Search engine optimization is the practice of optimizing a web page to rank highly on search engine results pages. SEO is crucial for companies that want to stand out online. A well-executed SEO strategy can generate significantly higher volumes of traffic to your website, resulting in more views and sales.
But what is an SEO strategy? What does it look like, and how do you make SEO work?
What is SEO and How It Works
SEO is multifaceted, relying on several different metrics to determine how well a website ranks on search engines. Additionally, each search engine uses a slightly different algorithm. Google is the largest search engine online, but others like Bing and Yahoo are also popular. A few of the key metrics that SEO considers are:
- Content quality and relevance
- Keyword optimization
- User Engagement
- Quality backlinks
- Page loading speed
- Meta description and information
Understanding the importance of these criteria requires some understanding of how SEO works in the first place.
Search engine rankings are determined by bots, called crawlers, which index all available pages on a website. Crawlers look for keywords on the page and its meta description to determine the page’s relevance to user search queries. When a user performs a search, they are taken to a results page that displays all relevant results.
All links on this page are ranked according to their perceived relevance, as well as user engagement and website authority. Pages with strong, effective content and high user engagement rank higher than pages that are less relevant or engaging.
How Can SEO Help Small Businesses?
SEO can help small businesses by establishing a stronger digital presence. Content marketing, for instance, is a great way to improve SEO rankings, all while engaging potential customers on your website. Fully optimized web content is one of the most effective, cost-efficient forms of marketing for small businesses today. Read more about the importance of a digital marketing strategy here.
