SEO: What it is and Why it's Important

This is a super-techy post I think anyone trying to increase their web presence online should read. So now I'm putting my tech-savvy hat on and I encourage you to read on...

Search engine optimization (SEO) serves to improve a website’s visibility through a search engine’s query. Visibility can be obtained in two major ways on a search engine: by ranking high on the search list, and by appearing frequently within a search query. A high rank on a search engine ensures that particular site to be among the first sites listed on a search page. Often times we click on the first, second, or third listing in a search and this means more visitors for a top ranking site. Appearing frequently within a search is equally useful, because as we scroll down, we may be inclined to click on a site that is listed more than once. These things greatly increase a site’s visibility, making SEO a smart and powerful tool.

Understanding How Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Can Work for You

SEO not only focuses on text searches but it can also focus on other, equally important search areas such as an image, video, and news searches. SEO creates a useful strategy by analyzing how a particular search engine works. It will observe particular search terms or keywords that are popular or frequent. It will also determine which types of audiences prefer which types of search engines. A website can then begin optimizing by editing site content to frequently include crucial keywords based upon popular searches. This creates what is known as the “search engine friendly” site, where a site will stand out to a search engine and bring in more visitors.

Many search engines, including top search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo! use a process called indexing to log the pages of a site. These pages our found via what is known as website “crawlers” or “spiders.” Search engines use these to find pages and it can be guaranteed for either a set fee or on a cost per click basis. Search engine crawlers vary on how they crawl a site. Some pages may not be indexed by a search because if the page within a site is too far from the root directory, it may not get crawled, thus it will not come up in a search. If a company or site owner does not want a certain page crawled and indexed for searches, SEO can be adjusted to include instructions for certain pages to be skipped over.

Another common SEO strategy is to increase the number of inbound links to a site, which in turn increases that site’s rank. Visibility of a site can be greatly increased by cross linking pages within the same website, providing multiple links to important pages quickly. Also, providing steady updates to a site can also increase visibility because web crawler must return frequently to recover additional information. One should beware that search engines can change their search methods at any given time, affecting the rank and visibility of a site. As a precaution, site owners should include additional networking and marketing strategies to increase their site’s presence such as through outside advertising or linking themselves with other websites.

Armed with this information, growing your business with SEO is a smart and progressive way to increase your web presence.

Carolyn