When you look something up on a search engine like Google, do you notice that there are some websites that appear immediately on the first page without being tagged “sponsored”? Why do you think that only these few websites are what you see first? What sets them apart from the ones that get pushed behind into the rest of the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)? This distinguishing factor is none other than what is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. SEO refers to the organic practice of acquiring top rankings on SERPs and driving maximum website traffic through unpaid means. It is a process that focuses on content quality and optimization to increase a website’s visitors and a brand’s online visibility.
Broadly, there are two branches that make understanding SEO easier: On-page and Off-page. On-page SEO is limited to optimizing your own website with keywords, high-quality and relevant content, internal linking, meta titles and descriptions, etc. On the other hand, Off-page SEO is concerned with attracting traffic from other online channels or outlets like websites and social media through backlinking, social bookmarking, blog commenting, etc. When working on SEO, there are a lot of pointers and concepts that need to be understood deeply and prioritized.
All of this will be elucidated further along with a complete guide to the important tips and tricks to conduct effective SEO in 2024.
Optimize / Recreate Old Content – A lot of times, your old content lacks in being relevant with respect to new trends on the internet. In such cases, it can be a good idea to recreate and repurpose it in the same format with pertinent changes as well as other different formats. For instance, written content can be optimized in the diagrammatic, pictorial, short or long video format.
Use Internal Linking – Internal links basically take users from a particular page to other pages on your website or even different sections on that same page. For this, specific terms or concepts can be hyperlinked so that users don’t have to jump from one website to the other to understand something thoroughly and they can find exactly what they’re looking for with ease.
Voice Search Optimization – Voice searches are becoming increasingly more common and they are pretty different from a regular text search. This is why attaining top ranks in voice search results is a wholly separate ball game. Usually, voice search results are either spoken or displayed by AI bots and in such cases, only the top result or first few results are shown. It is therefore important to optimize content that can appear first in reaction to these verbal queries.
Perform extensive Keywords Research – Researching target audiences and search engine results to produce a list of pertinent keywords is extremely important in SEO. You can determine keyword volume, which keywords have commercial intent, high-priority keywords, and other such things and then optimize content accordingly for the best results.
Optimize for Multiple Devices – Many times, while focusing on content quality and upload speed, people often forget to take into account the fact that their website will be viewed by people using different devices, like laptops, systems, tablets, mobile phones, etc. Optimizing for all of them is crucial to smooth functioning and better visibility.
Use Short & Descriptive URLs – Less is more. Keep your website URLs to-the-point and concise. Let them convey the exact idea of the page and nothing more or less. Simplicity is key to effective SEO.
Website Loading Speed – Naturally, websites that load faster tend to attract more traffic as they are easier and quicker to use. When a website takes too long to load, users lose their patience, go back and click on the next best option. This impacts the time spent on your website and ultimately pushes it lower on SERPs. Keep an eye out for the factors slowing down your website speed and fix them immediately.
Focus on Technical SEO – Technical SEO is concerned with all of the technical aspects of a website to make it rank on SERPs. Websites that have the best content but clumsy technicalities almost never rank high. Mobile optimization, optimized URLs and increased website loading speed are examples of technical SEO. The idea is to basically make it easier for search engine bots to navigate through your web pages in order to decide whether they are worth a high rank.
Get Backlinks on the best Websites – Getting backlinks on high-quality websites can be a game-changer for your website. Backlinks indicate the value of your website from the perspective of these other sites that reference yours. They increase credibility and are also known as inbound links.
Focus on Increasing Dwell Time – A related factor to website loading speed is the amount of time spent by users on your web page, also known as “dwell time”. People have short attention spans and high demands from the sites they visit. If you do not work on retaining them for long periods of time, they will bounce off to a different site instantly, thus contributing to your website’s eventual downranking. Websites with the least bounce rates send a message to search engines that people like what they’re seeing which potentially leads to higher rankings.
