What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Optimizer. As you get familiar with the internet, websites, search engines, search queries etc, you will come across the term SEO or search engine optimization on a very regular basis.

Part of an SEO website starts with the domain name, use of keywords on each web page that corresponds to the content on that particular page, meta description on each page, the loading speed of your website, internal links, backlinks (external links), navigational links, website (domain) submission to the most important search engines (the ones that really count), web page structure and more. 

I am sure you are already getting bombarded with e-mails, newsletters, articles on SEO and how to use different techniques to get a higher ranking for your website on a Google search. They make all kinds of promises and guarantees. Some actually do achieve a good success rate, most don't. Many just want your money and run. So tread carefully.

The term Search Engine Optimization means to Optimize your Website(s) so that it will show high during a search query; preferably in the very top position. In order to achieve that top standing or standing in the first search page, you are required to fine tune your website by various techniques that help your cause.

So how do we optimize our sites? Well there are many factors that have to be tended to. Let me make one thing very clear, Google and other search engines do not divulge the algorithm (technique) on how they rate websites and position them during a search. So whatever logic they use is not common knowledge to the user. What we do know and understand about the behaviour of search engines has been learnt from experience and by trial and error.

There are some that understand a great deal more then others. Some are willing to share that knowledge openly and some have setup businesses  (which is perfectly understandable) and sell their knowledge. Google and other search engines do divulge basic website construction techniques that help your sites position in a search. Much of the knowledge has also been gained by very astute observers who over the years have studied in detail search engine  behaviour, technology and characteristics. Using all this knowledge we will apply it to our websites to make it Search Engine friendly.

You must also understand that Google and others are always tweaking and fine tunning their search algorithm as well. We have to constantly be aware of this and do the same to our websites in order to be considered worthy of being displayed in high positions by the search engines.

A very important factor for you to comprehend and understand; Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask etc are companies that do this for money. A user searches through Google for a product. In turn Google will only display the VERY BEST SITES selling that product to its search user.

On a Google search page you have 3 sections (see figure below); Top which has Sponsored Links, the right side which also has Sponsored Links and the Center of the page which has 10 listings of Organic Results. The sponsored listings (top and right) are paid advertisements. If a user clicks on an ad in the sponsored section, Google collects money from the company whose ad was clicked (this is called PPC - Pay Per Click). These Ads are called Google AdWords. Yahoo, Bing and other search directories have the same thing.

No money is collected if a user clicks on one of the Organic result sites. So it is obvious that all websites want to show up within the Organic search section and the higher up the better. It is also a known fact that majority of users click on sites that are shown in the organic result section rather then the sponsored listing, even though it costs them nothing. That reaction is part of human nature.

What you have to grasp and understand is that Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask and others want to impress their users by providing them the very best websites (in terms of information, product etc) during a search and quickly. Why, you ask? Well if they show you a poor set of results, then you will quickly switch to the search engine that gives you better quality of results. It is obvious; I search for an item, the faster I find it the better. The faster and better the result a search engine provides to me that fits my requirements the more I continue to use the same search engine. The more users a search engine has, the more paid ads it can get and more ads means more income it can generate.

Let me give you a very simple analogy; say you had an auction site, would you allow sellers to sell damaged, broken or stolen goods or for that matter would you allow poor or unethical sellers to sell their products on your site? You know the answer to that question. Search engine scenario is similar.

So you see the search engines only care about sites that have the content that are valuable to it's search user. In order to impress the search engines you must prepare your site in a manner that is worthy of display; have great content, good use of keywords, well planned and laid out etc. In other words it must be SEO friendly.