What Is SEO aka Search Engine Optimization?
We've all heard about SEO but as with many things marketing, acronyms and explanations can be confusing and abstract.
SEO stands for “search engine optimization”. But what IS Search Engine Optimization?
The first thing we need to contend with is: SEO is not the objective.
SEO is a process to help us reach our objectives.
The objective is (typically) to get the highest Google ranking you possibly can.
SEO is like gymnastics...
Imagine for a second you are a gymnast. You do cartwheels. You are one of the best cartwheelers in your country.
And in gymnastics, like all sports, you need a sporting body that lists the best gymnasts in your chosen discipline. This gymnastics index is organised and managed by the Gymnastics Sporting Authority. You really want to be on this index because it will give you access to more fans, more opportunities to compete at the highest levels and more sponsorship deals.
This index lets people know who the best gymnasts are. It is an important index.
To get onto an index, you first need to register with the sporting authority and then improve your routines to be seen as the most skilled in your category. The cartwheeling category.
It is through strategy, practice and specialised tactics that you will climb your way up this index so that the offers, the fans and the sponsorship deals will roll in.
But how do you get on the index in the first place? How do you get this massive authority to notice you?
Imagine assistants are sent out to gather info by the Sporting Authority. They list each gymnast by name, verify registration and information so that a scout can go check out each gymnast to see who is the best.
The Scout Scout
A scout then takes this list, goes to each gym, watches each gymnast perform and rates their abilities based on the rules set out by the Sporting Authority. They consider each personal skill set and then decide where a gymnast ranks on the index.
Now imagine a gymnastics enthusiast is looking for the best cartwheeler. The scout has this information and will give fans a specialised list.
Let's put down the analogy for a second...
The gymnasts are the websites. The Sporting Authority is Google. The scout assistant is a Google Bot and a Scout is an algorithm.
Search engines like Google, use bots to read pages on the internet. They collect information about each page and put them on a list.
From this list, Algorithms analyze websites and pages -taking into account hundreds of ranking factors or signals- to determine the order websites should appear in the search results in a given category for a given query.
Now, the last part is where things get a bit more complicated but we're just going to focus on the bigger picture.
So as you can see there are several factors involved in getting your site ranked on Google. This ENTIRE process is SEO.
How do we get the algorithm to re-rank us higher than our original position?
We use our specialised SEO skills. First, we might find out what the problems are on the site and we make improvements. We can put more relevant content on our sites for the algorithm to re-consider where it places us on Google (for a given query). But more on that another time...
If you'd like a quick way to improve your SEO, run your site through the SEO Check Up and get started!
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SEO ni nini au Search Engine Optimization? Sisi sote tumesikia juu ya SEO, lakini kama ilivyo na mambo mengi ya uuzaji, vifupisho na maelezo yanaweza kuwa ya kutatanisha na ya abstract. SEO inasimama kwa <unk>utafutaji injini optimization<unk>. Lakini ni nini Search Engine Optimization? Jambo la kwanza tunahitaji kushindana nalo ni: SEO si lengo. SEO ni mchakato wa kusaidia kufikia malengo yako. Lengo ni (kwa kawaida) kupata cheo cha juu cha Google unachoweza. SEO ni kama mazoezi ya viungo... Hebu fikiria kwa dakika moja kwamba wewe ni mwanariadha wa mazoezi ya viungo vya mwili. Wewe hufanya magurudumu ya gari. Wewe ni mmoja wa cartwheelers bora katika nchi yako. Katika mazoezi ya mazoezi ya mwili, kama katika michezo yote, unahitaji mwili wa michezo ambao unaorodhesha wanariadha bora katika taaluma yako iliyochaguliwa. Kiwango hiki cha mazoezi ya viungo vya mwili hupangwa na kusimamiwa na Mamlaka ya Michezo ya Viungo vya Mwili. "Utakua unataka kuwa kwenye orodha hii kwa sababu itakupa upatikanaji wa mashabiki zaidi, fursa zaidi za kushindana katika viwango vya juu na mikataba zaidi ya udhamini. """ Kiashiria hiki huwafanya watu wajue ni nani wanaofanya mazoezi bora zaidi. Ni faharisi muhimu. Ili kuingia kwenye orodha, kwanza unahitaji kujiandikisha na mamlaka ya michezo na kisha kuboresha mazoea yako ili kuonekana kama mtaalamu zaidi katika jamii yako. Jamii ya kuendesha gari. Ni kupitia mkakati, mazoezi na mbinu maalum kwamba utapanda njia yako juu ya faharisi hii ili ofa, mashabiki na mikataba ya udhamini iweze kuingizwa. Lakini ni jinsi gani unaweza kuingia kwenye orodha hiyo? Jinsi gani unaweza kupata mamlaka hii kubwa ya kukugundua? Hebu wazia wasaidizi wanatumwa nje kukusanya habari na Mamlaka ya Michezo. Wanaorodhesha kila mwanariadha kwa jina, kuthibitisha usajili na habari ili scout aende kuangalia kila mwanariadha kuona ni nani bora. Scout huchukua orodha hii, huenda kwenye kila jumba la mazoezi, huangalia kila mwanariadha wa mazoezi ya mwili akifanya kazi na hupima uwezo wao kulingana na sheria zilizowekwa na Mamlaka ya Michezo. Wao hufikiria kila ustadi wa kibinafsi na kisha kuamua mahali ambapo mwanariadha wa mazoezi ya viungo vya mwili anastawi kwenye faharisi. Sasa fikiria mpenzi wa mazoezi ya viungo vya mwili akitafuta mchezaji bora zaidi wa kuendesha gari. Scout ana habari hii na atawapa mashabiki orodha maalumu. Hebu kuweka chini analogy kwa ajili ya pili... Gymnasts ni tovuti ya michezo. Mamlaka ya Michezo ni Google. Msaidizi wa scout ni Google Bot na Scout ni algorithm. Injini za utafutaji kama Google, hutumia bots kusoma kurasa kwenye mtandao. Wao hukusanya habari kuhusu kila ukurasa na kuziweka kwenye orodha. Kutoka orodha hii, algorithms kuchambua tovuti na kurasa -kuchukua katika akaunti mamia ya makundi ya mambo au ishara - kuamua utaratibu tovuti lazima kuonekana katika matokeo ya utafutaji katika jamii fulani kwa ajili ya swali fulani. Sehemu ya mwisho ni ambapo mambo yanakuwa magumu zaidi, lakini tutaangalia picha kubwa. Kama unavyoona, kuna mambo kadhaa yanayohusika katika kupata tovuti yako kwenye Google. Utaratibu huu wote ni SEO. Jinsi gani tunaweza kupata algorithm ya re-rank sisi juu kuliko nafasi yetu ya awali? Tunatumia ujuzi wetu wa SEO. Kwanza, tunaweza kujua ni nini matatizo ni kwenye tovuti na sisi kufanya maboresho. "Kama tunafanya hivyo, tunaongeza ""mengi"" kwenye tovuti zetu ili algorithm iweze kufikiria tena mahali ambapo inatuweka kwenye Google (kwa swali fulani)." Lakini zaidi juu ya kwamba wakati mwingine... Kama unataka njia ya haraka ya kuboresha SEO yako, kukimbia tovuti yako kupitia SEO Check Up na kuanza! Ili kujua nini kingine unaweza kufanya ili kuboresha tovuti yako cheo, kujiandikisha kwa jarida langu!