Have you ever wondered how search engines determine which websites are ranked the highest for any given query? Many people have, and the answer is not as complicated as you might think. It all has to do with something that’s called search engine optimization, or SEO, and this is what we’ll talk about in this article.
Here, we’ll explain to you what SEO means and how you can use it to get your website to the top results in search engines.
What is SEO?
SEO is essentially the practice of making sure a web page ranks highly in search engines. This is done by creating and editing content to ensure two things: One, to make the content easily understandable by computer software; and two, to make the same content valuable to a real person.
Think of it this way: a web page is essentially a collection of different data. Text, images, links—all of these are what make up a web page. When this data is arranged in a way that machines can make sense of, it becomes possible for a search engine to know what the web page is about and what it contains.
This is what helps search engines determine the value of a web page. A search engine looks at this data to ultimately determine whether or not it’s relevant to a certain query. If it is, then it has a chance of making it into the search results page.
That’s one half of the equation. The other is the value it provides to the reader. Search engines can look at indicators that can measure this to a certain degree. Visit durations, repeat visitor statistics, and page view rates all give a sense of whether or not people are gaining any value from a piece of content.
Going back to the objectives of SEO, we can see that it’s a way to build web pages that are not only relevant to a search, but also conducive for content consumption by users.
So, what does this all mean?
What all of this boils down to is that SEO is your key to ranking well in search engines such as Google and Bing. This is no secret, and your success lies in your ability to give more value to people than what your competitors are able to provide.
You must find the right keywords that zero in on specific queries to make your content more relevant. Then, you must create content that is genuinely helpful to the audience to ensure that your content maintains this relevance.
This is arguably an oversimplified breakdown of the process, but it’s true nonetheless. Making it to the top of search engines is usually a long-term process that requires plenty of planning, time, and consistency.
Conclusion
Having said that, an alternative route you can take is with paid advertisements. These will automatically place your ad at the top of search engine results, provided that your ad is relevant to the query in the first place. It essentially offers you a way to bypass the competition and not need to focus on the user experience. However, this shouldn’t serve as an excuse for you to deliver subpar content.
We suggest adopting both strategies to get the best of both worlds. You can use SEO to focus on value creation, and then supplement that with paid ads that can give you maximum visibility in search engines.
If you’re looking to work with a digital marketing consultant who can walk you through the entire process, feel free to visit our website. We provide an online platform for marketers of all kinds to list themselves and their services in the US, and also provide multiple guides on different aspects of online marketing to prospective clients.