Focus on Visual Assets – Visual assets are elements that can be visually appealing and gripping for visitors on your website. These could be graphics, images, videos, charts, diagrams, etc. Not only do these communicate concepts illustratively, but also make your web page more attractive and interesting to view. They serve both aesthetic and intellectual purposes for your SEO efforts.
Invest in UI / UX or Graphic Design – Good UI / UX or Graphic design improves user’s interactions and experience with your website. It prioritizes the aforementioned visual assets and makes the website more usable. Easy navigation leads to more website traffic which in turn shoots up SERP rankings
Learn the top SEO techniques with the best digital marketing institute in Mumbai, Andheri and Pune: Digifine Academy of Digital Education (DADE). Digifine can train you in all things SEO with comprehensive modules and a practical approach. They have a highly experienced faculty teaching some of the best digital marketing courses and providing immense industry exposure. Not only this, but you also get a 100% placement guarantee as well as post-course support after the completion of your course. Following are some of Digifine’s course and module details:
Courses offering in-depth modules on SEO – Digifine Digital Marketing course in mumbai, Professional Digital Marketing Program, etc.
Topics in ‘Search Engine Optimization’ module – Website Linking Process, Search Console/ Webmaster, Understanding Keywords
Topics in ‘On-page SEO’ module – Meta Title and Meta Descriptions, Content Optimization, Keyword Density, Sitemap Setup, Google Analytics Setup, Keyword Stuffing
Topics in ‘Off-page SEO’ module – Introduction to DA, PA and Spam Score, Blog Commenting, Forum Posting, Social Bookmarking, Do’s and Don’ts of Link Building
Get a hold of the most important SEO Tips and Tricks by signing up for the best digital marketing certifications in 2024!
Learning how E-Commerce helps a business grow, how to create a structured E-Commerce website to sell products/services, and the best advertising strategies for E-Commerce management.
Understanding how to create brand awareness and maintain positive reputation, reflecting core value of the brand through product/service offered to the target audience, learning about best techniques used.
Understanding how to conduct market research and how it helps in formulating optimum marketing strategies, learning data analysis and programming languages and implementing the insights derived into advertising.
Understanding decision making and goal planning in top management of major companies, learning the significance of strategic management in marketing, and formulating and implementing best advertising strategies.
Understanding the use of automation to buy advertising space on the internet, how to use Real Time Bidding, Media Planning and Pixel Setup best practices, learning to create Youtube Ads.
Learning to create structured and professional websites using the most used industry software, setting up and customizing websites, using plugins and effective techniques to engage and capture consumers.
Learning HTML codes for creating and structuring websites, learning CSS, best HTML practices for Search Engine Optimization.
Section 1: Introduction to UI/UX
1.1 Define UI/UX:
Explanation of UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) | Importance of a user-centric approach in design
1.2 Importance of Design:
How effective design enhances user perception and interaction | Case studies demonstrating successful design impact
Section 2: Understanding the Audience
2.1 User Personas:
Creating and understanding user personas | Influence of personas on design decisions
2.2 User Journey:
Introduction to user journey mapping | Understanding user expectations during website navigation
Section 3: WordPress UI/UX Environment
3.1 Explore the WordPress Dashboard:
Guided tour of WordPress dashboard | Purpose of various sections (editor, customizer)
3.2 Theme Selection:
Choosing a theme aligned with brand and goals | Highlighting themes with good UI/UX practices
Section 4: Wireframing and Prototyping
