SEO: What It Is and What Its Main Goals?

Have you ever wondered how search engines arrange search results and on what basis? How do they provide accurate content related to your search needs? This is what we call the art of SEO. 

This article will explore all aspects of SEO, how it works, and its primary goals, and answer some of the most common questions to guide you on how to rank on search engines! 

What Is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a set of rules aimed at enhancing a website and making it more understandable for search engines and more accessible to the targeted audience. This is achieved through various methods to push the web page higher in the search engine result page. 

A higher ranking means more people can access the web page, which could spark interest, influence a desired decision, and achieve a higher conversion rate. Moreover, SEO helps build a reputation and authority for the brand, which leads to establishing loyalty and trust and potentially gaining new customers. 

Having an SEO-friendly website can also give a brand an edge over competitors and set it apart from others in the same field. 

What Are Search Engines and How Do They Work?

Search engines are software systems that search the Internet for pages related to a keyword or a character specified by the user to make locating information easier. Examples include Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. 

When searching for anything on Google, for example, Google’s response will be a page with multiple links to pages related to the topic; this page is called a search engine result page or SERP.

Search engines identify pages by following three main steps:

• – Crawling: they use tools to read pages called crawlers or spiders. These crawlers read the pages to make sure they are up-to-date and relevant to the topic. 

• – Indexing: after reading the page using spiders, the search engine tries to understand and categorize the page’s content by looking for keywords. 

• – Ranking: when using a search engine to look for information, it aims to provide the user with the best results. Therefore, it ranks the pages related to the topic in the search engine result page ( SERP) based on several factors, such as keyword density, to ensure the user finds information relevant to their search intent.

What Are the Main Goals of SEO?

When optimizing a web page to be SEO-friendly, various goals can be achieved, such as: 

1- Increasing Organic Visibility in SERP

Visibility means the likelihood of users viewing and clicking on a web page. Visibility can either be organic or paid; we mean by paid visibility the ability to rank and appear in search results by paid advertisements, whereas organic visibility means the ability to rank naturally in SERP by following SEO best practices.

Using targeted keywords helps the web page rank higher on the result page, which increases the chances of people clicking on it organically. 

2- Increasing Organic Clicks 

Clicks in SEO mean how many times users have clicked on a link. Search engines measure organic clicks, which result from organic search, and paid clicks, which result from paid advertisements or sponsored pages. While paid search increases visibility quickly, it is found that focusing on organic search increases organic clicks, which is stable, has long-term benefits, and is cost-effective. 

3- Attract More Quality Visitors

When advertising a product or service, companies aspire to reach potential customers who are interested in it. Putting the effort into designing an SEO-friendly website can attract more users and result in a higher conversion rate. 

What Are the Main Pillars of SEO?

SEO stands on three crucial pillars that help websites reach users effectively. These pillars are: 

• – Technical SEO

This is aimed to increase organic traffic by meeting the technical requirements of search engines such as page speed, internal linking, and site architecture. By optimizing the website, search engine crawlers can read and better understand the page’s intent, which improves indexing and ranking the page on SERPs.

• – On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the content on the web page. In SEO, always write for the people, and search engines will follow. Taking the time to create interesting, related content will trigger people to read the full page and make decisions based on it. This will increase the website’s rankings in SERPs, leading to more exposure and a higher conversion rate. 

• – Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to all actions taken outside a brand’s website to improve its ranking on search engines, like Google, by signaling that its content is valuable and trustworthy. This trustworthiness can be achieved through various strategies such as guest blogging, social media marketing, influencer outreach, and getting the website mentioned in other reputable websites. 

However, remember that the key is to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to backlinks and mentions, as reputable links from trusted sources will significantly improve the site’s search rankings.

How To Learn SEO? 

Learning SEO can be approached in various ways to suit different preferences and needs. Online courses can offer structured learning, allowing you to study at your own pace; with websites such as LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and others, you can enroll in SEO training courses and get certificates to assert your knowledge in the field. These courses will be your ally in exploring the world of SEO and learning about the most important tools specialists use to get results.

Additionally, training in a marketing agency provides hands-on experience and mentorship from professionals, giving you practical skills and industry knowledge. You can find the best approach to mastering SEO by exploring these options.