Week 3: Apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO) INTRODUCTION
Here in this unit of the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate for Coursera, you will learn to apply search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to make the online presence even more powerful. This includes strategies for website content that meets search engine guidelines, image optimization, and linking sources to improve a website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
You will also learn best practices for title and description writing and organizing data markups for easy discovery of both users and search engines. Lastly, this unit will focus on tools for search engine optimization such as google analytics and keyword research used in measuring the performance metrics of websites, the behavior of users, improving visibility, and finally increasing the visits of a website.
Learning Objectives:
- Optimize website content for search engines.
- Know what is internal, outbound, and inbound link.
- Make effective titles and meta descriptions for both users and Google.
- Know what a structured data markup is, and its usage.
Put business detail on Google. - Monitor your site’s presence in Google Search results using Google Search Console and its reports.
- Know what Bing Webmaster Tools has to offer.
Understanding SEO “Best Practices” – Is this an SEO do or don’t?
| Do | Don’t |
| Use text for navigation | Have duplicate versions of content across the website |
| Have a responsive web design | Use generic names as URLs |
| Use words in URLs | Hide text from users, but display it to search engines |
| Use headings sparingly across the page | Use generic anchor text like “page,” “article,” or “click here” |
| Show useful 404 pages | Embed text in images and videos |
| Create a naturally flowing page hierarchy | Base website navigation entirely on images or animations |
| Include alt text for images | Write long paragraphs that cover varying topics |
| Write short but descriptive text links |
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: OPTIMIZE A WEBSITE’S CONTENT
1. When creating website content, people with knowledge in the topic should create or edit the content. Which content recommendation does this describe?
- Act in a way that cultivates user trust.
- Make the website useful and interesting.
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
- Make expertise and authoritativeness clear. (Correct)
Correct: When you don’t have adequate expertise about a topic you are writing on, one option is to collaborate with someone who has the know-how to help co-create or refine that perspective. That way information is accurate, and the quality of what is presented is higher.
2. When creating an e-commerce website, you should ensure it has a clear customer service page and a secure connection. This best describes which content recommendation?
- Make expertise and authoritativeness clear.
- Make the website useful and interesting.
- Act in a way that cultivates user trust. (Correct)
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
Correct: Generally, a website that users perceive to be safer tends to draw more traffic. Trust is built when clear information is provided about the site’s publishers and content creators along with the organization’s purpose.
3. Which of the following is the term for text that describes an image and improves accessibility on webpages for people who have impaired vision?
- Understanding text
- Content text
- Alt text (Correct)
- Idea text
Correct: Similarly, as for any given alt text, Google uses the associated computer vision algorithms and the surrounding webpage content to determine the subject of the image.
4. Which of the following are features that help the Google algorithm better understand a photo? Select all that apply.
- Clear filename (Correct)
- Color sample
- Descriptive page title (Correct)
- Image caption (Correct)
Correct: It is also to attach an image caption in a way for Google to be able to understand the content of the image. Also gives the title page a descriptive page title with a clear, relevant filename to help search engines further understand the image.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: HELP GOOGLE (AND USERS) UNDERSTAND YOUR CONTENT
1. Which of the following are recommendations for page title elements? Select three.
- Ensure every page has a unique title (Correct)
- Make the titles brief but descriptive (Correct)
- Use the same title for similar pages
- Accurately describe the topic of the page’s content (Correct)
Correct: Dissociate your titles from any context in a page, and avoid generic titles such as “Untitled” or “New Page 1.” It also helps to make titles different for every page and ensure the titles describe the content in short wordings.
2. Which of the following are meta description recommendations? Select three.
- Add a description to every page (Correct)
- Make the description five words or less
- Accurately summarize the page content in the description (Correct)
- Use unique descriptions for each page (Correct)
Correct: Unique descriptions for each page benefit both users and Google. For example, when search results show multiple pages from the same website, these help users choose the most appropriate page. Other recommendations include describing each page and ensuring that the description accurately summarizes the content of that page.
3. In Google Search, what are enhanced results with extra visual or interactive features?
- Structured data
- Schema
- Rich results (Correct)
- Schema results
Correct: Therefore, to make rich results browser-wise, either implement structured data manually on pages or use the schema code with the help of any application. Once you include structured data on a website, it can be verified with the Rich Results Test provided by Google for errors.
