Why does my website need SEO?
The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines,
Google,
Bing, and
Yahoo!.
Although social media and other types of traffic can generate visits to
your website, search engines are the primary method of navigation for
most Internet users. This is true whether your site provides content,
services, products, information, or just about anything else.
Search engines are unique in that they provide targeted traffic—people looking for what you offer.
Search engines are the roadways
that make this happen. If search engines cannot find your site, or add
your content to their databases, you miss out on incredible
opportunities to drive traffic to your site.
Search queries—the words that users type into
the search box—carry extraordinary value. Experience has shown that
search engine traffic can make (or break) an organization's success.
Targeted traffic to a website can provide publicity, revenue, and
exposure like no other channel of marketing. Investing in SEO can have
an exceptional rate of return compared to other types of marketing and
promotion.
Why can't the search engines figure out my site without SEO?
Search engines are smart, but they still need help. The major
engines are always working to improve their technology to crawl the web
more deeply and return better results to users. However, there is a
limit to how search engines can operate. Whereas
the right SEO
can net you thousands of visitors and increased attention, the wrong
moves can hide or bury your site deep in the search results where
visibility is minimal.
In addition to making content available to search engines, SEO
also helps boost rankings so that content will be placed where
searchers will more readily find it. The Internet is becoming
increasingly competitive, and those companies who perform SEO will have a
decided advantage in visitors and customers.
Can I do SEO for myself?
The world of SEO is complex, but most people can easily
understand the basics. Even a small amount of knowledge can make a big
difference. Free SEO education is widely available on the web, including
in guides like this. Combine this with a little practice and you are
well on your way to becoming a guru.
Depending on your time commitment, your willingness to learn, and
the complexity of your website(s), you may decide you need an expert to
handle things for you. Firms that practice SEO can vary; some have a
highly specialized focus, while others take a broader and more general
approach.
In any case, it's good to have a firm grasp of the core concepts.
How much of this article do I need to read?
If you are serious about improving search traffic and are unfamiliar with SEO,
we recommend reading this guide front-to-back. We've tried to make it as concise as possible and easy to understand. There's a
printable PDF version for those who'd prefer, and dozens of linked-to resources on other sites and pages that are also worthy of your attention.
Each section of this guide is important to understanding the most effective practices of search engine optimization.
