I talk to so many clients and business owners about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and realize that there is a lot of misunderstanding about it. I thought it would be fun to spend some time going over the basics and learn together what we can do to ultimately help increase traffic to your website.

But first, what the heck is SEO and why should I even care? In order to answer this question, you have to understand Google’s mission…this is straight from Google’s own words:

“People around the world turn to Search to find information, learn about topics of interest, and make important decisions. We know people rely on us so our commitment will never waver. As technology evolves, we will continue to help everyone find the information they’re looking for. We believe Search should: Deliver the most relevant and reliable information available.” 

Let’s start there. Basically, Google wants to be the #1 guide when you’re looking for answers online. How? By giving you the most relevant information that you’ll find helpful to you. Why? Because if Google keeps giving you the best answers to your questions, you’ll start to trust them, and eventually, Google will become a huge part of your life.

In order for Google to keep their promise, they have to have their own set of rules (algorithms) to help them filter and determine what information is most RELEVANT out there and rank it accordingly. The higher the ranking, the more visible the answer will be for the people searching…meaning, it shows up in the order of relevance starting from page 1 of the search results.

So, why is that important to us as business owners? Because we want Google to look at the information on our website and be impressed by what we provide, so when they’ll show it to others as part of their promise to provide the most relevant and reliable information. And if Google wins, you win.

Here’s the ultimate question: How do I impress Google? How do I create, format, design, add content, structure and work on the website so that Google will determine my website to be credible and useful? Simple – know the rules (algorithms) Google has determined to increase your rankings, then do it authentically and do it well. But here’s the challenge: there are a lot of rules, and the rules change. Not only that, there are rules that are transparent and obvious and there are also rules that they do not share…not even within their own company. (They don’t want the secret getting out so no one can unfairly manipulate the numbers).

Here’s a reference that I hope you find helpful. This company began conducting a continuous study of Google’s algorithm 12 years ago, and for the last several years has published its results publicly. As the largest SEO firm in the US, it has a sizable data set on which to base its understanding of the factors that comprise Google’s search algorithm.

Below is the 2021 update, along with a description of each factor and a summary of changes from the past year. Also, here’s the link directly to their page if you’d like to read more about it.

I hope this gives you an overall picture of how SEO works. Unfortunately, it can get very complex and it’s always evolving. But I believe it’s important enough for us to pay attention to it and continuously implement the right factors into your website. I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks about how you can raise your SEO game. Because what’s more important than receiving love from your mom? Receiving love from Google. 🙂

SEO ya later!

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