There are many aspects to search engine optimization. In search engine rankings, many factors are considered. The SEO industry also uses quite a bit of jargon, especially with topics like technical SEO and WordPress.
Everybody should have an easy time understanding SEO! For this reason, this category is dedicated to SEO basics.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
“SEO” is the abbreviation for “Search Engine Optimization.” It’s the process of using non-paid (also known as “organic”) search engine results to increase the quality and quantity of website visitors as well as brand exposure.
Despite the term, SEO is about people just as much as it is about Search Engines. It is all about figuring out what people are looking for on the internet, what answers they’re looking for, what language they’re using, and what kind of information they want to consume. Knowing the answers to these questions can help you connect with individuals who are looking for the solutions you provide on the internet.
Knowing your audience’s goal is one aspect of SEO; providing it in a form that search engine crawlers can understand is another.
Fundamentals of using Search Engines
Search engines are question-answering robots. They go through billions of bits of material and weigh thousands of criteria to see which ones are most likely to answer your question.
All of this is accomplished by search engines searching and indexing all of the accessible material on the Internet (web pages, PDFs, photos, videos, and so on), and then ranking is based on how well it fits the query.
“Organic” Search Results
Today, search engine result pages — often referred to as “SERPs” — are filled with both more advertising and more dynamic organic results formats (called “SERP features”) than we’ve ever seen before. Some examples of SERP features are featured snippets (or answer boxes), People Also Ask boxes, image carousels, etc. New SERP features continue to emerge, driven largely by what people are seeking.
If you search for “Today’s weather,” for example, you’ll get a weather prediction for today straight in the SERP rather than a link to a site that could offer that information.
Some SERP features on Google are organic and can be influenced by SEO. These include featured snippets (a promoted organic result that displays an answer inside a box) and related questions (a.k.a. “People Also Ask” boxes).
It’s worth mentioning that many other search elements can’t normally be changed by SEO, even if they aren’t paid to promote. Data from private data sources such as Wikipedia, WebMD, and IMDb is frequently used in these services.
What is the significance of SEO?
While paid advertising, social media, and other online channels can help drive visitors to websites, search engines account for the vast bulk of internet traffic.
Organic search results take up more digital real estate, seem more trustworthy to knowledgeable searchers, and get a lot more hits than sponsored ads. In a nutshell, on both mobile and desktop, SEO has a 10X higher traffic potential than PPC.
SEO is also one of the few internet marketing strategies that, when done effectively, may pay off in the long run. Your traffic may snowball over time if you give quality content that deserves to rank for the relevant keywords, but advertising requires ongoing spending to drive users to your site.
Although search engines are becoming more intelligent, they still require human assistance.
Optimizing your site can assist search engines in receiving better information, allowing your material to be correctly indexed and presented inside search results.
White hat vs black hat SEO
“White hat SEO” refers to SEO approaches, best practices, and strategies that follow search engine guidelines, with the primary goal of increasing user value.
“Black hat SEO” refers to search engine spamming and deception tactics and practices. While black hat SEO can be effective, it exposes websites to the danger of being penalised and/or de-indexed (being removed from search results), as well as having ethical considerations.
Businesses have gone bankrupt as a result of penalised websites. It’s just another reason to choose an SEO specialist or firm with caution.
Set your business goals first, and then use SEO to help you achieve them – not the other way around.