SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization". The reason it has become such a widely used term is from the explosion of online shopping or "e-commerce".
Why does it matter?
When you search something on Google, Firefox, Duck Duck Go, etc. They use an algorithm to determine what search results you see to suit them the best for the viewer. Now if you are trying to sell something, you want to be at the top of the search results because lets face it, no one goes to the second page when searching online. So for the interest of your business, you want to be at the top to get more customers.
Through research, we have found different techniques that makes the search algorithm favor your page when you do certain things and that has created the SEO field, applying found techniques to your website to improve how much traction you get.
An ever shifting field
It's important to remember that these search engines like google don't tell us how to favor the algorithm, if they did then people would find ways to game the system and instead of quality results, you would find ones that fit the criteria the best.
When people find and exploit these holes, its referred to as black hat SEO which can end up getting your page a lot of visitors, but when the search engines find out you can often face penalties such as your page getting black listed.
To keep improving the search results, that means the algorithm is always changing, so the field of SEO is a constant battle to stay relevant in the search results.
SEO Techniques (The good ones)
Thanks to this helpful graphic from UpTimiser.com you can see a lot of factors play into the ranking of webpages. This is a lot to take in for someone brand new to the field so I will break it down to help you understand.
Infrastructure
Mobile first- refers to googles prioritization of websites that are mobile friendly. Google wants the user experience to be the best as possible, and with mobile searches making up 60% of googles searches, if it's not mobile friendly your rank will suffer.
The rest of this category is more about the security of your website, HTTPS websites are secure, fast loading times and the name of the website itself.
On-Site technical
Refers to the the more intentional SEO practices. Using key words and alt text (You are allowed to tell google what your pictures are on your website which will help them in search results), and some of the quality of the components of your website. Are you labeling components well, spamy websites don't take the time to do this and rank lower.
On-Site content
This is the actual meat and potato's of your website. What words do you use, how long is the content, and is it legible? Again, trying to weed out spam websites, google will rank you on the "quality" factors of the website.
Off-Site all
They weigh in other factors besides your website for quality. If you have linked social media accounts, how good are they? Are other websites linking back to yours? That's a sign of quality! And geography also matters. If someone is searching for something local, location is going to matter!
Conclusion
This was just a toe dip into what SEO really means. As you could have guessed by now, there are a lot more technical components you need to learn to really understand everything that goes into SEO ranking.
It's a competitive world out there and the playing field is huge. If you are a small business owner I would recommend hiring someone to come it and ramp up your website to improve because it is becoming so vital to have that online presence.
The field isn't perfect, If you try to take short cuts like black hat SEO, you'll most likely get hurt, and there is an ever growing farm of content being posted to rank higher on SEO adding to the ever growing over production of content. In the end, this knowledge is power and continuing to learn will help with the online war.
If you have any questions you would like me to cover, leave a comment or just tell me what you thought? Have you heard of SEO before? Did you know what SEO was?
Comments