You have probably heard about search engine optimization, or SEO, from some of your peers in your niche. If you got to this page through a search engine, you must have wondered what is SEO and how does it work? We are going to start with how search engines work, the objectives of SEO, and conclude with common SEO techniques.
How do Search Engines Work?
Search engines are massive indexes of pages on the web. Users access these pages through search queries. You perform a search query every time you type a word into Google.
Search engines use algorithms to program bots, known as spiders, who crawl and index web pages to the search engine’s primary database. These spiders navigate the web through links, which is why link-building in one of the most successful search engine optimization techniques.
The question becomes how do search engines decide which pages are most relevant? SEO companies chase a better answer to this question each day. Google dominates the world of search engines, and their algorithm includes dozens of ranking factors. Many of these factors are kept secret, but they have stated the following factors are important in ranking your website organically.
- Make sure your website has a clear page hierarchy. Can you get to each page through a static link?
- Use meta and alt tags to accurately describe the type of content one should expect to find on each page
- build a web of content around a cluster of keywords
- Get relevant sites in your niche to link to your content
- Write content designed to help people first and perform well in search engines second
Now let ’s discuss the objectives of search engine optimization.
What are the Objectives of Search Engine Optimization(SEO)?
The end-game of any SEO campaign is to get on the first page of search engine results. With that being said, there are different reasons for wanting to drive traffic to your site. SEO copywriting is proven to help boost traffic generation to your site. Read through the six following SEO objectives to see which one fits your business best.
Brand Awareness
Search engine optimization helps your brand gain mindshare in your industry. This SEO objective targets customers who are in the discovery phase of the buying cycle.
Direct Traffic
Online publications generate revenue through advertisements. Their SEO objective is to generate as much traffic as possible for as many high-value keywords as possible.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce websites sell products directly from their site, and their SEO objective is to attract online shoppers who are searching for those items in their keyword search queries.
Lead Acquisition
If you’re a service-based business, then lead acquisition is the SEO objective for you. Your goal is to attract consumers who are looking for informational content and then capture their contact information through a call-to-action at the end of each article.
Reputation Management
The worst thing that can happen to a business is having a piece of bad press pop up as the first result of a search query. Search engine optimization for reputation management is how you combat negative press or reviews. It requires a consistent stream of content that highlights the positive qualities of your brand.
Influencing Hearts and Minds
Politicians and non-profit organizations use this SEO objective the most. The strategy revolves around creating content that influences users to form a certain opinion on a hot-button topic.
Which of these six SEO objectives best fits your business goals? An SEO consultant can help you define your SEO objective and create a corresponding strategy to help you reach your business goals. If you want to give SEO a go on your own, here are some common search engine optimization techniques for you to try.
Common Search Engine Optimization Techniques
Keyword research is the first phase of any SEO campaign. Keyword research tools show you the competition and relevance for all of your keywords. Make a list of 15 keywords and phrases relevant to your business, and then analyze them using a keyword research tool.
The best strategy is to target longer phrases with low competition first. Once you rank for enough long-tail keywords, you can start targeting the keywords with higher competition. Finally, high-quality content on a consistent basis is produced on a consistent basis.
Link outreach is another common search engine optimization technique. Getting other sites to link to your high-quality content is how you skyrocket to the first page of the search results. You need good communication and negotiation skills to pull off a successful link outreach campaign. SEO companies spend hours researching content that could be improved by linking to their client’s content, and then they negotiate with webmasters to make it happen.
Guest-blogging is a popular search engine optimization technique for getting backlinks. The process is simple. You produce free, high-quality content to an online publication in your niche in exchange for a link back to your site.
Now that we’ve answered what is SEO and how does it work, you are probably feeling overwhelmed. Busy business owners like yourself hardly have the time necessary to develop and implement a successful search engine optimization campaign. If you need to outsource your SEO efforts to an SEO company in Irvine, California, take a tour of our services.
Resources:
The 6 Goals of SEO: Choosing the Right Ones for Your Business