Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process involved to optimize your website increasing your organic traffic from search engines like Google, Bing and more. This means you are making changes to your website design and content strategy to make your site more appealing to search engines. By following various guidelines to work with the search engines algorithms you are rewarded with appearing higher in that search engines rankings.
Seem complicated? It doesn't have to be. When you really review all of the factors that impact your websites ranking, SEO can be pretty easy to understand.
HOW DOES SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION WORK?
Here's how I like to think of SEO. Search engines are essentially a business, when you think about it. Like any business, they want to provide the best service possible. How do they do this? By showing the most relevant content based on what their visitors request. Search engines regularly scan your website and other websites like it to learn what the website's purpose is, allowing them to deliver results relevant to the topics searched. Additional ranking preference goes to those with websites that are easy to navigate and read.
So how do you get ranked?
Whenever I talk about SEO I always describe it as a point system. The more points you have, the better you do. In this metaphor points are considered to be actions taken to make your website the most desirable by search engines standards. Here are a list of some things that contribute to ranking your site.
- Keyword enriched meta title tag
- Keyword enriched meta description tag
- H1 tags visible on the page
- Content of at least 300 word count and over per page
- Minimum of two external links per page
- Minimum of two internal links per page
- Images with alt tags
- Videos hosted externally
- Sub-headings like H2, H3, H4 tags
- Social links
- SSL installed on your domain name
- Site speeds optimized.
- Install SEO plugins (Read this blog all about it!)
These are just a few of the many ways to improve your websites SEO through on-page SEO. Utilizing off-page building is a whole different ball game that takes a lot of dedication.
The benefits of SEO are substantial for your business but realizing that SEO isn't an overnight achievement is the first step before tackling an SEO strategy.