SEO techniques aim to optimize the indexing of content by search engines.
SEO is an acronym that comes from the English expression Search Engine Optimization . This is the technique that consists of optimizing a website so that it achieves the best possible positioning in Internet search engines .
In other words, a site that respects SEO criteria will appear among the first results that a search engine returns for certain searches. This translates into a greater number of visitors to the site in question compared to those who appear further behind in searches .
Suppose a user enters Google and searches for “restaurants in Saint Lucia” . The first place that appears on the first page of results corresponds to Restaurante El Mejillón . The site of this restaurant, therefore, has been designed according to SEO parameters. On the other hand, sites that only appear on the eighth or ninth page of results, to name one possibility, do not respect SEO techniques.
Types of SEO
In addition to all of the above, it is interesting that it is clear that there are fundamentally two different types of SEO :
- Off-page SEO u off-site . Como su propio nombre ya viene a indicar, se trata de aquel trabajo que el responsable del SEO lleva a cabo en relación a aspectos externos a lo que es su página web. De ahí, por ejemplo, que se encargue de estudiar y analizar cuestiones como el número de enlaces que se utilizan y la calidad de los mismos, el rendimiento que se esté consiguiendo en los resultados de búsqueda, la autoridad de la marca o la presencia que se tiene en lo que son las redes sociales.
- On-page SEO u on-site . Por otro lado, frente al anterior, el trabajo denominado SEO on-page es el que sí se preocupa de la página en sí. Así, el responsable de esta labor procede a mejorar y optimizar el sitio en aspectos tales como el tiempo de carga, el formato de las URL o el propio contenido en sí.
Meta tags provide valuable information to search engines and improve SEO.
Search engine analysis
It is important to know that search engines like Google analyze different variables to find sites on the Internet and order them in their search results. The objective of website administrators is for their content to appear in the first places of said classification made by the search engine: therefore, the SEO process consists of studying the ordering variables and respecting them in the programming and design of the sites. (for example, including keywords in the content, adding links, etc.).
As we have mentioned before, there are many and varied factors that are taken into account by any search engine to process the results. However, among the most important there are two fundamentally:
- The relationship or relevance between the established search and the page in question. In this sense, among other things, the number of times that the term being searched for appears within it will be assessed.
- The popularity of the website: it is believed that, the better known it is, the more quality content it will offer.
Since Google 's algorithm and those used by Yahoo! and other search engines to analyze the sites change, the SEO criteria are also updated over time and force the sites to be renewed.
When analyzing SEO, we try to ensure that the website appears well positioned in each SERP (search engine results page).
How to improve SEO
Those who study SEO generally aim to achieve good positioning in an organic search (that is, one that does not include paid campaigns or advertising). The aim is for one's own site to appear "naturally" among the first results shown to those searching for certain terms.
It is interesting to note that Google , the world's leading search engine, offers multiple resources for website administrators who want to improve their SEO. Tools such as Google Search Console , Google Analytics and Google Trends provide useful information to perfect content marketing.
Completing the meta description, avoiding duplicate content and appealing to responsive design so that the page is displayed correctly on different devices are common tactics. You should also opt for an SEO title and increase the page loading speed as much as possible.
It should be noted that there are many SEO tools that help meet the most frequent requirements for positioning a website. While some require payment, others can be used for free.
It cannot be overlooked that SEO criteria are essential for a website to be found by Internet users. It is not enough for content to be interesting or novel to achieve popularity: in order for it to reach surfers, it must first be crawled and indexed by search engines .
On the other hand, the quality of text and images cannot be relied on to achieve recognition. Search engines run automatic processes that examine technical issues and do not focus on prose or the beauty of images, to name two issues.