4.1 Introduction to Wireframing:
Importance of wireframing in design | Hands-on using tools like Balsamiq or Sketch
4.2 Prototyping:
Introducing prototyping tools for interactive designs | Role of prototypes in testing and refining user experience
Section 5: Typography and Color Theory
5.1 Typography Basics:
Choosing readable fonts | Typography’s contribution to overall design
5.2 Color Theory:
Teaching color theory principles | Guiding students in choosing a color scheme
Section 6: Layout and Composition
6.1 Grid Systems:
Introduction to grid systems for layout | Maintaining consistency and alignment
6.2 Visual Hierarchy:
Techniques for establishing visual hierarchy | Guiding users through content
Section 7: Interactive Elements
7.1 Buttons and Call-to-Actions:
Design principles for buttons and CTAs | Role of interactive elements in guiding user actions
7.2 Forms and User Input:
Best practices for designing user-friendly forms | Importance of feedback during form submission
Section 8: Responsive Design
8.1 Mobile-First Design:
Designing for mobile devices first | Using media queries for responsive design
8.2 Testing on Various Devices:
Demonstrating how to test designs on different devices | Utilizing browser developer tools for testing
Section 9: WordPress Customization
9.1 Customizer and Theme Options:
Using WordPress Customizer for live preview | Theme options for further customization
9.2 Widget Areas:
Explaining widget areas for adding dynamic content | Encouraging experimentation with widgets
Section 10: User Testing
10.1 Usability Testing:
Introducing usability testing concepts | Gathering feedback from potential users
10.2 Iterative Design:
Emphasizing iterative design based on user feedback | Implementing improvements in design
Section 11: WordPress Plugins for UX
11.1 SEO Plugins:
Importance of SEO and recommended plugins | Impact of SEO on user experience
11.2 Performance Optimization Plugins:
Introduction to Performance Optimization Plugins | Discussion on page speed and user satisfaction
Section 12: Portfolio Showcase
12.1 Project Showcase:
Assigning a project for designing the various brand brochures & websites | Encouraging students to showcase their work in a portfolio format
Section 13: Feedback and Critique
13.1 Group Critiques:
Conducting regular group critiques to discuss design choices | Encouraging constructive feedback and learning from peers
Section 14: Stay Updated
14.1 Industry Trends:
Discussing current UI/UX design trends | Encouraging exploration of design communities and resources
Section 15: Resources and Further Learning
15.1 Introduction to Design Tools:
Overview of design tools like Adobe XD, Figma (emphasizing Figma in
this course) | Hands-on exercises to familiarize students with Figma
Section 1: Introduction
Create a Black and White Image | Quickly improve images with Camera Raw | Speed up Photoshop | Discover Panel – Find hotkeys and panels fast!
Section 2: Get Started
Use Photoshop’s interface efficiently | Customize your workspace | Create a new project | Open images in Photoshop | Save your Photoshop work | Export your work in Photoshop | Get around Photo- shop fast-zoom-pan | Use the History Panel to fix your mistakes | How to use Undo in Photoshop | Resize an image | Crop and straighten photos | The proper- ties panel
Section 3: Layers Part 1
What Are Layers | Start Using Layers | Use the Layers Panel | Move Layers | Arrange Images Quickly | Layer Opacity vs. Fill
Section 4: Layers Part 2
Layer Types Explained | Customize the Layers Panel | Identify Layers | Filter Layers | Manipulate Layers – Free trans- form | Use of Blending Modes | Lock Layers
Section 5: Selections Part 1
Selections explained | Rectangular Marquee | Elliptical Marquee | Layer masks | Combine 2 images with layer masks | Quick Selection Tool and Magic Wand | Make an orange purple | Change the color of a t-shirt
Section 6: Selections Part 2
Lasso Tools | Pen Tool Overview | Direct & Path Selection Tools | Quick Mask Mode | Color range – Select a Color in a Photo | Remove Background | Save and Load Selections | Select and mask hair
Section 7: Raster Layers
