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What is search engine optimization (SEO), and why is it so important nowadays? This relatively new term has indeed become much more commonplace and somewhat of a business necessity in recent times. If you’re so-far unfamiliar with this term, have no worries. We’ll get you up to speed in no time with this quick rundown of search engine optimization, or SEO.
SEO: The Core Concept
SEO is loosely yet quite accurately defined as any activity that is focused on the optimization of search engine results. With this said, let’s backup for a moment and discuss search engines and how they work. When you do a search on the internet, the search engine that you use will then canvas the web and come back with a set of search results. These results then rank and display webpages that were found to contain the searched phrase with more frequency and relevance than any other. The final result is a list of websites that are presumed to be the most relevant to the search being performed.
Knowing this valuable fact, companies can then try to strategically and quite abundantly place certain valuable words, or keywords into each facet of their particular online arena. A boxing equipment vendor’s webpage for example may then use the words “boxing gloves” quite abundantly to draw search results on this phrase to this site and have it subsequently list at the top of search rankings. A natural pet food company may likewise strategically employ the keywords “pet food”, “natural”, or “healthy pets” throughout there pages so as to draw the high acknowledgments of all search engines during searches worded similar to these words. Being at the top of search results guarantees many more clicks. Being at the bottom means being practically unheard of and unseen by searchers.
An Example in SEO Use
Rather than further explaining, let’s get to a direct illustration that you can actually look at and thus further understand the concept. Here, we see a paragraph from a hypothetical webpage aimed at attracting model train enthusiasts. Notice the author’s play on keywords that will likely bring search engine users to their website that sells such wares.
“At Bj’s Model Train Outlet, our love is all about trains. This love of model trains started with Grandpa Smith, the original founder building and falling in love with his first model train set. He was no child, but he very well could have been one that day, playing with his very own children’s model train set. Ever since those humble beginnings, we have grown to be the premier children’s model train authority and adult model train enthusiast’s headquarters that you know and love today.”
In this example paragraph, we see the distinct use of the key phrase “model train” as well as variations of it. These are used as much as possible so as to draw the attention of search engines searching along these lines. The writer does however limit the keywords’ use at the point of becoming nonsensical and grammatically incorrect.
Additional Resources
There are many resources out there with regard to SEO, from basic definitions to optimization companies, and all types of other services in-between. A good beginning point though for additional understanding of the world of SEO, the very credible Entrepreneur Magazine maintains an entire article section based on its explanations and uses in business. In addition, you can find a similarly valuable and trustworthy resource at Microsoft’s website. Here, you can find SEO info, a free Microsoft toolkit for SEO, and helpful tutorials as well. These valuable resources can be found here and here.
SEO is a necessity in virtually all online venues today. With a world powered by the search engine, it only makes sense for the smart business to capitalize. This is the world of search engine optimization.
