{"id":1349,"date":"2008-05-05T08:30:43","date_gmt":"2008-05-05T15:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/services"},"modified":"2024-11-22T10:52:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T15:52:05","slug":"seo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/en-us\/seo","title":{"rendered":"What Is SEO?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-margin-top:15px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-first sticky\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-right: 4%;\" id=\"tableofcontents\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-no-small-visibility fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:45px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1 expandable\"><p><strong class=\"mo-toggle\">Table of Contents <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#whatisseo\"><strong>What is SEO?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#whatisthegoalseo\"><strong>What is the Goal of SEO?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#whyisseoimportant\"><strong>Why is SEO Important?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#seovsppcandthewinneris\"><strong>SEO Vs. PPC: And the Winner Is?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#whyseofocusesongooglefirst\"><strong>Why SEO Strategy Focuses on Google First<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#howsearchengineswork\"><strong>How Search Engines Work<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#howsearchenginesdeliverthebestresults\"><strong>How Search Engines Deliver the Best Results<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#howdoesseowork\"><strong>How Does SEO Work?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#technicaLonpageandoffpageseo\"><strong>Technical, On-Page and Off-Page SEO<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#technicalseo\"><strong>Technical SEO<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#onpageseo\"><strong>On-Page SEO<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#offpageseo\"><strong>Off-Page SEO<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#trackingandoptimizingseo\"><strong>Tracking and Optimizing SEO<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#howlongdoesittaketoseoresults\"><strong>How Long Does It Take to Get SEO Results?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doineedanseoagency\"><strong>Do I Need an SEO Agency?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#recapandseofaqs\"><strong>Recap and SEO FAQs<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-no-small-visibility fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:30px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-menu-anchor\" id=\"top\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><div id=\"whatisseo\"><\/div>\n<h1>What is SEO?<\/h1>\n<p>SEO stands for search engine optimization, the process of improving a website \u2013 including technical elements like its coding, setup and user experience, plus its content and connectedness \u2013 so that it can be better discovered, indexed and made more visible on the results pages of search engines like Google.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-bottom:20px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"video-wrapper\" style=\"display:block;text-align:center;\"><iframe style=\"display:inline-block;\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ga_v7fsvqtQ?si=jvoc2XOtsz_96yHy&rel=0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-bottom:40px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\"><h2>What is the Goal of SEO?<\/h2>\n<p>The goal of SEO is to raise the visibility and ranking (or location) of a company\u2019s assets, such as web pages, images, videos, downloadable documents, local business listings, etc., within the results returned by various search engines, when a company\u2019s target audience types in a query such as: \u201cbest-running shoes for rainy days\u201d or \u201cstores near me that sell waterproof running shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But more than that, the goal of SEO is to drive more leads, conversions, sales, donations, downloads \u2013 or more of whatever makes your business succeed \u2013 by increasing the amount of qualified traffic to your website.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"cta-solid-blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/get-my-quote\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Get Started Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-5\"><h2>Why is SEO Important?<\/h2>\n<p>There are lots of reasons why SEO is important. Here are our top four:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Search engines are key traffic drivers for websites.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is especially important for consumers ready to take actions such as buying, donating, downloading, etc. Optimizing your website so it can easily be found by your target market is imperative for your company\u2019s success.<\/li>\n<li><strong>As with any business, location is vital.<\/strong><br \/>\nBecause the top three organic listings on Google\u2019s search engine results pages (SERPs) account for the majority of ALL the clicks there \u2013 and because fewer than 1% of searchers will ever proceed to the second page of Google\u2019s search engine results \u2013 it\u2019s crucial that your company\u2019s assets show up on the first page, and as close as possible to the top of the organic (i.e. non-sponsored) results.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ongoing cash outlay needed to maintain organic rankings is manageable.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nEven though SEO requires an upfront investment and is not a set-it-and-forget-it sort of thing, the ongoing cash outlay needed to maintain organic rankings is much less than what\u2019s necessary to run PPC ads 24\/7.