What is Search Engine Optimization? What is SEO?

1 Oct 2007 at 19:43 by Joshua J. Steimle

What is SEO? That's easy, it's an acronym for search engine optimization. Explaining what search engine optimization is will take slightly more time. Bear in mind this is for people who don't have a clue, so if you already know anything about SEO, this post is not for you. For those of you who aren't sure what a search engine and are wondering how one is optimized, read on.

First of all, it's not the search engine that gets optimized, but rather your website gets optimized for search engines. And what does that mean? Well, listen up and I'll tell you.

To explain what SEO is, we first need to understand some of the basics about search engines. A search engine is a website that helps you find other websites. The most famous and most profitable search engine is Google. Let's go there right now. Click this link and Google will open in a new window or tab.

Now, let's suppose you wanted to buy a house in Utah. You don't live in Utah? That's ok, it's just an investment property. Type in "buy a house in utah" and then click on the button that says "Google Search". What's it mean to get lucky? Just ignore it, it doesn't matter. Once you click on that button you're going to get a screen that looks like this.

google

If you're wondering how Google makes all those tens of billions of dollars this is it. See the red area that says "paid advertisements? Those are ads. Like billboards, or TV commercials. People and companies put their ads there, and if you click on one of those ads, then it costs the advertiser money. It's sort of an auction system, and whoever bids the highest gets into first place. Well, it's not entirely an auction system, but let's not get complicated just yet, right?

The other search results are called "natural" or "organic" search results. Why? Because Google decides which websites show up in those results based on a formula or algorithm they've developed. Now put yourself in Google's shoes for a moment and ask yourself this question "As Google, what kind of search results do I want to give to people if I want people to keep using me?" Wouldn't you want to give them search results that make them happy? You make people happy and they'll keep coming back for more, any drug dealer will tell you that.

Now switch back to being yourself. In this case, Google has decided that the website at utahhomes.com is the website that will make people happier than any other website possibly can when they search for "buy a house in utah". But who owns utahhomes.com? Why, it's Coldwell Banker. How much do you think that #1 spot is worth to Coldwell Banker? How many other realtors do you think would like to have that spot? And guess how much CB paid Google for that spot...exactly nothing. CB doesn't pay Google a dime to be in that spot, and they don't pay if someone clicks on that link. Meanwhile the guys right above and to the right in the paid ads areas are paying as much as $20 every time somebody clicks on their link.

And get this, most people don't click on the ads. You see, a lot of people know about the ads, and they don't trust them since anyone can buy their way in there, so they click on the natural results more often. So CB gets more clicks than the guys paying and doesn't pay a dime!

Ok, that's not exactly true. CB doesn't pay Google a dime, but the question you must ask is how the heck did they get there then? Ah...this is where SEO comes into play.

As I mentioned earlier, Google uses a formula or algorithm to rank websites from the #1 spot on down. The only problem is they won't tell anyone what that formula is. But there are those of us who make a living by figuring out what that formula is, and then we sell our expertise to clients who pay us to tweak their websites to better match Google's formula. Call us SEO consultants, SEO professionals, SEO nerds, or whatever you want, the point is that there are companies like CB that make a lot of money by being in that #1 spot, and they're willing to pay a lot of money to get there or stay there. Think about it, if CB sells one additional house per month by virtue of being in that #1 spot vs. being at #20, how much is that worth to them? Let's see...6% commission on a $500K home is $30K, right? Do you think they'd pay $15K per month to the guy who can keep them at #1? You betcha, and they're probably selling more than one $500K home per month as a result of that position.

Do you sell a product or service? If you do, then chances are people are looking for it on search engines like Google. How much would it be worth to you to be in that #1 spot for a few keywords related to what you do? Worth hiring an SEO firm or learning SEO on your own? Well, here are some resources in case you're interested in either:

10 Search Engine Optimization Tips for Small Businesses
Search Engine Optimization Whitepaper - 10 Tips
How SEO Professionals Trick You
Common SEO Misconceptions
What is Linkbaiting or Link Bait and Why Should I Care?
Backlink Basics
Basic Keyword Strategy
Hiring an SEO Consultant
The Trap of Affordable SEO Services
Do-It-Yourself SEO Options
Recommended List of SEO Consultants, Experts, Firms & Service Providers
Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Ranking Factors

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