What is SEO?

No doubt at some point in this Internet-saturated day and age of ours you have heard the word SEO thrown about. But have you ever asked yourself the question: what is SEO? Well, if this sounds like you, or you want a little more insight into how SEO works, stick around.

SEO in a Nutshell

SEO stands for search engine optimization – which is the practice of structuring your web page the best that you can so search engines will be able to read and understand your content so that it knows exactly what it is about! That’s the gist of it. So why is SEO such a hot topic?

The Impact of the Internet

Nearly everything these days begins with a search online. Looking for the name of that one actor? You know the one: the one with the face – search the Intenet. Thinking of taking a trip? Search the Internet. You get it. Our lives revolve around the Internet, and search engines are the bloodline of the Internet. They make it possible to start with a vague idea and end up with a list of sites that are exactly what you were looking for.

SERP and Business

With so many people defaulting to look up anything and everything on a whim, it is more vital than ever for businesses to have good search engine rank positions (SERP). With so many people looking only at the first page of search results, you want to be one of the top dogs so you can get the clicks!

You know when you do a search and you see a list of 10 or so websites per page? That’s SERP in action. When search engines catalog websites and their pages, they look at the content, rank you based on a number of “super-secret” factors, and then slots you into a list. SERP is the outcome. So, with search engine rankings being so vital to a business being seen online, it’s not crazy to scream out loud, “How do I rank higher on search engines!?”.

SEO in the past

Oh, the wild west of the Internet. Those were the days. But even in its commercially-available infancy, people knew the importance of getting a high ranking in search results. There were a slew of SEO techniques that people used to manipulate the system, and oh did they work!

There were your standard meta tags where you would list off keywords and then fill out your content. And then there were those who would use… less than desirable techniques. SEO techniques such as repeatedly listing the same keywords over and over on the page to trick the search engines into thinking the site was the authority on a topic because of how many times the word would appear. People would also take keywords and hide them off-screen so that readers couldn’t see them, but search engines could. This led to an arms race of coming up with clever methods to trick search engines for quick gains instead of providing real, legitimate content.

Enter Google

If you have never heard of Google, [insert sarcasm here]. Without a doubt, when it comes to Internet search engines, Google. Is. King. From a small business that multiple large businesses declined to purchase, Google has evolved into a tech-juggernaut that everyone looks up to. So much so that the majority of revenue that the tech-giant now makes is from selling ads! So of course it would behoove them to have the premier search engine on the block.

Gatekeeper or Guardian?

Google is the king – there is no doubt about that – which is why people try so hard to appease the mighty search engine. But Google doesn’t just rest on their success, they actually work to implement new guidelines to help make the Internet better. They give you the tools and techniques to help you make your site SERP-efficient which in-turn sets you apart from websites similar to you.

In Conclusion

SEO is just a way of making sure your site is clean, easy for search engines to understand and fit with the right information to make you stand out from the competition. It is extremely important that your site is optimized as it can boost your business because customers can find you!

Better search results are not an easy thing to achieve, which is where I come in. I have a high success rate for my clients getting to page one of Google, with lasting results! I offer different pricing plans so you can choose what fits your budget.

If you would like to get a better search ranking for your website, I can do all the dirty work for you! Let me know what kind of business you are running and what keywords you think customers will be searching for – I can take care of the rest!