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What Does SEO Stand For?

As you may know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. But what does that mean? And what does search engine optimization entail? In short, SEO is focused upon acquiring website traffic and high search result rankings organically. By organic, we mean without paying for web traffic via pay-per-click ads, among other methods. Within SEO, there’s a wide variety of strategies to accomplish the aforementioned goals—some of which are more effective than others. This could be anything from developing website content around keywords related to your industry to maintaining a strong presence across multiple social media platforms. SEO practices and strategies are constantly changing to remain effective as internet search engines continuously update algorithms.

Of course, SEO is only as effective as the strategies used, and to determine the strategies that perform well and those that don’t, an SEO strategist (or just plain SEO) needs to monitor the success of their strategies through accurate analytics. Queue StatCounter! We provide precise analytics and website stats for our valued members so they can make effective decisions as to where to go with their SEO strategies. Of course, we also work to provide insightful resources for those looking to delve into SEO. Having said that, let’s take a look at what SEO stands for, what it entails, and some key tips for those just getting started.

Suggested Reading

If you’re familiar with what SEO stands for and you're ready to move on to the next steps of SEO, take a look at the pages provided below for further help.

SEO for Beginners

Now that we’ve covered what SEO stands for, you’re ready to take a closer look at the world of SEO. A complicated topic, SEO involves countless strategies and tactics all geared toward increasing the visibility of a website and, in turn, increasing traffic. In many ways, SEO is a marketing tactic—and a popular marketing tactic for that matter. Having said that, companies always need to stay up to date with the latest in marketing in an effort to keep up with competitors.

This makes SEO crucial, especially considering the digital age we live in. You see, the vast majority of web users turn to search engines like Google and Bing to find the information they’re seeking. So if your brand isn’t ranking in the top results of such search engines, you’ll have zero visibility, which results in limited traffic. Still need convincing? Consider the stats below.

By The Numbers

  • Over 40% of the world population has internet connection
  • 40,000 search queries are processed every second on Google alone (that’s 1.2 trillion a year worldwide)
  • Facebook has 1.71 billion active users (social media is key for SEO)
  • 1.13 billion users log into Facebook per day
  • Twitter has an estimated 1.3 billion registered users
  • 120 million people visit Twitter each month (500 million visits without logging in)
  • 100 million Twitter users login daily
Note: Statistics provided by Internetlivestats.com

As you can see, internet and social media usage only increases with each passing day. Considering this, an online presence for any business is absolutely essential—not only to ensure you receive website traffic, but also to keep up with the competition. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some key strategies for those seeking to delve into SEO for the first time.

Key SEO Strategies & Tactics

As with any form of digital marketing, there’s a range of effective strategies to improve your visibility and increase conversion rates. Within SEO marketing, it’s all about web traffic, and converting that traffic into paying customers. In acquiring and retaining traffic to your website, there are some initial steps to take within SEO. See below:

  • Social Media: As mentioned, a strong presence on social media is extremely beneficial within SEO, especially considering the statistics provided above. Facebook and Twitter are two platforms suitable for any business, while platforms like Etsy and Instagram are better suited for specific industries. No matter the platform your business uses, just ensure you make posts regularly, as it’s a great way to increase visibility and engage your audience.
  • Quality Content (utilizing keywords): Of course, search engines cater to the user, so Bing, Google, and any other search engine are going to provide results that best match the user’s request. Quality content based on keyword search (terms related to your industry you’d like to rank for) is essential. Once you select keywords to target, you’ll not only want to create content from such, but you’ll also want to optimize existing pages of your site. In doing so, you can update title tags, meta descriptions, image alt text, and old content to include your selected keywords.
  • Inbound Links: Site authority also impacts your rankings on any given search engine. The more external domains linking to your website (inbound links), the more authority it has in the eyes of search engines. Often called backlinks, inbound links can be acquired in a variety of ways, but you should be careful to avoid penalization. To paint a clearer picture, backlinks are acquired when an external site links to your website from their own. From a search engine perspective, this shows other websites view your content to be credible, which directly influences your search engine rankings. While the concept is simple, some outdated means to acquiring backlinks can result in penalties these days, such as submitting your site to link farms, which are websites made specifically for getting backlinks. In acquiring backlinks, ensure you’re not being manipulative of search engines.
  • Architecture: The architecture of your website, which includes navigation, aesthetics, and functionality, needs to address the user’s needs. For starters, adding internal links on each of your site pages so relevant content is linked together is good practice. This way, you provide users a smooth transition to additional pages of your website. Plus, by keeping users clicking through pages, you’ll reduce your bounce rate and increase the likelihood of visitors converting to customers.

Essential Definition

Bounce rate denotes the percentage of users to a website who leave the site before taking any action or clicking to another page. The bounce rate for each page of your website directly impacts where your site will rank within search engine results.

Of course, there’s plenty more to SEO strategies than those listed above. These are simply the basics of SEO and should always be practiced to maintain visibility and rankings within search engines. In implementing SEO strategies for your website, you’ll need to utilize a range of SEO tools, and may even want to consider hiring an SEO consultant. As we’ve alluded to, SEO can become quite complicated, yet a consultant can simplify the process for you and ensure any strategies are best suited for your brand and website.

What Does SEO Stand For? Visibility!

While the answer to what does SEO stand for is a simple one, what it involves is not so clear cut. SEO requires time, strategizing, and monitoring to ensure it’s working effectively. While there’s plenty of tactics you can practice on your own, SEO is constantly changing, so it can be difficult to stay on top of current trends and keep up with competitors. In order to stay competitive, you’ll need an accurate means to tracking results, as mentioned previously. And StatCounter provides just that: precise metrics so you can make informed decisions for your business.

When you’re ready to delve into the world of SEO, be sure to make the most of your efforts and utilize StatCounter’s web tracker. Through sound SEO strategies and quality analytics, you can ensure your website is visible within search engines to ultimately acquire more traffic and make sales.

If you ever need assistance in utilizing our analytic tools or getting started with SEO, you can reach support by filling out the form provided below.

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