SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. The goal of Search Engine Optimization is to get your site to the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Google is an overwhelmingly dominant player in the world of search engines, claiming 87% of the US Market Share in 2023 so most search enigine optimization is used for Google. SEO can include other search engines, but because of usage statistics it is often the primary focus. 

Source: StatCounter

What is The Point?

Let’s say someone searches “Window cleaners near me”. If you own a window cleaning business, you want to be at the top of those search engine results. This is where search engine optimization comes in. Having a website that no one can find is like paying for business cards you keep in a drawer at home. In short, SEO helps people find your site and get you more customers.

How Does SEO Work?

To understand how SEO works, we need to understand how search engines work. In short, search engines crawl the internet, build an index, and deliver relevant results. Google has some great documentation if you wish to read more about it. In Search Engine Optimization the goal is to make the site friendly to Search Engine Crawlers with content that triggers your result in key conditions. Search Engines have their own criteria for how they rank results. This makes everything from your site’s code structure to the written content critical for meeting search engine criteria. 

Do I Need SEO?

If you are a business owner looking for clients or customers, SEO is a critical step in finding customers and growing your business. You can read more about this in my post How to Find Customers. However, SEO is not something that happens overnight. It can take months of consistent, quality, focused effort before seeing results. Until that mark is reached, your business may benefit from Search Engine Marketing (SEM), aka paid advertising to get to the top of the SERPs.