Breaking Down SEO: Search Engine Optimization
The worldwide web consists of over 1.8 billion websites today, according to Statista. This monstrous number constitutes businesses, blogs, chat sites, information sites, and millions more. Therefore, each search engine carries the enormous responsibility of providing promising and relevant search results when internet users search the internet.
What is a Search Engine?
A search engine is the place we go to when we want to look something up on the internet, such as Google or Bing. Think about how many times a day you resort to Google to answer your questions, find your products, give you directions, etc. I know for me, it’s at least 15 times a day…. and that number drastically increases when I’m working. In fact, according to WorldStream, Google alone gets around 3.5 billion searches a day. With such a massive demand for websites and search results, search engines have a large responsibility of understanding what each website has to offer. They do this by using algorithms. Algorithms help turn website information into useful search results.
Why do I need to know this?
Attention: website owners! In order to have a successful website, you want your website to appear highest in the rankings that search engines provide. This is called Search Engine Optimization. The reason you want your website to appear at the top of the rankings is that a greater volume of people will automatically click on the first link due to convenience. Therefore, by being at the top you will automatically receive much higher traffic numbers compared to if you were on the second page of Google or even the bottom of the first page. I mean… honestly, in your own website search experience, when do you ever click the second page of Google? I’m sure, not too often.
How to Achieve Search Engine Optimization
What steps do you need to take in order to ensure the algorithm is working in your favor? Take a look at this list.
Key words
Titles
Links
Link key words
Reliability
Starting with the first on the list - key words - these are highly important because search engines will often use these when deciding which websites to rank during a search. For example, if a person searches “blogs for teen girls” and your website has “teen girls” all over it, there is a much higher chance it will show up near the top of the ranking.
For example, if you do search “blogs for teen girls” this is one of the links that pops up near the top:
This site displays the words “teens” and “teenage girls” plenty of times just on the homepage itself. Therefore, key words are a main reason it popped up so high in the ranking.
For titles, these are equally as important because search engines will use the key words placed in titles just as often. Therefore, its important to name your site something that has to do with the overall purpose/goal for the consumer. If you name your website grapes, but its actually all about how to ride a bike, it might be difficult for users to find it. This represents poor search engine optimization.
For example, in the same example from above, this site is called MODERNTEEN:
This helps the site become more noticed for its target audience - teen girls and increases search engine optimization.
Links are valuable when you link to other sites in your posts and when other sites link to your site. This is valuable because it increases traffic between your site and other sites. When sites are linked together, there is a greater chance that users will click through and see them all. Additionally, if your site is linked in another one, it will insinuate that the two are related and increase search engine optimization.
Just like the actual idea of linking is important, so are the key words inside the link. Search engines will also look for key words in links to tell them more about where you’re leading readers and how they relate. The more they relate and the more key words sites have in common, the more likely they are to show up with each other in the rankings on Google, Bing, etc.
Lastly, we have reliability. The more popular and reliable your website is, the higher it will rank in a search. This one seems obvious but its important to note. Reputation for a website is everything. If more people know about it, that means more people will click on it and typically have satisfactory results.
For example, see what happens when I search “running sneakers” below:
As you can see here, a few of the steps mentioned in the list above are featured here. The first are they key words in the titles and website. When I searched running shoes, a website called “brooksrunning” came up first; displaying how key words play a large factor. However, another interesting element here is that Nike also came up. While the title Nike has nothing to do with running, the company itself is very well known. Therefore, due to its good reputation, Nike is high up in the search engine ranking.
Now what?
Now that we have a general understanding of search engine optimization and the vital role it plays in gaining traffic to our web pages, we can understand how important it is. You can design the most elegant and appealing site with incredibly interactive elements and intriguing content, however, none of it will matter if you cannot get people to see it. While there are numerous ways to attract users to your site, its important to remember that increasing your search engine optimization will give you the most promising results.