Whatever your business, the minute you decide to have an online presence, SEO becomes relevant to you. But what is it and how does it actually make a difference to you or your business?
To answer that question, we need to look at the beast that is today's search engine – mainly Google, as that is the one most people use. Google searches happen on two basic levels: firstly, they look for the most relevant matches to the terms typed into the search; secondly, they push websites with high rankings to the front of the queue.
Anyone who's ever done a Google search will happily admit that they rarely, if ever, go to the second page of the search, because the chances are quite good that they'll have found what they're looking for on page 1. And that's where the real magic of the Google ranking system happens.
To get to page 1 on a search, Google (and other search engines) has to recognize your website as an authority on the subject – whatever the subject is. You get recognized as an authority by being the go-to source of SEO optimized articles on your particular topic and by having keywords that match those that regularly come up in searches.
Ok, but what are "SEO optimized articles"?
An SEO optimized article is one that attracts the right kind of search inquiry, grabs the reader's attention, and encourages them to share or link to your article, either on social media or on their own website or blog.
For example, if you run an exclusive furniture store that caters to, let's say, Art Deco fans, and you have an online store with a weekly blog post, you want to make sure of two things:
1 – That your blog posts include keywords related to searches that Art Deco fans looking for furniture might use, and
2 – That people who are knowledgeable about Art Deco link to your blog posts, or readers share your post on social media, because they acknowledge that you know what you are talking about and that your content is interesting.
When you reach that median, of having the right keywords coupled with content that is considered interesting and authoritative, your content can be considered optimized.
Ok, sure, that's a very simplified overview of what SEO is and how it works, but, in a nutshell, that's it.
So, what can SEO optimized articles do for you?
As you may have worked out by now, it can help improve your ranking in search engines, helping get you onto the front page of any search related to your website's content. The benefits of that, of course, are two-fold (like with most things to do with SEO).
First of all, it's going to drive more and more traffic to your website. The more traffic you get, the greater your chances of signing new customers, attracting advertisers or sponsors, or selling your products or services.
Secondly, if you are recognized as an authority on your subject, you are going to open up all kinds of new opportunities, whatever industry you are in. In short, what SEO does for you is help you succeed online – and in a world where most people's first port of call for just about any product or service is a search engine, that can't be a bad thing.
One easy way to learn how to optimize your articles for search engines is by subscribing to this series. Fill out the form below to gain access now.
Leave a comment below with how you optimize your blog posts. I read every one.