Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Learn what SEO is all about.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be defined as a set of practices done to improve your website’s rank and visibility in search engines so that it can become easily findable and more popular towards search engine user’s inquiry.

Essentially search engine optimization is the process of making improvements to your website so it can be easily discovered by people searching for you through the search engine.

There is something we marketers call “Organic Search Results”. It refers to those search results that come after the paid and sponsored ads when we utilize the search engine to search for something. Traffic refers to web users who visit a page, and traffic that comes through SEO is referred to as “Organic Search Traffic”.

A search engine is a site like Google or Bing that you can utilize to search the world wide web and have access to information.

Today, the term “search engine” refers to Google. This is because Google is the biggest and most used search engine in the world. It currently has the biggest search engine market share with 94%, making it the biggest by far.

How SEO Works

So how does Google determines what appears on your search engine result page (SERP)? And how does it determine how they are going to appear?

The Google SEO uses bots known as web crawlers to scan pages on the web, collecting information from site to site and storing them in an index. The index is like a big hard drive that stores all the sites information. So when you search for something on google, the results are pulled from the index.

Next something called an algorithm is used to analyze the index, and arrange the order those sites are going to appear in, based on a number of criteria or ranking factor for the search engine users inquiry.

How the user interact with the results is also factored and included in the algorithm criteria. So as long as you produce content that satisfies Google’s expertise, authority and trust requirements (E-A-T), and satisfy the searcher’s requirements, then you have no problems with the SEO.

Artificial intelligence is constantly improving algorithms to ensure better user experience. Meaning SEO is also more complex than ever today.

Google Search Engine Optimization Ranking Factors

Due to the fact that the algorithms are always being improved, the ranking factors are usually changed to meet the needs of the search engine users and to make your experience better. Below are some of the top ranking factors Google uses.

• Quality of Content: The quality of the content you post is one of the major google ranking factors. The content you post have to be valuable, unique, original, and helpful. If no one likes of values your content then Google won’t rank you high no matter how optimized your content is.
• Backlink: A backlink is a link on a website that leads to your website. When that website’s reader clicks on the link it takes them directly to your site. These backlinks tell google that they find your site trustworthy and reliable. So if you can get backlinks from a lot of high authority domains, then you have a big chance of ranking high on Google’s search engine result page (SERF).
• Keyword Placement: Keywords are word that define what your content is all about. These words are usually what the user inputs in the search engine. How strategically you place your keywords can help you rank higher because, if it relates to what was searched it is relevant.
• Website Security: If your site is not secure enough, it will be vulnerable to hacking. Hackers exploit sites for something known as SEO spam, which is when they add links and keyword to your site that will redirect your viewers to their malicious site.

Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools

• Google Search Console: This is a free service or tool provided by Google. It is a standard tool in the SEO toolkit that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results.
• Google Ads Keyword Planner: This is a handy Google tool that is included in the Google Ads tool. It’s use is to help you research keywords to use on your site, and those keywords are directly from Google.
• Backlink Analysis Tools: These are tools that you can use to find and access the amount and quality of links that leads to you from other websites.
• SEO Platforms: These are platforms that contain a lot of SEO tools that you can use to optimize your site. They go deeper in to the SEO metrics and can perform quite a lot of SEO tasks. Some of them are paid SEO tools like; Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.

Search Engine Optimization Techniques

• Building Backlinks: Backlinks are links on another website that lead back to your website, and they are one of the top ranking factors that google use to rank sites. So building your backlinks by reaching out to other site owners, creating very good content, and getting press to attract backlinks from other websites is a very good way to rank higher.
• Content Marketing: By updating your current contents or creating unique and relevant contents, you stand a higher chance of having people visit your site, which can rank your site higher as quality content is also a ranking factor. Also Unique and interesting content gets shared on social media which can generate traffic and backlinks.
• Optimize Site For Image Search: Google now has a new tool or function called Google Lens. It is used by going to the site with the image and using the Google Lens function to find the image source, related photos, or the most relevant information. By optimizing your site to accept the image search you increase your traffic, which in turn ranks you higher.
• Removing Harmful Links: Some sites have links that take you to corrupted or harmful webpages, or malicious one that might contain a virus. These links if not taken care of can cause your rank to fall lower.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimization

1. Increased Organic Search Traffic: When your site ranks at the top of the search engine result page (SERP), your site will be the first one the search engine user will see. And that means there is a high chance the user will choose to go to your site.
2. Increased Profits: A successful search engine optimization will increase organic search traffic, which will increase your customer base. And in turn increase your profits.
3. Brand Awareness: Your site being the first thing a search engine user sees, means that the user will most likely click on it. If your content impressed him, he might recommend it to someone or even directly refer to it in his own site or post. Which will inform other people about your site.
4. Boosts Reputation and Credibility: Google ranks sites by using a ranking factor which includes; quality content, site security, etc. So your site ranking high on the search engine result page (SERP) means you have been approved by Google.

Disadvantages of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

1. Results Take Time: After all the time and effort you put in, you might not get the results you want on time as it might take a few days or sometimes even months.
2. Low ROI in the Beginning: For you to enjoy the fruits of your labor can take time.
3. No Guarantees: Even if you go through the process of the search engine optimization, there are no guarantees that you will get any results. Which means all the time and effort you put in is wasted.
4. Competition: If you are successful and rank very high or you are at the top, it means there are others below you who will want your place. You will always have to be on your toes so as not to lose your ranking.

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