What does SEO mean & How it works - A Guide to SEO for Beginners

 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines.

SEO stands for search engine optimization (SEO). In business and marketing, SEO is the practice of improving your online visibility in organic search results to increase the quantity and quality of your website traffic.

 

?What does SEO do

SEO targets unpaid traffic (known as "natural" or "organic" results) rather than direct traffic or paid traffic. Unpaid traffic may originate from different kinds of searches, including image search, video search, academic search,news search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

 

SEO stands for search engine optimization

When someone mentions SEO, they’re referring to search engine optimization. If you adopt SEO marketing, you optimize your website for search engines, which can range from Google to Bing. You’re optimizing your site for not only search engines though, but for people too.

 

With a well-optimized site and competitive SEO strategy, your business can earn a top spot in search results, also called search engine results pages (SERPs). For the best results, your company wants to appear in searches related to your products or services.

 

SEO consists of an umbrella of strategies

The “optimization” part of SEO encompasses an umbrella of strategies. You can optimize your website in dozens of ways since search engines like Google rely on more than 200 factors to determine

 

A few of the most trusted ways to optimize a website for search engines and users include:

 

 Designing a website that’s easy-to-us- 

 and fast

 Creating site content optimized for specific keywords or search phrases and user intent

  Writing compelling and informative meta descriptions and title tags for pages

  Fixing broken site links

  Publishing website images with a relevant filename and descriptive alt tag

  Earning valuable links to site content from reputable and relevant websites

SEO focuses on organic, not paid search result rankings

Answers to “What does SEO mean?” aren’t complete without talking about organic and paid search results. Remember, SEO helps your business earn more visibility in search results. It’s important to mention, however, that SEO only targets organic search results.

 

SEO includes black- and white-hat tactics

Companies that adopt SEO can use black- and white-hat tactics. Just because you can, however, doesn’t mean you should. That’s because black-hat tactics hurt, rather than help your SEO strategy. They can also cause extensive, long-term damage to your website’s ranking capabilities and online reputation.

 

SEO matters because of modern shopping habits

If you’re pitching SEO to company decision-makers, it’s critical to present compelling evidence that demonstrates its value. You want to show that SEO matters, as well as offers value to your business. It’s also essential, as a part of understanding what SEO means, why it matters to organizations.

 

SEO takes months to show results

What does SEO mean? For many, it means an ongoing and fin. A lot of businesses invest in SEO and expect immediate results. Whether you’re optimizing existing website content or launching a brand-new set of pages, your company won’t see changes in your rankings overnight.That’s because SEO takes time. In many cases, it can take up to several months for your team to see a change in your rankings. A few factors, like your website’s age and history with Google, can shape your company’s timeline.

 

 

SEO continues to change in response to algorithm updates

Search engines like Google aim to provide the best possible experience to users. That’s why search engine algorithms, which shape organic search result rankings, continue to undergo updates. These updates directly influence today’s SEO strategies and tactics.

  

?What does SEO stand for in business

SEO focuses on improving your site’s visibility in search results on search engines like Google and Bing. It features an umbrella of strategies, like content marketing, to help your website appear higher in search results related to your business, products, and services.

 ?Why do75 pnd here’s why:

 

SEO drives sales

Companies across all industries, from home services to manufacturing, can leverage SEO to generate sales. That’s because 80 percent of consumers (and 71 percent of business-to-business clients) start their search for products online.

 

SEO improves lead generation

Depending on your industry and business model, your company may have a heavy focus on lead generation. You want to earn high-quality leads for your sales team to close, and SEO can help your business accomplish this goal.

 

Digital marketing, which includes SEO, provides your company with dozens of data points when it comes to your audience. With your site’s analytics, which you can access for free in Google Analytics, you can gain valuable insights about your audience from their demographics to their browsing behavior.

 

SEO boosts brand awareness

A successful marketing strategy includes building brand awareness. While brand awareness may not result in an immediate sale or lead, it can help your business start a relationship with future clients, as well as improve the loyalty of current customers.

 

SEO generates real company growth

If you’re looking for a shorthand version of SEO’s meaning in business, it’s simple. SEO creates real, tangible growth for your company. It helps you increase your revenue, which makes it possible for your business to expand into a new area, hire new team members, or even launch a new product or service.

 

 ?How does SEO work

When it comes to explaining how SEO works, it can quickly become confusing. If you want your company’s leaders to sign-off on SEO, you need to ensure they understand SEO. That means explaining SEO in terms that make sense for them, as well as answering their questions.

 

Ok, so how does SEO work for businesses that adopt it? In four steps:

 

Site audit

Keyword research

Site optimization

Re-optimization

 

Site audit

Before you can start optimizing your website for search and users, your company needs to evaluate your current status when it comes to SEO. With a site audit, your team can discover where you need to improve and where you excel.

 

While a paid audit takes a deeper look at your SEO, free SEO checkers are also available for use.

 

 

Keyword research

Remember, SEO builds your online visibility in relevant search results. It’s up to your in-house team or SEO agency to determine which search results matter to your business and its goals. That’s where keyword research comes into use.

 

With keyword research, your team investigates keywords related to your business, as well as used by your target audience. You can uncover relevant keywords a few ways, like by researching your competitors or browsing your social media.

 

Companies also like to use a few keyword research tools, like KeywordsFX or Keywordtool.io.

 

Site optimization

Once you audit your website and research your keywords, your company can start optimizing your site. In some cases, your business may develop a strategy, which details your game plan and what your company wants to accomplish with SEO.

 

If you partner with an SEO agency, like WebFX, you can expect a well-researched, custom strategy.

 

Re-optimization

When you invest in SEO, you make a long-term and ongoing investment. Your business can’t optimize all your content and then leave it. Otherwise, any increased visibility your site gains in search results will decay as competitors launch their SEO strategies.

 

With re-optimization, your company can expect to follow the process of auditing and optimization

.

 What does an SEO company do for businesses

While many businesses manage their SEO in-house, it’s a challenge for small-to-midsized companies. Even for massive companies, it’s difficult to lead SEO initiatives internally. That’s why these organizations partner with SEO agencies.

 

An SEO company provides your business with everything it needs when it comes to SEO. They audit your website, develop your strategy, optimize your site, and measure your results. Plus, they have access to tools and technology that provide in-depth reporting to you and your company decision-makers.

 

WebFX is an example of an SEO agency.

 

With our decades of experience, plus advanced artificial intelligence tech, we’re one of the top SEO companies for small-to-midsized businesses. That’s why our client recommendation score exceeds the 

industry average by 488 percent.

 

?How much do businesses spend on SEO

If you’re looking to partner with an SEO agency, small-to-midsized businesses spend an average of $350 to $2000 per month. For many businesses, this is a cost-effective amount, especially when considering the additional responsibilities and limited time of your marketing team.

 

Should your company decide to partner with a professional SEO company, watch for agencies promoting “cheap” or “low” monthly prices. These offers can seem great, but they often leave your business with little show for when it comes to SEO results.