Internet has transformed into a lifeline for the current generation to search for any information, thus establishing the supremacy of search engines. To reach to the net-savvy people searching for information on the internet, businesses make sure that they appear prominently amongst the search results displayed by popular online search engines. This is where the concept of Search Engine optimization (SEO) comes into being.
SEO is the set of rules that websites have to follow to have a prominent presence on the search results. The position on the result list is of much importance to businesses since prospective users prioritize top results. Surveys indicate that majority of search engine users are more likely to choose one of the top five suggestions in the result page. Hence, position in the lists is proportional to the user's attention.
Mushrooming businesses and commercial entities have propelled a cut-throat competition to attain higher positions on online search engine results. Hence, the significance of SEO in online business has substantiated as a co-factor for growth and profit. The extent and quality of SEO on the website is the parameter of its online presence. Gaining visibility in search results is the way to gain more traffic. SEO introduces quality in websites, turning them user friendly and enabling easier navigation while improving individual usability of a website. Sales conversions have direct relations with these aspects of websites, and optimizing them means better ROI.
Most search engines utilize algorithms to determine the rank of a website. Although determination criteria are unique to different search engines, they share a set of common features. These features have made content a paramount aspect in SEO. Video contents, written contents, images and other type of files contribute to the overall weight of the site. The 'weight' is intrinsically a factor of relevancy to users. The type and amount of content in a website, level of optimization and popularity of the website contributes to the rank.
SEO supports 'social' promotion of websites, as users are most likely to promote it on popular Social Media. This also contributes to an intricate aspect of SEO; the more popular a website, the higher the rank in the search results. Organic search of the website by users automatically provides the site a better edge. Therefore, people's trust and dependence on the service is given a high priority in determination of the page rank.
SEO is evolving with increasing number of businesses in the online sphere. The growing influence of search engines itself has been elemental for this evolution. It has developed to offer more customized search facilitating users. Now even audio and video search are dependent on keywords apart from traditional text based contents. SEO also offers a cost effective avenue in contrast to online marketing techniques such as PPC (Pay Per Click) advertisements, social media marketing, or purchase leads for an email marketing program. It is a proven strategy to obtain good ROI compared to other means of online marketing. Organic SEO is the bedrock of online presence and it is certain that it will remain so in coming times. As long as users will keep on searching online, organic SEO will have prominence. The emerging ecosystem of technology accessibility has substantiated changing traits in SEO. Growth of mobile devices has introduced a number of new techniques, such as local search optimization.
New algorithms followed by search engines are paving the way for a better internet world. The emphasis now is on originality of contents, quality of sites and usability. Therefore, to obtain better rank websites will have to improve their quality and originality of contents. This will make users the end benefactor of SEO, because websites will have to be developed with proximity to what users prefer. Healthy content is now the potential factor determining success in SEO.
Websites now must ensure that they do not mislead users through contents. Practicing quality SEO, they must ensure that users get what they come for in the website. For optimal benefits from SEO, websites are bound to update contents regularly with changing requirements of users. In addition, engagement of users through attractive contents is now a rule of the thumb.
To sum it up, Search engine optimization or SEO is a way to optimize your web site so that search engines give you higher rankings. It is important since a good SEO approach can drive more traffic to your website, blog or online store and gain more customers, make sales and fulfill your business purpose. SEO should be visualized more as a standard practice to proffer quality in a site, which will impact the online sphere holistically. On the other hand, its evolving trait will enable more intense practices of website management in relation to online marketing in coming times.
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