SEO Basics

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SEO is an acronym that stands for Search Engine Optimization. A significant amount of effort and money is deeply invested in this burgeoning tactic. After reading this article you will understand why it is so critical to a successful advertising campaign. SEO is a skill that evaluates the ranking of a website on the Internet and takes steps to streamline that presence into a point of interest that maintains a consistent high position on any list of search engine results. This will involve establishing attractive links on trusted websites to content that is engaging and currently of interest to Internet users. As one might imagine, this can get rather intricate considering that the search engines are continually changing and updating to become more efficient, fair, and accurate. Therefore, remember when evaluating an SEO firm for its efficacy an optimizer would always be improving techniques to remain in touch with the details of their craft and the whim of the web.

The simple way to think of SEO is the understanding of what it takes to be a consistently popular choice for Internet users to click. Rank is based on a program that “crawls” across all the Internet pages it can find links to and then rates them using an algorithm that takes into account the number of uses, length of time a user stays, number of incoming links, quality of the reference sources, reach of popularity to distant geographic areas, keyword density, and many more. The most significant way a site can score well in all the right categories is to keep their pages updated with the “freshest” content. What works for the people is good for the search rank means if what you have done brings in more people it will also improve your level on search results.

Search engines bring back the most relevant links based upon the keyword(s) given. Keywords are the terms users type in and the way the content on pages is constructed has a huge effect on the measured quality and click-count a link gets. Content that uses keywords, and links, in a way that is not obviously putting them in where something better would flow is said to use them organically and the page ranks higher. The best links are from an established website with a reputation for reliability, which is considered high quality. Avoiding multiple URL’s with duplicate content on them keeps your own pages from competing with each other and there are tools to make this another advantage.

There are many ways to improve the ranking of a website that the SEO professional has within easy reach and they are often provided by the same companies that control the search engines themselves. Some of these tools focus on analyzing details such as keyword popularity and other sites that may be in competition for a given subject matter. In addition to having quality keywords, content, and links, the structure of the page needs to be “parseable” in a readable language, like HTML or XML, and navigable through linked pathways so the bots from the search engine can crawl over and recognize all its features and connections. A clearly understood format is the foundation a page needs to be considered an integral part of any search on terms within its scope.

The optimizer would then use all the knowledge just covered, and much more, to make certain any necessary changes have been made to improve the consistent relevance of a given page in search returns. This involves a complex method of balancing the right tools with a keen eye and an analytical spirit that loves to dive deep into graphs, charts, and matrices. This is why a business would advisedly find professionals to do this kind of precise expert work. However, they will need a basic understanding of best practices to know what to ask when vetting whomever they consider. A few general questions when considering hiring someone for SEO are as follows:

1. How will you create (long-tail) keywords that keep users interested in returning?
2. How will you approach building link count?
3. What is your strategy for boosting recognition and popularity?
4. Do you have trusted resources in your network you can secure quality links from?
5. How do you affect the “long click” and conversion rates?