One of the first terms you may hear as a website owner or as a Digital Marketer is ‘SEO.’ If you are unfamiliar with SEO, you are in the right place. This article will teach you exactly what it is and how it works.
First, let’s look at an example of a search engine results page on Google. If I search for a Dentist near me using Google, they will use my location to give me some local results. I scrolled past the ads and the Maps portion of Google. You can see 4 different results and all 4 of these have implemented search engine optimization in order to drive organic clicks.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of optimizing a website and creating high-quality content to rank high on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Websites that rank on the first page of search results for keywords and topics can drive relevant traffic daily.
SEO Basics
- SEO = Search Engine Optimization.
- SEO is the process of optimizing your website and your content for search engines.
- The end goal of SEO is to increase your website traffic from organic search results.
- SEO focuses on ranking high on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for keywords related to your website’s topic.
- Search Engines rank websites based on various factors, such as backlinks, content, website speed, website architecture, and authority.
SEO Example
Let’s say I own a website about running. To rank for search terms like ‘How to run faster’ and ‘How to train for a marathon,’ I would have to create a user-friendly website with articles, videos, images, and even audio covering those topics. Search engines like Google and Bing want to rank the websites that offer the best solutions on the internet.
Below are some of the top results for the search term ‘how to run faster’.
While the 2nd result doesn’t feature the keyword in the title, search engines like Google use crawl data and user intent to return a useful solution.
How Does SEO Work?
Search engines crawl websites and their pages to review a variety of factors like content, links, images, speed, architecture, and security. Ultimately, search engines want to rank websites and pages from websites that offer high-quality, unique content that anyone can easily access.
For every keyword search, search engines will process on-page and off-page SEO factors to rank the websites that provide the best solution for each search query.
What do Search Engines Look For?
Search engines first examine each individual search query to understand user intent. Then, they use the websites and pages they have crawled to return results that satisfy the searcher. Websites that are user-friendly, easy to navigate, linked to from other websites, and provide comprehensive solutions with their content will rank high in the SERPs.
What Are SERPs?
SERPs stands for the Search Engine Results Pages. When you search in search engines like Google and Bing, the websites that are listed on each page represent the SERPs. The goal of SEO is to rank on the first page of search results and ideally in the top spot of the Search Engine Results Pages.
Below are examples of the SERPs for the search term ‘how to train for a marathon.’
Getting Started with SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a complex topic because ranking high in search engines involves various factors. Ultimately, marketers should focus on creating user-friendly websites with unique, high-quality content.
The best place to start is with keyword research. If you want to cover a niche, topic, or industry, you need comprehensive content that offers solutions for popular keywords.
What are Keywords?
Keywords refer to the most popular terms and queries people type into search engines. A keyword can be anything from ‘Apartments for rent NYC’ to ‘Running Shoes’ to ‘Emergency Plumber Near Me.’ You can use popular keywords to determine the search terms that potential customers will type in to find your business.
You can see an example of a keyword below that many people type into search engines each month.
Keywords are an essential factor in search engine optimization. You want your website to rank high in search results for the most searched keywords related to the products or services your business offers.
How Does Keyword Research Work?
For keyword research, you should find the top keywords for your business using tools like Google Keyword Planner, UberSuggest, and Google Search Console.
Watch the videos below to learn more about using Google Keyword Planner and other free keyword research tools.
In Summary
While this blog post offers a simplistic view of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it’s a great place to start. SEO is a practice marketers use to rank as high as possible in search engines. Search engines want to return the best website results for each search query.
