Oh Say Can You Be Seen: Get your site noticed (Part 1 of 3)
In this first part of our series, we’ll give you a quick run-down about SEO and link you to the hottest online SEO resources to help you learn more about SEO.
Ever wondered how search engines, like Google, Yahoo, and MSN Live Search, know what to display first when someone does a search for a specific term? Or how you can elevate your website to one of the first sites displayed when users search for a website like yours?
The answer is Search Engine Optimization, more commonly known as SEO. With SEO, you design and develop your website so search engines can read and position it higher in the search results. Optimizing for search engines can bring more potential customers to your site and increase your website sales.
Know the “3 R’s” of SEO
The essence of search engine optimization can be summarized by the “3 R’s.” To start understanding SEO, you need to know these 3 key terms:
- Readability means that search engines can see your website and read it.
- Relevance means that your website’s content is relevant for a given topic or term so that the search engines rank it highly.
- Reach means that users should be able to reach your website with high-quality links to your page from other relevant sites.
Getting to the most important “R”
According to a study by iProspect, people focus on toward the top 3 results on the first page and rarely go beyond the first 3 pages of search results. That same study shows they regard those results as more relevant and authoritative, which makes them more likely to visit those websites.
When your website is easily readable by search engines, its content is relevant to what people are searching for, and users can reach your website from relevant links, that’s where the fourth “R” of SEO comes in: Rankings.
The right SEO can get your website to rank higher in the search results and users will regard your website as more of an authority, which means more traffic to your website and ultimately more sales. This is where SEO pays off.
Hottest Online SEO Resources On the Web
Here are some of the hottest online SEO resources out there:
· http://www.jordankasteler.com/utah-seo-pro-blog/top-10-seo-tips-for-every-website/
· http://www.aimclearblog.com/2008/09/18/think-seo-before-you-name-your-new-company/
· http://www.techipedia.com/2006/some-of-my-favorite-free-seo-and-social-networking-blog-rank-tools/
· http://www.seomoz.org/items/view/5
· http://searchengineland.com/scalable-on-page-seo-strategies-11792
· http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
· http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whiteboard-friday-creating-great-online-content
· http://www.searchengineguide.com/stoney-degeyter/the-best-damn-o.php
· http://steve-dale.net/2008/03/31/top-100-social-media-tools/
Yola makes it easy for you to drive more traffic to your site and promote your site. Learn more about the basics of SEO with our SEO tutorials.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series, where we’ll take a look at the basics of how search engines gather information and display search results.
Well I’ll be danged, I never knew that!