What is search engine optimization (SEO) | How does it work?

Does your website rank on the second or third page of Google even after working hard?

Do you also want a lot of traffic and that too for free from Google?

If you are blogging then it means that you have somewhere heard about search engine optimization or SEO in short.

But you do not know what is search engine optimization and how does it work?

Thousands of SEO related questions are asked on the internet everyday.

But friends do not panic, because in this article I will give you all the beginner friendly information about SEO.

In today's world of internet marketing, there is only one thing which is most important and that is SEO.

If you also have a YouTube channel, a website or blog or any other platform with your digital assets, then what you need more than that is SEO to get the audience out there.

With the help of SEO, you can bring unlimited, lifetime, free traffic.

So let's see what is SEO and how to do it?

What is search engine optimization (SEO)? How does it work actually?

As you already know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

Search engine optimization is made up of two words. The first is search engine and the second one is optimization.

The process of ranking any digital content in search engines is called SEO.

Let's talk about search engines first.

So what is a search engine?

Search engine is a software system designed to search or find information from the World Wide Web i.e. Internet.

Because as you know there are thousands of websites, millions of data are lying here, so a system has been created to find that data from somewhere, which we call search engine.

Now let's talk about optimization.

So optimization means making full use of something, making the best use of something.

So now the meaning of saying here is that in search engine optimization, we do the best optimization of the search engine, that is, we use the search engine in a better way for our benefit.

Now you think how you can use search engine?

So if I have a website, if I have a business, then I would not want that whenever someone types anything related to my business, related to my service, related to my product, in any search engine, he will see my website. Be seen Above. So this is the best use of search engine that we do.

Now the question comes in search engine optimization that can we optimize the search engine?

So see search engine is a software system which is built after a lot of hard work and is a very secure network.

Suppose if I take the example of Google as a search engine, can you go into the backend of Google and tamper with it?

You can make changes like this, by changing the algorithm or its coding, can you bring your website to the top?

No!

So basically if I talk in very simple language then you do not do search engine optimization in search engine rather you optimize your website in better way so that you can take best advantage of search engine.

For example, if I have a designing showroom, I make designer dresses, this is my business and I want that whenever someone searches. Designer clothes in Delhi. This should make my business appear at the top of my website.

Wouldn't it be amazing, all we have to do is optimize our website so optimally that it appears on the top ranks on search engines, thereby promoting my business, increasing my conversion rates and ultimately growing my business.

And we are going to learn all these things in this article.

Search Engine Optimization techniques

There are two ways to do anything, one is the right way and the other is the wrong way.

Similarly, there are two ways to do SEO.

There is a right way which we call White Hat SEO and there is a wrong way which we call Black Hat SEO.

White hat SEO includes all the right and genuine ways that complies with the search engine ranking policy. In short, it is the only legal way of doing SEO.

On the other hand, black hat SEO is all about faking or tricking search engine's algorithm and forcing your website to look like a professional one. This way your website becomes overoptimized illegally.

There is another method called Gray Hat SEO. This type of SEO is a mixture of White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO.

Read this: White Hat vs Black Hat vs Gray Hat SEO

Types of seo

There are mainly two types of Search Engine Optimization: On Page SEO and Off Page SEO

To rank your website or any of your digital content in search engine, it is very important to know the types of SEO.

With their help, your website will be able to rank very well in Google or other search engines.

Ranking depends on the algorithms of each search engine. SEO is a very complex process.

Even after doing everything, there is no guarantee that your website will rank. Because the search engine selects the best content according to its algorithm and ranks it in its search result.

But understanding and applying the SEO practices genuinely greatly increases our chance of ranking our website in SERP.

So let's see more about these SEO types.

On-page SEO

In On Page SEO, you do SEO within the website. We call on-page SEO a practice to optimize a website and its content.

The following elements are used in On Page SEO:

1. Keywords
Keywords used on a website are important for SEO.
Search engines use keywords to determine what a website is about and how it should rank in the SERPs.
For this you need to do proper keyword research.

2. Quality content
Website content is also important for SEO.
Search engines prefer websites that have high-quality content that is relevant to the keywords being searched for.

3. The title tag
The title is very important.
This title appears in search engine results when your website is ranked.
 Your main keyword should appear in the title for which you want your website to rank.

4. Meta description
A meta description is the text that appears below the title tag in SERPs, so it's important to make sure it's well-written and informative.
It should also include your main keyword, for which you want your website to rank.

5. URL structure
A website's URL structure should be easy to read and understand.
No need to write long URL.
It should also include your main keyword.

6. Internal Linking
Internal linking is the process of linking from one page of a website to another.
Internal linking can help improve the ranking of linked pages.

7. Mobile-friendliness
More and more people are using their mobile devices to search the web.
Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices so you can reach these users.

8. Security
Search engines prefer websites that are secure.
Make sure your website uses HTTPS and has a valid SSL certificate.

