For many, the acronym SEO is an unfamiliar one while others have a vague understanding that it’s got something to do with generating website traffic. They’re not too far wrong, but it’s so much more than that.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It means that you have to optimize your website content in such a way that search engines deem it a reputable, authoritative source and rank it highly on their natural or organic listings (in the unpaid section). Search engines have two types of listings – paid and non-paid.
For example, if you have a blog about ‘bicycle insurance’ to promote your bicycle insurance product you want a search engine, like Google, to put it in as a top result whenever someone searches the phrase “bicycle insurance”.
It’s ideal to cater to Google first and foremost because most (75% of searchers) start their searches on Google. If you want to be found, it’s vital that your business features on the first page of Google.
Generally, if your blog post, article or website features on the second page of Google and beyond is not ideal as it makes it harder for people to find your business’ website and any services you offer.
Can you cheat your way onto Google’s first page?
It may be tempting to embrace SEO principles that go against search engine guidelines to make sure that you’re above the competition in the search results.
This practice, however, is frowned upon and is referred to as black hat SEO. Just like the dark side of the force in Star Wars it’s acknowledged that it does exist, but it’s not something that one should follow.
Besides, if you get caught practicing black hat SEO you could get penalised. In other words, you’ll fall further down the rankings instead of being put higher up.
Most SEO experts in the know agree that in order to build a sustainable business it’s better to embrace white hat SEO.
This includes things like creating relevant content (with good spelling and grammar), labelling images, having relevant, helpful links and references, standards compliant HTML as well as unique and relevant page titles.
However, some recommend a blended approach – grey hat SEO. This means the specialist uses techniques that fall somewhere in the middle of what a white and black SEO specialist would do.
A grey specialist would use tactics like cloaking, purchasing old domains, duplicate content and link buying. It’s still considered playing with fire though, particularly if you don’t know what you’re doing.
So, what do search engines really want?
Major search engines are constantly changing their algorithms to stay ahead of the tactics used by black-hat SEO experts. This means the SEO guidelines can (and do) change on a regular basis.
With this constant change, websites tend to bounce up and down the rankings. It means that one day your website could feature on the first page on Google, the next it could disappear from it altogether.
It’s important to know that not all search engine spiders index all sites. It’s discretionary on their algorithm. The Googlebot, for instance, may just index just one page. However, this is not helpful if you’re trying to promote several of your products or services which are featured on other pages.
SchemeServe encourages you to create additional data to be indexed easily. This means your website will be relevant to users and search engines will find it easy to work with your business and come back to index you regularly.
SchemeServe can help you get as many pages as possible indexed. When you update your pages in SchemeServe we contact all the major search engines like Google, Bing and Baidu, to index you effectively and quickly. This is a unique feature to SchemeServe.
Ultimately, SchemeServe can help you develop a long-term SEO strategy, which puts data intelligence at the heart of your organization and drive your business forward.
We can help you build a long-term SEO, social media and brand strategy with no obligation through a free consultation.
Image by Diego Velázquez from Pixabay
