Back End SEO

Full Training for Local Service Businesses

Approximate time to implement (for beginners): 3-6 weeks

Note 1: To get the point across easier, I will use a fictitious business called ''ABC Company'' when showing examples.

Note 2: These tips can apply to any service business, large or small or in any industry (construction, beauty, restaurant, finance, etc)

Better Back End SEO, more revenue

Better Back End = higher Google rankings , higher rankings = more leads, more leads = more revenue

What is Backend SEO?

Backend SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the optimizations made to the backend of your site (mostly in code) that can help you rank higher on search engines (Google, Bing, etc.)

Why Optimize the Backend?

Optimizing the backend of your site will help your website rank higher on Google, Bing, and other search engines, allowing you to get more visitors to your site and potentially increase the revenue of your business.

Improving it can do the following for your business:

• Increase search volume to site

• Improve ranking of site on Google

• Improve quality of visitors to site (improve lead quality)

Here's what the math would look like for a 50 % boost in traffic from Back End SEO improvments.

For most local service businesses, the backend of their website is not properly optimized for search engines. Meaning that in most cases, businesses can see a boost of 10%, 20% and even 50%+ boost in traffic coming to their site.

This document will share exactly how you can do that for your own service business, or other people's businesses (if you are an agency owner)

Part 1: Introduction to Back End SEO

What is Back End SEO

Back-end SEO refers to the optimization of the server-side and technical aspects of a website to improve its performance and interaction with search engines. Basically, improving communication with Google on the back end of your site, as well as better guide visitors through your site indirectly.

Why Should you Optimize Back End SEO

Back-end SEO is crucial for:

• Making Your Site Easy for Search Engines to Explore: Helps search engines find and index your content easily.

• Boosting Site Security: Secure websites are more trusted by search engines and visitors.

• Improving Site Organization: A well-organized site performs better in search results.

Part 2: Technical Foundations of Backend SEO

These foundational practices ensure your website can be effectively crawled and indexed by search engines, and that basic security measures are in place.

Schema Markup/Structured Data Markup

What is Schema/Structured Data Markup?

Schema markup is a type of code you add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. It tells search engines what your data means, not just what it says.

Think of your website as a city and search engines (Google) as tourists. Without schema markup, the city has streets and attractions, but no signs or maps, so tourists have to wander around to find what they're looking for. With schema markup, it’s like having a detailed map with clear labels for all the attractions, helping tourists (Google) find their destinations quickly.

By helping Google find this information about your business, not only does it help them understand your business better but it also gives you the chance to appear in rich results. Here is an example of rich results from Schema Markup.

Here is the link to look at all the structured data features on Google (link) (Only a few featured in image below)

Why is Schema/Structured Data Markup Important?

Schema markup helps your website rank better for all kinds of content types. It is used to signal to search engines the content of your website and enhance the display of search results, increasing the chances of your website being chosen from the crowd.

Best Practices for Implementing SEO-Friendly Markup:

Choose Relevant Schemas:

Select the most appropriate schema types for your content.

Common types include:

Organization, LocalBusiness, Person, Product, Review, Recipe, Event, Article, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, VideoObject, Breadcrumb, WebSite.

List of all variations and tutorials on how to set them up (link)

Using a relevant schema ensures the right information is highlighted in search results.

Use JSON-LD Format:

Implement schema markup using JSON-LD, the recommended format by Google. It’s easier to add and maintain, as it does not mix with the user-facing HTML.

Google Search Central details and recommendations (link)

Test and Validate Your Markup:

Use tools like Google's Structured Data Testing Tool (link) or the Rich Results Test (link) to validate your schema markup. Ensure there are no errors and that Google can correctly parse the data.

Integrate Schema Deeply:

Fill out every schema with all the information you can about your business. The more information you give usually the better for Google.

Keep Users in Mind:

Consider that people might see your schemas when searching on Google, so make sure they are written and presented in a way that is readable and productive for the user.

robots.txt

What is robots.txt?

The robots.txt file is like a set of rules for search engines. It tells them which parts of your website they are allowed to visit and which parts they should avoid. You put this file in your website's main folder so search engines can find it easily and follow your instructions.

Why is robots.txt Important?

The robots.txt file is important because it helps you control how search engines explore your website. By telling them to avoid certain parts, you make sure only the important and useful parts are looked at and shown in search results. This keeps private areas safe and can help improve your site's search rankings by focusing on the best content. Google ranks your website in part as an average. And so, if you have bad performing or non necessary pages on your website.

Best Practices for Implementing Effective robots.txt:

Here are the different ways you can educate Google on how and how not to crawl and visit your site.

Specify Crawler Instructions:

Use Disallow: to block search engines from looking at certain parts of your website. Use Allow: to make exceptions and let them see specific parts you want them to access. This way, you control which areas search engines can and cannot visit.

