What Is SEO? The Simple Answer

Hi,
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Usually this is a practice used by webmasters to help them earn revenue through search engines like Google.

SEO is very simple, really. When someone looks up a key word or phrase on a search engine, any online content that that search engine has in its records that matches the keyword, term or phrase most perfectly (and most frequently) will appear at the top of the results.

The closer to the top of the search results a certain website or article appears, the more likely it is to be viewed. Sites with more traffic due to proper Search Engine Optimization can then, in turn, earn more advertising revenue.

Why is that? Why do certain sites that qualify as optimized under the rationale of SEO earn more revenue due to the increased web traffic? The reason is because of a concept in advertising called impressions.

An advertiser, such as a major clothing brand (for example), needs potential consumers to see their product or brand as often as possible. This increases the likelihood that that individual consumer will go on to purchase the product or service offered. Sites and articles that have been optimized for search engine results will get viewed more, which means that more impressions are possible for an advertiser.

Search engines prefer for the content that appears in their search results to be as close to being organic as possible. This means that Google wants to show the most natural, most useful content at the top[ of their search results.

The reason companies like Google have strict policies on proper SEO (and frown upon practices such as keyword stuffing) is because they genuinely want their product, the search engine itself, to be useful to consumers. If it is, then their company can also benefit from advertising revenue.

If you are considering optimization of your content for higher ranking in search results, try checking out the policies of Google and other major search engines before doing so. You don't want your site blacklisted due to keyword stuffing or other improper SEO practices!