How does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Work?

How does search engine optimization (SEO) work? It is actually very simple. Search engine optimization is just where you get your site ranked in the top 10 of the search results.

Why is SEO so popular?
This is simply because it brings in free traffic. You can literally get 1,000s of visitors to your website everyday without paying a dime. So it tends to be a very popular strategy among beginning online marketers, who do not have a lot of money to spend but have plenty of time to get their site ranked.

SEO might be the best lead generation source on the planet. After all, you are getting all your leads and customers to your site for free. You can potentially get 100s and even 1,000s of visitors everyday without paying a dime. This is not possible with any other advertising source on the planet. 

So how do you get ranked? That is the hard part. It involves a combination of effective on-page and off-page optimization. However, before you even worry about the techniques for getting ranked, the first step is doing quality keyword research.

Targeting the right terms is critical.If you go after overly competitive terms, you will probably never get ranked and you might not be profitable even if you do. For most marketers it is best to target long tail terms (any keyword with 3-4 words in it) because these are less competitive and generally more profitable. 

Once you have done good keyword research, then you need to think about on-page optimization. First of all, you need good content. While it is technically possible to get ranked with low quality content, it is much more difficult.

Why is quality content so important? For one thing, you will not make money without it. What’s the point of getting ranked if nobody is interested enough to stay on your site?

For another thing, one of the aspects of Google’s algorithm formula is the length of time the visitor stays on your site. The longer they stay, the better. This shows Google that your site is relevant for the term you are targeting. The way to get people to stay is by having quality content.

As for off-page optimization, the whole key is getting as many quality sites to link to you as possible. This will take some time, but the rewards will be well worth it. 

How long does it take to get ranked?It really depends on the term you are going for. If you want to get ranked for the keyword “cars” you could spend years and never rank due to how many people you are competing against. However, if you were to go for a keyword like “cars for sale in Bismarck South Dakota” you could probably get ranked very quickly. It just depends on the amount of competition.

SEO is a great way to increase your profits. It will require some time and patience, but the long term rewards are well worth it.