What is Search Engine Optimization?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. An article from Moz pro defines it as “the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic”. 

The majority of online traffic is generated by search engines. For most people, google is the first place they get their questions answered. Whether it be through Siri, Alexa, or the original search bar, people are automatically sent to search engine results pages for their query. SEO is based on organic search results rather than paid search. This means the only thing able to put you high on the page is the search engine itself.

Why does SEO matter?

One of the best benefits of SEO is that the results are more long lasting, rather than temporary. The results of paid advertising only available as long as an ad is up and running or until a campaign runs out of budget. Organic Marketing, on the other hand, stays up as long as your website is up, and only decreases if someone else gets a higher rank. Your rankings are earned through work and traffic so it won’t change drastically overnight. 

Google uses a well mixed system of content readability, visuals, and coding to find out which websites do the best job of appealing to the viewer. It is important to keep that in mind when creating a website you want to rank. It’s not all about the tech. It’s also about how much it agrees with human preference. 

Here are a few things to optimize when thinking about the viewer side of SEO: 

• Colors, shapes and patterns – Certain colors, shapes, and patterns can have more distinct vibes. Blue for instance gives off a more calming vibe while orange indicates more energy. 
• Hierarchy path – When looking at a page, the viewers eyes will follow a path down the screen. You can control the path they follow by setting up a hierarchy of the content using the size and boldness of each portion of the page. 
• Accessibility – People are not always patient. Optimizing to load pages quickly and having a design that is easily navigated are a big help to keeping people on your site. 
• Page title – The name of your page is important because it gets people on the site in the first place. You want to make sure your page title catches the interest of your targeted audience and tells them exactly what your page can offer. 
• Content relevance – The readability of the page is very important to the feeling the viewer will have while on your site. You want to make sure the content they are seeing is relevant and relatable to them. 

SEO is how your website Gets known and used. Remember that the best way to Use SEO is to target the people that will create a good brand community on your site. You want to attract the people you would want to work with. Going clean and honest with your marketing strategy will bring the best quality, and longest lasting results. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns, or if you need help building the perfect website for your brand. Thanks for all the support!