understand the context of this website within the overall site structure.

Use the Homepage as a Basis for Planning Navigation

All websites have a homepage or "root" page, which is often the most visited by visitors and serves as the starting point for browsing the site. Unless your site has only a few pages, you should think about how to direct visitors from the general page (the root page) to specific content pages. Do you have a large number of pages about a specific topic area, requiring a separate page to summarize those related pages (e.g., root page -> list of related topics -> specific topic)? Do you have hundreds of products that need to be categorized and placed across multiple category and subcategory pages?

Use a Hierarchical Link List Navigation to Confirm User Convenience

Hierarchical link navigation refers to placing a row of internal links at the top or bottom of the page, allowing visitors to quickly return to the previous page or the root page. Most hierarchical link navigation will typically list the most general page (usually the root page) on the far left, with increasingly specific pages listed further to the right.

Consider the Scenarios When Users Remove Parts of Your URL

Consider the scenarios where users might remove parts of your URL - you should anticipate that some users may browse your site in unexpected ways. For example, they may not use the breadcrumb navigation links on the page but rather remove a portion of the URL to find more general content. They might be browsing http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/news/2010/upcoming-baseball-card-shows.htm and then type http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/news/2010/ into the browser's address bar, thinking this would display all news from 2010. In such cases, is your website prepared to display the content the user wants, or does it simply show a 404 ("Page Not Found" error)? Additionally, what should we do if the user navigates to the previous layer of the directory, http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/news/?

Prepare Two Types of Sitemap: One for Users and One for Search Engines

A sitemap is a simple webpage on your site that displays the structure of your website, typically consisting of a hierarchical list of website pages. Visitors can use this page when they cannot find certain specific pages on your site. While search engines also browse this page for a more comprehensive retrieval of pages on your site, its main purpose is still to assist visitors.

You can also submit an XML sitemap to Google using the "Search Console," which makes it easier for Google to discover the pages on your site. Another benefit of using a sitemap file is that you can use it to inform Google which version of the URL is your preferred canonical URL (e.g., http://brandonsbaseballcards.com/ or http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/).

Best Practices

Create a Natural and Fluent Hierarchical Structure

Please try to create a simple structure that allows users to navigate from the main content on your site to the specific content they want. If necessary, you can add webpage navigation and effectively integrate these pages into the internal linking structure.

Please avoid:

• Creating a complex network of navigation links. For example, linking all pages on the site to every other page
• Overly subdividing content (where users must click 20 times to find content buried in a deep structure)

Use Text Links as Much as Possible in Navigation

If the majority of your website's pages are text links, search engines can more easily retrieve and understand your site. Many users prefer text links, especially on devices that cannot handle Flash or JavaScript.

Please avoid:

• Relying entirely on dropdown menus, images, or animations to create navigation. Although most search engines can discover such links, enabling users to navigate to all pages on your site via regular text links enhances site usability.

Best Practices

Place an HTML Sitemap on Your Site and Use an XML Sitemap File

Using a simple sitemap that includes all or the most important pages of your site (if you have hundreds of pages) is very practical. Creating an XML sitemap file for your website will ensure that search engines can find the pages on your site.

Please avoid:

• Including invalid links in the HTML sitemap that cannot reach the corresponding pages
• Creating an HTML sitemap that merely lists pages without organization

Create a Useful 404 Page

Users may sometimes land on pages that do not exist on your site due to invalid links or typing errors. Using a custom 404 page can help users navigate back to valid pages on your site, significantly improving the user experience. Your 404 page should ideally provide links back to your site's root page, as well as links to popular or related content on the site. Google provides a 404 tool that you can embed on your 404 page to automatically generate many useful features. You can also use "Google Search Console" to find the sources of URLs leading to "Page Not Found" errors.

