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What is Organic Search Engine Optimization?
Organic SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) without the use of paid advertising.
Achieving high organic rankings requires a well-executed and comprehensive SEO strategy that takes into account all of the factors that influence search engine algorithms. These include on-page factors such as title tags, meta descriptions, and keyword-rich content, as well as off-page SEO factors such as link building and social media engagement.
When done correctly, organic SEO can be an extremely effective way to attract more visitors to your website and generate leads and sales. In fact, a recent study by HubSpot found that organic search is the number one source of traffic for websites, accounting for nearly 50% of all website visits.
To get started with organic SEO, it’s important to first understand how search engines work and what factors they take into account when determining which websites to rank.
How Search Engines Work
A search engine is a software program that enables users to find information on the internet. When you type a query into a search engine, it scours the internet for websites that are relevant to your search and then ranks them in order of relevancy.
The two most popular search engines are Google and Bing, which together control nearly 90% of the search market. Google is by far the most dominant search engine, with a market share of nearly 70%.
While the algorithms that power search engines are constantly changing and evolving, the basic process of how they work remains the same.
Here’s a quick overview of how search engines find and rank websites:
Crawling:
Search engines use “spiders” or “robots” to scour the internet and find websites. These spiders follow links from one website to another, and they index the content they find as they go.
Indexing:
Once a website has been crawled, the search engine will add it to its “index” – a giant database of all the websites it has found.
Ranking:
When a user types a query into a search engine, it will use its index to find websites that are relevant to the user’s search. The search engine will then rank these websites in order of relevancy, with the most relevant websites appearing first in the search results.
To rank websites, search engines use algorithms – a set of rules or guidelines that they use to determine which websites are most relevant to a particular search.
Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, which is why SEO is an ongoing process. As the algorithms evolve, so too must your SEO strategy.
What Factors Do Search Engines Take Into Account?
While the algorithms that power search engines are complex and constantly changing, there are a few key factors that they always take into account when determining which websites to rank.
Some of the most important ranking factors include:
Keywords:
Keywords are one of the most important ranking factors, as they help search engines determine the topic of a website’s content. When optimizing your website for organic search, it’s important to choose the right keywords and use them throughout your website, including in your title tags, meta descriptions, and in the body of your content.
Links:
The number and quality of links pointing to your website is another important ranking factor. Search engines view links as “votes” for your website, and the more votes you have, the higher your website will rank.
Content:
The quality and quantity of your website’s content is also a key ranking factor. In order to rank higher in search results, your content must be well-written and relevant to the topic at hand.
User Experience:
The overall user experience of your website is another important ranking factor. Search engines want to make sure that users have a positive experience when they visit your website, which includes factors such as your website’s design, loading speed, and mobile-friendliness.
Social Signals:
Social signals, such as the number of likes, shares, and comments your content receives on social media, are also taken into account by search engines when ranking websites.
These are just a few of the most important ranking factors that search engines take into account.
To learn more about what factors influence search engine algorithms, check out this comprehensive guide to Google’s ranking factors.
How to Optimize Your Website for Organic Search
Now that you understand how organic search works and what factors influence search engine algorithms, it’s time to learn how to optimize your website for organic search.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Do your keyword research:
Keyword research is the process of finding the right keywords to target for your website. To do this, you can use a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner.
Optimize your website’s title tags and meta descriptions:
Title tags and meta descriptions are two of the most important on-page SEO factors. Make sure to include your target keywords in both your title tags and meta descriptions, and keep them under 60 characters so they don’t get cut off in search results.
Create keyword-rich content:
In order to rank higher in search results, your content must be relevant to the keywords you’re targeting. That’s why it’s important to do your keyword research before you start writing. Once you know which keywords to target, make sure to include them throughout your content, including in the title, in the body, and in the meta description.
Build links:
As we mentioned earlier, links are like votes for your website, and the more votes you have, the higher your website will rank. There are a few different ways to build links, such as through guest blogging, directory listings, and social media.
Monitor your progress:
Once you’ve implemented your SEO strategy, it’s important to monitor your progress to see how your website is performing. You can do this by tracking your website’s organic traffic with a tool like Google Analytics.
Organic SEO is an ongoing process, which means you’ll need to continuously monitor your website and make updates to your SEO strategy as needed.
This is why we recommend working with a professional, there are so a lot of factors that need to coordinate to work together. Here at MSM Technologies, we have a team of experts with more than 10 years of experience that will help you improve your website’s organic search rankings and attract more visitors to your site.
Contact us today and let's start talking about your project.