If you are a beginner and wondering “What is SEO”, this will make a huge difference as it will not only build your foundational knowledge in SEO but also give you the confidence to explore more. And if you already know about SEO, you can refine your strategies and work towards becoming an SEO expert.
With the complexity and the ever-changing world of search engine optimization, as a website owner, you must understand the basics if you don’t want your website to remain invisible to users.
What Is SEO?
The acronym SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of making your website discoverable by search engines. SEO practices help increase website traffic through organic search results. In simple terms, SEO involves techniques and strategies that make web pages and their content easier for search engine crawlers to find, understand, scan, and index.
SEO is as much about search engines as it is about users since it requires a deep understanding of:
- Searchers’ intent
- Positioning web pages in a way that search engine crawlers can find, understand, and index them
In other words, everything you do to improve your website’s ranking in organic search results is termed SEO.
Search Engines and How They Work
A search engine is a software program designed to help users find answers to search queries by crawling websites with relevant content.
It scans the internet and indexes web pages using specific algorithms. The list of sites presented to searchers is called the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing process billions of search queries daily. Understanding what users search for, the answers they seek, and how they phrase their queries helps website owners optimize their content.
The Three Main Search Engine Functions
Search engines follow fundamental principles of crawling, indexing, and ranking.
Crawling
Search engines discover new pages through a process called crawling. They use software programs known as web crawlers (or spiders) that follow links from known pages to find new ones.
Indexing
After discovering a web page, a crawler scans it and sends it for indexing. Indexing is the process of storing content in a search engine’s database. If a website is not indexed, it will not appear in search results.
Ranking
After indexing, search engines rank web pages based on their relevance and quality. This ranking determines which pages appear first in search results.
How SEO Works
When people think of SEO, they often focus on ranking on Google’s search results page. SERPs now include various features like paid search ads, featured snippets, and “People Also Ask” sections.
Types of Search Results
- Organic search results: These results rank based on relevance, quality, and authority.
- Paid search results: These results appear based on advertisers’ bids and payments to Google.
Unlike paid search ads, you cannot pay Google to rank higher in organic search results. SEO requires consistent effort and best practices.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO involves optimizing elements within your website, including:
- Content: Creating high-quality, engaging, and keyword-rich content.
- Website structure: Ensuring a user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and fast-loading site.
- HTML elements: Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, image alt text, and schema markup.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO focuses on external factors that influence your website’s ranking, such as:
- Backlinks: Getting links from authoritative websites to build credibility.
- Social media engagement: Promoting content across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Guest blogging: Writing valuable articles for other websites to gain exposure and backlinks.
FAQs
What does SEO stand for?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
How does SEO work?
SEO involves optimizing website content, structure, and backlinks to improve search engine rankings.
Can I do SEO myself?
Yes! With research and practice, anyone can learn and apply SEO strategies.
How do I improve my SEO?
To improve SEO, focus on high-quality content, backlinks, user experience, and keyword optimization.
Conclusion
SEO is an ongoing process that requires time, effort, and adaptation to search engine updates. Prioritizing user experience, high-quality content, and technical SEO will help you achieve long-term success. Need help? Call us today. We are an award winning SEO agency and can help.
