SEO – Basics

SEO is the process of improving your websites, microsites, or landing page natural or “organic” ranking in the search engines. Generally, the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) rank pages based on relevant content as determined by their algorithms. Here are some SEO basics:

• SEO considers how the search engines work, what people search for, how they search i.e. the words (called keywords) and or phrases (called key phrases). In many CMS (content management systems) the meta data and meta descriptions can be aligned with the keywords and key phrases. Additionally, headlines, page titles and actual copy all work together to ensure that search terms and search results provide the “user” a relevant and valuable result.
• Other contributing factors, are content, the html coding within a page, inbound links (called backlinks) all make your page search friendly. It’s important to note that the process of SEO is constantly changing. Google especially is fine-tuning, changing and adjusting. As such, your website pages need to be evolving as well. Your organic rank is NOT guaranteed, today you have it, and tomorrow you don’t. No one can guarantee your organic ranking, beware those that make claims about putting your website and landing page on page one of the search engines.

In providing SEO advice, the standard process of discusses the following, site structure, site content, site hosting, error pages, meta data, content development, keyword and key phrase research. Experience has shown again and again that content, relevant content is critical to your SEO. Organic ranking improves with lots of relevant, current and timely content posted on a regular basis. Content is king, Search engines love content.

The most important thing to keep in mind about SEO and the search engines is that their existence depends on results. Google’s reason for existence is to ensure that Mike finds what Mike wants, when Mike wants it.

SEO is just one segment of an overall digital and marketing strategy.

Michael Bickerton, Raven5 Ltd, Toronto, April 2012

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