Please avoid:

• Allowing search engines to index 404 pages (make sure to set your web server to return a 404 HTTP status code when a requested page does not exist)
• Providing only vague messages like "Page Not Found," "404," or even having no 404 page at all
• Having a 404 page design that is inconsistent with the rest of your site's pages

Provide Quality Content and Services

Engaging Content Naturally Gains Recognition

Compared to the various other factors discussed in this article, creating engaging and practical content may be the most crucial factor in boosting website popularity. If your content is good enough, users will be aware of it and will be willing to recommend your site through blog posts, social media, emails, forums, or other means.

This word-of-mouth effect increases your site's reputation for both users and Google. Without quality content backing it, this effect is difficult to create.

Consider the Differences in Users' Understanding of Topics and Provide Unique Content

Consider the terms users may search to find part of your content. Compared to users unfamiliar with the topic, users who are well-acquainted with the topic might use different keywords in their search queries. For instance, an experienced baseball fan might search for the National League Championship Series (NLCS) abbreviation, while a newcomer to baseball might use the more general query [baseball playoffs]. By considering these behavioral differences in searches and incorporating them into your content writing (using appropriate keyword phrases), you can achieve positive results. Google AdWords provides a convenient "Keyword Tool" to help you discover new keyword variations and view approximate search volumes for each keyword. Additionally, the "Google Search Console" offers insights into popular search queries that lead users to your site.

Consider creating unique services that other websites do not provide. You can also write an original research report, analyze compelling news articles, or leverage your unique user base. Other websites may lack the resources or expertise to do these things.

Best Practices

Write Easily Readable Text

Users prefer content that is smooth and easy to read.

Please avoid:

• Writing lengthy pieces filled with many typos and grammatical errors
• Embedding text content in images, making it impossible for users to copy those words while search engines cannot read them either

Organize Content by Topic

Organizing your content is a good practice that helps visitors clearly understand the context of the article and quickly find the beginnings and ends of topic areas. Logically dividing your content into sections helps users find what they need faster.

Please avoid:

• Piling various topics onto the same page without any paragraphs, subheadings, or layout distinctions

Create New and Unique Content

New content not only ensures that existing visitors will return to the site but will also attract more new visitors.

Please avoid:

• Reiterating (or even copying) existing content, as doing so will not bring additional benefits to users
• Allowing your site to contain duplicate or nearly duplicate versions of content

Create Content for Users, Not for Search Engines

Design your site based on visitors' needs while ensuring search engines can easily access your site; this typically produces positive results.

Please avoid:

• Stuffing unnecessary keywords for search engines that are meaningless to users and annoying
• Including text such as "common misspellings linking to this page," which is meaningless to users
• Deceptively hiding text from users while displaying it to search engines

Write Better Anchor Text

Appropriate Anchor Text Makes Linked Content Easier to Convey

Anchor text is the clickable text that users press to be directed to a link, and it resides within the anchor tag <a href="..."></a>.

This text informs users and Google about the content of the linked webpage. The links on your page can be internal links (pointing to other pages on your site) or external links (pointing to content on other websites). Regardless of the case, the more descriptive your anchor text is, the easier it will be for users to navigate, and the easier it will be for Google to understand the content of the linked page.

Best Practices

Choose Descriptive Text

The anchor text you choose for your links should at least provide basic information about the linked webpage.

Please avoid:

• Using vague anchor text, such as "webpage," "article," or "click here"
• Using text that strays from the topic or is unrelated to the content of the linked page
• In most cases, using the webpage URL as anchor text (there are some cases where this can be done, such as promoting or referring to a new website's URL)

Write Concise Text

Aim for simple and clear text, typically using a few words or short phrases.

Please avoid:

• Writing longer anchor text, such as long sentences or small paragraphs

Format Links for Easy Recognition

Make it easy for users to distinguish between regular text and anchor text in your links. If users do not notice the link or only click it by chance, the usability of the content will be significantly diminished.

