SEO is the shorthand for Search Engine Optimization. It is an online strategy that helps drive organic traffic and engagement towards your website. 

Most of the world is online in some way or another, and Google processes around 40000 queries (a ballpark figure) every second. 

So, what does this mean for you? If your business depends strongly on online users, search engines are a primary place for you. When in doubt, take the helping hand of an SEO agency to fulfil this task. 

SEO in the context of internet marketing

SEO and internet marketing seem pretty much the same, given that both possess the same skills and execute similar functions. However, there is a division to be made. SEO focuses on gathering organic hits, while internet marketers on the entire online existence of the brand and business. With that said, SEO specialists do need to account for other aspects of digital marketing. In this regard, SEO is considered an integration of digital marketing.

When it comes to search engines, one should note that they are text-driven and rely on algorithms to produce search results. The process is quite complex and comprises varied factors, including website content, keyword frequency, meta tags, accessibility and inbound links. 

The SEO process

Now that the SEO and internet marketing correlation is known, next up is the SEO process.

Crawling

Search engines run software known as ‘crawler’ or ‘spider’. What these do is go through the website content in a systematic manner. For instance, the software that Google uses is Googlebot. You should note that the software does not visit a webpage at scheduled intervals; it does so sporadically.

It can be checked daily, weekly or even after months. However, the heart of the matter is knowing what a search engine can and cannot crawl. It cannot crawl through password-protected pages, images and JavaScript. Once a crawler visits a page, it stores them for later processing.

Indexing

The indexed pages stored in a database comprise website information that search engines can use. The web pages can be accessed from the database using relevant keywords or search strings. 

Algorithm

A search engine is kept distinct through algorithms. An algorithm is a set of directions that help define the importance of a web page. It also helps to check whether the website is spam or genuine and whether or not it contains relevant content. Once verified, the content appears in the SERPs. Algorithms are of three types – whole-site, on-site and off-site.

The Final Destination: Appearance in the SERPs

Firstly, search engines look at the search request and compare the keywords with the indexed or stored pages. Now, there are possibly millions and billions of pages having identical keywords. This is where relevance comes into play. It is a complex process, but the search engine curates a list of documents with keyword groups to speed it up.  

The SEO partners

Web developers

Web developers optimize the website for mobile, speed, knowledge and technical audits through SEO. Additionally, SEO helps embrace new technologies and learning curves. 

Social Media Marketers

These integrate the social media initiative and SEO strategy. Social shares, retweets are akin to organic backlinking to the site or content. This helps to gauge the effectiveness of the overall content.

Branding and Public Relations

One thing that most people are not aware of is that SEO also caters to online reputation management (ORM). PR managers can collaborate with SEO to unleash several benefits through brand mentions. These can help enhance visibility, awareness and online presence if done right. 

Benefits of SEO

Apart from the usual suspects of awareness and organic traffic, SEO has some profound benefits to offer.

Trust & Reputation

Trust is the most crucial currency when searching or transacting through online websites. Hence, Google plays white knight by showing the top of the crop. For one, if your brand does not feature on the first page of the search query, you are deemed less trustworthy by default. Or secondly, your business did not partake in marketing which made online visitors sceptical. This can hurt your top and bottom lines significantly as companies visible in organic search signify quality and credibility. 

Local Search

The online space is competitive, and there are opportunities for everyone, even local businesses. This is because of the Google My Business tool. By integrating your website and company profile, online visitors can know about your location through the map. SEO helps optimize the Google My Business Account by ranking your company and making it visible to location-based searches. 

Analytics

SEO is ongoing, and one needs to keep tabs on it from time to time. Getting that perfect structure for your website is a struggle for many. This is where the Search Console tool can be of great help. It allows business owners to track their traffic and overall site performance. Also, they can monitor the portions of the website not fully optimized for SEO. Another helpful tool is SEOptimer that scans your pages and provides you with profound guidance. 

Parting words

SEO is the centre stone of internet marketing. A good SEO strategy takes care of the technical side, content and UX (user experience). In terms of UX, SEO helps ensure website performance by assessing accessibility, navigation and conversion rates. This further aids in converting the traffic into buyers. 

The role of SEO today extends beyond generating traffic and delves into making it effective. Another aspect is content which helps fill social media and email marketing tactics. Adding to it, link-building is another stellar strategy being similar to online referrals. Finally, keywords optimized for SEO help PPC. 

So, there you have it. SEO works as a hub-spoke structure that in turn powers the rest of your internet marketing strategy.