SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s the process of taking steps to help your website or piece of content rank higher on Google (or any other search engine). But what exactly does that mean? You’ve probably seen the ads at the top of your Google search results, and you’ve heard people talking about how important SEO is for their business. But do you know what it means? Is there something you can do to help improve your ranking on Google? And how exactly does Google work anyway?
Why do you need SEO
There are a lot of reasons why you would need SEO. For example, let’s say you want to attract more customers. One of your goals may be to rank highly in Google for certain keywords that will bring traffic and sales.
But how do you get there? The answer: SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it refers to a series of actions that have a very real impact on what people see when they search for something online—especially on Google. Let’s take a closer look at what SEO is, why it matters and how you can use it to help drive business growth, improve brand awareness and acquire new customers.
Why does it matter
What does SEO have to do with search engines? Well, if your website or webpage isn’t optimized for a search engine's algorithms, it will appear lower in search results. In other words, without good SEO, a page is less likely to be found. It doesn’t matter how in-depth and detailed your website may be; if search engines can’t understand what you are trying to say or aren’t sure of what they should display then they simply won't include you in their results. If a webpage or website isn't optimized for a search engine's algorithms then it will appear lower in search results.
The different kinds of rankings
You can rank for free (we’ll cover how in a bit), or you can pay for your ranking. Ranking for free uses SEO, but there are other kinds of ranking methods out there: paid placement and social media optimization. Sometimes these two methods get confused with SEO; keep in mind that SEO stands for search engine optimization, while paid placement and social media optimization refer to their respective platforms only. Paid placement will help you rank higher on Google when someone searches on a particular keyword phrase. On LinkedIn, businesses can choose where they appear to your connections when someone searches their name, so you can move above your competition if you bid more money on that keyword phrase. Social media optimization is used by businesses to rank higher on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networking sites. These types of ranking aren't SEO because they don't use keywords as anchor text—they're simply ranking based on popularity and reach. While ranking high on search engines like Google can be difficult, ranking high on social media networks is much easier and requires less work.
For example, creating engaging content once a week should be enough to rank well on most social networks within a few months. If you want your business to be successful online, ranking well on at least one major network is essential.
And remember: SEO doesn't stand for social media optimization. It's an acronym that refers to search engine optimization!
The major factors for ranking
Ranking higher on Google search results isn’t impossible.
Here are a few things you can do to help boost your ranking: create more original content, create better-written content and make sure your website has fewer errors in it. Once you have all of that in order, make sure to give your page an SEO title and add some meta descriptions and image alt tags. SEO ranking also depends on creating links from other websites pointing back to yours. Make sure you do everything possible before investing in paid search results because there's no guarantee that they'll get you any further than free listings. Of course, there are many other factors like social media presence, but these are just a few tips for those just starting with SEO. Before long you’ll be competing for number one!
Ranking high is important if you want people to find your site in search engines. For those unfamiliar with SEO (search engine optimization), ranking in first or second place will often time mean a larger percentage of traffic flowing directly to your site and business. Ranking high doesn't happen overnight, though—it takes time, effort, and research before putting anything live. But once done correctly, ranking high could mean new business opportunities or a huge gain in exposure for potential clients looking for something similar as well as new customers who might not have even known about your business otherwise. As mentioned above, ranking higher requires original content which is another way of saying it has to be unique. It also means making sure that all pages are optimized correctly by having meta descriptions and image alt tags as well as having links from other websites pointing back to yours. To learn more about SEO ranking, read Google's Search Engine Ranking Factors page where they list what factors matter most when it comes to their search results. When creating content for SEO purposes, remember that quality always beats quantity when it comes down to Google searches—the longer your content is, the better chance you'll have at ranking higher since Google favors sites with lots of good information versus sites that just link out constantly but don't offer any substance at all.
The most important step
SEO takes a lot of time, effort, and trial-and-error, but it's important to remember that SEO shouldn't be viewed as an isolated step. Instead, search engine optimization (SEO) should be an ongoing process you implement throughout all marketing efforts. You can't get clicks or readers in one fell swoop—you have to keep building content for your audience if you want them to continue clicking and reading. Luckily, building and maintaining a successful website only gets easier with practice. The more content you create for your site (not just SEO content), the better you'll understand what works best for your brand. Just don't forget about SEO in all of your efforts!
Is there anything you can do yourself
Yes. There are things you can do to help improve your chances of ranking higher in search results. You should focus on optimizing your website or web page’s on-page SEO. This includes taking steps like ensuring each page contains a unique and relevant title tag and having a Google sitemap listing every page on your site. Once you’ve optimized your on-page SEO, there are also off-page tactics you can take—like getting links from reputable websites in your industry—to boost your chances of ranking even higher in search results. A quick search for search engine optimization will reveal lots of guides on how to get started with SEO. But it's important to note that not all SEO advice is good advice. Always be sure to research any recommendations you come across, as well as whether they fit with your business goals before implementing them.
Expanding your reach
While search engine optimization sounds like some tech-focused black magic, it's just a way to expand your reach on Google. Many variables can go into creating content and ranking higher on search engines. For instance, if you publish a piece of content with headlines and subheadings, that makes it more likely that someone will share it on their social media platform. The idea here is to do everything you can to boost your chances of getting found by people searching for information online. SEO can seem mysterious but having an SEO strategy in place doesn't have to be hard or complicated if you follow a few key steps. Most of these tactics should already be part of your regular digital marketing plan. You're probably doing them already; you just don't know they're related to SEO!
Beating bad links
If you have been around any SEO forums lately, there's a lot of chatter about bad links. Bad links can hurt your search engine rankings, so it’s crucial to detect and remove them. There are a couple of ways to do that—one is by utilizing an SEO audit. This helps eliminate bad links before they become an issue. Another way to keep bad links from harming your website rankings is through disavowal programs like Google Webmaster Tools Disavow Links Tool. The tool lets you identify bad links that could be hurting your SEO efforts. After identifying these bad links, you can request to be removed from their index or tell Google not to count them in its ranking algorithm.
Just remember: don't buy into all those spammy SEO services promising link removal!
The only way to truly clean up bad links is by doing it yourself or hiring someone who knows what they're doing.
Avoiding common mistakes
While many businesses use search engine optimization (SEO) services to rank higher on Google, many common mistakes make ranking more difficult. Google looks at site speed, avoiding spam content and duplicate content to rank results. Avoiding these common mistakes can help your SEO efforts in a big way.
Here are some quick tips:
*Use high-quality content—Google wants users to find relevant, trustworthy information that's worth reading.
*Load pages quickly—Aim for under two seconds per page load time; something like 0.8 seconds will see you drop out of the top 10 rankings.
*Don't publish too many duplicate pieces of content—Google penalizes sites that publish similar pieces of information multiple times.
*Stay away from keyword stuffing—This refers to using keywords too often within the text. Instead, focus on writing naturally and making sure that each piece of content has its purpose.
*Make sure links point to your website—Links that point to other websites won't help you rank better on Google. It's also important to ensure that any link you do have pointing back to your website is no-followed. This tells Google not to count it as a vote when ranking sites. A no-followed link doesn't pass along any SEO value but still allows you to track how many people click through from another site.