What is SEO? An explanation for beginners
What is SEO? The pandemic has made it necessary for many companies to focus on their online presence. But even long before that, we’ve seen a steady increase in everything moving online. Perhaps you want to get started and have decided to quickly create a website for your business. Or maybe you’ve decided to relaunch your existing website. Great! What’s next? SEO is one of the ways to attract (and retain) visitors to your site. Chances are you’ve come across this term somewhere before.
But what does this really mean?
In this article, we’ll explain what SEO is and how you can get started!
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “Search EngineOptimization “. This is the optimization of your web pages so that they achieve a high position in the search results of Google and other search engines. This means that Internet users will be more likely to find your website when they perform an online search. SEO focuses on improving your ranking in organic (i.e. non-paid) search results. If you have a website and want to get more traffic, there’s no doubt about it: SEO needs to be part of your marketing efforts.
Google search results for the term planet neptune
Google search results page for the term “neptune planet.
In this search, we see the first results obtained when someone searches for the key phrase “planet neptune”. In this case, Wikipedia is the first result, which means that its page on Neptune is in first place for this search term. The idea behind SEO is that when you optimize your page to become the top result, you can climb the rankings and become one of the first results people see. You’ll get more clicks and more traffic to your site!
Although this example only shows organic results, this is not always the case. Depending on the search term used, there may also be ads at the top of the page, a rich result or a few Google Shopping products. There are many possibilities, and what Google displays may also depend on what it knows about the user (the country they live in, for example).
- Google’s algorithm
The ranking of each result is determined by Google’s algorithm. Although some parts of Google’s algorithm remain secret, years of experience in SEO have given us an insight into the most important ranking factors. These grading factors can be divided into two categories: - On-page referencing factors
Your page rankings are partly determined by on-page factors. On-page SEO factors are all the elements of your website over which you have a direct influence. These factors include technical aspects (for example, the quality of your code and site speed) and content-related aspects, such as the structure of your website or the quality of your copywriting. These are all crucial on-page SEO factors you can work on. - Off-page referencing factors
In addition to on-page SEO factors, your ranking is also determined by a number of off-page SEO factors. These factors include links from other websites, attention to social media and other marketing activities that take place outside your own website. While not impossible, these off-page SEO factors can be more difficult to influence. The most important of these off-page factors is the number and quality of links pointing to your site. The more quality, relevant sites that link to your site, the higher your Google ranking will be. Another off-page factor that plays a role in SEO is your competition in the niche of your particular business. Some niches are much harder to classify than others. The competitiveness of your market therefore also has a major influence on your chances of ranking.
- SEO holistic
At Koanthic, we practice “holistic SEO. With holistic SEO, your main objective is to build and maintain the best possible website. You’re not trying to fool Google, you’re investing your time and effort in a long-term, sustainable strategy. By working to improve your pages and having a high-quality website, you increase your chances of ranking. Indeed, Google wants to offer its users the best results for their search queries, and the best results are those that have quality content, but are also user-friendly, fast and easily accessible.
To rank well in search engines like Google, you need a comprehensive SEO strategy, focusing on all aspects of your website and its marketing. The technical aspect, the user experience (UX), the content of your website: all must be first-rate. To continue to rank well in Google, you need to develop what we call a holistic approach to SEO.
A holistic approach to SEO not only benefits your rankings, it also helps users find what they need more quickly. And it’s good for environmental sustainability too!