4. Which of the following are rich result features? Select three.
- Article information (Correct)
- Product price (Correct)
- Buy now button
- Review rating (Correct)
Correct: indicating the rating about a review such as a recipe, product, book, movie, or a local business. Other rich results include product pricing and article details.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: ANALYZE SEARCH PERFORMANCE AND USER BEHAVIOR
1. Which of the following are recommended steps when first getting started with Google Search Console? Select three.
- Ensure Google can find your webpages. (Correct)
- Consider submitting a sitemap. (Correct)
- Create and publish a website.
- Review any mobile usability errors. (Correct)
Correct: The mobile usability report will pinpoint the matters which make a difference for your visitors while they browse using mobile devices. When some issues would be detected, recommendations will be found in the report regarding the solution. Primary steps are the submission of the sitemap first and ensuring that Google can crawl your web pages successfully.
2. Which of the following is true regarding how often you should monitor Google Search Console? Select three.
- Review every time you add new website content. (Correct)
- Every month or so, review the dashboard. (Correct)
- Only submit a sitemap once.
- Day-to-day usage should be minimal. (Correct)
Correct: In most cases, you won’t be looking into Search Console on a daily basis. Instead, you will receive email alerts for odd occurrences – e.g. if your website is hacked or the crawling of your site by Google fails. Also, at every month-end, and typically when there is new content on the website, the Search Console dashboard needs to be checked.
3. Which of the following are popular reports available in Google Search Console? Select three.
- Keyword Profitability report
- Links report (Correct)
- Manual Actions report (Correct)
- Web Search Performance report (Correct)
Correct: So, the Web Search Performance report is all about impressions, clicks, click-through rate, and average position for webpages. Other reports include the Links report, showing internal and external links, and the Manual Actions report, which tells if your site has been subject to penalties or actions taken by Google on it.
4. Which of the following are tools available in Google Search Console? Select three.
- Removals tool (Correct)
- Change of address tool (Correct)
- Website creation tool
- URL inspection tool (Correct)
Correct: This tool is used for inspecting URLs and provides extensive detailed information about the crawling of pages, their indexing, and serving them up directly from the Google index. It can also reveal errors like code issues on the webpage. Other tools are the removals tool for getting rid of content from search results and the change of address tool to help you change the URL of your site.
ATTRACT AND ENGAGE CUSTOMERS WITH DIGITAL MARKETING Weekly Challenge 3
1. As a digital marketer creating a webpage, you collaborate with someone who is knowledgeable in the topic you are writing about. You list them publicly as a co-contributor. This represents which website optimization recommendation?
- Make expertise and authoritativeness clear. (Correct)
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
- Know what visitors want and give it to them.
- Make the website useful and interesting.
Correct: Correct
2. Which of the following are recommended ways to promote your website and attract backlinks? Select all that apply.
- Connect with online communities related to your site, such as forums and social media groups. (Correct)
- Publish blog posts about new content or new services you offer. (Correct)
- Pay for backlinks on popular industry websites.
- Share quality content on social media. (Correct)
3. Which of the following is true regarding images on a website?
- The size of the image is irrelevant.
- A descriptive page title helps Google understand the photo’s context. (Correct)
- Keyword stuffing alt text is recommended.
- The Google algorithm reviews the caption but not the filename.
Correct: Correct
4. Which of the following is a webpage title element recommendation?
- Title elements should accurately describe the entire website.
- Every page should have a unique title element. (Correct)
- Title elements should use the same keyword at least twice.
- Title elements should be a few sentences long.
Correct: Correct
5. Fill in the blank: The _____ provides the search engine a summary of what a webpage is about.
- meta keyword
- title description
- meta title
- meta description (Correct)
6. What is one difference between rich results and structured data?
- Rich results appear in the SERPs (Correct)
- Rich results display as schema
- Structured data appears as schema
- Structured data appears in the SERPs
Correct: Correct
7. What file provides information about the pages, videos, and other files on a website, and the relationships between them?
- Schema
- Snippet
- Sitemap (Correct)
- Index
8. Which initial Search Console step includes a report that breaks down the traffic by queries, pages, and countries?
- Ensure Google can find and read your pages
- Add and verify website ownership
- Monitor your site’s performance (Correct)
- Review any mobile usability errors
Correct: Correct
9. What Search Console report indicates if your website has been hacked, or behavior on the site could potentially harm a visitor or their computer?
