What Is SEO and How Does It Work?

If you’ve ever looked into online marketing, you’ve probably heard of search engine optimization (SEO). But what is SEO, and how does it work?

If you have a website and want traffic or customers, you need SEO. It allows people to find your website more easily by ranking you higher on Google.

Keep reading to understand how it all works so you can utilize it appropriately for your website.

Table of Contents

What Is Search Engine Optimization?

There’s a lot of information on the internet. What determines if it lands on the top of Google? Can your site rank higher?

That’s where search engine optimization—SEO—comes in.

Search engines have “crawlers” inspecting sites to determine which ones are reliable and contain important information. With proper optimization, you can use keywords to inform the crawlers that you have the answers to what people are searching.

SEO requires research to find out which phrases are popular and work well with your target keywords. It can take time to find the right combination to get you to the top, and you need to remember that search engines frequently change their processes, and public interest changes even more frequently. Keeping up with trends can be tricky!

Understanding the SEO Puzzle

SEO is like a giant puzzle. You must first plug in all the little pieces to see the bigger picture. You’ll get an idea of what’s going on as you go, but everything works better when the pieces are in place.

Because there are so many pieces to the puzzle, we’ll only look at five big ones today. These are some of the SEO elements I will help with when you work with me. 

High-Quality Content

High-quality content matters in a world where AI can write everything for you. Big time.

Michigan Tech says high-quality content is good for your visitors and increases the chances of someone linking back to your website.

What makes content worth the read for people and search engine crawlers? There are a few things:

• Useful information: Whether you share your personal opinion, interesting facts, or a detailed guide, your content needs to add something to the internet. Your blog posts should answer questions, entertain, or provide some other kind of value to your readers.

• Reliable sources: Linking back to reliable sources, such as .gov or .edu sites, will give your readers a reason to listen to you because you appear to know your stuff. Linking to trusted .com and .org sites also helps.

• Domain Authority: I’ll touch on this in more detail in a bit, but you need to become a reliable source and build authority in your niche. The better your street cred, the higher you’ll show up on search engine result pages (SERPs). 

Keyword Research and Usage

If someone in Atlanta, GA, searches “graduation photographer near me,” the search engine will pull up pages with related phrases like “graduation photographer in Atlanta” or “Atlanta’s best graduation photographer.”

These are keywords. They’re the key to ranking higher on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

Keywords play a huge role in your internet presence. You can guess basic keywords, but in-depth keyword research will show you popular searches, related keywords, and other important metrics.

Pro-tip for working with me: You can add keyword research to single blog post purchases (listed as search engine optimization), and it’s included with every blog package.

Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a SERP metric developed by Moz that estimates how high your site could rank on search engines. Your site will be given a score from 0-100 based on content quality, SEO, backlinks, internal links, and several other factors.

Your DA score could change by the day. The more high-quality content you put out, the more people will trust you. When people trust you, they’ll link to your site in their blog posts, thus raising your DA score.

SEO metrics like Domain Authority can take some time to change, so you unfortunately can’t expect major positive changes overnight.

Backlinks

So far, I’ve linked to Moz and Michigan Tech in this blog post. These are backlinks. They help build Domain Authority for the person linking out (myself in this scenario) and those linked to (Moz and Michigan Tech).

Bad backlinks can lower your DA score and put you further down the list on search engine results. Backlinks you should avoid include:

• Irrelevant topics: If you’re a pool supply store, sharing links to Italian restaurants or hair salons will knock you down a few pegs. It looks like you’re fishing for clicks rather than linking with purpose.

• Discussion posts: If you’re anything like me, you value the information provided by the good people of Reddit. However, search engines don’t value that information, and your street cred will take a hit.

• Spam and schemes: Linking to sites made for backlinking as an “SEO hack” or sites used for spam and phishing will put red flags all over your website.

Not only should you not link to these, but you should be careful about who is linking to you. If you end up on a backlink spam page or phishing scheme, figure out who to contact to remove your link and information from their site.

User Experience

We all love websites that scroll like butter and don’t slow down because of incessant ads.

The format of written content matters a lot, though it may seem insignificant at first glance. Social media or headlines may be to blame, but people like to skim. Large blocks of text are off-putting to many readers and will encourage them to back out of your website.

You also need engaging content that flows easily so people will want to read it. This is where the work of a seasoned writer comes in.

As a writer, I can only help you with content formatting to ensure your viewers have an easy reading experience whether they use a mobile device, desktop, or tablet. Talk to your web developer (or find one) if you have issues with page loading speeds or other site problems that make using your site a pain.

Using SEO to Your Advantage

Now that you understand SEO and how it’s used, you can begin optimizing your site to benefit your brand.

SERP Features

Search for something simple like “how to make hot sauce.” I chose “are Chiweenies easy.” (My dog is a Chiweenie mix, and no, he’s not easy!)

Take a look at the results:

Underneath the AI Overview is a clip from the Dog Academy website with a highlighted answer. Google calls this the Featured Snippet, and it’s what you should be striving for. Not only are you the first result, but your site is trusted enough that Google singles you out, suggesting you’re the one with the answers that everyone should trust.

It takes time to reach this position, especially if you’re just starting out with SEO, but using the puzzle pieces we talked about will help you get there.

Organic Results

As I scroll down on my Chiweenie search, I see posts from Reddit, questions on Quora, and blog posts from ASPCA, DogTime, The Spruce Pets, and several others.

These are organic results. They weren’t paid to be on the page; they showed up naturally because their content was relevant and they had great SEO.

If you want to be on the first page, focus on SEO and high-quality content. AI content won’t get you there, and not performing keyword research won’t do it, either.

SEO Marketing

SEO marketing is an advantage you shouldn’t miss out on. You can pay to have your ads show up on certain search terms. If you’re a pet groomer in Dallas, you might want your ads to show up under “pet groomer near me,” “best pet groomer in Dallas,” or “dog groomer in Dallas.”

You can even use landing pages with good SEO to help you advertise your business to the right crowd. I mostly talk about blog posts, but I can help with landing pages, too.

Make Waves with Amazing Content

SEO is the key to making your website the crown jewel of SERPs. A lot goes into the entire process, but for written content, high-quality content, keyword research, Domain Authority, backlinks, and user experience are your focus areas. Leave the rest to web developers.

Is your head spinning? My blog post packages include search engine optimization so you don’t have to think about it. It’s also an add-on service for single blog post purchases. Contact me on my site or text me at (806) 341-9220 if you have any questions.

Answers to Common Questions

Here are some answers to common questions about SEO.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a set of optimization techniques used to improve your site’s visibility on search engines like Google and Bing. It can range from on-site elements like written content and backlinks to back-end web development settings you can’t see.

How does SEO work?

SEO works by using keywords, backlinks, and other aspects to make your site more visible on search engines.

Can you do SEO by yourself?

You can do SEO by yourself, but you risk missing out on crucial strategies if you’re not well-versed in how it works.