What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization and its Necessity

SEO is one of those terms that has a lot of baggage. In its purest form, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of principles and techniques that help websites get high rankings in the various search engines. First off, good SEO starts at the code level and by implementing basic elements that have great importance to the search engines. Those within the industry know all about the absolute necessity of keyword-rich and

tags. There’s also the effective use of the bold tags and the value of good internal linking. For many novices I speak with, the term SEO almost exclusively means the site’s META information. While the META tags have their place, particularly the tag, they nonetheless remain only one component to achieving a great SEO score. With every code-based Search Engine Optimization element in place, any site will see a positive uptick in their rankings. However, to achieve the best results possible, the work of the SEO technician is never done. Of course, continual keyword research is a must. By analyzing target keywords for both the amount of search queries and their competitiveness, one is better able to choose specific phrases that will yield the best results. Sitemaps, additionally, are an absolute necessity as they are crucial for indexing all of your pages. One aspect of SEO that I have found to have one of the greatest impacts is original content. By original content, I mean regularly creating and publishing blog articles. Furthermore, once a blog article is finished it is ideal to publish it to any and every reputable source. Not only do you gain a quality link-back, but you additionally establish high relevancy between your site and the topic of the article. As the web has progressed, we have also noticed the seismic shift towards social networking. While the data is still infantile, we in the industry are seeing that those companies and websites who have an active social media presence achieve higher results. The reason? The continual addition of new, engaging content drives traffic back to a website and further establishes relevancy. Of course, SEO has its dark side. Those trying to game the system set up link farms and other nefarious tactics which, at times, produces quick results. The problem, however, is that if, say, Google discovers this then you are immediately blacklisted and any results you may have achieved disappear over night. These principles are just barely touching the foundation of search engine optimization. No matter how you establish SEO, stick with it and you will see higher placement.