What is SEO and Why does it Matter?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of practices designed to improve the appearance and positioning of web pages in organic search results. SEO doesn't refer to paid ads; it is specifically focused on organic traffic.
Search engines like Google or Bing will run bots, crawling from site to site and scouting out everyone's content. After crawling, they will decide if it is relevant and valuable to their users based on your post quality. After considering the ranking factors, they will determine where you should be placed on the SERPs (search engine result pages). That's why it's essential to do on-site and off-site SEO. On-site optimization makes it easier for search engines to find your site if you include the correct meta descriptions, H1, H2, etc. Off-site optimization is everything you do outside of your site besides advertising. You could be at the bottom or the top, depending on how good your optimization is. Always aim for the top!
Search engines determine what people like and want online. They look at what people search for and break it down to specific keywords used to find something. They want to evaluate the intent of the audience.
What makes SEO so Important?
If your content features the right keywords, you won't have to pay for ads to get traffic to your site. It's all about the content! In the digital age, SEO continues to be one of the most critical factors driving successful businesses, which will drive that traffic to the site. If you aren't getting any traffic, you probably need to either improve your backlink profile and/or target better keywords by changing the content to rank high on the SERPs.
A large portion of all online traffic is actually from the search engine bots themselves. Bot traffic isn't considered user traffic and won't negatively or positively affect your site in most cases.
Paid vs. Organic search results
Organic results are earned through effective SEO strategies. Everything on the web page should be optimized for your target keyword. It is essential to stay relevant because when Google crawls the site, it expects to see quality content, and if it doesn't, it can affect where you show up on the results page. The best way to ensure your content is relevant to your keyword is by putting yourself in the user's shoes. Ask yourself if you were to type in the keyword you are targeting and click on your own content, would you be satisfied with the experience. If the answer is no, you should go back to the drawing board.
Paid results are when advertisers bid to participate in real-time auctions in order to show their ads on a specific platform. Paid ads are only a short-term solution, and only last as long as you keep paying money into them. The upside is they are instant and guaranteed eyes on your listing. SERPs are being filled more and more as time goes on with ads, and those ads are getting to the top of the page. They appear at the top of the page pushing the organic results lower. This lowers the traffic and click-through rate for organic results.
On average, the CTR (click-through rate) for the #1 organic search result is 34.2%, while the average CTR for the #1 paid ads result is 2.1%. It should be obvious that SEO will provide the greatest return in the long run.
What is a Search Engine?
Search engines such as Google catalog information given on web pages and sites. Google will crawl the sites looking at images, videos, blogs, and whatever else they want.
A search engine's entire purpose is to provide the best answers for its users. They offer you the answer based on the search terms you use. When finding a solution out of all the content, they look to see any long-tail keywords used to make it easier to find what you're looking for. For example, if you type in "snow blowers," a short-tailed keyword, they might think you want pictures when you want to buy one. They need to find out precisely what you want! So, if you type in "electric start honda snowblower," the search engine will know exactly what you are looking for.
Search engines are constantly changing in an effort to provide the best possible experience for their users.
What Factors Affect SEO?
On-Site SEO Factors
Keyword
A big part of SEO is using and knowing keywords. Keywords are words or phrases used to describe what your content is about on your page. Google will go to your page and see what content is relevant to a particular search query. They will decide where the page should rank based on the specific keyword used.
Title Tags
Title tags will be one of the first things people see after searching for something. Google uses the title to describe to people what the topic of your content is. Based on the quality of your title, it can affect your ranking.
Meta Description
Meta descriptions are also one of the first things that people see in search results. Because so many pages rank for each search query, you need to grab the searcher’s attention with quality content. Having an outstanding but relevant meta description can raise your organic search results' click-through rate (CTR). Having more people click on your site means more traffic.
URLs
URLs (uniform resource locators) are one of the key concepts to the web. They are what helps search engines and people understand what your page is about. Having shorter URLs will help with sharing and make them more user-friendly.
Off-Site SEO Factors
Domain Age
Domain age is a rough estimate showing how old a website or web page is. One that has been around longer will have a higher domain age than one that just started up. Website owners can use these tools to know how long they have been around. Having an older domain with consistent positive performance will help others trust your site more than a newer one because you have been around longer and have a good reputation.
Backlinks
Backlinks are a huge part of SEO. They make crawling easier for search engines, allowing them to find your website and index it effectively. If you don't have backlinks, it is harder for Google to find your site, and they have to put more effort into it. Also, depending on the quality of backlinks on a site, it will help your rank in the search results and bring you more traffic.
Citations
Citations are an online reference that shows the business's name, address, and phone number (NAP). Some citation sites will allow you to link to your website. Most citations take the form of an online business directory, but other types still exist. Submitting your website to as many high-quality directories as possible will help improve your backlink profile.
Reviews
The amount and quality of reviews on your website can drastically help your rank on the SERPs, especially results for your local maps listing. Getting positive reviews tells search engines that you should be recommended to their searchers, allowing more traffic to the site.
Final Thoughts
Our goal should be to get to the top of the SERPs. And all of these on-site and off-site factors listed and many more are very effective ways of getting that top rank. Getting a more significant CTR and more organic traffic will boost your ranking from where it is now. Here at RankZoola, our services are aimed at providing links that will improve rankings and drive traffic to our client’s websites.
