Search Engine Optimization Introduction to SEO - Do you want to learn about SEO? First, let’s see what SEO is and why it is important. You may have a website that doesn't come up when users search for terms you have content on. Have you ever wondered why? When users search for terms and concepts, search engines do not just randomly generate results. There are practices followed by the owner of the websites that make them come out on the top results. These practices are what we call Search Engine Optimization, popularly known by its acronym SEO. Source: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1637606346315-d23ed32a6cfc Photographer: NisonCo This guide explains what SEO is, how it works, and why it is important for any business. What is SEO? SEO refers to making changes to your website to make it more visible when users search for goods or services associated with your company on search engines like Google, Bing, etcetera. The more visible your pages are in search results, the more likely you'll get noticed and draw new and returning clients to your company. How Does SEO Work? In simple terms, SEO works by convincing search engines that your material/content is the best resource for the topic searched for. This is so because all search engines strive to provide their users with the best, most relevant results. Search engines use bots to crawl web pages as they move between websites, gathering data about them and indexing them. Imagine the index as a huge library where a librarian can bring up a specific book (web page in this case) to help you find what you are looking for. Then the next thing is that algorithm will analyze all the pages in the index and determine which ones have the most relevant information for the topic searched. By the algorithm, the most relevant web pages are the ones the users see first in the search results. Search engine optimization is an organic process, meaning you cannot pay for it. Since you cannot buy higher organic search rankings, unlike paid search ads, you need SEO professionals to put in the necessary effort. SEO experts or agencies like Tom-Brigl know how search engines' algorithms work, so they know best practices. Source: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1560472354-b33ff0c44a43 Photographer: Stephen Philips Importance of SEO Here are some reasons why SEO is important for any business: Trustworthiness The higher your ranking on search engines, the better your SEO score. All brands want to rank higher on Google because it increases their visibility, but a side benefit is building trust with potential customers. A better rank for the terms a user is searching for will, in turn, establish your product or service as reliable in the user's view because users frequently rely on the recommendations that a search engine provides. Visibility When your website gains visibility organically, it is doing so as a result of client searches. Keywords are incredibly useful since customers may find you depending on their needs. Customers get more engaged with you when they perceive you as someone who can meet their demands. However, engagement can only start once they know about you. The benefit of SEO is that it makes you visible to potential customers, which opens the door to further engagement. User Experience A properly optimized website makes it apparent what is being offered, how to get it, and any questions that may be related to it. Search engines can quickly gather the required data to pass on to users by designing the site with the user's experience in mind. However, search engines probably need help navigating your website if users do. Growth Without question, SEO is necessary for the development of your brand. As we previously stated, the more organic web traffic your site receives, the higher you rank on a search engine for various high-volume keywords. And that will generate more leads and probably conversion for your product and services. All these will lead to the growth of your website. Conclusion Keep in mind that SEO should be viewed as an activity with long-term benefits rather than a practice with quick outcomes. Your results are heavily influenced by your competitors, including their size, years in business, and on- and off-site SEO initiatives.