Please avoid:

• Using CSS or text styles that make the link appear indistinguishable from regular text

Consider the Anchor Text for Internal Links

While you may typically only consider links pointing to external sites, paying attention to the anchor text used for internal links can help both users and Google navigate your site more easily.

Please avoid:

• Using a lot of keywords or lengthy anchor text solely for search engines
• Creating unnecessary links that do not benefit users navigating the site

Optimize Image Usage

Using the "alt" Attribute Provides Information About Images

Images may seem like simpler components of a website, but you can optimize their usage. All images have different file names and "alt" attributes that you can take advantage of. If an image cannot be displayed for some reason, the "alt" attribute allows you to specify alternative text for the image.

Why use this attribute? If users view your site on a browser that does not support images or use other technologies (such as screen readers), the content of the alt attribute can provide information about that image.

Another reason is that if you use an image as a link, the alternative text for that image will be considered similar to anchor text for the link. However, we do not recommend using too many image links in your site navigation because text links serve the same function. Finally, optimizing the file names and alternative text for images can help image search services like "Google Images Search" better understand your images.

Store Files in a Dedicated Directory and Use Common File Formats

Consider merging your image files into a single directory (e.g., brandonsbaseballcards.com/images/) rather than scattering them throughout various directories and subdirectories across the domain. This simplifies the link paths to images.

Use commonly supported file types - most browsers support JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP image formats. It’s best to ensure that the file name's extension matches the file type.

Best Practices

Use Simple and Clear File Names and Alt Text

Similar to many other aspects targeted for optimization on a webpage, simple and clear file names and alt text are best for ASCII language.

Please avoid:

• Using generic file names like "image1.jpg," "pic.gif," or "1.jpg" (some sites may automatically name images, resulting in thousands of images)
• Writing overly long file names
• Stuffing keywords into the alt text or copying and pasting complete sentences

Provide Alt Text for Linked Images

If you decide to link images, it is advisable to fill out the alt text so that Google can better understand the webpage you are linking to. Think of it as writing anchor text for text links.

Please avoid:

• Writing excessively long alt text that the system may consider as spam text
• Using image links exclusively in your website navigation

Provide an Image Sitemap

An "Image Sitemap" can provide Googlebot with more information about the images found on your site, structured similarly to your webpage's XML Sitemap file.

Proper Use of Heading Tags

Use Heading Tags to Emphasize Important Text

Heading tags (do not confuse with ＜head＞ HTML tags or HTTP headers) are used to present the structure of a webpage to users. There are six different sizes of heading tags, from ＜h1＞ to ＜h6＞, with decreasing importance.

Since heading tags usually make the text contained within them larger than regular text on the page, users can clearly recognize that this part of the text is more important, helping them understand the type of content under the heading. Using multiple heading sizes in order can create a clear structure for your content, making it easier for users to navigate your document.

Best Practices

Think of Writing an Outline

Similar to writing an outline for a report, consider the main and secondary points of the webpage content and decide where to place heading tags.

Please avoid:

• Placing text in heading tags that does not help define the webpage structure
• Using heading tags where other tags (like ＜em＞ and ＜strong＞) would be appropriate
• Arbitrarily adjusting the size of heading tags

Use Heading Tags Judiciously on Webpages

Only use heading tags in appropriate places. If there are too many heading tags on a webpage, it can inconvenience users and make it difficult for them to determine the beginning and end of content topics.

Please avoid:

• Overusing heading tags on a webpage
• Placing all webpage text in heading tags
• Using heading tags solely for styling text rather than presenting structure

Effectively Use robots.txt

Use robots.txt to Restrict Crawlers from Unnecessary Parts

The "robots.txt" file informs search engines whether they can access certain parts of your website for crawling. This file must be named "robots.txt" and placed in the root directory of your site.

You may not want search engines to crawl certain pages on your site because those appearing in search results may not be beneficial to users. If you do wish to block search engines from crawling your pages, the "Google Search Console" provides a useful robots.txt generator to help you create this file. Note that if your site uses subdomains and you want to prevent search engines from crawling certain pages within those subdomains, you must create a separate robots.txt file for that subdomain.

