SEO for search engines: guide for beginners

Brief legend of terms and abbreviations

SEO (search engine optimization) – a niche of digital marketing often neglected in the past, which is becoming an increasingly popular and essential tool for anyone who is looking for online development.

If you haven’t heard about this term but want to learn more about it and don’t know where to start, then this guide is for you. In it, we’ll cover the basics of SEO, search engines, and the relationship between them.

However, before we dive into a more detailed look at search engine optimization, we need to clarify a few important terms and acronyms that everyone should know.

To that end, we’ve created a brief legend:

• Search engine or web search engine – online software for extracting, storing and providing information;
• SEO – Search Engine Optimization;
• SERP – Search Engine Results Page);
• User – a person who uses a search engine or a website;
• Intent – the idea (intention) with which a user enters a query;
• Query – a word or combination of words that a user enters into the search box;
• Keywords – keywords are words or phrases that are the focus of several similar queries;
• Algorithm – a formula or set of rules that search engines use in determining the ranking of web pages;
• Meta title and meta description – the title and description set for a specific web page that is displayed on the results page;
• Organic traffic – the number of users who access a site or a page by clicking on an unpaid search engine result;
• Internal links – links (hyperlinks) between internal pages of the site;
• Backlinks – external links (hyperlinks) from other sites to your site.

What is search engine optimization?

After we have clarified the most basic terms and their meaning, it’s time to discuss what exactly SEO is.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of practices for improving a website’s visibility in online search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Visibility, on the other hand, is determined by exactly where a page from your website is displayed in the SERPs when a user enters a query. The better optimized a page is, the better (or higher) it ranks in the results. This, in turn, gives it a better chance of being visited by a user.

What does the search process look like?

As a process we can visualize the following:

• A user opens a search engine for a specific purpose;
• A user enters his query in the search box;
• The search engine generates results relevant to the algorithm;
• The results are displayed in SERPs;
• The user sees the meta titles and meta descriptions of the ranked pages;
• The user selects a relevant page and opens it, thus accessing the content.

Does SEO lead to better organic traffic?

If the page selected by the user has reached its position thanks to keyword optimization and not to paid advertising, then it is considered a so-called “organic result”. All users who click on this result are considered “organic”, also called “free”, website traffic.

What are the goals of the user and the optimized site?

Of course, the user’s purpose, and in this sense, the website’s purpose, does not end with a visit to a web page. The end result often depends on the user’s initial intent, which may be different.

User intent can be divided into 4 groups:

• Informational intent – finding general information about an issue or topic;
• Navigational intent – searching for a specific object, location, brand, site, or page;
• Sales-research intent – finding a suitable solution;
• Transactional intent – buying a product or service.

A well-optimized page takes into account not only the keyword searched for but also the intent of the user who enters the query. In this way, it brings real value to both the user and the search engine.

Who needs to learn more about SEO?

In a few words – basic knowledge in SEO is helpful for everyone who has professional contact with the online space. When we say basic knowledge, we mean being aware of what search engine optimization is, how it works, why it’s important and how it helps websites.

Advanced SEO techniques now affect a more niche group of people, most often online business and e-commerce store owners, marketing teams, bloggers and, of course, those who want to specialize in search engine optimization.

Here is a more detailed list of examples:

• Business owners
• Marketing professionals
• Content creators and copywriters
• Web Developers
• Entrepreneurs
• Freelancers
• Bloggers and vloggers
• Digital marketers
• Online marketers
• People wishing to develop in the field of digital marketing
• People looking for remote work opportunities
• Non-profit organisations
• Students and educators
• Anyone with an online presence

Image source: Pexels.com

How does a search engine work?

Search engines are databases that store web information. Their main purpose is to provide the most relevant and useful results for the user. 

They do this through several steps:

• Crawling – they first find the website and browse (crawl) its pages.
• Indexing – then trying to understand the content and store (index) it in the database.
• Ranking – finally, they use an algorithmic formula to evaluate (rank) the pages regarding the user’s query.

Relationship between SEO and search engines

Website optimization has tangents with all three levels of search engine performance. But let’s have a look at exactly what they are.

Crawling

There are various SEO techniques that speed up the process of a search engine discovering a website and its pages. These can be, for example, specific restrictions and permissions, optimizing the architecture (structure) of the site and generating internal links and backlinks.

Indexing

Other SEO techniques focus on making the indexing process easier. These can be diverse and vary from case to case. Among the common techniques are identifying and fixing pages that return an error message, as well as handling meta data.

Ranking

Third, but not least, SEO aims at better page rankings, or in other words, to make the search engine “prefer” and display your site over others. This is achieved by optimizing the factors that affect the search engine algorithm’s ranking signals (such as those of Google).

At this point, a combination of different methods, skills, experience and constant research about the ever-changing industry landscape come together.

However, we can divide the main ranking signals into 3 categories:

• Quality, relevant and frequently refreshed content;
• User experience on the page or website;
• Links (both internal and external).

Types of Processes in SEO

As with the categories of ranking signals, the main processes in SEO can be divided into three types according to their main purpose.

There are three main types:

• Technical SEO
• Content optimization (Semantic SEO)
• Content Promotion

The three units are directly related and cannot exist effectively without each other.

Technical SEO

Optimization of technical parameters often requires close collaboration between designers, web developers and SEO specialists.

The focus of this process is to improve the user experience of the site and make it easier for search engines to crawl and index.

This can be done through various techniques such as optimizing loading speed, fixing technical errors, improving accessibility from different devices and more.

Technical SEO is the kind of foundation on which the other phases of overall website optimization are built.

Semantic SEO

This process requires building a targeted and relevant content marketing strategy.

It includes keyword research and analysis, as well as planning to create new pages or revise existing ones. A well-executed strategy includes details such as what keywords will be targeted, what the topic will be, and what questions it will answer.

Based on an already prepared strategy, the work of content writers and copywriters begins. Frequently updating or creating “fresh” content is just as important to search engines as the quality and helpfulness of the written text.

Without content being created, not only would the site be unable to reach users, but it would be useless to them.

Image source: Pexels

Content Promotion

Once we have quality content that answers users’ questions, it’s time to help them find it.

At this phase, we are working on getting backlinks (building links) to the pages and sharing the content on social media. At the same time, we are also focusing on external factors that help the site rank.

This process plays a key role in creating trust with search engines and users, while directly contributing to increased organic traffic to the site.