Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the practice of improving our website to help it appear more prominently in search engine results, like Google or Bing. When someone searches for information, products or services, SEO ensures that our website is more likely to show up in those search results.

Think of it like this: SEO is a way to help search engines, like Google, better understand what our website is about and how it can help people.

Why is SEO important?

When our website appears higher in search results, you’re more likely to attract visitors. More visitors mean more opportunities for people to discover your content. A good SEO strategy can help grow our audience organically.

How search engines work

Search engines have "crawlers" that scan the internet for information. They collect data on your website’s content and structure, then decide how relevant your site is for specific search queries. SEO helps these crawlers understand what’s on our website and rank it for specific keywords or phrases.

SEO best practices

Here are some simple SEO best practices that can help improve your website’s visibility:

  1. Use keywords naturally: Keywords are words or phrases that people type into search engines to find information. Identify key phrases that match your website’s content and include them naturally in your text, headings and page titles.
  2. Create quality content: Search engines prioritize high-quality, relevant content. Answer common questions, provide valuable information and make sure your content is unique. Avoid copying content from other sites, as search engines can detect duplicate content.
  3. Optimize for mobile devices: Many people search from their phones, so your site should be mobile-friendly. Make sure the layout adjusts automatically for smaller screens, with readable text and clickable links.
  4. Improve page load speed: Slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors, leading them to leave your site quickly. Optimize images, avoid unnecessary plugins and use a reliable hosting provider to improve speed.
  5. Add alt text to images: Alt text is a short description of an image. Adding alt text helps search engines understand what the images are, which can improve your SEO. It also makes your site more accessible for people with visual impairments.
  6. Use internal and external links: Link to other relevant pages on your website (internal links) and reliable external websites. This helps search engines understand the context of your content and makes it more useful for visitors.
  7. Use simple, descriptive titles and meta descriptions: The title and meta description show up in search results, so they should be clear and enticing. Describe what visitors will find on the page concisely.
  8. Encourage user engagement: Search engines pay attention to how long people stay on your site. Create engaging content, include multimedia like videos or images, and use headings to organize your content for readability. 

SEO may seem complex, but following these simple practices can make a big difference in our website’s visibility. Start by creating high-quality content, using keywords naturally and making sure your site is mobile-friendly.