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SEO creates long-lasting success.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nOnce your website attains a top 10 organic ranking for a given keyword, it\u2019s likely to rank in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/seo-that-gets-you-on-top-of-google.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">top 10 search results<\/a> for dozens or even hundreds of other relevant keywords, magnifying your efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"seovsppcandthewinneris\"><\/div>\n<h2>SEO vs. PPC: And the Winner Is?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>But wait. What about Paid Ads on search engines?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since sponsored or pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google typically appear ABOVE the organic results, isn\u2019t that a better option?<\/p>\n<p>Yes and No.<\/p>\n<p>Even though paid or sponsored ads can push organic listings lower on the page; the<strong> top organic search result typically receives 19 times more clicks than the top paid search result.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What? Yes, you read that right. Consumers trust what they perceive as the organic, arm\u2019s-length information returned by Google 19 times more than they do advertiser-sponsored listings.<\/p>\n<p>And even though PPC ads can achieve tremendous results by combining proper keyword choices with campaign optimization, the minute your wallet is empty, your PPC ad will no longer appear, and your competitor\u2019s might.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about strategizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/understanding-seo-vs-ppc-timing-and-strategy-for-optimal-results.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">SEO vs. PPC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-6\"><h2>Find Out How SEO Strategies and Tactics Help Your Business Win at SEO Marketing<\/h2>\n<p><em>Don\u2019t let your competitors get the best of you by having better visibility in Google\u2019s search engine results.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-7\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"cta-solid-blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/get-my-quote\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Get Better Results<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-8\"><div id=\"whyseofocusesongooglefirst\"><\/div>\n<h2>Why SEO Strategy Focuses on Google First<\/h2>\n<p>Google. Google. Google. What\u2019s with all the focus on Google?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simple. As of the beginning of 2024, 93% of all searches took place on Google\u2019s search engine. You\u2019ve heard the saying, \u201cFish where the fish are,\u201d right? Well, Google is the pond where you\u2019ll find the most fish. Creating an SEO strategy to help your company rank higher on Google\u2019s SERPs first makes sense.<\/p>\n<div id=\"howsearchengineswork\"><\/div>\n<h2>How Search Engines Work<\/h2>\n<p>Google is an expert at the long game. It knows the only way to get consumers to stay loyal to its search services is to return organic results that make people pump their fists and say: \u201cYes!\u201d day in and day out.<\/p>\n<p>Google wasn\u2019t the first search engine. That was Archie, created in 1990 by Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Google didn\u2019t even launch until 1998, and by that time, there were 11 other fairly well-established search engines, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aliweb<\/li>\n<li>AltaVista<\/li>\n<li>Ask Jeeves<\/li>\n<li>Dogpile<\/li>\n<li>Excite<\/li>\n<li>HotBot<\/li>\n<li>Infoseek<\/li>\n<li>Lycos<\/li>\n<li>MSN<\/li>\n<li>Yahoo!<\/li>\n<li>WebCrawler<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How Google became the predominant player in the search engine space is a tale for another time, but its work on deciphering the intent of every search, finding and indexing web assets correctly, and using its years of learning to construct an algorithm that returns results that consistently make consumers very happy has certainly paid off.<\/p>\n<div id=\"howsearchenginesdeliverthebestresults\"><\/div>\n<h2>How Search Engines Deliver the Best Results<\/h2>\n<p>To deliver results that best satisfy its users\u2019 queries, search engines like Google use three primary methodologies:<\/p>\n<h3>Crawling:<\/h3>\n<p>Search \u201cspiders\u201d or \u201cbots\u201d are computer programs that periodically scan the Web, land on different web pages and \u201cread\u201d the content contained within. But they don\u2019t just read the content that users see. They also read HTML code, including title tags, meta description tags, image tags and all the technical or markup language used to serve each page. We\u2019ve got a whole article about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/meta-magic-how-title-tags-descriptions-help-drive-search-success.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">meta title tags and meta descriptions<\/a> can help drive search success.<\/p>\n<p>Spiders begin from a known web page and jump from link to link between and within pages to get to other pages (HINT: That\u2019s one of the reasons backlinks that point to your site are an essential part of any SEO strategy. Backlinks can increase Google\u2019s ranking of your authority on a subject, but they also help crawler programs find you.) To enable your home page to appear at the top of Google\u2019s SERPs for an important keyword, you could need dozens or even hundreds of high-quality backlinks \u2013 and those may also take weeks to be found by spiders \u2013 but we\u2019ll talk more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/building-permission-based-backlinks-simple-easy.