Search Engine Optimization in Layman’s Terms
Chances are you have come across the term SEO, but may not know what it really entails. Well, if that’s true, then this read is meant for you.
Search Engine Optimization or SEO basically encompasses all the various strategies that are used to help rank websites high on the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo! etc. But why would you want that? Well, if you had a site that you use to sell products or certain services, what good would it do if no one visited it just because it was not among the search results?
That’s the primary reason search engine optimization is important for businesses that own a website, even if you actually are not selling anything. Your appearance on the web can be quite a strong marketing tool since millions of people use it to search for almost everything. If you are not able to lure your target audience online, it can be tough for you to attract them offline. That’s because traditional means of advertising such as newspaper ads have become less and less potent over the years.
So how does SEO really work? I like to compare search engine optimization mechanism to how gaining votes in campaigns work. Let us assume that your site is the candidate and all other sites in your niche are rivals. For example, you are all fighting for the position of the ‘best plumbing company in Atlanta’ in Google. The site the most votes will automatically be chosen for the top spot in the search engine results page. The votes in this context are simply links from various sources pointing to your website.
However, getting your site or page on the search engines is not as easy as it seems as there’s always bots ensuring that you are doing everything ethically. You must ascertain that all your links are authentic. If you generated thousands of links in a day, all linking to your website, you’d become suspicious.
But the conditions you must meet do not end there. Search engines algorithms are advancing every day in order to improve the user experience. That means that the methods used to determine where a site should rank are changing as well. That also implies that there will never be fixed rules as to how to go about SEO. Different strategies work for different types of websites. For instance, a hotel may make social media marketing its central aspect of marketing since people’s opinion, and referrals matter most in this kind of business. However, that would not hold true for a company that depends on other sites to generate revenue.
Although learning search engine optimization on your own is possible, experimenting with it when your business is at stake can be quite risky. For a novice, it can be very easy to end up marked by Google which can ruin your campaign. If you want to get substantial results in a relatively short period, it is best to hire an SEO expert. SEO specialists have the expertise, knowledge, and experience in this field to know which methods are ideal for your business website.
