What Is SEO? The 2022 Guide to Search Engine Optimization

SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” In layman’s terms, it means the process of improving your website’s ranking, by Google, Bing, and other search engines, when people search for products or services related to your business.

How does SEO work?

When you enter words and phrases to find what you are looking for, search engines such as Google use bots to crawl websites identifying for the best possible solutions to meet your needs, then they provide a ranking of website options where you can click. Algorithms come into play taking in many ranking factors such as page loading speed (Google says your website should load in under 3 seconds), how well your website responds to smartphones, quality of the content on your page, and many others.

Why is SEO important for you?

As marketing has become more digital (are you looking at magazine ads right now, or do you have your smartphone within arm’s reach?) thousands of people near you are currently conducting searches for real estate, restaurants, college scholarships, doctors and more. If you want your website to rank higher for specific keywords, there are steps you can take.

How can I improve SEO?

Having a commitment to SEO is a great start. You can improve your website’s ranking but there are steps you need to take. Two (2) main categories to understand are On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. On-Page has to do with what’s on YOUR website, such as page loading speed, relevance of content, videos, etc. Off-Page SEO takes place outside your website and includes websites that link to you as a source of more information. Google uses the acronym E-A-T ― Expertise, Authoritative and Trustworthy.

Local SEO can be extremely helpful as it allows you to put information about your website online, such as through an accurate YouTube channel linking to your website or consistent business hours displayed on your company’s Facebook and Google Business pages.

Over the past couple of years many businesses have recognized that their website has become a critical success factor to their business. SEO, along with paid digital advertising, can combine to generate increased traffic from relevant leads that buy your product.