SEO Basics

 

If you really want to get a good grasp of the concept SEO it helps to review the fundamentals.

SEO is an abbreviation for search engine optimization. Basically it involves positioning and promoting a website in order to allow it to achieve top rankings in major search engines. When we refer to rankings we really mean the order in which a site appears as a result of a search performed through a search engine. The objective obviously is to appear on the very first page of results and as high up on that page as possible.

Let’s start with OnPage SEO. When we refer to Onpage SEO you may think we’ve made a grammatical error. This isn’t the case. Onpage SEO is misspelled; it’s a phrase that basically refers to any changes you must make to a web page to get it better ranked by a major search engine. In former years this involved the order and amount of keywords listed in a site’s meta keyword code but this is no longer the case. Google no longer uses this code when performing an evaluation of a website.

The basic elements of Onpage SEO are the meta title of a site and the description included in the html code. This is the part of a site that the visitors may never see but it’s a vital piece that tells the search engines what is on a particular page. Additionally the visible part of the page should have good quality unique content and a strategic sampling of certain keyword phrases. In short, the web page needs to be relevant to the topic you want to get ranked for.

Another integral part of SEO is Offpage SEO. This refers to promoting your pages on other websites. In other words it involves getting other sites to link to you. Search engines measure the quantity and quality of links any site may have from other sites. This determines how high the particular page will rank in search engine results using a relevant keyword or phrase. Links are best obtained by sites that focus on the same niches as yours including forums, educational sites and blogs.

Relevancy is the most important part of SEO. It’s the key factor in ranking. Initially you must identify the correct key words and phrases. The next important factor involves writing quality, exclusive content that corresponds to those key words and phrases. Last, you must build quality links to the page you are trying to get ranked. Combine all three of these factors and you are well on your way to getting a good ranking.

In summary, SEO basically consists of doing your homework and setting up your pages properly followed by securing relevant links. All your hard work will be for nothing if the page you are trying to get ranked for has duplicate or poorly written content that offers no real value to visitors.