Search engine optimization is where a complex algorithm is used within a search engine to increase the placement of non-paid websites on a search results page. In English, what that means is: doing certain things on your web page to make it easier to be found and ranked by search engines.
Google, Yahoo, Bing and many other major search engines provide multiple pages of results depending on specific utilized key words. This algorithm is based on a multitude of aspects, primarily being whether a website is categorized as reliable and relevant.
There are many elements that factor into how a website is ranked within these search results. A few examples are, images, textual content provided (what you wrote), and HTML coding. More prominently, the backlinks provided from other relevant websites help build authority for highly ranked organic search results.
THE PERIODIC TABLE OF SEO RANKING FACTORS
SearchEngineLand.com published an infographic chart created by Column Five Media displaying the science behind search engine optimization. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing rank websites based on a specific combination of factors. They are more likely to rank a website higher than others when these ranking factors are taken into consideration and executed properly.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
ON-THE-PAGE AND OFF-THE-PAGE SEO
On-the-page factors depend on how the website itself was built on the back end. Search engine “robots” scrape websites analyzing all the content, architecture and HTML coding. Sites that publish quality, to the point, content that is up-to-date and fresh in the market place will rank higher.
Off-the-page factors are less out of the publishers direct control. These are techniques that work along with on-the-page factors to improve the websites position on search engine results pages. Providing links to other reputable sites, having a personal history on the web and a strong social medial presence all works to build trust and authority when working with on the page SEO factors.
WHY IS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION IMPORTANT TO YOU
In this day and age convenience and immediate at hand information is highly valued. A majority of the public does not feel as though they have the time or patience sifting through all of the results to find the answer for their initial search. More often than not, most search engine users are more likely to pick one of the top five returned results and will rarely click past the first page.
It is important for your content to be seen and provide a user-friendly experience to the public. To do this, it is imperative to optimize your site properly and regularly so that search engines can easily find your content and rank you accordingly.
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