When it comes to SEO, we mostly think of Google and its SERPs. If at all we think more than that, our mind can go to the Microsoft-owned Bing. But, if you are targeting the markets of Russia, you need to understand Yandex SEO. That’s because Yandex is the biggest search engine in the region.
Yandex’s growth can also be attributed to Russia’s anti-monopoly legal rules that give options on the default search engines to have on Android devices. It is interesting to note that Yandex doesn’t only work in the Russian market but in most areas of the former USSR region such as Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and even countries distinct such as Turkey.
The good thing about Yandex which has led to its growth is that just like Google, Yandex provides other services such as a browser, email, news, translator, maps as well as ads. This is exactly why we need to pay special attention to SEO for Yandex if we are to create a global SEO arrangement or are marketing the Russian areas.
We have compiled this guide after thorough research and personal experience in the domain. So, stay tuned for some exclusive learnings about Yandex search engine or SEO services.
Yandex Webmaster
Just like Google’s Search Console, Yandex has a similar webmaster tool from which you can control most of Yandex-related SEO. It is by far the best Yandex SEO tools that you can put your hands on.
From managing your sitemaps to your robots files, you can let the search engine know about almost all the changes on your website through this webmaster tool.
Yandex and Indexation
Getting indexed on Yandex is neither quick nor easy. You have to submit sitemaps on Yandex’s Webmaster. Apart from that, you will have to submit the content that you want to get indexed.
Now that’s not a good thing to learn for those who work on Google. I have a website that gets its content indexed in under 30 mins. The bad news is that if you have a fresh website, it will take even more time to get it indexed on Yandex. So, patience is the key.
On-Page Yandex SEO
On-page activities are the backbone of truly functional SEO. If you can’t get your on-page right, you will struggle with anything else. Yandex has a lot of algorithms that help to display results as per the user’s search intent. You can compare the algorithms of Yandex to be at par with those of Google.
Cloaking on Yandex
Cloaking is not possible on Yandex, just as it is not on Google. All thanks to the algorithmic update the team behind Yandex released in 2008, cloaking has been comprehensively combated. You cannot trick the Yandex engine by showing its bots a different page than you show to the actual visitor.
Yandex and Pop-ups
Yandex does not take irritating and fudgy pop-ups lightly. Its algorithm detects such pop-ups and is quick to take action on such websites. It is even more strict with websites that have annoying face notifications popping up. My analysis suggests that pop-ups are dealt with more strictly by Yandex than by Google.
Yandex and Sitemaps
Yandex can figure out and read XML sitemaps as does Google. It becomes an important point to mention because earlier Yandex did not allow this, or in other words have this functionality.
It was till 2020 that Yandex only supported the <head> hreflang tag implementation. But thankfully we are past that stage now.
Technical SEO and Yandex
Yandex can be compared to Google when it comes to technical aspects of SEO. Especially in Russia, SEOing on Yandex makes a lot more sense than investing time on Google. While similar, there are differences that you will always have to keep in mind while implementing Yandex SEO on your website.
For example, keywords in the URL are a major thing in Yandex SEO, while they are not as important for Google. And while the internal linking structure is a big thing for Google’s SEO, it is not as important for Yandex.
Yandex Image SEO
Image SEO is important, as more and more people are turning to visual content to learn about their needs. In our estimation, image SEO is similar for Google and Yandex. Well, optimized images with clear alt text will help you get higher search rankings for Yandex. That’s because Yandex knows that images improve user experience.
On Yandex, images can be included on normal search results and be excluded on image search results, as Yandex. Search and Yandex. Images are two different entities.
Yandex Local SEO
Russia is a large country, and as such local SEO becomes important. Yandex Webmaster Tools allow users to specify a region where they want a certain website to be targeted. That is why users usually get good results for local searches on the Yandex search engine.
Yandex and Offpage SEO
When you think of off-page SEO, you think of links. The greater the better. Yandex is critical of links coming in towards websites. And the search engine started penalizing websites with spammy links in 2005, much before the penguin update came into the picture.
You have to be careful about using PBNs or doing link exchanges. Needless to say, that spammy link building is out of the question when it comes to Yandex.
Link Building and Yandex
You can rank a site on Yandex without building any links. Yes, that’s true but that is a story of the past. Yandex launched an algorithm in 2013 that allowed websites to rank without links, but it did not work to the required potential. But as of today, links are important for ranking on the Yandex search engine, so follow all the good link-building practices.
Yandex and International SEO
Yandex supports Hreflang implementation through the XML sitemap. As it is a stricter search engine, as compared to Google, does not use GEO-based IP redirects to force users to a certain website version. It may lead to a form of penalty.
Keyword Research and Yandex
Words that is one of the best keyword research tools to use for Yandex. It is a part of Yandex’s league of marketing tools. The tool helps you to break down searches by locations, which is an incredible feature to have. The data provided is a lot more accurate and vast as compared to any other keyword research tool in the market.
Yandex and Mobile SEO
If you look around, you will notice that a lot more people use smartphones to research anything online, than those who use a laptop. It boils down to the ease that mobile phones bring in with them.
In Russia, android devices come with an option to change the preferred browser. So, that’s where Google’s monopoly over smaller internet devices comes to an end. About 36% of android users are using Yandex while ditching Google, in the Russian markets. This means that mobile SEO on Yandex is big.
5 SEO Tips to Make it Big on Yandex
SEO is daunting regardless of the search engine you do it for. It is laborious and repetitive. Not just that, you need to be meticulous with your implementation. From the right content strategy to the right execution of technical SEO, you have to be spot on.
1. User Experience Matters
User experience is more important than backlinks for Yandex. That means that your focus has to be on the reader at all given times. If you can keep visitors longer on your site, you are going to win big time. Think of adding images, videos, and audio to your website that is capturing.
2. Create Robust Content
Over-optimized content which reads like a robot is a big no-no. Yandex is super strict with it. Avoid duplicate content and invest time and effort in producing content that is rich and edutaining. Nothing beats that, hands-down.
3. Domain Age is Important
Older domains are well received by Yandex. That means as much as your website grows in terms of age, it will get better rankings. Many Yandex SEOs suggest buying older domains if you are serious about Yandex SEO.
4. Genuineness is a Ranking
Trustability, usability, design quality, and service quality are important ranking factors that relate to all queries with commercial intent. So, if you are selling something, make sure that you put your customers at the center stage.
5. Optimize for Small Screens
Just as I already said, mobile SEO is big on Yandex. To win here, you must optimize your site for the mobile screen. Yandex gives specialized attention to mobile-optimized sites and ranks them higher. So, do not miss making your site responsive.
Enough to Get You Started with Yandex SEO?
That was all from my side in this post. I am sure that these are all the good, great basics that will help you get started with your Yandex SEO. After getting started, you for sure would need to join communities that focus on Yandex SEO and help you learn more about the search engine. Reddit, Twitter, forums are to be your best friends if you want to succeed.
