What is SEO…ohhhh!

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the process by which you optimize your website for search engines. Do you want people to find you? How would your ideal customers search for you and what you offer? SEO is directly responsible for your visibility in search engines. Knowing how search engines will visit your site and pull particular information is very important to optimizing customer searches and increasing the frequency with which your business is found through search engines.

Search Engine Algorithms are Trade Secrets

Search engines such as Google will publish content and news updates about their algorithms, but only in small amounts. Search engines cannot fully disclose their algorithms or they would be abused (as they have been previously). People have cracked the code before and have taken advantage of the system. Now, search engines have to be very careful when they release information. Billions of dollars are affected by search engines. Search engines have to provide enough information so you know what they are looking for and hold back so you do not know how those factors play into their algorithms. Search Engine Land provided a great infographic that I will break down into text format for you to follow:

On-Page Factors

The publisher is in full control of these. You control each and every one of these below:

Content

• Quality– Are pages well written & do they have substantial quality content?
• Research– Have you researched the keywords people may use to find your content?
• Words– Do pages use words & phrases for which you hope they’ll be found?
• Engage– Do visitors spend time reading or “bounce” away quickly?
• Fresh– Are pages fresh & about “hot” topics?
• Thin– Is content “thin” or “shallow,” & or lacking substance?
• Ads– Is your content ad-heavy, especially “above the fold”?

HTML

• Titles– Do HTML title tags contain keywords relevant to page topics?
• Description– Do meta description tags describe what pages are about?
• Headers– Do headlines & sublines use header tags with relevant keywords?
• Structure– Do pages use structured data to enhance listings?
• Stuffing– Do you excessively use words for which you want pages to be found?
• Hidden– Do colors or design “hide” words for which you want pages to be found?

Architecture

• Crawl– Can search engines easily “crawl” pages on site?
• Duplicate– Does the site manage duplicate content issues well?
• Speed– Does the site load quickly?
• URLs– Are URLs short & do they contain meaningful keywords to page topics?
• Mobile– Does your site work well for mobile visitors, like those on smartphones and tablets?
• Cloaking– Do you show search engines different pages than humans?

Are you taking the right steps to ensure good SEO practices? If you are not being found, there is a good chance the above will act as a guide to help you improve traffic to your site.

SEO is for Everybody

SEO is for every business, every person, and every entity who wishes to gain visibility in search engines. People are searching for what you offer but right now they might be finding your site or they might be finding a competitor’s. More times than not, it is the lack of action that sinks a sailing ship. Take action and develop good SEO practices.

Conclusion

SEO is a requirement for the modern day business; it’s as simple as that. If you do not choose to be active with good SEO practices, one of your competitors will. If you notice markets shrinking in size, that is because of search engines. If you are not in search engines, you do not exist,; this is the hard reality to which businesses are turning. You have made investments to build your brand up to where it is today. Why would people stop doing what they have always done? Do not be scared of technology; it is only the means. People are behind every bit of marketing, including SEO. Those people are the ones who are searching for you. Search engines deliver people to your front door. Make an investment in SEO and understand SEO is consistent, not an annual occurrence.

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