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">backlinks<\/a> below.<\/p>\n<p>Crawl rates and index times vary based on a myriad of factors, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The popularity of the site being crawled<\/strong> - Entertainment sites might make up a substantial amount of these.<\/li>\n<li><strong>How often the site and its assets are updated <\/strong>- National news sites with a history of updating content daily, hourly or even by the minute during a crisis, political event or sporting contest might be good candidates here.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Whether or not other bots are already crawling the site<\/strong>\u2014In fact, if you want Google\u2019s bot to crawl your site more frequently, your webmaster will need to use a \u201crobots.txt\u201d file to limit the pages that non-essential bots can crawl so your site isn\u2019t inadvertently slowed down by the addition of Google\u2019s spiders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Indexing:<\/h3>\n<p>Once your website (or a page within it) is discovered, other technologies attempt to index or categorize it. This isn\u2019t always an easy process.<\/p>\n<p>Think of the words: carrot, caret and carat. The first word refers to an orange root vegetable, the second is a copy-editing symbol that means \u201cinsert text here,\u201d and the third indicates the weight of a diamond or other precious stones.<\/p>\n<p>Before crawlers were used, websites were categorized by humans \u2013 go figure! \u2013 and this indexing info resided in a multilingual, open-content database that was updated and maintained by a community called the\u00a0Open Directory Project\u00a0(ODP). Google and other search engines initially used this database to help sort sites.<\/p>\n<p>It might be surprising to note that despite all of Google\u2019s technical acumen, SEO professionals in the know estimate that Google indexes\u00a0less than 5%\u00a0of the total Internet.<\/p>\n<h3>Ranking and Serving Up Search Engine Results in Eye-Catching Ways<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s thought that Google uses over 200 distinct factors to rank websites and their assets in order to determine if and where to place them in Google\u2019s ever-changing \u201cresult packs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Gen-X\u2019er or Boomer, you first experienced the internet with just ten plain text results delivered to your clunky desktop computer on your Netscape browser. You weren\u2019t afraid to scroll right down to the bottom of the page, and you\u2019d hit the \u201cnext\u201d button a bunch of more times, just for fun. That made sense because the Web was in its infancy then, and relevant first-page results weren\u2019t exactly plentiful. And because the world was your oyster, you had plenty of time to dally the morning away before heading out to a big, boozy client lunch at noon. Plus, FOMO on what might be on page five was SERIOUS!<\/p>\n<p>Today, like many, you\u2019re likely using a desktop or laptop device with a nice, wide, high-res screen and seeing an array of Google result packs that change based on how and what you searched for.<\/p>\n<p>These organic SERP results packs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blended Results, such as:\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/steal-featured-snippets-blog.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Featured Snippets<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sitelinks<\/li>\n<li>Top Stories<\/li>\n<li>Image packs and carousels<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge panels<\/li>\n<li>Video packs<\/li>\n<li>Tweet carousels<\/li>\n<li>People Also Ask features<\/li>\n<li>Related Searches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Local SERPs Results pack<\/li>\n<li>Regular Organic Results<\/li>\n<li>Vertical Search Results<\/li>\n<li>Plus, any combo of shopping, hotel, travel, job listings, news and FAQs, depending on your query<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And if the search query indicated buying signals,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sponsored (or Pay-per-click\/PPC) ads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Gen Alpha kid, you \u2013 like 63% of the world \u2013 do most of your searching on a smartphone and often use your voice or your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/should-you-be-optimizing-for-voice-search-spoiler-alert-the-answer-is-yes.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">phone\u2019s voice assistant<\/a> to create your query.<\/p>\n<p>In these cases, the number and kind of results delivered to your device will depend on a variety of factors, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Device type<\/li>\n<li>Screen size<\/li>\n<li>Operating system<\/li>\n<li>Software version<\/li>\n<li>Location<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>NOTE:<\/em><\/strong><em> It\u2019s imperative that companies bring the mobile versions of their websites up to snuff, as Google now defaults to crawling a company\u2019s mobile site for indexing and ranking and utilizes its \u201csmartphone agent\u201d to do so.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-9\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"cta-solid-blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/get-my-quote\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Rank Higher<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-10\"><h2>How Does SEO Work?