What Is SEO - A Beginner’s Guide To Search Engine Optimization

Are you looking for an SEO guide to apply to your business? Do you want to understand what SEO is and how it works? Well, we have made this process simpler & easier for you. In this guide, we are explaining everything that an individual needs to know about SEO. 

You will learn:

• What is SEO & Why it is Important?
• How does SEO Work?
• SEO Keyword Research & Optimization
• On-Page & Off-Page SEO
• Content Marketing
• How Long Does it Take for SEO to Work?

So, let’s start:

What Is SEO?

SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization, a practice of maximizing the number of visitors on a particular website by improving the quality & quantity of traffic coming on a website from different search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

In other words, it is a procedure of getting website pages to rank higher on Google so that the potential visitors can discover a brand online, leading to increased traffic and higher ranking on different search engines. To put it simply, it consists of either paid or unpaid SEO tactics to make a website easy to find & visible at the top of the search engines.

Why is SEO Important?

The internet has brought the world to our fingertips. Just click on a few links on our smartphones or laptops and we can find any type of information or data within a few seconds anytime from anywhere. Whether it is about any online company, services, or products, it is as simple as that.

The moment you think, “How does SEO work?”What do you do? Simple, go to Google and click on the very first link you see on the first page. If a website is not as informative as you were expecting, you just click the Back button and scroll down the whole page until you get satisfied. This is where the concept of SEO takes place. Apart from being a dominant name in the respective industry, there is no other way than SEO to tell people looking for someone like you that you even exist or how you are better than the rest. Without SEO, you are missing out on those potential leads. Plus, you are making it easy for your competitors to leave you behind. So, this is high time when you should start taking SEO seriously!!!

Recommended Read: Top -10 Key Signs You Need To Hire An SEO Company

How Does SEO Work?

To understand how SEO works, first, we need to understand how search engines work. Let’s take an example of Google that uses an algorithm or set of rules to determine what type of pages to show for any given query. 

Google always wants to provide the best search results to its users and thereby ensures to keep an eye on those web pages that are not only high in quality but also relevant to what searchers are looking for. From scanning or crawling different websites to navigation & user-functionality, it analyses several factors and then rewards exceptional sites with higher rankings on SERPs. 

SEO is the process of ensuring that a particular website caters to all these areas being used by search engines. By improving SEO through different SEO strategies & methods, you can expand your visibility on search engines. What are they? 

Let’s find out about these in brief:

SEO Keyword Research & Optimization

It would be great if you hire professional SEO services. The very first step in Search Engine Optimization is to determine what terms are being used by your target audience to find out about your brand/business on the internet ie Keywords.  Sounds pretty simple, right?? But it's not that simple. There are a few factors that need to be kept in mind while determining keywords:

1. Search Volume - Try to figure out which keywords are enjoying a massive search volume ie. how many people are searching for a given keyword and opt for the one with maximized traffic. The more people are searching for a KW, the brighter chances are to cover a large audience base.
2. Relevance -Though a particular keyword may be frequently searched for, it does not mean that it is relevant to your brand. Keyword relevance i.e. the balance between content on your site & what people are searching for is crucial.
3. Competition - Opt for keywords with higher volume as they can drive significant traffic to your site.

On-Page & Off-Page SEO

On-Page SEO Optimization

Once you have a list of the targeted keywords in your hand, the next step is to apply them to your site’s content. This process is called “On-Page SEO” i.e. SEO elements that take place on your website or things that you have proper control over. Here are a few on-page SEO factors that can help improve your ranking on Google:

1. Title Tag -It tells your audience what your web page is all about within a limit of 60 characters or less including main keywords.
2. Meta Descriptions - This is the description you write for title tags to explain a little bit more about yourself to the audience. 
3. Sub-headings  - Use H1, H2, and H3 tags in your sub-headings to help Google understand what your content is all about.
4. Web Content - It is the content of a web page itself and Google prefers certain types of content.
5. Internal Links - Build internal links or hyperlinks to other content on your site.
   
   Recommended Read: Reasons Why Digital Marketing Worth Investing For Your Business

Off-Page SEO Optimization

In addition to on-page SEO that is under your control, there are also off-page SEO factors that can impact your ranking. Though these are beyond your control, there are ways to improve your off-page SEO tactics such as:

1. Build Trust With Backlinks - Google determines whether you have a legitimate website or not and the best way to develop trust is to create backlinks from high-domain authority sites. It can be done through posting blogs, or articles on sites.
2. Social Recognition - It is about giving social signals to Google about your website such as likes and shares on different social media channels.
   
   Recommended Read: How Small Businesses Can Use Social Media For Marketing?

Content Marketing

Content is the king of SEO that attracts search engines and converts your traffic into leads. The more quality content you publish, the more chances for a higher ranking on Google. Produce informative & engaging content to your site by hiring content marketing services.

How Long Does it Take for SEO to Work?

The most important thing to know while optimizing your website with SEO techniques is that it will not instantly improve your website. It takes time to get results. It is an ongoing & long-term approach and if done properly, it can do miracles for a website. This is why it is crucial to hire a professional SEO company to implement a digital marketing strategy for your brand. After a significant period, you would be able to see noticeable results. Google algorithms will recognize your site and potentially bring your website to the top of search results.