Use Crawl-Delay:

Use the Crawl-delay: command to control how fast search engines visit your pages. This helps prevent your website from getting overwhelmed by too many visits at once. It also ensures that search engines focus on your most important pages first.

Sitemap Reference:

Add the location of your sitemap file in the robots.txt file. This helps search engines find and visit all the important pages on your site, making sure they are properly indexed.

Test robots.txt Settings:

Use tools like the Google Search Console robots.txt Tester (link) to check for errors and confirm that the file correctly blocks or allows access, ensuring that your directives are correctly implemented.

SSL Certificate

What is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a digital certificate that secures the connection between your website and your visitors' browsers. It’s crucial for protecting sensitive data in transit. Most website hosting platforms though, will include the certification to your site automatically.

Why is SSL Certificate Important?

SSL certificates are crucial for keeping your website safe and trustworthy. They protect any data sent between your site and its visitors, like personal details and credit card information, so hackers can't steal it. Having an SSL certificate also helps your site rank higher on search engines and makes visitors more confident in using your site.

Best Practices for Implementing an SSL Certificate:

Choose the Right Type of SSL:

• Use Domain Validated (DV) certificates for personal websites.

• Opt for Organization Validated (OV) or Extended Validation (EV) certificates for businesses and eCommerce sites to provide higher security and trust.

Implement HTTPS Correctly:

• Set up 301 redirects on your server to automatically send all visitors from HTTP to HTTPS. This makes sure that everyone uses a secure connection when visiting your site. Even if some hosting providers do this automatically, setting it up yourself ensures it’s done correctly and helps keep your site safe and maintain its search engine rankings.

Keep SSL Updated:

• Regularly renew and manage your SSL certificates to avoid expiration and ensure uninterrupted security.

Monitor and Test Your SSL Setup:

• Use tools like Qualys SSL Labs' SSL Test (link) to regularly check your SSL configuration for weaknesses or errors.

XML Sitemap

What is an XML Sitemap?

An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website. It helps search engines like Google find and explore your site easily. Think of it like a roadmap that shows search engines where to go to see all your important pages.

Why is XML Sitemap Important?

XML Sitemaps are important because they help search engines quickly find and list all the pages on your website. This is especially useful for large or complex websites where some pages might be hard to find through regular links. Here's a link to Google's sitemap guide (link).

Best Practices for Implementing an XML Sitemap:

Include Essential Pages:

• Make sure your XML Sitemap includes all the important pages of your website. Leave out pages that are duplicates or not useful for search engines, like privacy policies or terms and conditions.

Keep Your Sitemap Updated:

• Update your XML Sitemap regularly to reflect new content additions, deletions, and changes so that search engines are always informed about the current structure of your site.

Submit Your Sitemap to Both Search Engines:

• Submit your XML Sitemap directly to search engines using their respective webmaster tools, like Google Search Console (link) or Bing Webmaster Tools (link), to facilitate faster and more accurate indexing. Although Bing is less popular then Google, it still is 10% of the search market.

Hreflang Tags

What are Hreflang Tags?

Hreflang tags tell search engines which language and country your webpage is for. They help Google show the right version of your content to people based on their language and location.

Why are Hreflang Tags Important?

They allow users to get the proper versions of your site, without them having to search for it. Allowing them to get a smoother experience of your site.

Best Practices for Implementing Hreflang Tags

Identify Target Languages and Regions

Determine the languages and regions your website targets and integrate the tags for each.

Place Hreflang Tags Correctly

You have three options for adding hreflang attributes, choose the one that suits you best:

• HTML Head Section: Embed hreflang tags directly in the <head> section of each page.

• Website Sitemap: Add hreflang annotations in your XML sitemap, centralizing management.

• HTTP Header: Use HTTP headers for non-HTML content like PDFs.

Here is an in depth guide on how to set them up (link)

Use Correct Hreflang Structure

Ensure each page references itself and all other language or regional versions.

Regularly Update Hreflang Tags

Update hreflang tags whenever you add or modify content to keep search engines informed of the correct language and regional versions.

Include Self-Referencing Tags

Each page should have a self-referencing hreflang tag to indicate its own language and region.

Use Absolute URLs

Always use full URLs (e.g., https://yourwebsite.com/en) instead of relative URLs to avoid confusion for search engines.

Include "x-default" Hreflang Attribute

Use the x-default attribute to provide a fallback URL for users whose language or region is not explicitly covered by your hreflang tags. This should be connected to your main page in your main language.

Monitor and Correct Hreflang Errors

Use tools like Google Search Console (link) or Semrush to identify and fix common hreflang errors, such as incorrect language codes or missing reciprocal tags.

Implementation Methods and Their Pros and Cons

In depth tutorial on how to set it up (link)

Part 3: User Experience Enhancements

Improve the user experience by making your site easier to navigate, delivering content quickly, and optimizing for mobile devices. This helps keep visitors on your site longer and reduces the chances of them leaving quickly, which can indirectly boost your SEO.

