SEO Bootcamp: Learn the Basics of SEO in 2 Weeks (2016)

Chapter 1. What is SEO and Why is it Important to your Website?

The internet is an ocean of information. It is a network of interconnected computers from all around the world. It allows us to access information from computers halfway around the world.

By itself however, the internet is a big mess. It is full of webpages that cater to the needs to billions of individuals. Early on, engineers have been looking for a tool that can organize all the information in the web and help people find what they are looking for in the least amount of time.

The search engine is that tool.

This is the function of the search engine. They“crawl” through as many webpages as they can by making artificial intelligence visit webpages and collect information. They add information about the crawled pages in an index. When a person types a search query, the search engine runs through all the crawled pages and brings back a list of pages that fits the query. It then organizes these pages according to their relevance to the query of the user.

Billions of people use search engines monthly. Some of them may be interested in your website. In order to drive traffic into your website, you want your webpages to rank high in the search results of your target visitor.

What are search queries?

Search queries are questions from search engine users. They are using the search engine to look for answers. Here are the three types of questions that people as search engines:

Where/ how can I find name of thing?

Some people use queries to look for specific real world things or locations. A person may be looking for a second-hand car around New York. He asks the search engine to look for all the posted classified ads about second-hand cars by typing:

“Second-hand cars in New York City classified ads”

He finds that there are too many results so he narrows down his search to:

“Second-hand Lexus in Manhattan craigslist”

What, When and Where Questions

Most of the time however, people use search engines to look for information. Some people for example, use search engines to look for answers for their schoolwork. Many people also go to search engines to look for news about current events relevant to them. Instead of looking for a phonebook, people also find it faster to find the address and contact number of a business through the internet.

What is the website of [company name]?

Lastly, people use search engines to go to specific areas on the web. Some people for example, want to go to the website of their local newspaper. They do not know the exact website address so they ask google to lead them there.

The search engine has become the primary source of answers for most people in developed countries. The majority of users of search engines like Google trust the search results compiled by the algorithm. Most people expect to find the answer to their query in top result. If the first five results do not seem to have the answer to their question, people tend to think that there must be something wrong with the phrase they used in the query. Most people refine their search just like the guy looking for a second-hand Lexus in New York.

How does this affect your website?

If you want to get more traffic into your website, you need to know how search engines work and you need to be able to optimize your webpages so that they will be crawled, indexed and shown in the top of the search results page.

Showing up in search is not good enough when it comes to SEO. The top result is clicked on more than 18% of the time. The number of clicks your pages get lowers as your pages shows up lower on the search engine results page.

In the advent of smartphones, people thought at first that the popularity of websites would begin to decrease. The average person thought that apps would replace search. If this will indeed happen, it has not showed up so far. Though the number of hours spent in front of desktop computers has decreased, people are still using search to find the information that they need and the items that they want. People with websites optimized for mobile phone screens will get the bulk of the traffic from mobile search.

Activity for Days 1 and 2: Decide on your website’s topic or niche

It is easier for your website to rank if your website is focused on one subject. If you already have a general information website or blog, you can decide on the best topic to pursue based on the popular posts or content you already have.

When thinking of a topic or niche for your website, you should also consider your personal goal for building it. The type of content that you create henceforth should take you a step closer to reaching your goal.