<\/h2>\n<p>As we said earlier, SEO researchers \u2013 aka nerds like us \u2013 who\u2019ve attempted to reverse-engineer Google\u2019s ranking algorithm have found over 200 factors that are likely to influence a site\u2019s <strong>organic<\/strong> ranking (or position) on Google\u2019s search engine results pages (SERPs).<\/p>\n<p>While each business will have unique challenges to overcome, most search engine optimization strategies and tactics aim to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Increase the visibility of your company\u2019s web assets in relevant search engine result packs <\/strong>Because there are a lot of moving parts to SEO, it is, by its nature, a process that needs time to build momentum and get results.Forget about attaining the #1 position right off the bat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, Google changes the results packs it shows to users depending on their perceived intent. Where they might reside within the purchase funnel is also a factor \u2013 i.e. at the top, looking for general information about a topic or at the bottom, where they\u2019re ready to buy. And finally, results packs will also be tailored for a user\u2019s location. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/what-is-the-sales-funnel-in-digital-marketing.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">sales funnels in digital marketing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re better off homing in on being more visible to your target market for your most important keywords across as many Google results packs as are relevant rather than hoping for a #1 position straight out of the starting blocks.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Increase the quantity and quality of traffic to your website<\/strong><br \/>\nAnother important goal of SEO is to drive more qualified traffic from your target market to your website. You want qualified traffic, as they\u2019ll be more likely to perform actions \u2013 or conversion events \u2013 like donating, downloading a document or buying your product online or at your brick-and-mortar location than plain web-surfing old looky-loos.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure the content on your website adds value for your target market first, and scores highly for Google\u2019s algorithm second.<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>There\u2019s no \u201cWhich comes first \u2013 the chicken or the egg?\u201d regarding one of the top-ranking factors for Google\u2019s search algorithm.<\/strong>Content that Google perceives serves your target market best will be rewarded with more prominent and frequent placements in relevant Google SERPs. Google\u2019s Helpful Content Update has made good content creation more important than ever- we\u2019ve put together a<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/use-googles-helpful-content-patents-as-content-creation-playbook.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Content Creation<\/a><strong> Playbook to help. <\/strong>Relevance is vital here, so, for example, if you\u2019re a New York City restaurant that\u2019s been voted the #1 pizza parlour for ten years running, there\u2019s almost zero chance your brand will surface in the organic search results delivered to pizza lovers currently located in Mexico searching for \u201cthe best pizza restaurants close to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NOTE:<\/em><\/strong><em> SEO will NOT influence whether your company\u2019s assets appear in the \u201csponsored\u201d or paid results of Google\u2019s SERPs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To appear there, you\u2019ll need to choose the keyword or keyword string you want to associate with your ad, offer to pay Google a certain cost-per-click for that association, and then see if your price surpasses that of other businesses who want their ad to show up for the same keyword(s).<\/p>\n<p>If your bid wins out, your ad will appear. If you stop bidding high enough to win \u2013 or stop bidding <em>altogether \u2013 your sponsored ad won\u2019t be shown.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"technicaLonpageandoffpageseo\"><\/div>\n<h2>Technical SEO, On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO Tactics<\/h2>\n<p>Optimizing your site involves three key focus areas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Technical SEO<\/li>\n<li>On-Page SEO<\/li>\n<li>Off-Page SEO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"technicalseo\"><\/div>\n<h3>Technical SEO<\/h3>\n<p>Technical SEO ensures your website loads fast, is easy to crawl and index, and creates a great user experience.<\/p>\n<p>It includes tasks like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/does-website-speed-affect-seo.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Speed optimization<\/a> (CWV audit)<\/li>\n<li>Crawlability optimization<\/li>\n<li>Indexability optimization<\/li>\n<li>Mobile\/device optimization<\/li>\n<li>Cross-browser rendering optimization<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/5-reasons-add-structured-data-site.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Structured data<\/a> (schema fitting audit)<\/li>\n<li>Image and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/the-basics-of-video-marketing.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">video<\/a> optimization<\/li>\n<li>txt status<\/li>\n<li>Canonicalization<\/li>\n<li>Feed optimization for followers and Google News<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/techseo360-technical-seo-crawler-guide.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Sitemap<\/a> customization and optimization<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/how-to-use-your-analytics-in-an-actionable-way.