- Security Issues report (Correct)
- Coverage report
- Manual Action report
- Web Search Performance report
10. As a digital marketer managing a website, you are changing the domain name from example.com to example.org. Which Search Console tool would you use to inform Google of this change?
- Change of address tool (Correct)
- Removals tool
- URL Inspection tool
- Submit sitemaps tool
10. As a digital marketer creating a webpage, you start with keyword research to better understand the visitor. Then you create fresh and unique content tailored to your visitors. This represents which website optimization recommendation?
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
- Make expertise and authoritativeness clear.
- Know what visitors want and give it to them. (CORRECT)
- Act in a way that cultivates user trust.
Correct: Correct
11. What are some benefits of good anchor text? Select all that apply.
- Helps visitors with a visual impairment understand the link
- Helps Google place a manual action on the webpage
- Helps visitors navigate the website (CORRECT)
- Helps Google understand what the page you are linking to is about (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
12. As a digital marketer, you’re reviewing image content on your company’s website. On one of the images you notice the following alt text: best smoothie banana smoothie buy smoothie strawberry smoothie healthy smoothie. This alt text represents which concept to avoid?
- Keyword ranking strategy
- Perfect keyword analysis
- Alt text ranking strategy
- Alt text keyword stuffing (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
13. What Search Console report indicates if your website has been hacked, or behavior on the site could potentially harm a visitor or their computer?
- Web Search Performance report
- Manual Action report
- Security Issues report (CORRECT)
- Coverage report
Correct: Correct
14. What website element provides the search engine a summary of what the website is about?
- Meta keyword
- Meta description (CORRECT)
- Meta title
- Title description
Correct: Correct
15. Which of the following best describes rich results?
- Enhanced elements in Google search with extra visual or interactive features (CORRECT)
- Code used to better describe a webpage’s content to search engines
- A test to ensure there are no mistakes with the markup
- A type of code used for structured data markups
Correct: Correct
16. Which of the following is true regarding sitemaps?
- It is a best practice to submit a sitemap to improve the crawling process. (CORRECT)
- Sitemaps are primarily submitted for visitor ease-of-use and not for search engines.
- Popular website platforms typically do not create and submit a sitemap automatically.
- It is particularly important to submit a sitemap if the website is under 100 pages.
Correct: Correct
17. Which of the following best describes the recommended Google Search Console usage for a typical digital marketer? Select all that apply.
- Review the metrics every day for analysis
- Review emails regarding unusual activity (CORRECT)
- Review index reports whenever you add new website content (CORRECT)
- Review the dashboard every month or so (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
18. What Search Console report shows the index status for all the pages in a website?
- Coverage report (CORRECT)
- Security Issues report
- Web Search Performance report
- Manual Actions report
Correct: Correct
19. As a digital marketer managing a website, you are changing the domain name from example.com to example.org. Which Search Console tool would you use to inform Google of this change?
- Removals tool
- Submit sitemaps tool
- URL Inspection tool
- Change of address tool (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
20. Which of the following best describes structured data?
- Code used to better describe a webpage’s content to search engines (CORRECT)
- A test to ensure there are no mistakes with the markup
- Enhanced elements in Google search with extra visual or interactive features.
- A type of code used for rich results
Correct: Correct
21. Fill in the blank: The _ provides information about the pages, videos, and other files on a website, and the relationship between them.
- Sitemap (CORRECT)
- Snippet
- Schema
- Index
Correct: Correct
22. What Search Console report indicates if certain webpages are not compliant with webmaster quality guidelines?
- Web Search Performance report
- Coverage report
- Manual Action report (CORRECT)
- Security Issues report
Correct: Correct
23. As a digital marketer managing a website, you would like detailed crawl, index, and serving information about your pages. This information comes directly from the Google index. Which Search Console tool would you use to gather this information?
- Change of address tool
- URL Inspection tool (CORRECT)
- Submit sitemaps tool
- Removals tool
Correct: Correct
24. Which of the following are recommended ways to promote your website and attract backlinks? Select all that apply.
- Pay for backlinks on popular industry websites.
- Connect with online communities related to your site, such as forums and social media groups. (CORRECT)
- Share quality content on social media. (CORRECT)
- Publish blog posts about new content or new services you offer. (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
25. What is the first step you need to take when setting up Google Search Console?
- Review any mobile usability errors
- Add and verify website ownership (CORRECT)
- Ensure Google can find and read your pages
- Submit a sitemap
Correct: Correct
26. As a digital marketer managing a website, you would like to prevent a webpage on your site from appearing in Google Search. What Search Console tool could provide a temporary fix?
