NEW & INSIGHTS
What is SEO?
RYAN-blog-SEO-header

Otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization, SEO is is your back door to organic growth within internet searches.

You might think of a search engine as an all-knowing friend you visit to ask a question. Since they are indefinitely knowledgeable and have many connections – they provide you a long list of webpages that could potentially answer your question. The same thing happens when you hit “search” in Google, Yahoo, Bing, or the engine of your choice—but, have you ever wondered how that long magical list of links is compiled?

Here’s how it works: Google (or any search engine you’re using) has a bunch of minions that go out and prowl the internet for all the content and information they can possibly find. They bring the information back to their master in forms of 1s and 0s and use everything they can to build an index. That index is then fed through an algorithm that tries to match all that data with your search.

There are a ton of factors that go into what makes the first answers the best ones. Here’s a ranking of those factors according to Moz:

 

That’s the SE (search engine) part of SEO.

 

The O part of SEO—optimization—is where you can have some leverage. Optimizing your site to attract those who are out there gathering content first and foremost starts with having quality content – and a ton of it! It’s super important that those search engines will be able to understand what they’re seeing, and that the users who arrive via search will like what they see. This means everything from making sure the title tags and meta descriptions are both informative and the right length to pointing internal links at pages you’re proud of. It’s important to figure out what keywords your audience is searching for so you can have the best chance of being seen when they do.

Building the credibility of your site involves soliciting links from other authoritative sources, reviews, and as many other sources as possible, too.

The short and sweet of SEO is that finding the right recipe of strategic activities to boost your organic placement in search engines can translate to spikes in traffic (and revenue!)