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What is SEO? A clarification for novices

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Right now, everything happens on the web. Thus, maybe, you’ve chosen to immediately set up a site for your business or association. Or on the other hand, you’ve chosen to reboot your current site. When searching for tips you keep seeing and hearing this term “SEO”. What is it, and what does it depend on? Here, we’ll clarify what it means and how to tackle it to your advantage.

What is SEO?

SEO means ‘Search Engine Optimization’. It’s the act of streamlining your website pages to make them appear at an elevated place in the search results of Google or other search engines. SEO centers around working on the rankings in the natural (a.k.a. non-paid-for) search results. Having a website might be pointless if no one knows you exist. So if you need to get more traffic, SEO should be prime place in your marketing efforts.

Background on SERP?

SERP is simply an acronym for Search Engine Results Page. Sometimes you might also hear it referred to as SERPs. This usually means the results page of many different search engines such as Google, Bing, etc. You likely are well versed in looking at those results on a SERP when using one of these search engines. The majority of SERPs tend to include organic (non-paid-for) search results, paid results(e.g. Google Ads), Featured Snippets, Knowledge Graphs and video results. That content is down to the provider such as Google.

Its in the Science

Over the years there has been a lot of science and investigation into the best marketing ploys for these SERPs. The average user has calculable habits: Which part of the screen they look at first. Then the second etc. And finally where they start clicking the links. In context of SEO, to achieve a good rank in search engines you want to compete and beat your competitors to get you straight to the top of either natural search results or paid results, or both.

Focusing on Google

Google currently holds over 85% of the market share for search engine searches (See current market shares here at :  statista.com). This makes Google the obvious leader to concentrate your SEO on. We’ll leave this part of the discussion here for now.

Google Brand

Google's Algorithm

Google currently holds over 85% of the market share for search engine searches (See current market shares here at :  statista.com). This makes Google the obvious leader to concentrate your SEO on.The rankings of these search results are controlled by Google’s algorithm. Despite the fact that Google’s algorithm stays mysterious, long stretches of involvement with SEO have resulted in a very good idea about the significant ranking factors. Be aware though, that Google is notorious for tweaking their algorithm. What might be top of the natural (non-paid-for) search results one week, might not be at the top the next week.

Don't Dismiss the Bing Search Engine

While there are numerous similitudes in the SEO positioning variables for Google and Bing, it is obvious too, that there are huge contrasts in the weighting applied to certain positioning components when we think about Bing and Google results. Obviously, you don’t need to upgrade your whole site to enhance it for Bing. It still only has around 6% of the market share for searches (UK). And yet there are a few changes you can make to guarantee that you rank profoundly on both web indexes. But that’s for another article. For now, just be aware Google and Bing have their own algorithms. But given Google’s share in the search market, your focus should be on Google.

Focusing on Google

So what factors constitue the Google indexing algoithm? The current paradigm is that Google’s algorithm factors can be divided between two classifications:

On-page SEO factors

The ranking of your site is partly calculated by on-page factors. On-page SEO factors are on the whole those things you can influence from inside your actual site. These factors incorporate technical aspects (for example the nature of your code and page loading speed) and content-related aspects, including the overall structure of your site or the nature of the authored text (or ‘copy’) on your site. These are crucial on-page factors not only for SEO , but your visitors too.

SEO Keyword - What is SEO
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Off-page SEO factors

In addition to on-page SEO factors, there are off-page SEO factors. These factors incorporate connections from different sites, social media consideration, and other advertising exercises outside your own site. These off-page SEO factors can be fairly hard to influence.

The most significant of these off-page factors is the number and nature of connections pointing to your site. The greater quality, relevant sites that connect to your website, the higher your position in Google will be.

The second off-page factor is your competition relating with the niche or speciality of your business. In certain niches or specialties, it is a lot harder to rank than in others. The intensity of your market consequently likewise affects your chances at higher ranking.

Consider holistic SEO

“holistic SEO” implies that your essential objective ought to be to fabricate and keep up with the most ideal site. Try not to attempt to trick Google, yet utilize a practical long haul methodology. Ranking will come naturally if your site is of incredibly acurate and content excellet. Google needs to get its clients to the right spot on the user’s search subject, as its main goal is to list all the world’s online data and make it globally accessible, useful and valuable.

Cupped Hands

Of course Google is a business and obviously needs to bring in cash. To accomplish this, they need to ensure individuals continue to utilize Google. This means that they’ll need to show individuals accurate and relevant results they are searching for. So if your site is the most awesome in your specific market, Google needs it to rank high in the results.

Constantly ranking great in Google requests a broad SEO technique focused on all parts of your website and your marketing. One key notion is that the User Experience (UX for short), the technical (and underlying) parts, and the content (copy) should all be first class, and second to none. To continue to rank well in Google at an affordable rate, you should develop your own holistic approach.

A point of caution - SEO and Search Advertising.

There are many entities out there that will claim to get you placed top ranking in Google search results. Usually their claim comes with a sizeable cost out of your wallet, and possibly before they have done anything to archive that goal. You’ve possibly already had unsolicited emails come through extolling these claims.

anonymous - What is SEOOur view is to urge you not to presume these people are doing what you think they are doing. Firstly, if they say they can do it with a marketing strategy, always ask what that money is being spent on, and more importantly “top ranking for what?”
For example, they might get you a top rank if you are selling “ladies 3 inch red stilettos size 6” but that doesn’t mean you are going to be anywhere near top ranked when your average potential client is searching for “red high heels”. And the likelihood is there are plenty of phrases you could come up with yourself to be more generic.

Just going on a Google Ads spending spree is unlikely to get you the results you want . Worse still if this type of SEO is being managed by someone independent that doesn’t understand your business.

No shortcuts

Don’t confuse good SEO with a marketing campaign designed to hemorrhage your savings. A well thought out marketing campaign can give your business a great boost, and hopefully give you a residual ranking based on its popularity.

We recommend doing some of your own research into SEO and Search Engine aid-ads before you entertain even speaking to a potential supplier of services. A good SEO expert will not only take the holistic approach on your behalf, but they will take time to understand your business before doing anything else.

Conclusion

SEO is the act of improving sites to make them arrive at an elevated place in Google’s (or alternatives like Bing) search results. believe that holistic SEO is the best approach to rank your site since you center around making each part of your site excellent. Avoid what are sometimes termed black-hat SEO tricks, because they tend eventually to have adverse results for your rankings (and could mark your site as dubious for a long time). Instead, create a long term SEO strategy with your user or client in mind. And formulate that strategy to be manageable such that it doesn’t distract you too far from your actual business. If you do some online learning and follow these ideas, you are sure to reap the benefits in the long term.

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