SEO or Search Engine Optimization affects almost every search you do on the internet. Although you might think that the things you search for show random results, the fact is they have been specially chosen just for you. The better SEO a website has, the more likely it will show up at the top of search results. But, how does SEO work? Let’s take a closer look.
What is SEO?
Essentially, SEO is a technique used to increase the likelihood that a search engine such as Google will consider a page or site useful, and therefore worthy of a higher search result ranking. Bots or search engine crawlers will check each website and look for characteristics that it deems important in order to recommend the site.
There are over 200 different factors that search engine algorithms use to assess a website, which means there is a lot you can do in terms of on-page SEO to increase your chances of ranking well.
These algorithms are regularly being updated and fine-tuned to give the user a better experience. That means if you hope to achieve or maintain a top spot in the search results, you need to regularly update your SEO.
Why is SEO Important?
Let us say, for example, that you have a website dedicated to a cake-making business. You put in a lot of work, often learning SEO on your own, and creating a site that is beautiful and has all the information your customers need. Unfortunately, there are thousands of other cake websites out there in direct competition with you. Unless a prospective customer knows your company name or site address, there is a slim chance you will be found.
Although it may seem daunting, there are a number of things that you can do to your website that will make a huge difference to your ranking, and most of those things are considered SEO.
Mobile Optimization
One SEO factor that has become increasingly important in recent years is mobile optimization.
Most websites created now will have a mobile version. This version displays when someone accesses the site via a mobile device. The mobile version is usually more compact, but still has all the features of the main site.
More searches are now taking place on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Think about how much time you spend on your phone versus a laptop. This means that websites need to work effectively on these devices in order to ensure better rankings.
Keywords
Keywords are another way that search engines determine the rank of your website.
SEO involves researching the best keywords to add to your site pages in order to show search engines what your site is about. Using your selected keywords on significant areas of your page is another vital part of SEO. It is also important to use those keywords an appropriate number of times. Using too many can actually count against you.
Links
Links are another important part of SEO. The goal is to use links that will make the best impression on search engines. Links to small websites that have little value won’t do your site much good in terms of SEO. You need to link to sites that have good content and have their own authority. This will not only add value to your site but also increase your credibility.
Measuring Your Site Performance
Knowing how your website is performing can be a good indication of where it is in terms of SEO. If you are relying on organic search results rather than paid ads, then you need to know if your site is being found.
Most website hosts will have analytics that you can use to see how many have visited your site, and how long they stayed. If you are seeing growth in your website hits, then you are doing the right things. If not, you need to up your SEO game.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that SEO is important in order to have a successful website. Addressing all the working parts may take a little time, but with the right tools and knowledge, you can quickly start to see improvements.
Although you will be getting traffic from other sources, such as social media and advertising, organic hits are often the best parts of your overall SEO strategy. This is because organic searches require no additional effort or money on your part.
Another important reminder is that you need to keep an eye on any changes to the search algorithms and implement the appropriate SEO techniques on your website to address those changes.