What actually is SEO and why is it so important for the success of websites on the Internet? This article will take a brief overview of the topic of SEO indicate and explain the most important terms and ranking factors.
What is SEO and how does it work? The definition
SEO (Search Engine Optimization, short by Abbreviationfinder) is a technique from online marketing and describes all free measures that can be taken in order to appear with a website as high up as possible in the search results. With SEO, unlike SEA , you don’t bet on advertisements, but optimizes the website itself so that it meets the requirements of search engines for a well-structured and informative website. Search engines on the Internet rate websites, among other things, according to their content, user friendliness, page speed and the external links that come and go from a website. Websites that achieve good values here are ranked preferentially.
On-page and off-page optimization
In SEO optimization, a distinction is made between off-page and on-page optimization measures.
On-page SEO optimization
On-Page means everything that relates to the content of the page itself. For example, texts, images, videos, the menu navigation and the page layout. Here you should make sure that the texts are easy to read and offer added value in terms of content . You use keywords in the text and in the headings for which the page should rank. If, for example, cat food is advertised on a website, the keyword “cat food” should also appear in the text and in the headlines. However, only where it makes sense and does not disturb the flow of reading.
In the past, people tried to use the keyword as often as possible in the text to trick the search engines into believing that the website was most relevant to the search term cat food. Today, however, search engines like Google recognize this keyword spamming and, in the worst case, punish a website in the ranking.
On-page optimization also includes clear navigation , which can be used to quickly access all of the page’s content. Images should be labeled with an ALT tag to explain what can be seen on them. Furthermore, technical aspects such as the loading time of a website and the internal links also belong to the on-page optimization.
Off-page SEO optimization
The off-page optimization is about the targeted link building. It is important to get as many and above all high-quality backlinks from other websites that are thematically appropriate and rank well on a topic. However , search engines do not like bought links here.
The ranking factors of search engines
The factors according to which websites are listed in the search results are extremely complex and are made up of:
- Relevance to a topic
- loading time
- Backlinks
- Quality of the content
- HTTPS
- Mobile friendliness
- user friendliness
- Topicality
in no particular order. Ultimately, it is a good combination of on-page and off-page optimization that ensures a good ranking.
The advantages of SEO and a good ranking
The aim of a website should be to appear in the first three places on the first page of search results on Google and Co. Search results further down, such as on the second page, are hardly clicked at all. A good ranking brings a lot of clicks and visitors to the website for free, without having to advertise . This is called organic traffic , as this comes about naturally and not through advertisements.
Organic results can be distinguished from paid results in the ranking. They are not labeled ‘Advertisement’ and are displayed in the middle of the results, usually after three or four advertisements.
Using SEO check tools such as Ubersuggest , Semrush , Google Search Console , Sistrix and many more, you can find out how often a keyword is searched for, how strong the competition is and even where they get their backlinks from. With Google Analytics, on the other hand, you can evaluate your own SEO measures .
What role does SEO play for SEA?
The two SEM measures go hand in hand, but SEO optimization should always be given preference. Not only can this be implemented free of charge, but SEO also lays the foundation for successful advertising with SEA . A website should first be optimized in terms of content before the thought of buying visitors. If these jump off immediately because the target page does not meet your expectations, this not only causes costs , but also has a negative effect on the website’s ranking.
SEO agencies
In most cases it is advisable to contact an appropriate agency for SEO optimization. They specialize in the natural development of backlinks and know where there is still potential for optimization on a website. You will find suitable agencies for SEO and SEA in our service directory .