Other methods exist to prevent your content from appearing in search results, such as adding "NOINDEX" to your robots meta tags, password-protecting directories via .htaccess, and using "Google Search Console" to remove already crawled content.

Best Practices

Use More Secure Methods for Sensitive Content

You may feel uncertain about using robots.txt to block sensitive or confidential data. One reason is that if a link to the blocked URL happens to exist on the internet (such as in a referrer), search engines can still reference that URL (showing only the URL, not the title or summary). Additionally, some non-compliant or malicious crawlers may ignore the "Crawl-Delay" directives in the robots.txt. Finally, curious users might browse your robots.txt file for directories or subdirectories you do not want to expose and guess the URLs of content you wish to keep private. Encrypting the content or using .htaccess for password protection is a more secure choice.

Please avoid:

• Allowing crawlers to index pages with similar search results (users dislike entering one search result page only to find another)
• Allowing the indexing of numerous auto-generated pages with identical or slightly different content: "Should these 100,000 nearly identical pages really appear in the search engine's index?"
• Allowing the indexing of URLs created through proxy services

Understand the rel="nofollow" Attribute for Links

Use "nofollow" to Combat Spam Comments

Setting the "rel" attribute value of a link to "nofollow" tells Google not to follow certain links on your site or pass your page's reputation to the linked page. The method for not following a link is to add rel="nofollow" to the anchor tag.

When is "nofollow" useful? If your site has public comment features, links in those comments may pass your reputation to pages you do not want to endorse. Comment sections on webpages often contain spam comments. By ensuring that you do not pass your site's hard-earned reputation to spam sites, you can protect your own site.

Automatically Add "nofollow" to Comment Sections and Message Boards

Many blogging software packages automatically use nofollow for user comments; however, for those packages lacking this feature, you can often manually edit them. This recommendation also applies to other areas of your site that may involve user-generated content, such as guestbooks, forums, bulletin boards, reference lists, etc. If you are willing to endorse links added by third parties (such as if you trust a commenter), you do not need to use nofollow for those links; however, if you link to a site that Google considers spam, it will affect your site's reputation. The "Webmaster Guidelines" provide additional tips for avoiding spam comments, such as using CAPTCHAs and enabling comment moderation features.

Use "nofollow" for Individual Content, Entire Pages, etc.

When you want to reference a certain website but do not want to pass your reputation to that site, you can also use nofollow. For example, suppose you are writing a blog post about spam comments and intend to call out a site that frequently leaves spam comments on your blog. You want to warn others about that site, so you include a link to it in your content, but you certainly do not want to pass your site’s reputation to this site. This is a perfect time to use nofollow.

Lastly, if you want to prevent any links on the page from following elsewhere, you can use "nofollow" in your robots meta tag, placing this meta tag in the <head> section of the page's HTML. The syntax for this method is <meta name="robots" content="nofollow">.

Inform Google This Is a Mobile Site

Set Up Mobile Websites for Proper Indexing by Google

We have entered a mobile era, with many people using mobile phones every day, and a large number of users performing searches via Google’s mobile search pages. However, for website administrators, managing mobile websites and integrating them into mobile search audiences is not an easy task. Mobile websites not only use different formats than standard computer websites but also require different management methods and expertise. This leads to various challenges. While many mobile websites consider mobile browsing during design, they may not intend for the site to be easily searchable.

