What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the rankings of a website or a web page in non-paid, also known as “organic”, search engine results. SEO combines creative and technical aspects that influence search engine rankings and can be broken down into three main areas: on-the-page SEO, off-the-page SEO, and violations.
You won’t be able to improve your search engine rankings by focusing on and optimizing only one area of SEO, as they are interconnected and affect one another. As a marketing strategy, SEO focuses on optimizing all elements that influence search engine results, including keyword research, content, HTML, site architecture, link building, and so on. It’s also important to note that SEO can target different kinds of search: image search, video search, local search, news search, academic search, and vertical search that focuses on a specific industry.
Definition: SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a method used to increase a Web property’s (or a website’s) searchability. SEO techniques are used to make Web properties search engine friendly so that the links to corresponding websites appear on the top of results when a user searches for terms related to that Web property.
Description: Search engines are website tools which are responsible to search information on the Internet. They are utilised for looking up any information on the world wide web. Search engines usually look for multiple parameters of a Web property, and over time have developed complex logic or algorithm that works to search and shows results to the user. Search engines are extremely popular and hence are excellent sources of free traffic. Since the results that appear are extremely relevant to a user, such traffic sometimes is the ultimate source through which websites obtain traffic. Whenever someone adds a query in a search engine, there are several activities that the search engine performs to deliver results. Search engines like Google usually read all pages on the Web (called crawling) and index the results into various categories of user search parameters. Results are shown to the user accordingly, depending on the term searched by a user. The search term entered by the user is called a “keyword”. SEO techniques are responsible to make a website search engine algorithm friendlly, so that traffic coming from search can be maximised. The entire process of search engine optimization can be divided into two functions: on-page, and off-page optimization. On page SEO optimization involves a number of adjustments to the actual page, which may include changes in HTML and content. Richer content, which pertains to user search terms, with optimized titles, descriptions, appropriate meta tags, proper URL structures, text formatting, image optimization and user friendly navigation is utilised. Off-page optimization refers to backlinks (links pointing to the site on which SEO us being applied to, from other websites), social media and social bookmarking. To gauge the value of a Web property against a search term, engines take in indications on social media sites, active discussions and forum sites etc to add weight to results. Off page SEO gives a very good indication to search engines on how the world (other websites and users) perceives the particular website. The useful websites are more likely to have references (links) from other websites; comparatively more mentions on social media (Facebook likes, tweets, Pins, +1’s etc.) and it is more likely to be bookmarked and shared among communities of like-minded users. Major search engine companies like Yahoo!, Google, Bing, etc are always in the tussle of being more logical, accurate and relevant. To do so, they regularly keep changing their algorithms. From a SEO perspective, one has to be updated on these changes so that one can increase a website’s search engine friendliness.