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Analytics<\/a> optimization<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"onpageseo\"><\/div>\n<h3>On-Page SEO<\/h3>\n<p>On-page SEO starts with keyword research to help you understand where your company ranks for the keywords or keyword strings your target market typically types into search engines as they meander on their customer journey.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also want to check out how your competition ranks for the same keywords and what else they might be doing that you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n<p>You can use the findings of your keyword research to optimize your website content, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Page URLs<\/li>\n<li>Page titles<\/li>\n<li>Meta description tags<\/li>\n<li>Headers<\/li>\n<li>Alt text tags<\/li>\n<li>Navigational Content<\/li>\n<li>Faceted search optimization<\/li>\n<li>Dynamic on-page optimization<\/li>\n<li>Internal linking optimization<\/li>\n<li>SERP optimization (via Rich Snippets)<\/li>\n<li>Page content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We\u2019ve got a great article about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/online-competitors-vs-business-competitors-in-seo-keyword-research.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">SEO Keyword Research<\/a> right here.<\/p>\n<div id=\"offpageseo\"><\/div>\n<h3>Off-Page SEO<\/h3>\n<p>The goal of off-page SEO is to get users and search engines to see your site as more trustworthy and authoritative, by having other trustworthy, popular and authoritative online sources link to it.<\/p>\n<p>Off-page SEO includes tasks such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creation of linkable assets<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/top-8-link-building-blunders-shun.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Link building<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Citation building<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/content-marketing-agency\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Content marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Google Business profile optimization<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Technical SEO, on-page SEO and off-page SEO all work synergistically to increase the visibility and rank of your company\u2019s web assets on the results pages of search engines like Google, so you can boost the amount of qualified traffic to your website and, ultimately, create more conversions or sales for your business.<\/p>\n<p>Want to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/debunking-link-building-myths-and-revealing-effective-tactics.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">effective link building<\/a> tactics?<\/p>\n<div id=\"trackingandoptimizingseo\"><\/div>\n<h2>Tracking and Optimizing SEO<\/h2>\n<p>You know what they say. \u201cYou can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t measure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While setting key performance indicators (KPIs) may seem complex and even scary at first \u2013 what if your SEO strategy and tactics fail \u2013 embarking on SEO without a plan practically assures that it will.<\/p>\n<p>The most important SEO KPI will always be conversions, i.e. actions that result in success for your business.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll need to figure out the current average number of monthly conversions or the average conversion rate for your website and make that your baseline. All new SEO efforts will be measured against that baseline. From there, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/conversion-rate-optimization\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Conversion Rate Optimization<\/a> can help improve those numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Other tracking and optimization tasks will include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conversion\/Goal\/Event creation<\/li>\n<li>Sitemap and URL segmentation<\/li>\n<li>Proactive campaign monitoring<\/li>\n<li>A\/B Testing of Navigation\/Landing Pages\/Assets\/ Calls-To-Action Messaging\/Graphics<\/li>\n<li>Monthly competition analysis<\/li>\n<li>Reporting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"howlongdoesittaketoseoresults\"><\/div>\n<h2>How Long Does It Take to Get SEO Results?<\/h2>\n<p>Depending on what your KPIs are, and because there are so many moving parts to be manipulated and tested, SEO is, by its nature, a slow process.<\/p>\n<p>You should start to see improvements in KPIs in three to nine months.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, the goal is to take steps now that build momentum and lasting results.<\/p>\n<div id=\"doineedanseoagency\"><\/div>\n<h2>Do I Need an SEO Agency?<\/h2>\n<p>You likely typed \u201cWhat is SEO?\u201d in Google\u2019s search engine a while ago and read your way through this page, and yet we\u2019ve barely skimmed the surface of all that\u2019s involved in SEO or search engine optimization.<\/p>\n<p>And while you might have learned a lot \u2013 and we hope you did \u2013 most business owners realize, sooner or later, that their time is probably better spent coming up with new products or services, delivering excellent customer care, streamlining processes for greater efficiency or tackling other tasks essential for growing their businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Leave SEO to the experts whose job is to stay up to speed with the changes in search engine algorithms, explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to speed up SEO results, combat keyword cannibalization in SEO, do away with content decay, etc., etc.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-digital-marketing-agency.