Here are some troubleshooting tips to help you ensure that your website is properly crawled and indexed:

If your site does not appear in Google’s mobile search results after using the site: operator, it may be due to one of the following two issues:

Verify Google is Indexing Your Mobile Site

1. Googlebot may not be able to find your site
   Googlebot must first crawl your site before it can include it in Google’s search index. If you have recently created the site, Google may not yet be aware of it; if so, please create a mobile webpage sitemap and submit it to Google to notify them that the site has been established. The mobile webpage sitemap can be submitted via Google Search Console, just like a standard sitemap.
2. Googlebot may not be able to access your site
   Some mobile websites only accept access from mobile phones, which prevents Googlebot from accessing the site and searching it. Our mobile website crawler is "Googlebot-Mobile." If you want to crawl your site, please allow "Googlebot-Mobile" or any user agent to access your site. Also, note that Google may change user agent information at any time without notice; therefore, we do not recommend checking user agents to see if they exactly match "Googlebot-Mobile" (the current user agent), but rather check whether the user agent header contains the string "Googlebot-Mobile." You can also verify Googlebot through DNS queries.

Verify Google Can Recognize Your Mobile URLs

As long as Googlebot-Mobile crawls your URLs, we can check whether each URL is viewable on mobile devices. We do not include pages that cannot be viewed on mobile phones in our mobile site index (even if those pages may be included in the general site index). We base this decision on various factors, and the DTD (Document Type Definition) declaration is one of them. Check to see if the URLs for mobile devices have an appropriate DTD declaration, such as XHTML mobile pages or Compact HTML. If the URLs are compatible formats, then the pages can be included in the mobile search index.

Correctly Guide Mobile Device Users

Running Separate Computer and Mobile Versions of Your Site

The most common problem that website administrators face when running both a computer and a mobile version of a site is displaying the mobile version on desktop computers or displaying the desktop version on mobile devices. To address this scenario, consider the following two viable options:

Redirect Mobile Users to the Correct Version

When mobile users or mobile crawlers (such as Googlebot-Mobile) access the desktop version of the URL, you can redirect them to the corresponding mobile version of the same page. Google recognizes the relationship between the two versions of the URL, thereby providing standard version URLs for searches from desktop computers and mobile version URLs for searches from mobile devices.

If you want to redirect users, ensure that the corresponding mobile/desktop URLs have roughly the same content. For instance, if users can access your shopping site’s desktop URL from their mobile phone, make sure you redirect them to the mobile page for the same product, rather than redirecting them to the mobile site’s homepage. We have observed that some sites improve search rankings through this method, but this results in a poor user experience that you should avoid at all costs.

On the other hand, when the Googlebot or our web crawler can access the mobile version of the URL, you do not need to redirect them to the desktop version. For example, Google does not automatically redirect desktop users from the mobile site to the desktop site but will include links to the desktop version URLs on the mobile page. This is particularly useful when the mobile site cannot provide the complete functionality of the desktop site, as users can easily browse the desktop site when they wish to.

Switch Content Based on User Agents

Some sites serve the same URL for both the desktop and mobile versions, but the content format changes based on the user agent. In other words, while mobile users and desktop users use the same URL (i.e., no redirection), the content/format is slightly altered based on the user agent. This way, the same URL appears in both mobile and desktop searches, allowing desktop users to view desktop content while mobile users can view mobile content.

However, please note that if you cannot correctly set up your site, the system may perceive your site as cloaked, causing it to disappear from our search results. Cloaking refers to presenting different content to Googlebot and general users to artificially enhance search result rankings. This can lead to problems, such as less relevant results (even if the content of the page is unrelated to what users are searching for or want, it still appears in search results), which is why we take cloaking very seriously.

So what does "the page seen by users" mean when you provide the same URL for both versions? As mentioned earlier, Google uses Googlebot for web search and Googlebot-Mobile for mobile search. To comply with our guidelines, the content you provide to Googlebot should be the same as what a regular desktop user sees, and the content you provide to Googlebot-Mobile should match what is provided to general mobile browser users. However, if the content provided to Googlebot and Googlebot-Mobile differs, that is acceptable.

