What Does SEO Stand For? A beginner's guide

What Does SEO Stand For? A Beginner’s Guide To Search Engine Optimisation

What does SEO stand for and why do you need it? Here are 5 easy ways to incorporate Search Engine Optimisation into your online growth strategies.

What Does SEO Stand For?

SEO is an acronym for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’

So, let’s break it down.

Search Engine refers to software such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. When you search a keyword or query into a search engine, it uses a variety of factors, information and signals to decide which webpages to display first. The aim of any search engine is to provide you with the most relevant web pages for your search terms.

Next, optimisation.

The OED defines optimisation as

"the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource."

SEO incorporates a variety of different techniques to ensure that a search engine is displaying your site for the most relevant results. When SEO strategies are done well, it will drive organic traffic to your site and result in more leads and a higher conversion rate for your services.

Gecko Fact: To dispel any confusion, we will refer to optimisation with an ‘S’ rather than a ‘Z’ throughout this article. ‘Optimization’ is the US spelling of the word.What Does SEO Stand For In Marketing?

Search Engine Optimisation is all about ensuring your site ranks highly in your chosen search engines, such as Google. The top 5 results of search engines get 75 per cent of all clicks so it is vital for any business – big or small, to earn a prime spot in search engine rankings.

When was the last time you clicked on to page 2 of Google to find what you were looking for? Page 1 is your ultimate goal.

How Do Search Engines Rank Your Site?

A search engine needs to determine which sites and web pages are the most relevant to your search keyword or query. Once you make a search, it scans the index of webpages to find relevant content that will match your search. A program called a ‘web crawler’ will scan every webpage to scoop up and store all the information it needs to help get you top notch search results.

The Algorithm

Each search engine has an algorithm. For example, for Google to find the most relevant information for your search term, it will look at many factors.

Google itself states that these factors include:

"…the words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources and your location and settings."

Why Does My Business Need SEO?

• Credibility

A top-ranking site on a search engine earns trust. It appears more reliable and creates a sense of authority in comparison to the sites listed on page 2 and beyond. It is more likely to get clicks, leads and an increase in revenue.

• Drive Organic Traffic

It is important to note that paid strategies such as PPC can fly your site to the top of Google as a sponsored ad. While this is a short-term effective method of increasing traffic, it enjoys none of the long-term benefits that organic SEO brings.

• Get Found!

Your site may have stunning design, valuable info or a sought-after product. However, if you don’t rank high in Google, it can be difficult for customers to discover you organically. A strong online presence will drive traffic to your site, certain services or products and increase footfall to a physical premises if you have one.

What does SEO stand for? Learn More About Our SEO Services

Top 5 SEO Techniques

So, now we’ve answered the burning question ‘What Does SEO Stand For’, here are 5 easy ways to incorporate SEO into your online growth strategies.

1. Backlink Success

Backlinks help a search engine decide the quality of your webpage or site. A backlink simply means how many other sites include a link back (or refer) to your site or page. It is useful to think of these links like citations; they signal that the site is valuable to its traffic.

Looking to get started with SEO? Add your services to quality local directories to help people find your business here.

2. Rank For Keywords

By incorporating key words into your content, search engines will recognise that your particular web page is matching the user’s search intent. A quick research will give you an idea of who ranks highly for which keywords and you can use this information to develop your own content. However, if you would like in-depth statistics including search volume, there are several tools you can use such as Ahrefs.

For your free SEO review, get in touch!

3. Optimise Your Web Design

The more user friendly your website is, the higher search engines are likely to rank it. There are certain factors such as page speed, layout and type of content that search engines take note of. Great web design will ensure a fast site that is easy to navigate, reduce bounce rates, drive traffic to service pages and increase conversion rates.

4. Create Quality Content

In order to create a strong online presence that drives organic traffic to your site, it is vital that you not only create quality content, but that you optimise it for SEO. For example, utilise techniques such as keywords, backlinks and user friendly web design to boost your content’s presence and get it the recognition it deserves.

5. Meta Tags

Meta tags and titles are catchphrases or keywords that you can include in your ‘snippet’, also known as your search engine result. Each result has a meta title and a meta description that helps search engines determine the content of your web page. Be sure to include your keywords in here!

Check the length of your meta tags

You asked ‘What Does SEO Stand For?’ We hope you now have a better understanding of SEO and how to incorporate basic SEO techniques into your own projects.

Got A Question For Us? Need A Hand?

Green Gecko Digital specialise in web design and Seo. https://greengeckodigital.co.uk/