What Is SEO?

You most likely have a general understanding of what it is. After all, you wouldn’t be taking this course if you didn’t. But we should define it.

Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing a web page for search so that it obtains more organic traffic (earned traffic) by becoming highly visible on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Organic traffic is also referred to as ‘free traffic,’ but I like to call it earned traffic because whether it costs you labor or cash, you’re still paying for it.

The Goal of SEO

Your main objective with SEO is to increase the quantity and quality of website traffic that comes from search engines to a given site.

• Quantity – This is the number of visitors that come to your website from search engines. Generally, the more traffic you get, the better!
• Quality – Just because you’re getting traffic doesn’t mean that it’s the right kind. For instance, if you’re a local plumber in Ottawa, ON, but all your traffic is coming from Calgary, AB, there’s a problem. You won’t sell anything because you’re receiving the wrong audience. Similarly, if you sell shoes but Google thinks you’re a shoe repair company, there’s a debacle that needs addressing.

The Purpose Of Search Engines

Search engines are designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. Think of them as a giant software system that houses other software within it to operate.

Bots or algorithms (forms of artificial intelligence or AI) are software that work to include data and sort them in the database of search engines.

Quick note: We’ll cover AI in more detail later in this course because it’s becoming a more important area of understanding for SEO.

How Search Engines Get And Sort Content

Crawlers (a kind of bot) scour the web for content and brings all that data back to the search engine’s index. Several algorithms process the index and match data with a user’s search query.

How People Use Search Engines

We use search engines to locate information, much like how we would use our neighbourhood library. However, search engines are more than a good old-fashioned library because people also use them to find products and services that they want.

How Businesses Use Search Engines

Companies use search engines to reach consumers. Similar to how they use TV, radio, social media or other marketing channels to grab the attention of their customers.

Capturing ‘Attention’ is a huge part of all marketing. If the consumer is watching, listening, or reading, you’re marketing. Just make sure you’re sending the right message that’ll lead them towards becoming paying customers or whatever goal you have.

Optional: Watch The Video

If you have questions, please drop them in the comments. If you want me to provide you with SEO recommendations for your website, email me.