What is SEO?

Whether you own your own business or you are an individual seeking to improve your online visibility, you have probably asked yourself, “What is SEO?”

The answer to this question is actually quite simple. SEO, which is short for ‘search engine optimisation’, is the method of increasing a website’s online visibility.

More precisely, SEO is the professional marketing practice of employing specialised strategies, tactics, and techniques to obtain a higher and more productive search engine ranking. This is very important to the success of a website, since search engines, such as Google, act as the key intermediaries between internet users and your content.

Most website traffic is driven through commercial search engines. Google can therefore act as a gateway, dictating which websites are the most pertinent to a user’s keyword search.  The relevancy of which is controlled by numerous factors that can be influenced by SEO.

Having good SEO is therefore vital to a website’s success.

By utilizing SEO, your website could feature on the first page, or even become the first result in a relevant Google keyword search.  This is very important, since over ninety percent of internet users will only visit websites which feature on the first page. So if you want to increase your website’s viewership, boost your online sales, spread your message, strengthen your brand, or increase your patronage, SEO is important to you.

While the answer to, “What is SEO?” is simple, the application is a little more complex.

Professional SEO specialists must keep up to date with the latest search engine algorithms, the most modern marketing strategies, and the newest technologies to ensure their search engine optimisation practices are the most relevant and effective for their clients.  SEO experts must draw upon an increasing number of diverse disciplines to ensure a website’s success. To improve SEO, online marketers:

• Understand website design
• Develop keywords
• Complete audience research
• Improve the user experience
• Utilize Google Adwords
• Conduct reputation management
• Use on-page optimization
• Grow relevant links
• Create unique, high quality, and relevant content
• Appreciate information architecture
• And much, much more.

Due to the technical knowledge, and strategic methodology required, most businesses contract out to SEO experts to manage their online visibility. While the cost of this service varies, the overall benefits, particularly financial, make it a very worthwhile investment.

If you would like further details answering your “What is SEO?” question, please feel free to contact the online marketing team at A+ SEO online reputation. The friendly and professional team at A+ SEO is always happy to help with any online marketing queries. To contact them today, simply call us or visit http://www.aplus.net.nz/contact-us/.