What is SEO? In the digital age, the search for certain keywords is increasingly aligned with the algorithms of search engines, such as Google or Bing. The term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes from the English language and means something like "search engine optimization". es refers to measures (technical/content-related) that help a website to occupy the highest possible position in the search rankings of a search engine operator such as Google or Bing.
Translated into German, one finds the term search engine optimization or SuMa, often abbreviated to SEO. Goals of technical SEO or an SEO relevant content marketing strategy are
As part of search engine optimization, a website is subjected to various procedures and methods. These are used to make the respective website more readable for web crawlers so that it is included in the search engine index as accurately and as quickly as possible. If search engine optimization has been carried out in accordance with the rules, the website will ideally be ranked number 1 in the organic search results.
To understand the process of search engine optimization, you must first understand how modern search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo , Yandex or Google work.
Basically, search engines function like a library in terms of content. If the content is classified correctly, it can also be played out to users - and that's where SEO experts come in.
Search engines use so-called web crawlers, which automatically search the Internet for new content around the clock. When a new web page is discovered by a web crawler, it is first analyzed in detail and then added to the index of the respective search engine. This is done by using highly sophisticated algorithms that give web crawlers the ability to analyze and index web page content and then present it to the user in search results.
To come back to the comparison library: The web crawlers are quasi technical archivists or librarians who constantly classify newly published books or new editions of books and suggest them to interested parties.
Search engine optimization is a complex process that is constantly adapted to the latest criteria. SEO processes and methods are in a constant state of flux, as search engine operators are constantly developing and changing their ranking algorithms. What works well today may be outdated tomorrow and need to be revised. While es , for example, the Penguin update in 2012 was about penalizing domains with a relatively high amount of web spam, the Google Core Updates since 2018 relate to content quality features.
The entire methodology of search engine optimization can be roughly divided into two sub-areas: Onpage and Offpage Optimization.
As you could already learn, onpage optimization deals with all the actions that are performed on the website locally.
This is es primarily about optimizing the textual and visual content of a web presence.
On-page optimization also includes the technical structure of the website; comparable to the foundation of a house. Factors such as the semantic structure of the website, internal links and the correct HTML tags play an important role in the ranking and indexing of a website. Optimized content in combination with the semantic structure of a website enables it to be better analysed and indexed by web crawlers.
Off-page optimization, on the other hand, deals with the reach and awareness of a website on the internet. This is es more precisely about the ranking of the website, which is determined based on the quality of incoming links(backlinks). The difficulty here is that you cannot influence all incoming links. The Google Search Console, for example, provides a good overview of the sources from which your domain is linked. All backlinks are listed here. Incidentally, spam links can also be devalued via the Console if you are unable to establish contact with the linking domain.
If your domain has insufficient reach on the web, your potential customers will not be able to reach your offer. The result: your products sell poorly or not at all. In this case, even an excellent product or first-class service won't do you much good if no one knows about it.
But if you decide to have your domain SEO optimized, then the tide can turn decisively - also in relation to your competitors. Through the right technical structure of your web presence, the streamlining of all content elements and a good offsite strategy, you lay the foundation for all further online marketing activities, such as SEA or a social media strategy.