What is SEO? 7 Things You Need to Know

Have you ever asked yourself, “What does SEO stand for?”

SEO is an acronym that refers to ‘ search engine optimization.’ SEO can make the difference between your website appearing on the first page of a search engine’s results and the very last page.

Successful businesses have recognized the importance of SEO and now use it as a strategy to increase their exposure and ultimately increase their profits. However, as technology and competition get more complicated, so do the requirements of successful SEO. There are various strategies and tips you can take advantage of so that you can get the most out of search engine optimization.

What is SEO? Keep reading for 7 things you need to know about search engine optimization.

1. You Need Quality Content

The old adage about quantity over quality should really be kept in mind when it comes to the content you put on your site’s blog. You could have a thousand blog posts on your business website but if your content isn’t taking advantage of SEO, you won’t be getting the most out of it.

However, another factor that can work against you is if your content is written with SEO in mind while forgetting about the actual human beings who will be reading your posts. What you want to aim for are many articles that are written with both SEO and human reading in mind.

The best strategy is to create content that customers will find valuable. When a customer finds value in your content, they’re more likely to become loyal to your brand. SEO can give you hints and suggestions about what kind of content to make but your content shouldn’t be made around a handful of keywords, for example.

In addition to quality content, your blog should be regularly updated with fresh content in order to remain relevant. That way, customers old and new will continue to visit your business website.

2. You Need a Fast Website

First and foremost, you need a website , but not just any kind of website. The headquarters of your online presence must be optimized for speed when it comes to loading pages and the text, images, and videos that are on them. By optimizing for speed, you’ll also be optimizing for search engine results.

There are some businesses that have websites that are trying too hard to be unique and artful. This comes with a cost. Search engines like Google also determine search results by factoring in the speed at which a site loads, which can put your quality content at risk of being invisible to potential customers.

In fact, if certain aspects of your site are reducing its speed, then it’s worth it to remove those aspects altogether. Depending on what it is, you could reformat it or present it in a completely different form, such as going from video to text.

Even if search engine results were not affected by the speed of your site, it would still be a problem. The patience of potential customers is not infinite. On the contrary, it’s small enough to where if your page is taking more a few seconds to load, they may leave your site for good.

3. You Need Optimized URLs

The Google bots that work to determine search engine results are not perfect. If the URLs that connect people to your content are not easily understandable, then that can work against your attempts at search engine optimization. A human being may take the time to decipher your URL but a bot won’t.

A successful URL should be both readable and relevant to the content it links to.

When creating a URL for a specific post, remember that Google reads hyphens, not underscores. Additionally, the entirety of your URL should be lowercase rather than uppercase. This will ensure that there is no confusion or technical mistakes.

If possible, you should try to keep the number of words in your URL within the range of about 2 to 4.

Your most high-quality, traffic-driving content should be kept in the root folder of your business website to signify its importance. You can also use robots.txt to control what files or pages are requested from your website.

4. You Need Unique Meta Descriptions

Are you still asking yourself, “What does SEO mean?” If so, then you should know that the proverb about leaving no stone left unturned applies to the mechanics of search engine optimization.

While paying attention to all the nuances of SEO, it can be easy to forget about other important factors that can contribute to your search result ranking. For instance, meta descriptions deserve your attention as much as any other aspect of SEO.

After someone searches using Google or Bing and finds a result that links to your site, one of the first things they’ll see is the meta description. To ensure that you leave a good impression, you should write a meaningful and unique meta description for each page on your business’s website.

If you have a blog filled to the brim with rich content, then a generalized meta description simply won’t provide a quality user experience. Contradictory information is bound to arise and confuse the people who are visiting your website.

5. You Need to Keep an Eye on Web Analytics

You may have the idea that web analytics won’t matter until later on when you have more information to look at.

However, it’s best to keep track of all the information from the very beginning.

Once you’ve implemented your SEO strategies, then you should have the analytical software working around the clock so you can tell what is working and what isn’t. This will allow you to fine-tune your strategy so that you can maximize your success.

Every ounce of information is worth consideration and can contribute to a picture that can tell you how to proceed with your marketing efforts in the future.

With this in mind, whether you use public or private software, it should be up and running before your marketing strategies are launched.

6. You Need to Link to Established Websites

It might seem counterintuitive at first to put links in your content to websites that are popular.

You could look at it as a tit for tat situation. As your website grows, you should be confident in linking to relevant and established websites because they’re more likely to link to your site in the future.

From humble beginnings, you can aim to reach the authority and popularity of other websites but you can’t expect them to link to you if you won’t link to them.

Additionally, you can reach out to social media influencers whom you’ve linked to, for example, and notify them of what you did. If they find value in your content, they could share it with their sizeable audience.

Either way, having quality and trustworthy links on your website is a fundamental aspect of SEO.

7. You Need SEO Across the Board

SEO isn’t limited to your website and where it appears in the search results of places like Yahoo! and Google.

Rather, you can apply the methodology of search engine optimization to other areas of marketing and social media too. For example, you can optimize the search results for YouTube, app stores, Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and more.

Of course, there will be specific differences depending on what you’re working with but the essential concept of being on the top of the list remains the same.

Best of all, as you optimize the SEO of your brand in general, aspects of your business can appear in the top results of main search engines like Bing. For example, you shouldn’t be surprised to see your Youtube video appear as the result of a Google search.

What is SEO? Now You Can Tell Your Colleagues

Now that you’ve learned about the importance of SEO, you can give an in-depth answer to someone who asks, “What is SEO?”

From there, you can boost the exposure and success of your business by taking advantage of all that SEO has to offer.

In an increasingly competitive world, it takes a lot to get your products and services noticed by potential customers. From SEO optimization and social media marketing to web design and Google ads marketing, IP marketing solutions has everything you need to stand out from the crowd. Our knowledgeable team members will do everything they can to meet your marketing needs.

SEO doesn’t have to be intimidating or frustrating. If you have any questions about our high-quality services, feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to help.