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SEO Basics

Ever since the advent of internet search engines people have been trying to figure out how to get their web sites ranked high in search engine results. This effort is commonly referred to as SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, and here we will discuss very broadly the basics that are needed to be successful.

To start any effort to comprehend what SEO entails, one needs to understand the goals and objectives of Google. Google wants anyone doing a search on its site to get the most complete and relevant results possible. They want authoritative sites that visitors find engaging and useful. They do not want sites showing up in their results that have little relevance to the search being made just because the web site owner has figured out how to trick the algorithm into putting his site on the first page or has hired someone who might know how to go about this. Lots of algorithm changes have been made over the years as web site owners learn by experience what makes things work on Google results. Google wants good, solid, mostly original, and especially relevant content.

To get the best results with Google, people should create content on their web sites that adds something to the internet and helps Google’s users find the answers they are looking for.

On-site factors for SEO are usually mentioned early in the discussion of the subject, and these include clear and logical web page titles, for example. Other on-site considerations are normally a good site map, telling Google what pages are on the site, and a good linking and easy page navigation scheme.

Although getting on-page factors right is essential for good SEO results, there are two other things that are even more important. One of these is off-page factors, which essentially boils down to having links from other sites, especially other sites with related subject matter. Google has always rewarded sites that attract links from other related web sites. In effect these links constitute votes from other sites about the relevance and authority of the site being linked to. On top of that it is important to have good site content. It is also best to follow the advice that the main section of content on any page should be original content, not duplicate content copied from somewhere else. So in effect lots of good, relevant and original content and lots of back links will equal good search engine rankings.