All About Search Engine Optimization

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the act of creating web pages that will rank highly in search engine returns. This feat is accomplished by maximizing certain elements in the HTML coding of each web page; these specific section are read by search engines to effectively rank the sites in regards to relevance, popularity and optimization regarding the search’s results.

There are numerous ways to optimize a web page; the majority of techniques are dependent on the top of site, the content found on the site, and the site’s competition. In a general sense, SEO or search engine optimization primarily relies on the proper use of keywords and key phrases that provide a general description of the site’s content.

Search engine optimization or SEO is the process of expanding and improving the visibility or market share of a web page or website in search engines via a series of un-paid search results. The ability to generate hits without paying or using a variety of advertising techniques is referred to as generating organic hits. The key principle of SEO is that the user or owner of the website does not pay to generate hits; such a practice is referred to as the broader strategy known as search engine marketing.

In most cases, the earlier or higher on the page a website appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. Search engine optimization may target different forms of search, including image searches, video searches, local searches and industry-specific vertical search engines. Through all of these searches, a website can gain increased presence and visibility through the use of search engine optimization.

The Use of Keywords for SEO:

Keywords refer to those words that are inputted by user’s into a search engine; in the most simplistic sense, the more keywords a particular web page has relevant to the search, the higher the site’s ranking will be for that specific term. Keywords will typically appear in the title section of web page’s source code.

Keywords will also appear in the META description section, which is used to describe the site’s product, content or services. In an ideal setting, the source code for each page in the site will possess its own unique keywords listed. Each page title, to cooperate with the generic outline of SEO, should use one or more of these unique key terms to effectively maximize the site’s search engine optimization.

Because SEO relies heavily on the presence of keywords, the relevant terms or key phrases should be used liberally in the first two paragraphs of the particular article or web page. Once they are littered in the early portion of the article, they should be strewn throughout the body of content. Additionally, the last paragraph of every page on the site should be keyword heavy; typically the rule of thumb for a site to maximize SEO will use between 5-15%. Another important placement regarding keywords is in the H1 and H2 header fields of each page; the most relevant key phrases or words must be found here to bolster SEO.

Providing Links and help with SEO:

Providing links from external sites (known as backlinks) is also an important aspect of SEO. These links attract spider bots, which are programs used by search engines to navigate links. As a result of this feature, the text found in your particular web page, which points to external links, should also contain keywords.

If you are struggling with SEO there are tutors available online as well as tutorials, which will provide detailed explanations and offer strategies to bolster your site’s SEO capabilities. There are also SEO companies that will provide similar, yet more in-depth services, at a premium cost.