- Change of address tool
- URL Inspection tool
- Submit sitemaps tool
- Removals tool (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
27. As a digital marketer creating a webpage, you create content that visitors find engaging. The visitors then share and direct other visitors to the website. This represents which site optimization recommendation?
- Provide an appropriate amount of content for your subject.
- Make expertise and authoritativeness clear.
- Act in a way that cultivates user trust.
- Make the website useful and interesting. (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
28. Which of the following are recommendations for anchor text? Select all that apply.
- Include a keyword at least twice
- Make it descriptive of the page it is linking to (CORRECT)
- Use formatting that makes it stand out from regular text (CORRECT)
- Craft it in a few words or a short phrase (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
29. Which of the following are meta description recommendations? Select all that apply.
- Limit the meta description to one sentence.
- Add a meta description to every page. (CORRECT)
- Use unique meta descriptions for each page. (CORRECT)
- Use the meta description to accurately summarize the page content. (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
Correct: Correct
30. What file provides information about the pages, videos, and other files on a website, and the relationships between them?
- Schema
- Snippet
- Index
- Sitemap (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct
31. Which of the following statements is true about website optimization?
- Compelling and useful content will likely influence a website more than any other factor (CORRECT)
- Searchers respond well to websites that indicate expertise in several areas
- Useful content links entire paragraphs or long sentences instead of a few words
- After identifying the right keywords and topics, keyword stuffing is the next step
32. A digital marketer aims to increase a website’s visibility by optimizing the images for speed. What should they remember when uploading these images to the website?
- Search engines automatically generate a title and snippet to describe an image
- When uploading an image, resize it to the correct size without losing its quality (CORRECT)
- Keyword stuffing will help search engines understand the subject of an image
- Position an image prominently on the page away from relevant text
33. When creating meta descriptions, which of the following recommendations should you consider?
- Every meta description should be one sentence
- Every web page should have a unique meta description (CORRECT)
- Every second page requires a unique meta description
- Every web page should use a similar meta description
34. What does the removals tool in Search Console enable a digital marketer to do?
- Automatically create a sitemap and make it available to search engines
- Learn detailed crawl, index, and serving information about the website’s pages
- Migrate Google Search results from an old website to a new website
- Temporarily block pages from Google Search results and manage SafeSearch filtering (CORRECT)
35. How can a marketer optimize a company’s website to build customers’ trust?
- Identify what keywords visitors are searching for and implement keyword stuffing
- Link website content to as many external websites as possible to increase traffic
- Provide clear customer service information that helps visitors solve their problems (CORRECT)
- Repurpose old content that visitors enjoy and are familiar with
36. What are some benefits of good anchor text? Select all that apply.
- Helps Google place a manual action on the webpage
- Helps visitors with a visual impairment understand the link
- Helps Google understand what the page you are linking to is about (CORRECT)
- Helps visitors navigate the website (CORRECT)
37. How can a digital marketer create a great user experience with a website’s images? Select all that apply.
- Prioritize the size of the images over the quality of the images on the website
- Write alt text that uses multiple keywords
- Include a caption with any images (CORRECT)
- Ensure images are load properly on the computer, tablet, and mobile (CORRECT)
38. Which of the following is a webpage title element recommendation?
- Title elements should use the same keyword at least twice.
- Only a few pages should have a unique title element.
- Title elements should accurately describe the entire website.
- The title element should be brief, but descriptive. (CORRECT)
39. When using Google Search Console, you will receive an email if an unusual event occurs. What is an example of such an unusual event?
- New content has been added to the website
- Google has indexed the website
- A decrease in the click count on the website
- Google has difficulties crawling the website (CORRECT)
40. Why would a website receive a Manual Action report?
- The website was hacked, which could potentially harm a visitor.
- The website has a low position in the SERPs, which means it will not receive many clicks.
- The website contains keyword stuffing, which is against Google’s quality guidelines. (CORRECT)
- The website is linked to by spammy websites, which cause computer viruses.
41. Which of the following is a webpage title element recommendation?
- Title elements should accurately describe the page topic. (CORRECT)
- Only a few pages should have a unique title element.
- Title elements should use the same keyword at least twice.
- Title elements should be a few sentences long.
