What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the act of making your webpage content findable by search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc. By making your content search engine-friendly, you should find that your search engine referral numbers go up.
Never the less, the goal is not to just get more traffic, but to get more of the right traffic to your site. This means making sure that the Keywords used by your visitors to find your content matches the content you provide on your site.
How does Google's search work?
Remember: Google's first priority is Google’s Users, not the webpages it lists in its results. From their Webmaster Guidelines: “Google’s goal is to provide users with the most relevant results and a great user experience”... which means that their goal is to provide their users the best possible experience of using their product: Google.
Also, if your site has low engagement (ie. high bounce rate), which means Visitors land on your pages then leave for another site, it’s bad for Google -- they’d prefer to send Visitors directly to their destination (which is good for Google.)
How should you consider your site's content with SEO in mind?
Create content thinking about what's best for a search engine user. Make sure that:
- your content is clearly labeled and easy to find;
- you use the same words in your content that you expect people to use when looking for your site;
- you answer a specific question with your page (ie. what is the reason for this page to be on your site?)
- your content is unique (if what you provide is the same as on other pages on the web, why should Google place yours more prominently in results than any other result?); and
- your content is accessible (search engines are just like accessibility devices -- if one can use your content, so can the other, so make sure that you're meeting AODA guidelines!)
See more at: Why SEOs Need To Care About User Experience
Learn more:
- What is the difference between Google’s Search and York’s Search?
- What is 'PageRank'?
- What details does Google pay attention to when creating a listing?
- Additional tips for creating search engine-friendly content