Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing web pages and their content to be easily discoverable by users searching for terms relevant to your website. The term SEO also describes the process of making web pages easier for search engine indexing software, known as “crawlers,” to find, scan, and index your site.
Essentially, it’s the practice of driving organic search traffic to a website. The keyword here is organic, meaning you’re not paying for a top position through ad campaigns.
Why is SEO important?
There are billions of searches conducted online every single day. This means an immense amount of specific, high-intent traffic. This represents more opportunities to connect with those folks and help answer their questions, solve their problems, and become a trusted resource for them.
Many people search for specific products and services with the intention of paying for these things. These searches are known to have commercial intent, meaning they are clearly indicating with their search that they want to buy something you offer.
More traffic, more conversions, more dollars. That’s why SEO is a crucial component of every website on the planet.
Search engines scan billions of pieces of content and evaluate thousands of factors to determine which content is most likely to answer your query.
Here are some best practices to make it easier for search engines to crawl your website:
- Create unique, accurate page titles
- Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.
- Make pages primarily for users, not search engines.
What is SEO Example?
A lot of business owners or SEO newbies might be bugged by the question of what is an SEO example. You’ve explained what SEO is but how do we identify SEO when we see one? Well, an example of SEO can be seen when you search a keyword on any search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Baidu, Duckduckgo, etc.) and see results arranged sequentially.
The above is an example of SEO in action. The results are in order of importance to the user’s intent.
Should You hire an Expert?
Depending on your bandwidth, willingness to learn, and the complexity of your website(s), you could perform some basic SEO yourself or, you might prefer the help of an expert. Either way is okay!
If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO expert can ensure that your site is designed to search engine-friendly from the bottom up.