SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization, and is simply the method of optimizing your web site to receive more free traffic from the search engine listings. In order for that to happen, search engines constantly crawl or scan many different sites in order to better understand what that site is all about. If your site isn’t properly optimized for the search engines then they’ll have trouble finding it, which will lower your rankings and reduce your traffic. However, if your site is optimized it will rank higher in the SERPs (search engine result pages) and your traffic will increase.
SEO involves leveraging keywords and phrases (long-tail keywords) throughout your websites content, title, headings, and inbound links. The best web pages that answer the searchers intent, utilizing keywords, will gain the top positions in search engines.
On the other hand, SEO techniques are also based on quality of content and by the number of inbound links (backlinks) that come from relevant websites. Therefore, your site will receive more traffic if it receives a high number of inbound links, especially from other websites that are very popular and topically relevant.
At it’s core, search engine optimization is broken into two different components: On-page and Off-page SEO.
On-Page SEO: The Factors We Can Control
There are A LOT of technical factors that contribute to optimizing your on-page SEO. The basics include: Internal Linking, Schema Markup, Heading Tags (H1-H6), Title & Meta Descriptions, Page Speed, Core Web Vitals, URL Structure and more.
It seems like a lot, but generally speaking these are things that can be addressed once and you should be fine for the foreseeable future. Algorithms change, but as long as you aren’t trying to game the system and pull a fast one on Google then you should be fine. We recommend running a quick on-page SEO audit at least once a year, but perhaps twice if your budget and resources allow.
Off-Page SEO: Providing Value
Backlinks: Endorsements from your Peers
If you aren’t totally familiar with SEO, then you may not know what a backlink is. Basically, A backlink is a link from another website to yours. It is one of the most powerful ways that Google can increase the rankings of a web site. Google assigns weight and value to your backlink profile when trying to determine where your site should appear in the SERP (search engine result pages).
“Think of backlinks like political endorsements; one industry leader appreciates your content and is endorsing you.”
Content is King
You may be wondering how to procure backlinks and while there are many different strategies, at the end of the day, it comes down to content. Delivering information and value to an end user should be the primary consideration for any business or brand with a blog. Google rewards the best solution to a searcher’s problem by giving them rankings on the first page.
“If you need to hide a body, put it on the second page of Google.”
As we like to say, if you ever want to hide a dead body, put it in the second page of Google. Why? No one goes to the second page of Google unless it’s out of sheer desperation. You NEED to be on page one; but you WANT to be in position 1 through 3.
Content that ranks higher not only attracts higher volumes of traffic, but it also gets the attention of other topically relevant blogs and websites, i.e. the ones that can provide you with the most valuable backlinks to your industry or niche.
As you have seen, there are many different factors that the Google Bots use to rank websites. Some of the most popular methods involve the use of algorithms and the overall quality and value that your site brings to a user’s search query.
“Always write for the user; not the web crawlers.”
There are several different things that you can do to promote your website organically. Organic traffic is derived from your website’s SEO, both on-page and off-page. This can be done by writing quality articles, making use of keywords throughout the content, submitting to directories, and linking to your web site from other relevant sites and blogs. Organic traffic is the foundation for most SEO campaigns and brings results in perpetuity. However, it does take time, effort and a particular skill set.
