What Is SEO?
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is performed to increase a website’s traffic via targeted keywords that are typed into a search engine (Such as Google or Yahoo).
The next time you do a search on the internet look at the number of pages total that come up for any given keyword – all those pages are contending for that keyword, and only 10 are fortunate enough to appear on the first page!
Many people think that search engine results are entirely random – little do they know that most results for top tier (high search volume) keywords are achieved through consistent SEO work.
How does SEO Work?
Now that you can see the importance of SEO, let me explain how it all works. There are 3 key aspects to a successful SEO campaign:
1. Keyword research:
Multiple data tracking services are used to determine which keywords will bring your website the most relevant traffic.
The goal in selecting keywords is to attain the highest CTR (acronym for click through rate) possible; CTR is a percentage based on the number of users that stay on the site longer than 30 seconds or click through to a subpage or link. The higher the click through, the more likely your traffic is coming from a highly relevant and accurate keyword.
For example, if the keyword ‘Alaska Real estate’ were your only source of traffic you would find yourself with a click through rate of 0% because it does not accurately describe your content and your website is of no use to someone looking for real estate in Alaska (as far as I can tell).
2. On-site optimization:
This process is done by optimizing the code that makes up your website.
Search engines spiders (a spider is a program that logs websites for a search engine) read websites in code. What may be accessible or readable to a human might not be accessible or readable to a search engine. Onsite SEO is basically the process of making the website accessible to search engines and optimizing the code for your targeted keywords.
3. Offsite optimization:
Search engines see links from other websites as a ‘vote’ for the page they link to. Links from reputable sources validate your website and give it credibility. This process is done by attaining links by emailing webmasters, posting to blogs & forums, etc. Keyword placement and format are important in this process.