Demystifying the mysterious

There is a lot of misinformation regarding Search Engine Optimization, but it really isn't that hard to understand. It does, though, require work, research and imagination to get good results. And in many cases, specific industry knowledge is essential.

Search Engine Optimization is basically fine tuning your web assets – websites, YouTube channels, social media channels, etc., to attract more visitors. The idea is to get high ranking on the various search engines, but truthfully, ranking on Google is what really matters. The fine tuning means tweaks to page and link structure, adjustment to the written content on the page, in some cases changes to navigation on the entire site. There are also factors beyond your website ("off the page") that can affect your ranking.

Some Facts to Ponder

Anyone who promises “we can get you to #1 on Google” is overreaching or flat out lying

Because the way Google calculates ranking is secret, most of what is written about SEO is a guess – a highly educated guess but a guess nevertheless. Anyone who promises “getting your website to #1 on Google” is overreaching or flat out lying, especially if they have no knowledge of your market. There is no guarantee you'll win at a game when the rules are unknown. But there are definitely things that can be done that will move the needle for your website, raise your ranking and bring you more visitors.

It all starts with research

To be found, you must know what people are looking for. They might be searching using industry buzz words and phrases, but they might be using questions to search, regional or colloquial terms, or something you'd never expect. So, the SEO process starts with research: What is your market all about? What keywords and phrases are people using? What are your competitors doing on their websites? What are the competitors missing and doing wrong?

A well-constructed page with useful information is the basis of everything

The cornerstone of successful SEO is good content. Google is adamant in its mission, which is to help people find the best information that best suits their needs as quickly as possible. It is almost impossible to rank high on Google with badly written, bullshit content. A well-constructed page with useful information is basis of everything. That useful information is built around a keyword or a key phrase – the thing you anticipate people will search for. The site structure is next: The way pages are titled, how pages link to the rest of the website is critical because that is how search engines move through your site to find your pages. Management of an SEO campaign is about fine tuning of all this, and a constant analysis of what is working and what isn't.

Backlinks play a huge role

Links from other websites that lead to pages on your website are incredibly important. These links, backlinks as they’re called, are analyzed by search engines to determine the popularity and trustworthiness of your web page, and this plays a huge role in a websites ultimate rank. Getting quality backless is priority and can be a total game changer depending on the business and the market.

It’s a long term investment

SEO is time consuming to do and can take months before there's a firm result. Sometimes a campaign can produce an immediate increase in traffic, but generally this is a slow growth endeavor. It can take years to climb up Google. And there are situations in which SEO, no matter how well executed, isn't going to move the rank on your page in a significantly. The market can be too competitive: You can't outrank Google for the word "Google." But in most cases, SEO is a really good investment.