Search Engine Optimization: Wizardry or Fact?

In today’s world more business is done online than ever before. While that creates fantastic new opportunities for many companies, it also means that competition is at an all-time high. With so many companies doing business online, it can be a challenge to ensure that customers choose your brand over the others.

As search engines like Google become your potential customers’ preferred way to find products or services, it’s crucial that your website appear at the top of a particular search. Achieving this top position takes time and effort, and a better-than-average understanding of how search engines work. You can’t play the game if you don’t know the rules.

SEO practices, or search engine optimization practices, are the first and best step to achieving a higher rank with the search engines, thus driving more customers to your site following an Internet search. We’ll learn what search engine optimization is, how it has changed over recent years, and while some experts say SEO practices are no longer as useful as they once were, why you should still know the ins and outs of this technique and how SEO applies to your online business.

What Is SEO?

The most important takeaway from this lesson on SEO is that you understand how it works. When search engines like Google scan the Web, they look for certain words and phrases that apply to your business. If your website is written in clear and concise language with accurate keywords and reflects your company or your product appropriately, your site will rank higher in a search.

At least that’s how it’s supposed to happen.

When a search engine goes to work, it also looks for other, high-ranking websites that link back to the site in question. For instance, if your new company sells horse trailers, and you can do some sort of link exchange with another horse product company with a greater Web presence, search engines take that into consideration. Because your link is associated with another, higher ranking company, your horse trailer website will achieve a higher position in the search results.

Does It Work?

Ask any Web expert about SEO and you’re bound to get a variety of answers. Some people believe wholeheartedly in SEO as a valid technique to increase online presence, and others think that creating a site that relies on quality content over keywords and links is more beneficial.

While it’s true that search engines have modified their algorithms in recent years to recognize more than keywords and links, it’s virtually impossible to see your site achieve success with content alone. Because search engines are not humans, they rely only on the information that they are designed to see. Therefore, if you have a well-designed website filled with quality content that is highly relevant to your target audience, those customers will never see it if the search engine can’t establish a valid link between your site anda more reputable one.

In short, SEO does work, and it works well, but only if you think like a search engine.

How Can I Make SEO Work for My Website?

Unless you’ve taken a few crash courses in SEO best practices and feel confident in your abilities, the best way to begin using SEO for your website is still to hire a professional. Skilled strategists with acomprehensive knowledge of these techniques can thoroughly evaluate your website and make any necessary changes.

While it might seem like the process of applying SEO tactics to your website is an easy or foolproof task, it’s quite the opposite. There are people who attempt to circumvent the search engine’s capabilities with questionable practices. One of these is keyword stuffing, which attempts to fool the search engine into thinking that the site in question is more relevant than it really is by overusing keywords on a page. While the search algorithms have changed to combat this problem, there are still webmasters who try to cheat the system—and the quality of their sites reflects that.

The best way to implement SEO practices is to ensure that your website offers the most relevant and highest quality content possible. Combine this with appropriately placed keywords and link exchanges with other websites that are relevant to your company or product. Also be certain that your site is in top shape that your load times are good in various browsers, and that all files are current and updated.

Keep abreast of your site’s performance, as well. Google offers various analytical tools that can be used to keep track of your site’s performance on various levels.

While the SEO battle will undoubtedly rage on between people who like to debate such things, the truth is that SEO has worked, and it still works today. The practice is constantly reinventing itself, and that is important to keep this type of marketing relevant and highly useful. If you’re not taking advantage of search engine optimization for your website, it’s high time that you learn more about how this technique can revolutionize your business.