Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Whether you have a blog or business, if you’re online then you’ve probably heard or seen the term “SEO.” SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is essential in driving traffic to your site. Wikipedia has a great definition of SEO:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via ‘natural’ (‘organic’ or ‘algorithmic’) search results for targeted keywords. ...SEO efforts may involve a site’s coding, presentation, and structure. ...Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users.
Basically (and I mean basically—I’m still trying to grasp the concept) SEO is getting your site as high up as possible in the search results so you get lots of new traffic and visitors. Many companies offer SEO services…for a fee. So what do the rest of us do who are into saving money (which, sorry to say, often means spending time)? We read as much as we can about it so we can do it ourselves. Here are a couple great articles and resources on Search Engine Optimization that will hopefully help you understand the ins and outs of SEO and what you can do to help your site makes its way up the search results page.
- “How to Build Blog Traffic: Search Engines and SEO” by Elise Bauer at blogher
- SEO Training Class from GNC Web Creations (free)
- Wikipedia’s full entry on Search Engine Optimization
- “What’s an SEO?” by Google (short but sweet)
- “Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization” by Rand Fishkin (lengthy but worth it!)
- “Top 50 SEO Resources” from Pronet Advertising (includes information, tools, blogs, forums and conferences)
I’m off to do some more reading and some more optimizing! If you know of any great sites or resources, or even companies you’ve worked with who’ve impressed you, please share. We’re all in this together!—Emily
Thanks to Emily for allowing us to share her article on Boutique Cafe. Be sure to check out Emily’s Freshly Baked Blog for her dose of information and humor.