INDEXING:
Making the database

Ensuring that your Turtl Docs are indexed efficiently

Step #2: Indexing

How to optimize your Docs for indexing

Indexing:

The process of search engines analyzing content and storing it in their database. When someone enters a query, the search engine consults this database and retrieves the most relevant content.

It's in your best interests to make indexing as simple and accurate as possible. The easier it is for search engine bots to decipher what your Docs are about, the easier it will be to index your work.

How do you make indexing simple and accurate? Hint: the answer isn't keyword stuffing.

Correctly tagging your content and strategically using your keywords is the best way to make sure your content is stored and displayed correctly.

Tips and tricks for tagging and using keywords in your Turtl Docs →

Tagging

Tagging is how you tell a search engine to store your content.
Let's start by looking at ways to optimize your title tag.

#1 Limit your title to 60 characters

Limit your title to 60 characters: sticking to this limit means that there is a higher likelihood that the full title is displayed in the SERP (search engine results page).

#2 Add your company name (if appropriate):

This will help the visibility of your Turtl Doc on the SERP for searches related to your brand.

#3 Don't duplicate

Avoid using exact titles and large sections of content elsewhere on your site. If a search engine finds duplicate content on your site, it will be unsure which page to select, impacting the ranking potential.

Images

Add keywords to your images with alt text. On your cover page, click the three dots next to your uploaded image thumbnail to enter alt text.

As well as boosting your SEO, alt text makes your Doc ADA compliant. Add alt text to Chapter Page and Content Page images throughout your Doc by right-clicking on the image on your page and going to Settings > Misc.

Keywords

The SEO staple. Keywords define what your content is about and lead searchers to your Docs. Placing them strategically makes it easier for your content to be indexed and retrieved. Let's look at the best ways to use them in your Turtl Doc.

#1 H1 & H2

Your H1 and H2 should contain your primary keywords/phrases - while this won’t automatically help ranking, it will help the user, and search engines, better understand your content. On your cover page, this is your title and subheading. Each Chapter Page has a H2 (heading) and H3 (subheading).

#2 Your slug

Your slug is the information that comes after your domain extension in your URL. Adding appropriate keywords is not only a ranking factor, but also aids UX and ultimately will boost SEO. This can be setup easily in Doc settings.

#3 Your Doc description

We recommend including your focus keywords here, as this will appear on social cards and also serve as the meta description on the SERP.