Breadcrumb Navigation

What is Breadcrumb Navigation?

Breadcrumb navigation is a secondary navigation system that shows the user’s location on a website and the path they’ve taken to get there.

Why is Breadcrumb Navigation Important?

Breadcrumb navigation improves user experience by making it easier for users to navigate through a website’s hierarchy. It also enhances SEO by providing search engines with additional context about the structure of your site.

Best Practices for Implementing Breadcrumb Navigation

Structure Your Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumbs should reflect the hierarchical structure of your website, like this:

Home > Category > Subcategory > Product

Add HTML for Breadcrumbs

Use an ordered list (<ol>) with list items (<li>) for your breadcrumbs:

Enhance Breadcrumbs with Schema Markup

Add schema markup to help search engines understand the breadcrumb structure (link)

404 Pages

In theory, you want to always redirect pages from 404 Errors to live pages with 301 redirects. But in the case you have not updated your whole site, or some mistake happens. Here is how you set up 404 Error pages.

What is a 404 Page?

A 404 page is a webpage displayed when a user tries to access a non-existent or broken link on your website. It informs users that the requested page cannot be found.

Why is a 404 Page Important?

A well-designed 404 page improves user experience by guiding users back to useful content on your site instead of leaving them frustrated and potentially driving them away.

Best Practices for Implementing a 404 Page

Provide a Clear Message

Clearly inform users that the page they are looking for cannot be found.

Include a Search Bar

Help users find what they are looking for by including a search bar.

Add Useful Links

Provide links to popular pages such as the homepage, contact page, or other key sections of your site.

Use Friendly and Helpful Language

Use language that is friendly and encourages users to stay on your site.

Include a Call to Action

Encourage users to take an action, like returning to the homepage or contacting support.

Example 404 Page Content

1. Clear Message: "404 - Page Not Found" and "Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist."

2. Search Bar: A search bar to help users find relevant content.

3. Useful Links: Links to the homepage, about us, or contact pages.

4. Call to Action: Buttons for returning to the homepage, searching site or contacting support

By following these best practices, you can create an effective 404 page that helps users navigate your site, improving their experience and retaining their interest.

A great example that ticks off almost all the boxes is on Alex Hormozi's site.

301 Redirects

What is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect is a way to permanently send visitors and search engines from one web address to another. It tells them that the page has moved to a new location for good. Usually done after a website redesign or a page is removed.

Why is a 301 Redirect Important?

301 redirects help keep your SEO strong by passing the search engine ranking power from the old URL to the new one. This way, you don't lose the value and ranking your old page had, and it helps your new page maintain good search engine positions.

Best Practices for Implementing 301 Redirects

Types of 301 Redirects

1. Page-to-Page Redirect: Redirect an old page to a new page.

2. Domain-to-Domain Redirect: Redirect an old domain to a new domain.

3. Non-WWW to WWW (and vice-versa): Redirect non-www to www or the other way around.

4. HTTP to HTTPS: Redirect the entire domain from HTTP to HTTPS. (Discussed in the SSL seciton above)

Monitoring and Fixing 301 Redirect Issues

1. Redirect Chains:

   • Ensure each redirect goes straight to the final URL without multiple steps. For example, instead of A → B → C, make it A → C.

2. Redirect Loops:

   • Fix any loops where URLs keep redirecting to each other. This happens when A redirects to B, and B redirects back to A, creating an endless loop.

3. Broken Redirects:

   • Identify and fix any redirects that lead to dead pages (404 errors) to ensure all redirects lead to live, relevant pages.

How 301 Redirects Affect SEO

301 redirects transfer PageRank from the old URL to the new URL. Before 2016, there was a 15% loss of PageRank, but now Google states there is no loss, making 301 redirects useful for maintaining SEO value.

Using 301 Redirects to Boost Organic Traffic

1. Consolidate Content: Merge similar pages into one and redirect old URLs to the new, improved page.

2. Merge Websites: Buy another relevant website and redirect its content to your site, merging and re-homing valuable pages to enhance SEO and traffic.

Here is an in depth guide on how to set up and organize 301 redirects across your site (link)

Conclusion - Back End SEO

What Back End SEO can potentially do for your service business.

Whether you have a hair salon, construction business, restaurant, accounting firm or any other service business. These tactics can (and most likely will) help your business grow. Here is a visualization of the effects of properly optimizing Back End SEO.

If you’d like to learn more about optimizing your business online, we offer 12 free trainings on subjects ranging from SEO, Website Optimization and even Sales. 

Click the link below 👇

https://vizonsdigital.gumroad.com/l/12Trainings

If you are looking to outsource the work and get us to optimize these parts of your business, visit our site for more information, and book a discovery call with our team. 

Click the link below 👇

www.vizionsdigital.com