Use the Brush Tool | Soften Skin Imperfections | Use the Eye Dropper & Swatches | Resolution vs Image Size | Color Replacement tool – Replace Color
Section 8: Shape Layers
Create Shapes | Modify Shapes | Use Custom Shapes | Design Shapes | Generate Guides from Shapes | Place Images in Shapes Clipping Mask vs Layer Mask vs Vector Mask
Section 9: Artboards
Introduction | Find out how artboards can help you | The hidden value of artboards | Creating and resizing artboards | Duplicate artboards and using guides | Export- ing artboards
Section 10: Creative Layer Styles (Effects)
Introduction | Download and Scale Layer Styles | Create Gold Text Effect | Embed Text in Photos-displace | Use Global Light | Neon Effect
Section 11: Work with Smart Objects
Smart Objects Explained | Linked Smart Objects | Create a realistic mockup | Filters with Smart Objects
Section 12: Repair Your Photos
Remove Skin Issues (Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush) | Remove Watch and Necklace (Clone Stamp Tool) | Clean Up Face Imperfections (Frequency Retouch- ing) | Remove anything from photo (Con- tent Aware Fill) | Move People in Photos (Content Aware Tool) | Dodge, Burn, Sponge tools | Remove Red Eyes from Photos | Patch Tool
Section 13: Actions
Create an action | Resize lots of images
Section 14: Text Layers
Text layers explained | Font types | Get New Fonts | Learn Typography Best Practices | Combine Fonts | Identify a Font | Stay consistent in your projects – styles
Section 15: Adjustment Layers
Solid-Gradient-Pattern | Enhance faded photos | Change object color-Hue-Saturation | Change Environment – Color Balance | Black n White, Color mixer, Photo filter | Lookup Tables-LUTs
Section 17: Camera Raw – Edit Your Photos
Camera Raw – introduction | Raw image format vs JPEG | My workflow in Camera Raw | The two keys to camera raw edits | One-click wonders in Camera Raw | Graduated filter and the before/after shot
Section 18: Cloud Documents
What are cloud documents? | Saving to the cloud vs locally (on your computer) | Version history | The biggest drawback with cloud documents
Section 19: Effects
Reshape faces | Create a lens flare | Blur & Blur Gallery
Section 1: Introduction
Introduction to Figma Essentials training course | Getting started with Figma training | What is Figma for & does it do the coding? | What’s the difference between Ul and UX in Figma | What we are making in this Figma course | Class project 01- Create your own brief
Section 2: Wireframing – Low Fidelity
What is Lo Fi Wireframe vs High Fidelity | Creating our design file & introducing frames
Section 3: Type, Color & Icon Introduction
The basics of type & fonts | Rectangles Circles Buttons Rounded corners | How to use color | Strokes plus updating color defaults | Object editing and how to escape | Scale vs Selection Tool | Frames vs Groups | Class project 02- Wireframe | Where to get Free icons for Figma | Matching the stroke of our icons | How to use Plugins in Figma for icons | Class project 03 – Icons
Section 4: Pages
How to use Pages
Section 5: Prototyping – Level 1
How to prototype | Prototype animation and easing | Testing on your phone with Figma Mirror | Class project 04 – Testing on your phone
Section 6: Animation Level 1
What is Smart Animation & delays | Class project 05 – My first animation
Section 7: Commenting
Sharing & Commenting on Figma file with Stakeholders | Share editing with other UX designers in Figma
Section 8: Moodboard – High Fidelity
How I get inspiration for UX projects | How to create a mood board | Class Project 06 – Moodboard
Section 9: Columns
How to work with Columns & Grid
Section 10: Colors
Color Inspiration & the eyedropper | How to create a color palette | How to make gradients | How to create & use Color Styles | Class Project 07 – Colors & Columns
Section 11: Text & Fonts Advanced
Font on Desktop vs Browser Figma | What fonts can I use plus font pairing in Figma | What common font sizes should I choose in web design | How to make Character Styles | Lorem ipsum & Placeholder text | Useful things to know about text | How fix missing fonts | Class project 08 – Text
Section 12: Drawing
