Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of improving a website's technical setup, content relevance, and link popularity so that its pages are more accessible, relevant to user search queries, and popular with users in general. As a result, SEO helps search engines rank these pages higher.

By presenting material that satisfies user search demands, search engines advocate SEO actions that help both the user search experience and page's rating. This comprises, among other SEO best practices, the inclusion of pertinent keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, and headings (H1), the use of descriptive URLs that contain keywords rather than a list of numbers, and the use of schema markup to explain the meaning of the page's content.

Search engines help people find what they’re looking for online. Whether researching a product, looking for a restaurant, or booking a vacation, search engines are a common starting point when you need information. For business owners, they offer a valuable opportunity to direct relevant traffic to your website.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of orienting your website to rank higher on a search engine results page (SERP) so that you receive more traffic. The aim is typically to rank on the first page of Google results for search terms that mean the most to your target audience. So, SEO is as much about understanding the wants and needs of your audience as it is about the technical nature of how to configure your website.

Here are the basics.

How do search engines work?

Any search phrase entered by a user will provide results from search engines. To achieve this, they explore and "understand" the web's huge network of websites. For each search query, they execute a complex algorithm to decide which results to display.

Why SEO focuses on Google

Google, which holds around 92% of the market share for search engines worldwide, is often used interchangeably with the word "search engine." Because Google is the most popular search engine, SEO strategies frequently center on how Google functions. It’s useful to have a clear understanding of how Google works and why.

What Google wants

Google's users, or searchers, are meant to have the greatest possible search experience. That entails delivering the most pertinent results as soon as feasible.

The search phrase (the user's input) and the search results make up the two main components of the search experience (the output).

Say you type "Mailchimp instructions and tutorials" into the search bar. This search is precise and unambiguous. Google recognizes your query and provides Mailchimp's own page with that title as the top organic result, which is helpful.

Because it's likely that the user will click the top result and be pleased with the outcome, Google views this as a very excellent search result and a great user experience.

How Google makes money

Google benefits from users' confidence and appreciation of its search engine. It does this by providing pertinent search results.

Additionally, Google gives companies the option to purchase an advertorial placement at the top of search result pages. These listings are denoted with the term "Ad." These pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements, which you buy through AdWords, are the source of revenue for Google. Particularly on more general inquiries, you'll notice these adverts.

These search results hardly stand out from other search results save from the little label. Since many users click on these results without understanding they are advertisements, it is obvious that this is done on purpose.

The company Google depends on this. Over 80% of the $182.5 billion that Google made in income in 2020 came from advertising. Thus, it is dependent on its advertising revenue even if search services are still its key offering.

The anatomy of search results

Paid and "organic" search results can be seen on SERPs, however organic results don't bring in money for Google. Instead, Google presents organic results based on its evaluation of the quality and relevancy of a site. Google will also show other components on the SERP, such as maps, photos, or videos, depending on the type of search query.

Depending on what consumers have searched, there may be a lot of adverts on a SERP. For instance, if you searched for "shoes," you would probably notice that many of the top results were advertisements. In reality, the first organic result is likely to be further down the page than you expect.

Due to the likelihood that the searcher is trying to purchase shoes online and the abundance of shoe manufacturers ready to pay for a place in the AdWords results for this query, a query like this typically generates a large number of adverts.

On the other hand, you will get different results if you search for something like "Atlanta Falcons." The top results are related to that because the professional American football team with that name is mostly associated with this search. But the question is still not very obvious. You may see their homepage, knowledge graph, and recent news. These three types of results at the top show that Google doesn't know exactly what you were looking for, but it still offers quick links to find out more about the team, read their most recent news, or visit their website.

There are no AdWords results since there doesn't seem to be any purchase intent behind the term, which discourages marketers from placing a bid.

The SERP results alter to include more sponsored results if you adjust your search to "Atlanta Falcons cap," which tells Google that you might be purchasing.

The role of SEO

Increasing your position in organic search results is the aim of SEO. AdWords, shopping, and local results optimization all include various techniques.

Although it can seem that there are too many competing factors vying for space on SERPs, pushing the organic rankings down, SEO can still be a very effective and profitable strategy.

Google handles billions of search queries every day, so organic search results represent a pretty sizable portion of the pie. To acquire and maintain organic rankings, some initial and continuous expenditure is necessary, but every click that directs visitors to your website is totally free.

Patrick Hathaway published this article for MailChimp. Sitebulb, an SEO inspection tool with a technical focus, was co-founded by Patrick.

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