Archive for March 18th, 2010
How Does Search Engine Optimization Really Work?
It is a question that people have been asking since the first website needed to be found on the internet by those seeking products or services! The answer to the question; what is search engine optimization is not overly complex in and of itself. It is simply giving your website the best possible chance of being found by the major search engines on a daily basis. That being said; let us dig a bit deeper into the inner workings, potential pitfalls and general rules of thumb when optimizing any given website.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is most effective when you strategically plan content and linking strategies together that present relevance with immediate user or searcher benefit. The term “page rank” which was coined by Google has now been completely eliminated by Google themselves and can no longer be found anywhere in the Webmaster Tools. The reason for this is rather simple as well… it’s not a true factor when it comes to the other obvious question; why should I be sent to your website?
There are approximately 200 “key signals” that can affect how your website is crawled, indexed and ranked by Google specifically and most of the other major search engines as well. We can reduce this situation dramatically by using common sense. If someone enters a search query for surfboards and you have an article out there posted about the common cold then your article will not be included in the search results. The same holds true with “backlinks” which are truly the lifeblood of any successful website. Many people have adopted the attitude “the more links the better”. Answer: Yes and NO! You need quality oriented “high ranking” back-links that show true relevancy to your product or service.
Much more can and will be said about this, very highly debated, quality verses quantity back-link breakdown strategy.
I for one will always recommend focusing on QUALITY LINKS! With ever changing Algorithms it is safe to say the search engines would like their users to be directed to a site that deals with EXACTLY what they are looking for and that website should be at the top of the search engine results page. NOT the site that has the most “backlinks” from unrelated or irrelevant sites in mass quantity. This will become a huge factor and should be considered when looking for long term rankings as opposed to the quick rise to fame and eventual fall from grace, if you will.
The next thing that you need to remember when looking at the question, what is search engine optimization, is that the search engines send out spiders each time something new is added to your site provided you have submitted a good site map, analytics are installed properly and the site has been found. Said spiders then scan your site to see if this “new fresh original content material” is relevant to the search terms put in by a user. If your site has made good use of a particular keyword or key phrase then your content will be listed within the search results.
Again, reducing this all into laymen’s terms will make known the obvious when talking about “what is search engine optimization”… when the search engines find your site to be of high value to the user then that specific “keyword or “key phrase” designated” page is ranked higher overall in the search results than the competition, it gets found quicker by users, is then clicked on and you reap the increased traffic rewards resulting in more customers or clients.
Saying this and actually doing this are two very separate things. Lots of SEO companies say it and very few actually do it. Why, because it’s very difficult and takes time, patience and lots of quality oriented “fresh original” content to achieve. Website promotion outsourcing has become a very popular means to an end and there are several good companies out there! Among the most affordable and reputable we have found do date is Easy Local SEO.
One thing that you will need to keep in mind is the fact that you do not want your articles to be deemed spam or duplicate content as both will heavily count against you. This can occur when a person places too many keywords in an article and it comes back to the search engine as being “spam” or is considered to be a “keyword stuffed” article with no actual benefit to any potential readers.
When a person asks themselves this big question; what is search engine optimization, they are often times confused by the answer that they will get from all of these websites that claim to be “expert” in the field of SEO.
The truth being told… anybody can be an SEO expert with the right amount of research and knowledge concerning SEO. However, it’s the time investment required, manpower needed, only employing “white hat” promotion strategies and of course proper linking structure that will make it all happen naturally as viewed by the search engines while you constantly develop fresh original content for dissemination in the proper places on the Internet. Social media is hugely critical in all of this as well and must be accounted for. This will be covered in an upcoming article called; The Social & Viral Media Marketing Monster.
Next time that a friend or a person you know asks the question what is search engine optimization, you will be able to answer the question without any trouble at all. Just remember the information that you learned in this article and it’s all about relevance and benefit to the user. Correct keyword selection can be the ticket to your success on the web.
In closing review, search engines rank your site high if they “see” that your content is relevant to a given search. Search engines decide what’s relevant by sending out “spiders” or “Google bots” which crawl (analyze) sites and index or record their findings. If you know anything about algorithms, then you have an idea of how the findings are then determined useful and included in the search results. Since I am not a math whiz, I focus on content and how I can improve my chances of making it relevant. No one has ever truly cracked the code regarding search engine algorithms and they are ever changing.
Search engines list search results found through organic or natural searches as well as the results found via searching through paid placements or PPC (pay per click advertising). The natural search results occupy the bulk of your computer screen and are typically considered more trustworthy by the general public. The paid listings are on the right side. Paid advertising is how the search engines make their money and many scams are found here so it is typically wise to focus on tips for making your site in a patient, natural and ultimately relevant nature to organic searches:
- Search engines often look for phrases rather than words, so including these key phrases in as many places as possible on your pages in logical and user friendly fashion can help the placement of your site in search results.
- Be wise here and never “overstuff” your content with repeated keywords that will do nothing more than to frustrate the reader.
- Research keyword density and find the optimum usage for any given keyword(s) or key phrases within any given article, web page, announcement, special offering, advertisement etc. etc. etc.
Using links from one page on your site to another page within your site will also appease search engines, and keep readers on your site longer, which should increase conversions (from readers to buyers). This may mean you reference an article you’ve written in an e-newsletter that’s archived on two or three other pages. Use links liberally. “Related Articles” are a great way to do this.
Shorter titles are preferred over longer titles on your pages. If you can use keywords or key phrases in your title, site domain, bold bullet points or headers this practice can also help with overall website recognition and ranking.
Use bullets to break up copy on your pages, short impactful paragraphs, video, high quality photos, relevant helpful authority outbound links and so much more can also have an overall effect on both ranking and user benefit. Be sure to include some type of call to action on most every page.
If you are able to incorporate some of these tips into your web pages, you’ll be able to catch the attention of search engines. The most important lesson I have ever learned is to always write for human consumption rather than for the search engine results and provide several various formats of fresh original content as often as possible for best results.
