What is SEO?

SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” but what does that even mean? Let’s dive in and break it down.

Optimizing your website for search engines isn’t just about increasing website traffic, it’s about increasing relevant traffic. Let’s say you manage a clothing store and someone went to your website looking to purchase a television, it would be considered irrelevant traffic. The individual would probably leave your site immediately because he doesn’t see what he’s looking for on your site.

SEO helps get your site rank towards the top of search engine results. People are constantly searching for specific things online and when they find you, we want to ensure that they’re already interested in your business.

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SEO

There are multiple things that go into SEO, but understanding the basics is simple.

• Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
• Site Structure
• Content
• Links

TITLE TAGS AND META DESCRIPTIONS

These are content pieces that Google creating content on the search engine results page. These are used to help users understand what the page is about before visiting the website. The title tag will provide an overview of the page while the meta description will describe the page in greater depth.

SITE STRUCTURE

Creating a simple site structure is important because it allows users and crawlers (search engines scanning the web) to navigate through your website with ease.

You can read more about how to optimize your site structure in Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.

CONTENT

When you are creating content for your website it’s important to ask yourself, “What will my users want to see?” This will help you create content that will be valuable and engaging for your users. You can even measure your results based on your analytics by tracking page views, time on page, and responses from the community.

Using unique content is also crucial for your SEO. Search engines don’t want to rank multiple websites next to each other if they all provide the same information. To improve your writing and avoid typos, consider these simple tips.

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LINKS

Incoming links are crucial to your site’s SEO, but be cautious not to overwork this area. The majority of your efforts should be focused on developing valuable content for your users.

Valuable content is often recognized within the industry and shared in a variety of ways such as through other blogs or social media. Over time you will begin to build relationships with people in your industry and you can then link to one another’s content.

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