Search Engine Optimization

Many times, understanding search engine optimization can seem like a shadowy mystery worthy of a spy novel. The name seems to indicate that the purpose is to make sure the major search engines, like Google and others, can find and index your site so that it more readily appears in the search engine results, preferably on the first page of results, or within the first few pages.

However, as some of you may know, this is easier said than done, and it is not a single step task like, for example, changing your oil. Rather, it is an ongoing process that requires a consistent effort over time and that takes into consideration a number of factors which will determine not only if your site will rank, but how long it may take. If you want to know how to begin your SEO work, you’ll need to take into consideration four crucial factors. I say that they are crucial, because if you have any one of the three wrong, your efforts will most likely fail, so listen up!
Keywords- At the end of the day, sites do not really rank at all. What ranks, are the keywords within the site. What are keywords? They are the terms, or “key words”, people are using to to search for everything and anything online. You can find out what these words are by using a keyword tool, which can be found for free at Google. Relevance- It doesn’t do you a bit of good to have a bunch of highly searched keywords that aren’t relevant to your site. Google makes a living returning the most relevant search results for the search query given. Therefore, you must use the most specific keywords that are relevant to your sites content. The mistake almost all new people make are keywords that are too general for the content they are seeking to have rank. Backlinks- Sounds super technical, but it’s not. A link to your site from another site is called a “backlink”. Google and other search engines take into account the amount of backlinks that you have as a way of determining the relevance of your site. Sort of like a popularity contest in high school, this system helps Google figure what the wider web considers worthwhile within a given topic niche. However, not all backlinks are created equal, some are tremendously more valuable than others. Picking the right ones is key, and then learning how to get them is just as crucial. Competition- Ok, so you’ve got your keywords, your relevant content and are ready to go. But you first must consider how many other sites are targeting the exact same keywords you are. If there are 10,000 other sites targeting your keywords, it will take you a long time to get to page one for those terms. What you need is method to find searched keywords with little traffic…so called “undiscovered” keywords. Don’t worry, they are out there if you know how to find them.

So there you have some key items to help your understanding of search engine optimization. Want to know more? Check out the link below for even more information and specifics on how to actually go about beginning your journey to becoming a search engine optimization expert.

By: Neal Coxworth

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