What Is SEO? A Guide To Search Engine Optimization

SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization. The function of the process is to increase the ranking of websites and businesses. There is a significant difference between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and other paid marketing methods. The reason is SEO uses an organic approach towards its advertisement functions. The businesses don’t have to be part of the space they want to advertise on.

Core Elements of SEO

SEO works in two forms; the first is for the on-page activities, while the other works on the background processes. It covers more ground this way and helps in the fantastic use of all resources available at hand.

Let’s understand Search Engine Optimization in more depth.

1. ON-Page SEO
2. OFF-Page SEO

1. ON-Page SEO

This form of SEO is directed towards the building of the content. Content building is made more efficient with the goal of improving content rankings. It requires many intricate things to be applied, such as keywords, high-quality written content, consistent frequency and internal linking them.

The application of meta-tags and content is made in a well-researched manner. It helps show off the business’s website content, on which the work is being for.

2. OFF-Page SEO

Off-page SEO involves all of the processes occurring in the website’s background. They are executed by utilizing backlinks. This leads to the website building relationships with the consumers and the website itself. Content creators use the SEO concepts to form products that appear to the target audience, affecting the exposure.

Two Main SEO Strategies

There are two main strategies

1. Black Hat SEO
2. White Hat SEO

There are two main strategies used for SEO, black hat and white hat. Both of these have their specific purpose and are designed to cater to particular instances. Their description is as follows:

1. Black Hat SEO

Black hat SEO is very effective and gives quick results. However, these immediate results don’t come without a price. The progress associated with black hat SEO is short-lived as the method used to get the results is weak. For black hat SEO, tactics like stuffing keywords into the content and scraping links are used. Black hat content thrives on including duplicate content in the websites.

Along with that, the invisible text is embedded to do inflation in the word count. Another tactic is redirecting to different articles. Essentially the website with Black Hat SEO will only have a link that leads to another website with actual content.

References are also given from miscellaneous and irrelevant sources. Google eventually tracks this activity and then ends up either penalizing the website. The worst case is the website being taken down and blacklisted by Google.

2. White Hat SEO

This strategy focuses on developing a long-term audience for a business. The method of white hat SEO involves many intricate processes. The content needs to have good English, both grammar and spelling. The website should follow the proper protocols for HTML. The images that are used should be labeled accurately along with relevant links and references as well.

The driver of the White hat SEO is its uniqueness, and the content needs to be original and, most importantly, well made. While this may seem like hard work at first, the website and the processes become virtually self-sufficient once the flow is built.

SEO Marketing Basics

There are fundamentals in the marketing of SEO Platforms. These fundamentals include the content as well as its other important components. Some of those three elements are given below:

1. Content
2. Keywords
3. HTML

1. Content

Website content includes all forms that are presented on a website. This includes components such as the homepage, FAQ, discussion, contact us, articles, blogs, and all other forms of content as well. Consistent quality content leads to the best benefits. The quality and the originality, in the end, determine how the business will rank.

2. Keywords

Keywords selection is an art that helps the SEO process. Through competitor research and analysis, keywords are identified and applied. Search intent is the predicting what and how people may search on Google. The semantics and the search intent must be well understood with the right keywords.

3. HTML

Google has policies about HTML (or Hypertext Markup Language) which are to be followed obligatory. The most significant elements of HTML include Meta descriptions and titles. Along with those, the URL slug, schema, subheadings, alt text are all included.

1. URL slug is what tells Google what the content is about.
2. Subheadings help divide the article and its components for better organization of information.
3. Any images used contain alt text, which helps identify them.
4. Schema is a process that involves working and collaboration with different search engines; it is a sub-part of HTML and helps increase Search engines display content better.

Conclusion

SEO is a complex process with many different interesting components. But once a proper understanding of its elements is achieved, applications of it become easier. It is a great tool for advancing business marketing and if you’re still struggling between opting for SEO vs SEM, then look into your competition and business requirements.

Editor

Editorial Staff at Scalable Media is a team of SEO experts led by M. Farasat Khan. We have been helping SaaS businesses scale through performance led SEO strategies.