Search engine optimization (SEO) is the art and science of getting pages to rank higher in search engines such as Google. Because search is one of the main ways in which people discover content online, ranking higher in search engines can lead to an increase in traffic to a website.

In Google and other search engines, the results page often features paid ads at the top of the page, followed by the regular results or what search marketers call the "organic search results". Traffic that comes via SEO is often referred to as "organic search traffic" to differentiate it from traffic that comes through paid search. Paid search is often referred to as search engine marketing (SEM) or pay-per-click (PPC).

Types of Search Engine Optimization - SEO

There are three types of SEO.

Technical SEO: Optimizing the technical aspects of a website.
On-site SEO: Optimizing the content on a website for users and search engines.
Off-site SEO: Creating brand assets and doing things that will ultimately enhance brand awareness and recognition (i.e., demonstrating and growing its expertise, authority and trustworthiness) and demand generation.

SEO strategy

Like anything in digital marketing, you need a strategy to help implement, track and tweak to be successful. It’s the same for your SEO.

An SEO strategy is focused on optimizing your content to get ranked as high as possible on search engines - preferably page or position #1. Its goal is to boost organic traffic so you get found by your target personas.

A strategy for SEO also helps you to stay on track with your content. Instead of investing time and money into content that won’t perform, you will create quality content based on performance and user intent.

Why do we need SEO

We need Search Engine Optimization for the following aspects:

• To improve the quality of our website
• To increase web traffic
• To increase visibility
• To enhance user experience
• To gain a competitive advantage
• For analysis and monitoring of the website

The benefits of SEO

Search engine optimization is a key part of online marketing because search is one of the primary ways that users navigate the web.

Search results are presented in an ordered list, and the higher up on that list a site can get, the more traffic the site will tend to receive. For example, for a typical search query, the number one result will receive 40-60% of the total traffic for that query, with the number two and three results receiving significantly less traffic. Only 2-3% of searchers click beyond the first page of search results. Thus, even a small improvement in search engine rankings can result in a website receiving more traffic and potentially business.

Because of this, many businesses and website owners will try to manipulate the search results so that their site shows up higher on the search results page (SERP) than their competitors. This is where SEO comes in.

Top SEO tools

As a fairly technical discipline, there are many tools and software that SEO relies on to help with optimizing websites. Below are some commonly used free and paid tools:

Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google, and is a standard tool in the SEO's toolkit. GSC provides rankings and traffic reports for top keywords and pages, and can help identify and fix on-site technical issues.

Google Ads Keyword Planner: Keyword Planner is another free tool provided by Google, as part of their Google Ads product. Even though it is designed for paid search, it can be a great tool to use for SEO since it provides keyword suggestions and keyword search volume, which can be helpful when doing keyword research.

Backlink analysis tools: There are a number of link analysis tools out there, the two primary ones being a HREFs and Majestic. Backlink analysis tools allow users to analyze which websites are linking to their own website, or the websites of competitors, and can be used to find new links during link building.

SEO platforms: There are many different SEO platforms that bring together many of the tools that SEO needs to optimize sites. Some of the most popular include Siteimprove, Moz, BrightEdge, Searchmetrics and Linkdex. These platforms track keyword rankings, help with keyword research, identify on-page and off-page SEO opportunities, and many other tasks related to SEO.

Social media: Most social media sites don't have a direct impact on SEO, but they can be a good tool for networking with other webmasters and building relationships that can lead to link building and guest posting opportunities.

Visit Us for More Services