Instances where your site is inadvertently seen as cloaked may occur if your site sends messages like "Please browse from a mobile phone" to desktop browsers but subsequently delivers the full mobile version site to both crawlers (meaning Googlebot receives the mobile version). In this case, the webpage that users using the web search see (e.g., "Please browse from a mobile phone") will differ from the webpage that Googlebot crawls (e.g., "Welcome to my site"). This is again emphasized as we detect cloaking to ensure that both Googlebot and Googlebot-Mobile retrieve the same relevant content to provide to users.

Use the Right Methods to Promote Your Website

About Increasing Backlinks to Enhance Your Site's Value

As people discover your content through searches or other means and link to that content, many links leading to your website will gradually be found. Google understands that you want others to recognize the effort you put into your content. Effectively promoting your new content will help those interested in the same topic discover your site faster. As with most points mentioned in this document, over-promoting can actually damage your site's reputation.

Excelling at Announcing on Blogs and Having High Online Visibility

Writing blog posts on your own site to inform visitors that you've added content is an excellent way to promote new content or services. Other webmasters who follow your site or RSS feed will also learn about that content.

Investing some energy in offline promotion of your company or site will also be effective. For instance, if you have a business website, make sure to list your site’s URL on your business cards, letterheads, posters, etc. You can also send out regular business newsletters via email to inform your clients about new content on your company’s website.

If you run a local business, adding your business information to "Google Local" can help you develop customers on "Google Maps" and online search. The "Webmaster Guidelines" offer more tips on how to promote local businesses.

Best Practices

Understand Social Media Websites

Building sites around user interaction and sharing can make it easier to match interested groups with relevant content.

Please avoid:

• Exhaustively promoting every piece of new content; it is advisable to focus promotion on the most important and interesting items
• Artificially elevating your content to the front of these services, which could make your site seem to be engaging in cheating behavior

Reach Out to Websites in Communities Related to Your Site

Opportunities exist within sites that have similar topic content to yours. Establishing communication with these sites is often beneficial. Popular topics within your niche or community will inspire more creativity, enriching your content or creating excellent community resources.

Please avoid:

• Spamming link requests to all sites related to your topic content
• Purchasing links from other sites to gain PageRank (rather than traffic)

Utilize Free Webmaster Tools

Leverage Free Webmaster Tools

Major search engines (including Google) provide free tools for webmasters. Google's "Search Console" helps webmasters manage how Google interacts with their site effectively while providing practical information about their site. Using "Search Console" does not grant any preferential treatment for your site. However, it can help you identify and resolve issues to achieve better rankings in search results.

This service can assist webmasters to:

• See which parts of their website Googlebot has encountered issues when crawling
• Notify us that you have submitted an XML Sitemap
• Analyze and generate robots.txt files
• Remove URLs already crawled by Googlebot
• Specify preferred domains
• Identify issues within title tags and description meta tags
• Understand which keywords users most commonly use to find a specific site
• See how Googlebot crawls webpages
• Remove site links that should not appear in Google results
• Receive notifications for quality guideline violations and submit requests for site reconsideration

Yahoo! (Yahoo! Site Explorer) and Microsoft (Live Search Webmaster Tools) also provide free tools for webmasters.

Use Google Analytics and "Google Optimize" for Advanced Analysis

If you have improved the crawling and indexing of your site using "Search Console" or other services, you may be interested in the traffic to your site. Website analytics programs like "Google Analytics" are practical tools for in-depth analysis of site traffic.

These programs can help you:

• Analyze how users connect to your site and their behaviors on your site
• Identify the most popular content on your site
• Assess the effectiveness of your optimization efforts (e.g., do changes to title tags and meta descriptions increase traffic from search engines?)

For advanced users, the data provided by analytics packages combined with server log data can provide more comprehensive insights into how visitors interact with your documents (such as the other keywords searchers used to find your site).

Finally, Google offers another tool called "Google Optimize," which allows you to experiment to find which page changes can create the best visitor conversion rates. Effectively combining "Google Analytics" and "Search Console" can significantly improve your site.