What is SEO and How Does It Work?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is considered to be one of the most significant digital marketing tools of the business, bloggers, and the brands that seek to expand their online audience. When you have ever wondered how certain websites appear at the top of Google and the rest hardly get a mention, it is probably SEO.
This guide will simplify the understanding of what SEO is, how it functions, and why it is important- all discussed in a very simple and beginner friendly manner.
What Is SEO?
SEO is an acronym that is also referred to as Search Engine Optimization and is employed to ensure that websites are ranked higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
When an individual types something on Google such as the best running shoes or how to repair a leaky faucet, Google presents a list of the web pages that it believes are the most relevant. SEO assists in ensuring that your site is among them.
At its core, SEO is about:
- This is to know what people are searching for.
- Producing something that will respond to those questions.
- Ensuring that your site is search engine friendly.
- Cultivating credibility and authority to put Google on the first page of your pages.
The more optimized you are the more traffic will be through search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, which is free.
Why Is SEO Important?
SEO is important as search engines are the largest source of traffic over the Internet. People search Google millions of times in a day in search of information, products, services and reviews. When your site is ranked at the top of such results, you receive more clicks, leads, and income.
Here’s why SEO is essential:
It Drives High-Quality Traffic
Individuals that visit your site because of search already have what you offer in mind. This increases their chances of conversion unlike other random visitors.
It Builds Trust and Credibility
Google ranks websites that are ranked at the top to be more reliable and reputable.
It’s Cost-Effective
SEO is free traffic as opposed to paid advertisements. It takes time and planning but can bring in long-term outcomes.
It Helps You Compete
There is high competition in virtually all industries in the market. Small businesses can even compete with bigger brands with the help of good SEO.
How Search Engines Work
In order to find out the mechanism of SEO, you have to know the mechanism of search engines. Search engines such as Google have automated programmes and algorithms that determine the pages to be displayed in the results.
There are three steps in the process:
Crawling
Search engines have bots (also known as crawlers or spiders) that are used to scan the internet to locate new and updated pages.
Indexing
After crawling, the pages are stored in the huge library of Google- the index. This informs Google of the content of the page.
Ranking
Google examines the indexed pages and ranks the pages on hundreds of criteria which include relevancy, quality, user experience and authority among others.
SEO is everything to do with maximizing your site to suit all these three steps.
How Does SEO Work?
SEO consists of a number of elements that collaborate to assist search engines to comprehend, have trust as well as rank your site. These elements can be classified into three broad categories including on-page SEO, off-page SEO and technical SEO.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the practice of making your webpages optimized. This assists the search engines to know what your page is all about and why it should be ranked.
Key On-Page SEO Elements:
Keywords
Keywords are the terms and phrases that are typed in the search engines.
For example:
- “Best coffee makers”
- “Home insurance quotes”
It is natural to use the right key words in the content you give so that Google can match your page with the related searches.
High-Quality Content
The basis of SEO is great content.
Your content should:
- Response to the question of the searcher.
- Be easy to read
- Offer real value
- Be original and well-written
Search engines are more inclined to useful and informative human-written content.
Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
These appear first to users in search results.
Title tags: The primary title displayed by Google.
Meta description: A brief overview of your page.
The optimization of these enhances the click-through rates.
Headings (H1, H2, H3)
Headings separate your text and make it easier to read. They also assist Google to know the structure of your page.
Internal Links
These are links to other pages of your own site. They assist the visitors to navigate and assist Google to locate and index your content much quicker.
Off–Page SEO
Off-page SEO is the method of achieving reputation and authority of your site, not on your own pages.
Key Off-Page SEO Techniques:
Backlinks
Backlinks are links to other sites of your site. When you have the reputable sites linked to you, this will tell Google that your content is reliable.
Social Media Signals
Although it is not a direct ranking factor, social media may raise the visibility and traffic.
Brand Mentions
The more people are discussing your brand online the more authority you would have.
The whole business of off page SEO is to demonstrate to Google that your site is a valid one that is popular.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO enhances the search engine crawling and indexing of your site.
Critical Technical SEO Considerations:
Site Speed
Google rewards fast websites since they offer better user experience.
Mobile-Friendly Design
The majority of people access the web using mobile devices. Google is more concerned with mobile-friendly sites.
Secure Website (HTTPS)
Security matters. Websites that are HTTPS will be ranked higher as compared to those that are not.
URL Structure
Concise, straight forward, keyword-based URLs enhance indexing and usability.
Sitemaps
Sitemaps assist search engines to know more about the structure of your site and locate pages quicker.
How Long Does SEO Take to Work?
SEO cannot be an overnight technique. Significant results may take 3-6 months (and longer).
Timing depends on:
- Competitiveness in your industry.
- The quality of your content
- The age and authority of your web page.
- The consistency with which you use SEO best practices.
Consider SEO as a long-term investment whose benefits are long term.
Best Practices for Effective SEO
The best practices to ensure that you rank highly include:
- Produce useful and high-quality content.
- Use keywords naturally
- Maximize your titles and meta descriptions.
- Speed up your website and make it mobile-friendly.
- Establish good quality back links.
- Make your site well-structured and navigation friendly.
- Revise the old information on a regular basis.
It takes consistency, and search engine optimization is best achieved through consistency.
Bill Yeager, Co-Owner of High Point SEO & Marketing in CT, is a leading SEO specialist, Amazon international best-selling author of the book Unleash Your Internal Drive, Facebook public figure, a marketing genius, and an authority in the digital space. He has been personally coached by Tony Robbins, a fire walker and a student of Dan Kennedy, Founder of Magnetic Marketing. Bill has been on several popular podcasts and the news including Sharkpreneur with Kevin Harrington, FOX, NBC, and ABC by way of his Secret Sauce marketing strategies. Bill enjoys fitness, cars, and spending time with his family when not at work.
