What Is SEO And How Does It Work?

SEO vs. SEM: What’s the Difference?

When you Google something, you’ll typically see two types of results:

• Organic Search Results: These are unpaid listings on a search engine results page (SERP), appearing because the search engine’s algorithm has determined their relevance and helpfulness to the user’s search query.
• Paid Search Results: These are paid advertisements that show up on the SERP, typically labeled as “Sponsored” or “Ad.” Businesses using these ads pay a fee each time the ad is clicked, which is why paid search results are often referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

Here’s an example of a SERP featuring both types of results:

While SEO focuses solely on enhancing organic search results, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) encompasses both paid and organic strategies. In essence, SEO is a subset of SEM, which includes SEO and PPC.

Now, let’s dive deeper into SEO vs. SEM.

What Is SEO And How Does It Work?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase its visibility on SERPs, particularly for users searching for relevant queries. For instance, if you are searching for “SEO Kuala Lumpur,” SEO helps relevant local businesses appear higher in your search results.

This process includes creating and optimizing web pages to address the user’s search intent—essentially, the “what,” “why,” and “how” of a search query. Pages with the most useful and relevant content are more likely to appear at the top of organic search results, which users see first.

However, helpful content alone isn’t sufficient. It also needs to be accessible to the bots (also known as spiders or crawlers) that search engines like Google use to crawl sites. Here’s a basic rundown of how this works:

1. Publishing or Updating a Page: You add new content or make updates to existing content on your site.
2. Crawling: Google’s bots crawl your website and discover the new or updated page.
3. Indexing: Ideally, Google indexes your page, adding it to its massive database of webpages.
4. Ranking: Google then ranks your page as a result for relevant search queries, allowing users to find it.

Before diving into advanced SEO tools and resources, it’s crucial to grasp the basics of SEO.

Learn What SEO Is

Search engine optimization (SEO) encompasses the strategies and techniques used to enhance your site’s ranking in search engine results, such as Google. The primary goal of SEO is to drive more organic (unpaid) traffic to your site. The higher you rank on the SERPs, the more likely you are to attract clicks and visits to your pages. Brands like Seahawk, for example, leverage SEO to boost their online visibility and reach in specific markets like Kuala Lumpur.

Discover How Search Engines Work

Understanding how search engines work is foundational to mastering SEO. Search engines like Google discover your page using bots that crawl through links from known pages to uncover new content—a process known as crawling. After discovery, the page’s content is analyzed and stored in an index, such as Google’s vast index of web pages, in a process called indexing.

Finally, algorithms determine which pages are the most relevant to a user’s search query and display them in order of relevance—this is known as ranking. SEO focuses on ensuring your site is crawlable and indexable by search engines, while also demonstrating that your content is high-quality, relevant, and provides a good user experience.

Understand SEO Ranking Factors

Several factors impact how your website and individual pages perform in search engine results. The most crucial ranking factor is content relevance—how closely your page’s content matches the user’s search query. Google also considers factors like page speed, the number of backlinks (links from other websites to yours), and whether your site uses HTTPS for security.

Know the Types of SEO

SEO can be broken down into several types:

• On-page SEO: Optimizing individual pages on your site, focusing on elements like content, title tags, and internal linking.
• Off-page SEO: External SEO efforts, such as link building, content syndication, and social media management.
• Technical SEO: Enhancing technical aspects of your site, such as page speed, site architecture, and mobile-friendliness.

Additionally, there are specific SEO disciplines tailored to various content types and business models, including:

• Local SEO: Optimizing for location-specific searches, such as “SEO Kuala Lumpur.”
• International SEO: Targeting multiple languages and regions.
• E-commerce SEO: Optimizing online stores to improve visibility for product searches.
• Small Business SEO: Custom SEO strategies for small businesses aiming to increase local visibility.

By understanding these core concepts and applying them to your SEO strategy, brands like Seahawk can enhance their online presence, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately achieve their marketing goals. Whether targeting keywords like “What is SEO?” or specific locations like Kuala Lumpur, the principles of SEO remain essential for driving success in the digital landscape. Is boosting your product to the top of google is what you are looking for, click here and find us today.