Content plays a crucial role in the success of any site. It doesn’t matter if you’re building a new site or reworking the old one, you need to pay special attention to your content strategy. You cannot just write anything or pluck ideas out of thin air. It’s essential that your content ranks for the right keywords which help in bringing in the right traffic.
Now, there are a lot of techniques that one uses such as keyword gap analysis and competitor research, however, these techniques can only go so far. This is where Python steps in. In this article, we’re going to discover how Python programming language can be used to improve SEO.
What is Python?
Python is one of the most important programming languages that is popular for its scalability, syntax, and use in machine learning and AI. Python is considered a universal language as it is an open-source technology that is capable of being multi-paradigmatic i.e., object-oriented, structured, and functional.
The two main reasons behind Python’s versatility are; First, it is multi-platform which means that it works well in several ecosystems. Second, it involves an immense library with various classifications, standards, and functions that can be used for a wide range of purposes.
However, the main reason behind Python’s popularity is its philosophy that gives utmost importance to simplicity and generating code that’s clear, readable, and practical. Some of the main applications of Python are-
- Machine Learning and Deep Learning
- Automation
- Data visualizations and Libraries
- Web programming
- Integration with other languages
Explore the Possibilities of Python and SEO
The basis of the relationship between Python and SEO is formulated to serve two main purposes i.e., First, to analyze large sums of data & its susceptibility to errors. Second, to automate certain tasks that would leave the user free to work on other things.
Now, let’s explore the main application of Python when it comes to the SEO universe.
1. URL Mapping
It is quite common that whenever a site migrates to a new address, all the links attached to the old site break, and they lead the user to an error page. We can use Python to help in such situations by correlating the old links with new addresses. And even if one does succeed in removing all the references from Google search pages, it’s still essential to perform this mapping if one wants to avoid any untoward circumstances that may lead to business losses. Python allows you to avoid any major issues and manage large amounts of pages in an automated and practical manner.
2. Internal Links Analysis
Python also comes in handy when one wants to obtain information on internal links. It allows us to analyze the number of links which link to images that do not have an alt tag, if there are any broken links, etc. You can also analyze whether the links are external, internal, or point to some subdomain. Simply, using Python for internal links analysis gives you an idea of a general mapping of the site’s link-building strategy, so that you can work on improving it. If you’re working on a big website then it becomes impossible to do the whole mapping manually, this is where you can use Python to do it for you.
3. Keyword Search
Keywords are an essential part of digital marketing so why not use Python in handling them as well? You can create specific content for ranking on Google by using Python to search for keywords that are relevant to your buyer persona.
Moreover, you can work on improving the keyword strategy and offer a complete experience to the users by categorizing the thousands of existing keywords by their intention. Using Python’s deep learning to categorize these keywords allows you to better understand the objective of each keyword and what you can do to make sure that the site can better correspond to it.
Now, when we’re categorizing, we need to remember that there are four types of searches i.e., commercial, transactional, informational, and navigational. You can better understand customer preferences when you understand how keywords align within these groups. You can also check which companies in each group are getting better rankings by analyzing the current SERPs (search engine result pages).
4. Image Optimization
When it comes to digital marketing, the way your site performs is a clear indicator of its success or failure. One important factor that dictates a site’s performance is the loading speed and how the user experience is affected by it.
Now, one can use Python to improve a site’s loading speed. You can use Python to optimize images which reduces their size without having any effect on the quality.
5. Keyword Tracking
Python can be a great help if you want to track keywords’ performance. Using Python, you can enhance your content’s positioning on the SERPs (search engine result pages) and monitor the keyword behavior & obtain data to work on content improvements.
6. Performance Improvement
Python tools can also be used to optimize your site’s global performance. You can use these tools to closely analyze each page on the site and identify all the factors that are affecting your site’s loading speed and affecting your user experience. These tools allow you to monitor every page in detail and obtain practical insights to make any improvements.
7. Data Extraction
Python also allows you to automate the practice of web scraping. This is a method that allows you to understand the user or the kind of content your competitors are putting out by extracting and mining data from various sites.
How Python for SEO Works
Let’s discuss the different tools and techniques of Python one uses for SEO-
- Adding Subtitles to Images
When it comes to adding subtitles to images, you can use Pythia- a deep learning framework. It allows you to improve the website’s accessibility and optimize SEO for visual marketing by helping you generate tags and subtitles for images that are missing some information. This feature can be accessed directly from Google Colab which is a tool that directly facilitates development.
This tool allows you to run the system and get an output effortlessly to insert the image link and generate a button when you have the required code for the Google application profile. When this button is used, the algorithm creates a caption for the image.
- Image Optimization
Image optimization is an important task that one can achieve with the help of Python programming by just running a simple script created by Victor Domingos. One can easily find the script on GitHub.
The main purpose of image optimization is to reduce the file size in order to boost the site’s performance and loading speed. One can find this application script under the name “optimize-images”. Add the following command to install it-
pip3 install pillow optimize-images
If you wish to optimize a single file, then add the command-
optimize-images filename.jpg
And if you wish to optimize all files in a single folder, then add this command-
optimize-images .
- SEO Analysis
As already discussed above, Python programming also allows you to perform a complete analysis of your website with the help of a simple command. This thorough analysis helps you find any errors and rectify them to help your site perform better. This simple script can be found on Seth Black’s GitHub page where you can apply it to your site easily.
With the help of this simple script, you’ll be able to count the page’s words on the site and identify errors such as the absence of titles, alt tags, meta descriptions, etc.
You can use this command for installation-
pip3 install pyseoanalyzer
You must type this in order to use it-
seoanalyze https://www.domain.com
- Search for 404 errors
Python can also be used to search for pages with 404 errors and fix them. Doing so allows you to stop users from bumping into dead ends and optimize the user experience. You can find the script for searching 404 errors on GitHub. This algorithm uses the Beautifulsoup library.
Use the following command to install it-
pip install beautifulsoup4
Ways To Learn Python
Python is one of the easiest languages to learn and there are a lot of courses available online on platforms such as-
- Coursera
- Udemy
- Datacamp
- Codecademy
- Udacity
You can use any of these platforms to enroll yourself in their Python programming courses. You can start from the beginner level and then move on to the advanced level. Moreover, if you need extra guidance then there’s always Twitter for feedback and support. There are a lot of experts on Twitter that are happy to help.
Conclusion
Now you have the opportunity to create the kind of content that’ll set you apart in your niche with your knowledge of Python and the insight you’ll get with it. Although it’s important to have your message clear but a little experimentation also goes a long way. Don’t forget to have fun with the SEO and see how magical the whole experience will turn out to be.
