top of page

What is SEO and How does it work?

Updated: Feb 17, 2020

Here is the basic SEO manual that EVERY business owner should know about and have a strategy to execute. Written by a Dallas, Texas SEO Marketing Agency.


Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization

What is SEO?


SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” it is the process of optimizing your website in order to appear on search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) top pages when specific keywords are searched.

All major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Search engine optimization is the organic process of ranking in these search engines, paid advertising on these search engines using services like "Google Adwords" is a separate marketing tactic that does not affect your SEO marketing in any way.


Why is SEO important?

Why is SEO so important?
Why is SEO so important?

SEO is important for any business who wants people on the internet to find their website. 90% of people who search for services, products, or information ONLY LOOK OR CLICK ON WEBSITES THAT ARE ON THE FIRST PAGE. This means if your website is not being found on search engines, then there is little to no chance at generating the business you need to survive. But when you do reach these top search engine pages, people will start seeing, clicking and engaging with your website/business.


10 Reasons SEO is so important

  1. Organic Search Is Most Often the Primary Source of Website Traffic

  2. SEO Builds Trust & Credibility

  3. Good SEO Also Means a Better User Experience

  4. Local SEO Means Increased Engagement, Traffic & Conversions

  5. SEO Impacts the Buying Cycle

  6. SEO Best Practices Are Always Being Updated

  7. Understanding SEO Helps You Understand the Environment of the Web

  8. SEO Is Relatively Cheap

  9. It’s A Long-Term Strategy

  10. It’s Quantifiable



How do I get my site ranked on these search engines?

Google and other search engines rank websites based on the authority they have which is determined by two factors.

  1. On-Page SEO Optimization - This is referring to your actual website’s design and information. Search engines crawl your website to see if they are set up correctly and if the information is authentic. Many on page features include making sure your titles have correct H1 tags, meta descriptions are correctly written, images are compressed, the write keywords are used, and much more.

  2. Off-page SEO - The building of blogs, backlinks, social sharing, and more to show search engines that people are talking about your website. The more places on the web that search engines see your website being talked about with links back to it is how you start to get ranked on these search engines. High quality blogs and backlinks talking about your website on other websites is the way to the top!



How Long Does It Take To Get Ranked?

The truth of the matter is that SEO marketing for national and local rankings are not quick 1 month fixes. To reach the first page on google for your specific keywords and search phrases, it can take anywhere from 4 months all the way up to 10 months. Google takes at minimum 2 months to start the initial ranking process when it see's your website has authority from the backlinks. Some keywords and search phrases can actually be easier to rank because there is less competition for people wanting to rank for those words. This brings on the terms long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords.

  • Long-tail keywords - keywords that are more specific for a certain niche or are being less searched for on the web. These keywords might include a location or specifics of the keyword. (e.g. "women's red adidas fleece hoodie")

  • Short-tail keywords - these keywords are going to be broad and shortened keywords that have very high amount of searches everyone is competing for, thus making it hard to rank. (e.g. "red hoodie")


Check out this new study on what users are really searching for and the behavior upon those searches! -----> SEO AND INTENT 2020: NEW STUDY REVEALS TRUE STATE OF SEARCH


Bottom Line On SEO

We have all realized how important SEO is for websites by now and the benefits you can get from being ranked on Google’s top pages. The way to make this happen is to first make sure your website is optimized so you get indexed (placed on the search engines) and then build up your authority by writing articles and blogs, then building backlinks to your website via other high authority websites. Search engines see the readability of your website and the authority of your website by the backlinks, AND YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO THE TOP!



Google page ranking
Get Ranked On Google!

Subscribe to our newsletters to get notified every time we come out with a new class👇🏼💡


Comments


bottom of page