Drawing tips and tricks | Squircle buttons with ios rounded courses | Boolean Union Subtract Intersect Exclude Pathfinder | What is the difference Union vs Flatten Figma | Class Project 09 – Making stuff | Smart Selection & Tidy up
Section 13: Working with Illustrator
Do you need to know Illustrator with Figma
Section 14: Images
Tips & tricks for using images | Masking Cropping images | Free image & plugin
Section 15: Working with Photoshop
Do you need Photoshop for UX Design in Figma? | Class Project 10 – Images
Section 16: Autolayouts & Constraints
Autolayout & Constraints | Class project 11 – Buttons | Auto Layout for spacing | How to use constraints | Combining Nested frames Auto Layout & Constraints | Adding Text Box Autoheight to Autolayout | Class Project 12 – Responsive Design | Nice drop shadow & Inner drop shadow effects
Section 17: Effects
Blur Layer & Background Blur & Image Blur | How to make Neumorphic ui buttons | Class project 13 – Effects
Section 18: Saving & History
How to save locally & save history
Section 19: Components & Instances
What are components | Updating & Changing & Resetting your components | You can’t kill main components | Where should you keep your main components | Intro to the forward slash / naming convention | Class Project 14 – Components
Section 20: Variants
How to make component variants | Another way to make variants | How to make a Multi Dimensional Variant | Class Project 15 – Variants
Section 21: Making a form
How to make a form using variants | Class Project 16 – Form | Putting it all together in an desktop example
Section 22: Prototyping – Level 2
How to add a popup overlay modal | How to make & prototype a tool tip | What are Flows | Slide in mobile nav menu overlay | Class project 17 – Prototyping | How to pin navigation to top | How to make horizontal scrolling swipe | Automatic scroll down the page to anchor point
Section 23: Animation & Micro Interactions
The difference between animation & micro interactions | Animation with custom easing | Class Project 18 – My Second Animation Make animated transitions | Class Project 19 – Page transition | Micro interactions using interactive components | Micro interaction toggle switch | Micro Interaction burger menu turned into cross | Class Project 20 – Micro interaction
Section 24: How to share you document
Talking to your developer early in the figma design process | Sharing Figma with developers & engineers handoff
Section 1: Introduction
What is Graphic Design? Introduction to Adobe Illustrator | Vector Graphics vs Raster Graphics
Section 2: Basics
Interface Overlook | Create and Save New Document | Customize your workspace | Navigation – Zoom Tool & Pan Tool
Section 3: Working with Objects
Selection Tool | Transformations | Group, Ungroup | Copy, Paste, Paste in Place | Basic Shapes | Shape builder tool | Path- finder | Aligning and Distributing Objects
Section 4: Drawing
Direct Selection Tool | Pen Tool | Anchor point Tool | Pen Tool alternatives | Curvature Tool | Symmetrical drawing | Concentric drawing techniques
Section 5: Appearance of Objects
Stroke settings, width tool | Swatches | Gradients | Layer Panel | Appearance panel | Effects | 3d
Section 6: Brushes
Calligraphic Brushes | Scatter Brushes | Art Brushes | Bristle Brushes | Pattern Brushes | Image Brushes | Strokes on image
Section 7: Images
Working with Images | Preparing simple images for tracing | Preparing complex images for tracing | Image Trace
Section 8: Type
Types of Typefaces | Character formatting | Paragraph formatting | Using Text styles
Fonts | Variable and SVG Fonts | Touch Type | Type on a Path | Type and Shapes | Warp Text | Create Outlines from Text | Image within Text | Text Wrap
Section 9: Advanced Techniques
Introduction to Masking | Clipping Mask | Opacity Mask | Recolor Artwork | Puppet Warp tool | Symbols | Symbol Tools | Dis- tort and Transform tools | Graphs | Blend- ing Objects | Creating Patterns | Refining Pattern Design | Gradient Mesh | Freeform Gradients | Perspective-Intro | Perspective Drawing | Transform Tools (scale and shear tool) | Transform each effect
Section 10: Artboards & Export
Artboards | Saving work for Print | Saving work for Web | Export for Screens