SEO: what does it mean?
What is SEO? What is the definition of SEO? What does SEO stand for?
And above all: is SEO the discipline, or the person who practises it?
Both, depending on how you use the word. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the discipline concerned with optimizing content for search engines. An SEO is also the specialist who puts all of that optimization work into practice on a website.
For the rest of the answers, keep reading — you’ll find everything here.
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”, and it covers the whole set of techniques used to optimize a website, rank it as well as possible inside search engines, and increase both the quantity and the quality of its traffic.
Optimization — that’s the key word, and the heart of the SEO acronym.
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What SEO is for: 2 examples that make it click
If you sell computers and your site talks about your business, but the traffic landing on it is looking to buy shoes online, you have a serious site optimization problem — in other words, an SEO problem.
When you search on Google you see two kinds of results: the paid ones at the top, and the organic ones below them. The organic results are the product of SEO techniques and, unlike paid results, you don’t pay Google to stay on page one (although you’ll probably pay an SEO specialist to get well positioned in the SERP).
SEO work: here’s how it’s done
Now that you know what SEO is, let’s look at how it’s done and what skills you need to work as an SEO specialist.
SEO optimization is made up of several stages, split into two big areas:
- SEO on page (on-site SEO)
- SEO off page (off-site SEO)
Taking care of a website’s SEO optimization means:
- making sure the title tags and meta descriptions are correct and match the topic of each page.
- Making sure the text is long enough (not thin content under 500 words) and contains terms related to the main keyword.
- Building internal and external links.
- Optimizing images for SEO.
- And more…
Because Google’s algorithm updates keep getting more frequent (there’s thought to be a small algorithm update almost daily, plus several big ones each year), you have to stay alert: some SEO techniques that worked beautifully for years can lose most of their weight after an algorithm change.
We’re not saying this to scare you, but to remind you that online, nothing is forever.
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What SEO is: laying the foundation of a strategy
A good SEO strategy calls for several skills. If you run a blog, the first thing you need is the ability to write with SEO in mind — what people call “SEO copywriting”.
If you’re only handling the site optimization side, start with everything we mentioned a few lines above (title, meta description, and so on). Then it’s essential to work out, right from the start, which keyword to use for each page or article on your site.
How do you choose a keyword?
Knowing the language of SEO matters, and one of its most important words is “keyword” — the main term a given page of your site is built around.
To pick the right keyword, Google (through Google Ads) offers a keyword research tool that shows you the monthly search volume for the term you have in mind.
The tool will also suggest terms related to your keyword, so you can work them into the text as H2 headings, highlighted or bold words — your call.
Related terms are essential for helping Google understand that your page really is about a given topic.
A few useful SEO tools
- One tool that can help you with everything SEO-related, especially as you get more experienced, is SEMrush (go to the site). It’s a paid tool offering research and analysis features: keyword research, related terms, rank tracking for your website and much more.
- If you want software aimed at the Italian market, we recommend SEOZoom (go to the site).
Conclusion
Writing the SEO title and the SEO meta description properly is just one of the many gears that let a page rank well on Google.
In the next articles of our SEO Academy you’ll find everything you need to understand how each individual ranking factor works, from the simplest to the most complex.
So stay with us and learn everything about SEO.
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