Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Defined
Search Engine Optimization is the strategy developed, along with the process and techniques required to execute said SEO strategy, that aims to position a web page, blog, snippets, or other web accessible content such as rich content like recipe results, shopping results, etc, as high as possible in SERPS. So maybe that wasn’t so simple! In short form, SEO is the stuff you or your SEO provider implement to get your web content to rank at the top of organic Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS).
There are all sorts of definitions on the interweb, but wikipedia has a good intro here if you care to check it out.
The “Optimization” part of SEO is the effort to constantly monitor and adjust the components of your web or digital properties that will help you maintain a top place in the google search engine results. A top place is the first page of search results. In many cases second place is ok, but in SEO, second page?? –not so much. Statistics show over 90% of searchers click on a first page result. In a post from Digital Synopsis, they describe the 2nd page of search engine results as “the best place to hide a dead body”, with “the first page of BING” as an alternate location! Too funny.
As the great Ricky Bobby once said “If you ain’t first, you’re last!” The same applies to the second page results.
What are some of the key elements of SEO?
Because SEO is made up of so many moving parts, one could say that ALL elements of SEO are important, as a higher level of SEO success will be achieved if ALL elements are implemented correctly. Imagine it like a SPACEX rocket launch, when ALL the parts work together it works well, such as here. But when they don’t – meh, not so good – such as here. In fact, there are so many elements of SEO that all work together to launch you to the first page that my keyboard would fail if I tried to list them all, so lets cover the basics.
KEY ELEMENTS OF SEO
- Content. Have something for Search Engines to Crawl.
- Structure. Include your key terms in Titles, Headings, Paragraph Text, Tags
- Include Image Info. Alt Text and Description fields are NB to search engines.
- Include Meta Descriptions. Some say no but it is an extra that can help.
- Links matter. Include internal and external links.
- Social Matters. Include share buttons and your own SM links.
- Monitor Results. Track your traffic, crawl errors, search results.
- Build Traffic. Encourage subscribers and engage with them.
- Site Speed Counts. Use CDN, javascript rendering, image optimization, etc.
- Blog it, Flog it! Have a blog and use it! It helps.
- Use structured data. Enhance your results with structured data.
- Have more than one page. Consider “term specific” landing pages.
- Use google places, or google my business.
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How long does SEO success take?
The answer is NOT “one day”, but every day you wait will put you back one day!! SEO takes time as your SEO company or in-house person will make changes, request crawls, await results, review and revise SEO accordingly. Sometimes you will see results within days, sometimes it will takes weeks. The longer you are consistent with attention to SEO the better your organic ranking should be. After six months of SEO you should be well on your way to appearing in top search results. So much depend on what your current SEO status, and if there are any blaring details such as unblocking robots that exist. Alot also depends on what you are trying to rank for, what type of site you have and how we can access it, and what major steps need to be taken. We will offer you a free SEO consultation, a free SEO status report, and a follow-up quote on our SEO services. Reach out when ready.
Remember, SEO provides a base for your web presence. You can augment it with all types of additional digital assets, tactics, and marketing strategies, but it should be a foundation of your web presence, creating a home for your digital devotees and brand advocates, that is easy to find, and a pleasure to visit.