42. What does adding structured data markup to an e-commerce web page help Google Search do?
- Identify any fake or irrelevant data and either remove or correct it
- Understand the page features and display content effectively in search results (CORRECT)
- Display pages with invalid markup lower in search results pages
- Guarantee the web page will appear in search results for all types of searches
43. Fill in the blank: Many website platforms such as WordPress, Wix, or Blogger automatically create and make a _____ available for search engines.
- crawler
- search map
- snippet
- sitemap (CORRECT)
44. What does the URL inspection tool in Search Console provide a user?
- Code that informs search engines not to index a page until it is inspected
- Detailed crawl, index, and serving information about pages directly from the Google index (CORRECT)
- Detailed files that share information about a website’s pages, videos, and other files
- Solutions to temporarily block several pages from Google Search results
45. As a digital marketer creating a webpage, you create content that visitors find engaging. The visitors then share and direct other visitors to the website. This represents which site optimization recommendation?
- Use anchor text to link entire paragraphs or long sentences instead of a few words
- Use anchor text that provides a basic idea of what the page linked to is about (CORRECT)
- Use longer anchor text specifically for search engines to improve SEO
- Use generic anchor text like “page,” “article,” or “click here”
46. Which practice should a digital marketer follow when creating anchor text?
- OAuth
- The AAA framework
- Separation of duties (CORRECT)
- HTTP basic auth
Authorization controls combine with the principles of separation of duties and least privilege. Separation of duties does not allow authorizations to be given in levels that will enable a user to abuse the system. Limiting users’ access to the least privileges allows them to have access only to those resources that are required for their roles.
47. Why should a digital marketer keep web page titles brief but descriptive?
- If page titles are repeated on more than one web page, the website performs better in search results
- Effective titles with a few repeated keywords perform better in search results
- When a title is too long or considered less relevant, only some text may appear in search results (CORRECT)
- Search engines determine which titles and descriptions to display in search results
48. Which of the following is true about web page meta descriptions?
- There is no minimum or maximum length for a meta description, but it should include all the relevant information a searcher needs. (CORRECT)
- Meta descriptions should be created manually for small or large websites and cannot be generated automatically.
- Search engines do not include duplicate meta descriptions in search results pages even if they are relevant.
- Using duplicate meta descriptions instead of unique descriptions may cause search engines to delete the website.
49. You are interested in displaying interactive features and product pricing in your search results. What can you add to your website to achieve this goal?
- Structured data (CORRECT)
- Snippet data
- Unique data
- Search data
50. Why should you consider creating a sitemap for a large website with over 500 pages?
- It helps search engines crawl the website more efficiently and find important pages (CORRECT)
- It identifies any issues that might affect the user’s experience while browsing the website
- It verifies the owner of the website and the data on each web page
- It provides information on a range of different website metrics and reports
51. An e-commerce business informs users that its checkout page has a secure connection for purchases. Which website optimization recommendation is this an example of?
- Know what visitors want and give it to them
- Clearly indicate expertise and authoritativeness
- Make the website useful and interesting
- Act in a way that gains user trust (CORRECT)
52. Why should a digital marketer avoid keyword stuffing when writing alt text for website images?
- It can cause images to load incorrectly on computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
- Images largely contribute to overall page size, which can make pages load slowly.
- It can cause a negative user experience, and Google Search may recognize the site as spam. (CORRECT)
- Images with keywords are often positioned in the wrong place on a page away from relevant text.
53. Which of the following facts help you simplify the technical SEO task of submitting a sitemap?
- You can pay for a sitemap that will automatically increase the site’s SEO performance and search queries per month.
- Several website platforms, such as WordPress, automatically create and share sitemaps with search engines. (CORRECT)
- Websites less than 500 pages do not require a sitemap because search engines easily crawl them to find important pages.
- The index coverage report provides an overview of all the pages Google indexed and replaces the need for a sitemap.
54. What best practices can help a business promote its website and attract backlinks?
- Buy and sell high-quality links to the website
- Feature helpful articles, such as buying guides, in email marketing (CORRECT)
- Rely on the number of links and not the quality of the links
- Use lengthy anchor text for search engines
Apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO) CONCLUSION
A week ago, you would have learned the optimization of a website from SEO. You have gone through how to optimize the content, images, and links of your website, along with creating effective titles and implementing structured data markups. You have also learned about the application of SEO tools regarding search performance and user behavior.
To learn more and practice applying these techniques, take the Coursera course on optimizing websites for search engines. Experience it today and become an expert among your peers in SEO.