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">how to choose a digital marketing agency<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<div id=\"recapandseofaqs\"><\/div>\n<h2>Recap and SEO FAQs<\/h2>\n<p>You had questions. We delivered answers. Understanding what is SEO can truly transform your online presence, ensuring that when potential customers search for products or services related to your business, your website stands out in search engine results.<\/p>\n<p>But before you go, let\u2019s quickly recap what you learned and send you on your way with some snappy one-sentence answers for frequently asked questions (FAQs) about SEO.<\/p>\n<h2>What is SEO and Other Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<h3>What is SEO?<\/h3>\n<p>SEO is the process of improving a website \u2013 including technical elements like its coding, setup and user experience, plus its content and connectedness \u2013 so that it can be better discovered, indexed and made more visible on the results pages of search engines like Google. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/services\/seo\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">SEO services<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>What does SEO stand for?<\/h3>\n<p>SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the goal of SEO?<\/h3>\n<p>The goal of SEO is to improve the visibility and ranking of web pages in the organic search results delivered by search engines like Google to help increase both the quantity and quality of traffic to a website.<\/p>\n<h3>Why is SEO important?<\/h3>\n<p>SEO is important because organic search engine results are more trusted, preferred and clicked on by consumers and customers.<\/p>\n<h3>How do search engines work?<\/h3>\n<p>Search engines like Google and Bing crawl the web using spiders or bots to find, examine, index, interpret and rank web pages to return the best results in response to their users\u2019 search queries.<\/p>\n<h3>How does SEO work?<\/h3>\n<p>SEO uses technical, on-page and off-page strategies and tactics to optimize website performance, content offerings and usefulness for users first, then search engines next, to achieve SEO marketing goals.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the role of SEO in digital marketing?<\/h3>\n<p>SEO works alongside strategies and tactics used in other marketing channels, including social and traditional media \u2013 and in concert with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-sem-and-paid-ads.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">paid (CPC) search advertising<\/a> \u2013 to realize KPIs that lead to business success. We\u2019ve got a whole article called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/what-is-the-role-of-seo-in-digital-marketing.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">What is the role of SEO in digital marketing<\/a> with more information here.<\/p>\n<h2>How Can I Learn More About SEO Best Practices?<\/h2>\n<p>Why not go straight to the source? Head over to <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" class=\"ext-link\">Google Search Central<\/a> now.<\/p>\n<p>Prefer to snack content from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/seoblog-com-ranks-search-engine-people-among-best-seo-companies-in-canada-in-2021.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Toronto\u2019s Top SEO agency<\/a>? Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/blog\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">blog<\/a> and other resources at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Search Engine People<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-11\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Find out how SEO done by pros can make your business soar.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-12\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"cta-solid-blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginepeople.com\/get-my-quote\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Get Started Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-menu-anchor\" id=\"endofpage\"><\/div><script>\nwindow.addEventListener('scroll', function() {\n    var tableOfContents = document.getElementById('tableofcontents');\n    var endOfPage = document.getElementById('endofpage');\n    var footer = document.querySelector('.footer');\n\n    var endOfPagePosition = endOfPage.offsetTop;\n    var footerPosition = footer.offsetTop;\n    var scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\n\n    if ((scrollPosition >= endOfPagePosition) || (footerPosition <= (scrollPosition + window.innerHeight))) {\n        tableOfContents.classList.remove('sticky');\n    } else {\n        tableOfContents.classList.add('sticky');\n    }\n});\n<\/script><script>\njQuery(document).ready(function(){\n  if(window.innerWidth<768){\n\tjQuery(\".mo-toggle\").click(expandTableContents);\n\t$(\"#tableofcontents ul\").slideUp(\"fast\");\n\t}\n});\nfunction expandTableContents(){\nconsole.log(\"clicked\");\n  if( $(\"#tableofcontents ul\").is(\":hidden\") ){\n    $(\"#tableofcontents ul\").slideDown();\n    $(\".expandable\").addClass(\"expanded\");\n  } else {\n    $(\"#tableofcontents ul\").slideUp();\n    $(\".expandable\").removeClass(\"expanded\");\n  }\n}\n<\/script><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:30px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><a class=\"fusion-one-page-text-link pull-right\" href=\"#top\">Back to Top \u2b06<\/a><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-13\"><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":948,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"page-templates\/empty.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1349","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is SEO? 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