9. Responsiveness
Your website should be responsive.
You need to design your website in such a way that it looks good on any device.
This is called responsiveness. If your website is responsive, your website is good for Google.

10. Page speed
Nobody likes a slow website.
You can't do either, so you need to optimize your web site so that it loads quickly.
If your website is too slow, Google won't rank it.
Your website should load within two-three seconds otherwise users will leave and never come back to your website.

Off Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to the process of building links to one website from other websites.
Off Page SEO uses the following:

1. Backlinks
Backlinks are links from your website to other websites.
Backlinks are a signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy.

Backlinks are very important.
If you have a quality backlog, your website will rank very quickly in search engines.
Backlinks definitely fall into the top three SEO factors.
But getting backlinks is not that easy.

2. Social media
Social media mentions can help improve your website's ranking in SERPs.
If your website is also on social media, you have a brand and this is a good signal to search engines.

Social media engagement is a good signal to rank in search engines.
This shows that your website is very genuine and original.

3. Guest Posting
Guest blogging is the process of writing blog posts for other websites.
Guest blogging can help improve your website's ranking in the SERPs.

If your website name is mentioned on any other website or you are getting links, then it is a good sign for search engines that your website is very popular and famous.
This means your website is very authentic and trustworthy.

How to do SEO?

There are many things you can do to improve your website's SEO.

As I mentioned earlier, SEO is a very complicated thing.

It's not easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. No need to panic.

To do website Search Engine Optimization, you need to keep the above mentioned things in mind.

On Page SEO and Off Page SEO are very important things.

If you only do the things mentioned above you will still have 90% SEO covered.

Here are the simple yet effective steps to do SEO:

1. Do keyword research

Before you start optimizing your website, you need to do keyword research to find the right keywords to target. You can use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to help you with this.

2. Create high quality content

Once you find the right keywords, you need to create high-quality content relevant to those keywords. Your content should be good, informative and engaging.

3. Get Backlinks

Getting backlinks from other websites is one of the most important factors for SEO.
You can earn backlinks by guest blogging, participating in forums and submitting your website to online directories.

4. Optimize your website for mobile

More and more people are using their mobile devices to search the web.
Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices so you can reach these users.

5. Protect your website

Search engines prefer secure websites.
Make sure your website uses HTTPS and has a valid SSL certificate.

Recommended: how to do SEO by Google.

Benefits of SEO

The main advantage of SEO is that you don't have to spend any amount and still you get lifetime free traffic.

Here are some of the well known benefits of SEO:

- Increased organic visibility:
SEO helps improve your website's visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), making it easier for users to find you when they search for a relevant keyword or phrase.

- High website traffic:
By optimizing your website for search engines, you can attract more organic traffic, which can lead to brand exposure, higher engagement and more potential customers.

-Affordable Marketing:
SEO is a long-term investment that can provide continuous benefits without a constant financial investment. Compared to paid advertising, SEO can provide a higher return on investment (ROI) over time.

- Target audience:
SEO allows you to target specific keywords or phrases related to your business, ensuring that your website is visible to users who are actively searching for products or services similar to yours.

- Enhanced user experience:
SEO involves optimizing your website's design, navigation, and content to improve the overall user experience. A user-friendly website has a low bounce rate and a high conversion rate.

- Builds trust and credibility:
A high ranking in search results indicates to users that your website is trustworthy and authoritative. By implementing SEO best practices, you can establish credibility and gain the trust of potential customers.

-Long term effects:
While SEO requires time and effort to see results, the benefits can be long-lasting. Once you achieve a high ranking, it is easier to maintain compared to other marketing methods that require constant investment.

-Competitive Advantage:
If your competitors aren't investing in SEO or aren't doing it effectively, you can gain a significant advantage by outranking them in search results and attracting more traffic and customers.

-Mobile Optimization:
With the increasing use of mobile devices, SEO helps ensure that your website is optimized for mobile search, providing a seamless experience for mobile users and potentially attracting more mobile traffic.

-Insights and Data:
SEO tools provide valuable data and insights about your website's performance, user behavior, keyword rankings, and more. This information can help you make data-driven decisions to further optimize your website and marketing strategies.

Summary

Search Engine Optimization is a very big topic. Everything cannot be included in this small article.

But anyone who is new or want to learn SEO, can follow this article.

After doing SEO, the website will not rank instantly. It takes some time to build trust and authority.

If you do SEO properly and genuinely then you may rank your website in within 3 months.

However, there is no guarantee of this.

If you write good content, have patience then you will be able to do SEO. Otherwise all the efforts are in vain.

Search Engine Optimization is not a running race, it is a marathon.

You will not get anything in a hurry but those who do good work and optimize their website well, they will get free organic traffic to their website for lifetime.

SEO is a great way to improve the visibility of your website and attract more visitors.