What Is SEO?
SEO – sorry, no magic hat required.
You may have heard the term SEO thrown around a lot by marketers and other businesses in the online world. But what is it? Why should it concern you?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s about trying to get the search engines to recognize and display your website in search rankings when searchers are searching for things you have the perfect answer for.
Check out this video from Search Engine Land for a great beginner’s explanation of SEO:
What SEO is NOT:
- It is not the paid ads you see at the top or on the sides of your search results. That’s paid search – on Google, it’s called Adwords.
- It is not magic. The exact formula Google uses to rank websites in the search results can be a bit of a secret but we know the basics. No magic powers required.
- It is not for the impatient. Good results take time as search engines crawl and re-crawl the web.
- It is not a one-time project. The process of continuously generating great optimized content and gaining links around the web should always be a focus on your online efforts.
- It is not going to help a site that isn’t ready for visitors – poor design and poor conversion rates won’t be helped by more traffic. Fix up your house first before you invite your guests over.
- It is not something to be ignored. Chitika Insights did a study that showed that the top spot on Google receives almost 35% of search traffic, with decreasing traffic the lower down the search results you appear.
Ack! I know SEO can sound a bit overwhelming as a newbie. Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be that hard. Just choose keywords wisely, make your site search-engine friendly, and start spreading the online word about your site.
Your Turn
What’s been your experience with SEO? Ever pursue a search engine optimization effort? Any advice for a newbie? Did you find this post helpful? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more on SEO? Check out Your Pocket-Size Checklist for On-Site SEO or Signs You May Be Signing Up for an SEO Scam.
photo credit: eva.pébar via photo pin cc
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Great everyday language SEO video. I have been doing my own SEO – kinda haphazardly. I think the main thing is to have a blog and use that blog to consistently post relevant content.
Woohoo for doing it yourself! And you’re right, having a blog can really help. Glad you enjoyed the video! I really like that one too.