In a Nutshell
In its simplest form, SEO is helping people that are looking for you, find you. SEO helps search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo understand who could benefit from your website. Anytime you search for something on Google, they check their list of websites. They show you what they think is the most relevant websites on a results page. Many people believe that the only goal of SEO is to get to rank one. While, in a sense, it is true, the real goal is getting the search engine to understand your website.
Keywords
In the beginnings of SEO, all you might need to do to add a keyword to get to rank one for the term. Nowadays it is much more complicated. Keywords are words that help search engines understand your website. These might include things like a business name, category, sample services. Including words like these make it clear what you do. That doesn’t mean that every other word is a keyword, either. Keywords should appear in the text, but at the same rate, they would appear in a conversation with a friend. Describe what you do, make sure that it’s clear, and the rankings will come. The incorrect approach is to find a list of keywords and try to work them into the text.
Backlinks
Links are not as important as they used to be. Although they are still helpful. Backlinks refer to other websites creating a link to your website on theirs. These links are often worth more than a boost in rankings. Imagine if a local newspaper wrote a story about your business and added a link to your website. You could see a large increase in the number of visitors to your website just coming from that one link. Many SEOs have strategies for gaining these links. Like keywords, they should come as a byproduct of a clear website and a strong PR strategy.
Schema – Search Engine Lingo
How does a search engine know what the name of your business is when it’s open, or what your logo looks like? Schema is a type of code that is only visible to search engines. It works by identifying specific pieces of information with tags like business, hours, logo. Search engines can use these tags to get a perfect understanding of your website.
What do Visitors Think?
If visitors leave as soon as they see your website, then what’s the use of being rank one? Many problems can cause this type of reaction. This could be a symptom of trying to rank for the wrong keyword. It could also be the product of poor website design. Most of the time it is a mistake in a different area of SEO that is causing these problems. SEOs look at reports on metrics like visitor duration to find the root of the problem. Maybe the right link is not on the menu or visitors have to click through too many pages to find some information.
Conversions
People are visiting your website, and sticking around, but why is there no increase in sales? The website should tell visitors what to do, and allow them to do it. The problem comes when there is a disconnect between the two parts. Just like a store promoting a product that it doesn’t have in-stock. The website should make it easy to buy a product or contact the business.