SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization. A word that not many new or small business owners understand or know about but yet it is a word that could take their business to a whole new level. Well the first question is what really is SEO and how does it work? Most of us use Google when searching for anything ranging from a local dry cleaner to how to write a blog post. Have you ever wondered how Google finds all these websites or how the companies at the top get to the top? Google uses specific algorithms to scavenge the web looking for keywords and other specific things, the process of tailoring your website to these specifications is what SEO is. Google uses “Googlebot” and Yahoo and Bing Search use “Bingbot.” These are the 2 main robots that go digging through the world wide web and basically decides what is the first search result for when you search “travel agent.”

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At the top and on the right hand side we have the ads but right below that we have the “organic” posts, which means the unpaid and natural search results that the Googlebot feels belong at the top. The first organic search result is Flight Centre, which means they must be doing a really good job of SEO, at least on the keyword “travel agent.” Basically SEO is best optimizing your website to what the search engines are looking for, this includes but is not limited to content on your website, links from other websites to your website (the type of website linking to your website is very important), headings, keywords and more. Woorank.com gives them a score of 83.3/100 for SEO. This means that although they’re doing a pretty good job there are still some things they could be doing better. This is probably because the way the bots work is constantly changing which means so is the process of SEO, the company that can stay on top of this is the company that will consistently appear at the top of the search results and drive more traffic to their website.

Check out Part 2 for “Why SEO is so Important.”