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Getting Started from the Beginning: What is SEO?

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Even though there are nearly 2 billion websites on the world wide web, only 200 million of those sites are active.

In other words, it’s becoming more competitive and cutthroat than ever before to stand out from the digital competition.

Today, having a website isn’t enough. You need a dynamic strategy that’ll get you the traffic you need and the conversions you want.

But where to start? What does SEO stand for? How do you take the right approach to post content and organize data?

Let’s get to it!

What Does SEO Stand For?

First things first, SEO is the abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. SEO focuses on improving visibility and growth through organic search engine results.

There are numerous elements to an SEO strategy. All successful websites have a successful SEO strategy.

This means that the site authors utilize a blend of targeted keywords, dynamic content, and appropriate search engine techniques to boost their SEO.

Why Is SEO Necessary?

When you have a question, where’s the first place you turn? If you’re like most people, it’s your smartphone or laptop, and you’re plugging it into Google. After all, research shows that Google processes a staggering 40,000 search engine results per second.

When people turn online for information, they expect authoritative answers. They don’t want to waste their time hunting and browsing through spam and junk.

Thus, SEO benefits both the website and the consumer. Sites with strong SEO tend to be more authoritative and credible. As a result, they are also likely to rank higher on search engine results.

In simplest forms? SEO makes your company visible. Again, with over 2 billion websites on the world wide web, visibility cannot be stated enough. Even if you have a top-notch business plan, you won’t get very far if nobody can access your services or products.

What Are the Components of SEO?

Ask 50 SEO experts on how to master SEO, and you’ll get 50 different answers. That’s because nobody knows the ‘secret sauce’ behind Google’s algorithm.

However, there are a few strategies that are essential to any strong SEO campaign.

Keywords

What are the common search phrases your consumers plug into Google? What are the trending topics in your industry?

An excellent keyword campaign is a cornerstone for building organic traffic. You need to balance using keywords that generate high traffic volumes without being too competitive. If thousands of other sites have overused a term, it’ll be that much more challenging to rank for it.

Content

Your content is the backbone of your site. Subpar content might get you some traffic, but amazing, intriguing, and branded content will launch your site to the next level.

Content requires both consistency and creativity. You need to be able to provide regular articles to your consumers. Likewise, you need to ensure that the articles are both interesting and informative.

Quality Backlinks

Link building represents a core component of SEO, and for a good reason. High-quality backlinks mean that other companies, authors, and websites like what your site has to offer. Google rewards this kind of “shout-out” to your site.

Quality backlinks take time. Focusing on creating excellent content and building authentic relationships with other industry leaders provides you the best opportunities for acquiring such links.

Site Speed

2 seconds. That’s the average time consumers are willing to wait for your site to load before hitting the dreaded back button.

Your site needs to be speedy, efficient, and consumer-friendly. Google can penalize anything that takes too long to load or process. It’s also frustrating for the user.

Mobile-First Approach

Are you glued to your smartphone? You’re not alone. Most of us turn to our mobile devices to connect online.

That’s why it’s so essential to focus on making your site as mobile-friendly as possible. This requires having responsive designs that are easy-to-use and aesthetically-pleasing to users.

Getting Started with SEO

After launching a new site, you should focus on structuring it to coordinate with targeted keywords. Remember that keywords can help boost your site’s traffic.

If you’re focused on organic baby food, for example, you’ll want to create relevant categories and keywords related to organic baby food. You’ll want to dissect this main keyword into smaller, targeted keywords like the following:

  • cheap, organic baby food
  • homemade, organic baby food
  • organic toddler food
  • organic items for baby

Make sure that each website page targets one primary search keyword (i.e. organic baby food) in addition to secondary keywords. You’ll want to avoid ‘stuffing’ keywords, as Google can usually detect this strategy.

You should always focus on crafting the best content you can for your readers. This means taking time and energy to write thoughtful posts.

If you haven’t written since your high school English class, consider outsourcing to a copywriter. This isn’t an area you want to skimp out on!

Finally, you should add meta descriptions for each post and page. These are brief paragraphs that introduce your topic. While they don’t inherently affect rank, they can improve the chances of someone clicking on your content.

Your goal with the meta description is to make it captivating. You want to give the reader a reason to click on that link!

Finally, set up Google Analytics. This tool will help you determine what is (and isn’t working) in terms of your traffic and SEO strategy.

Final Thoughts

Still loaded with questions? What does SEO stand for? How does a company implement SEO (without wasting time and money)?

We’ve got the answers to your questions! Moreover, we’re happy to help provide you with results-driven SEO that can help scale your business to the next level. Learn more about our services today!

How can we help?