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What is SEO: A Beginner’s Guide in Plain English

a magnifying glass on search bar showing zoomed url. the magnifying glass shape is used creatively as the word O and to its left is written SE. collectively its SEO.

Do you have an excellent website with no traffic? It’s like having an incredible shop hidden away where no one walks by. This is where SEO comes to help. Keep reading if you’re new to online stuff and want to understand this SEO.

“If you want to discover a digital graveyard, venture beyond the second and third pages of Google.”

A proverb in Craxy Ninja.

What is SEO? 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a smart way to help people find your website while searching for things online. Think about it when you search for something on Google. You usually click on the first few websites that pop up. Those websites are doing SEO well and appear at the top.

The History of SEO

SEO wasn’t always around. The story of SEO started in the mid-1990s when the Internet began reaching people’s homes. Back then, the first search engines were being built, and they ranked websites primarily by how many times a keyword appeared on the page.

The early days of SEO were like the wild west. People would stuff their websites with keywords, sometimes even hiding them in the same color as the background! It was all about tricking the search engine into ranking your website higher.

But search engines got smart. In 1996, two students named Larry Page and Sergey Brin started a project that would become Google. They developed a new way to rank websites based on how many other websites linked to them. It was like saying, “If lots of other sites think this website is good, it must be important.”

Over the years, Google kept improving and adding to its ranking system. They started considering how easy a website was and whether it worked well on mobile phones. These changes made SEO more about helping people find valuable and user-friendly websites.

Today, SEO is still evolving. It’s no longer about tricking search engines but about making websites that offer value to people. It’s a fascinating journey that shows how the Internet has grown and changed.

Why do we need SEO? 

Imagine the Internet as a vast library and your website as one book. SEO helps your book stand out. When your website is easy to find, more people visit it. That means more potential customers for you. So, SEO is like a magic trick that makes your website easy to spot by people and search engines.

A report by brightedge.com
Here are some interesting stats:
  1. Google has 4.3 billion users globally.
  2. 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine. (BrightEdge)
  3. 0.63% of Google searchers click on results from the second page. (Backlinko)
  4. 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search. (BrightEdge)
  5. SEO drives 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media. (BrightEdge)
  6. SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate. (HubSpot)

How does SEO work? 

SEO works by figuring out what people are looking for and how they’re searching for it. Then, it makes your website match what people want. This includes using specific keywords, making good content, and making your website easy to use. When search engines see your website is what people want, they’re more likely to show it in search results.

Types of SEO

Let’s talk about the three types of SEO:

  1. Technical SEO: This is about making your website work well. It’s like tuning a car so it runs smoothly.
  2. On-site SEO: This is about making your website useful for people. It’s like filling a shop with things people want to buy.
  3. Off-site SEO: This is about making your website known and loved. It’s like spreading the word about your shop so people come and visit.
Technical SEO 

Technical SEO ensures your website works well for search engines. It’s like making a clear map so search engines can easily find and understand all the content on your website. This includes things like having a good website structure and fast-loading pages.

Consider making your website easy for search engines to read, like a book with a clear table of contents and well-organized chapters.

On-Page SEO 

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing the content on your website for both users and search engines. This includes using the right keywords your audience is searching for and ensuring your content provides value.

On-page SEO is about crafting high-quality content and structuring it in a way that’s easy for readers and search engines to recognize. This can include using headings to organize your content, linking to other relevant pages, and ensuring your website is pleasing and easy to navigate.

Like a well-organized, informative book, your website should be reader-friendly and contain helpful information.

Off-page Optimization

It’s about spreading the word about your website. It’s not strictly SEO, but it helps a lot. It’s like putting up posters around town, telling everyone about your great shop. This can include getting other websites to link to you and sharing your content on social media.

Summary

SEO may seem confusing, but it’s crucial for getting your website noticed online. We will write how to do SEO and its basics in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Want more help with SEO? Check out our SEO Services page. We’re ready to guide you. Together, let’s make your website a hit!

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