What is SEO? And how do we do it?

Hello, my name is Vlad. I am the head of the SEO department at the SITIAR company. In this article I will answer three main questions about search engine optimization:

1. What is SEO?
2. What is SEO used for and what is its use for your project?
3. How do we do SEO?

In the process of writing this article, I used several professional terms, don’t worry if any of them are incomprehensible to you. You can always google it (search for information on the Internet through the Google website).

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of actions aimed at improving the code and content of the site according to the “rules of search engines.” Website optimization helps increase traffic to your website by organic search engine results.

Bots start checking each page to make sure the information matches the request. If it does bots create the index of pages, which is called ranking, and show the results depending on user’s query.
After search engine applies some special ranking factors, the index of pages is compared to user’s request and appears as a list of results, where each website gain a particular place according to ranking algorithm of search engine.
Search engine optimization may include different types and amount of work. Each website is individual and it is represented or not on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) in its own way.
High-quality content for people, unique data that can not be found on other websites, modern design and website loading speed – this is the basis of promotion.
If you are willing to share the useful and valuable information with your visitors – search engines encourage your website with high positions, ranking it higher than competitors’ websites. High positions will provide you with free referrals of visitors from search engines, significantly saving money on marketing and advertising. The goal of SEO promotion is to attract new customers to your business.

The best results in SEO are achieved by following three simple rules:

• Create a quality website that will comply with the current rules of the Google and Yahoo search engines. Fill the site with useful content using words and phrases your customers search for a product or service. Provide with a convenient design, structure and high speed processing of the website.
• Make people want to share links to your site on social networks, forums and other websites.
• Keep doing it!

In order for web pages to appear in high positions in the search results, the SEO specialist optimizes the website in accordance with the Google and Yahoo ranking algorithms.
Search engine ranking algorithms will always remain secret, but more than a decade of experience in the SEO community has led to a fairly accurate idea of the important ranking factors.
The format of work on SEO is determined by analyzing competitors’ websites, which includes the following key factors: site age, quantity and quality of content, incoming links, speed and usability (site convenience, adaptive layout, responsiveness).

Works on the site for SEO optimization can be divided into two categories:

SEO specialist analyzes the program code for errors, page headers/texts for compliance with requests, using special services and programs. He can make recommendations to improve the usability of the site, the way the order form/basket works, menu items and content location options, using tools to track user behavior on the website.
The internal optimization also includes the collection and processing of the keywords which search participants are looking for the right product or service. Defining keywords in high-quality, useful content – search engines rank the website highly in search results.
At the initial stage of website creation, when an SEO specialist does not participate in the CMS selection stages, structure development and layout – as a rule, undesirable (technical) pages without internal optimization fall into the search engines index, which over some period of time impede progress.
Removing “technical” pages from the indexing and optimizing previously created pages requires additional time for re-check and re-indexing search engines. Technical errors in the code at the stages of creating and promoting a site are unacceptable.

External optimization allows you to improve your brand awareness with the help of the content, article links and links from forums.
The goal of the external SEO is to create an optimal experience for potential customers and search bots. Purchasing links from other websites leads to a gradual increase in positive feedback about the brand, search ranking, traffic to your website and conversions.

What is SEO used for and what is its use for your project?

First of all, lets consider SEO as a free potential stream of customers that is very well segmented and has a regional dependence.
If we were to make a portrait of your client, I would note the following:

• Your client has access to the Internet, the browser has been already installed on his smartphone. There is also the default search system on it — Google.
• Your client regularly needs food, security, new information, etc.
• Your client is shy or pragmatic, he is used to google (search information) when he has no one to ask, he appreciates his and other people’s time – he gets a solution to his problem in minutes.

Now imagine: how can you give up on competing with other websites on the Internet? If you do not use SEO for yourself as a sales channel – in the long term (5-10 years) you will lose time and miss potential customers who have already bought the product and will continue to buy not from you, but from your competitor. They don’t know about you, and may not find out at all…
Consider website promotion as an investment and support for the main stream of customers on the website, I would not advise you to rely entirely on SEO, but losing the opportunity to get free transitions from search engines, abandoning SEO for your website is not a good idea.

How do we do SEO?

• The client himself makes the decision: to implement our recommendations or not.

We offer current improvements to your site according to the rules and requirements of search engines. We instantly react to changes in algorithms and minimize the risk of being hit by various filters to combat search engine spam and over-optimize sites.

• Why do we offer recommendations and what is the basis of our strategy?

We analyze competing sites and offer you only the necessary solutions, the willingness to optimize your site better than our competitors is our priority.

• We perform current actions information about which is open and accessible.

Any of our actions to introduce / change the structure of the site, recommendations for writing content is a confirmation based on scientific articles and facts.

• We strive for maximum results, but don’t guarantee it.

There is no guarantee you get a certain position or move up on search results pages.

• Any tiny change on the structure, design or availability of your website will affect on the promotion result.

There are many external factors that do not depend on SEO department, but affect on the website promotion. We need to have the customer’s decision and the implementation of all the promotion recommendations to achieve the best results.

• Our client gets reports on promotion, positions, website traffic, purchased links and every dollar that was spent on – this is our corporate ethics.

The demand for goods is limited – have time to collect all the traffic.