SEO: Definition, Types, Techniques, How it Works, and Its Benefits

A website is one of the media or platforms that are widely used by business people in digital marketing today. A website is also used as a place to promote various products in the form of goods or services. SEO is one way to be able to promote and introduce products or website profiles for your company and business.

Actually there are many things that can be done besides SEO. Starting from SEM (Search Engine Marketing) which focuses on advertising on Google, then social media optimization, and various other methods in the field of marketing channels. In this article, we only focus on discussions related to the meaning, types, and benefits of SEO

{jistoc} $title={Table of Contents}

What is SEO

We will enter into a discussion about the true meaning of SEO. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a form of appreciation given to website pages that are listed on the first page of the Google search engine. 

So, the general definition of SEO is a way to optimize a website to rank high in search results, especially in organic research. Which, the organic search is done by the user or when entering search keyword(s) in the browser and Google search engine.

SEO is very focused on organic keyword searches and is different from SEM which focuses on advertising media provided by Google. So, if you create a website, it will be better to optimize with SEO than using SEM, because you have to need funds or capital to promote and advertise on Google.

SEO traffic type

After knowing the meaning of SEO, then enter the discussion about several types of traffic types from SEO. For now, there are three types of traffic that can be classified according to their respective functions and performances.

1. Quality Traffic

The first type is quality traffic. To determine the value of traffic quality, it can be measured by how much the value of the conversion generated from visitor data that enters your website.

For business websites, the more site visitors who turn into buyers, the better the quality of traffic from your website. In general, visitors will see and find out what products you offer. So, it is included in the traffic by using the help of transactional keywords.

2. Quantity of Traffic

The quantity of a traffic is also very important to improve the performance of a website. The more visitors that enter each page of your website, the greater the value of traffic you can get. 

So, when you develop a business website, then you need to multiply pages with quality content. Where, you can create a collection of articles in the form of blogs that contain informational keywords. 

3. Organic Traffic

And the last type is organic traffic, which is very liked by website owners because it is free. With organic traffic, it can also bring in more visitors and increase conversions.

For example, when someone types in a keyword in a search engine, and then the user clicks on the link displayed in the search results. Well, they visit the link and in turn becomes an organic traffic.

How SEO Works and Techniques

After knowing several types of traffic, then the next step is to discuss how SEO works and techniques to help optimize website pages on search engines. 

First, the thing you need to pay attention to is to be able to enter the first page and get a top position between ranks 1 to 3, it's not as simple as you think. Search engines themselves have three main tasks which is to find requests that you type.

The first process is that search engines will crawl, which aims to collect information from all websites, from pages to links. 

After successfully crawling, then the web crawler will save the information into the entry list: index. 

And the last stage, search engines will display ranking results based on searches that best match the content that is relevant to the targeted keywords.

Then, Google's algorithm also always ensures users to get information and content from relevant and trusted sources. Google itself also has an updated algorithm that will change from time to time according to the times and existing technology.

The mention of the algorithm uses special names, including Panda, which is an algorithm related to filtering activities (filters), rewards, and penalizes website content.Then Penguin is an algorithm that works to prevent spam-dexing. And finally, Hummingbird, which is an algorithm that serves to improve the quality of both algorithms. 

Regarding SEO techniques, you need to learn more about programming languages ​​and technical activities. There are several metrics that you should pay attention to and optimize to improve the performance of web pages.

Examples are auditing the core web vital, robot.txt, sitemap, breadcrumbs, page speed, and so on. You can check this information on the tools provided by Google, namely Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics (GA). And don't forget to always make improvements and optimizations on on-page and off-page SEO.

Types of SEO

After knowing some information about how SEO works and techniques, then enter the discussion about the types of Search Engine Optimization.

1. On-Page SEO

The first type is to optimize with on-page SEO. Its implementation can be done by making some improvements and changes to the content and pages of your website. There are several things to note, including the following:

Before creating a website, make sure you have done keyword research related to your business. The goal is that you can find out how much projected traffic you can get according to keywords that are relevant to your business.

In addition, it is necessary to check the keywords used by your competitors, so that you can create pages with better content than business competitors. Also make sure to create interesting and unique content or page views, so that when Google crawls, your website is not considered spam or contains elements of duplication or plagiarism of content.

To make the work of web crawlers easier, make sure you always audit technical issues in on-page SEO. Improvements from technical matters, including checking sitemaps, replacing broken links, avoiding errors in the redirect process, to repairing damaged URLs.

The third step is to make improvements, especially for the content part of your website. These optimizations include adding meta titles and descriptions, making good headings, distributing keyword density, writing alt images, clear content structure, and creating content that is relevant to the keywords you are targeting. 

And the last thing is, the adjustment of every element, color, text, image, to the button of your website page so that visitors get a good experience. Besides that, you also have to pay attention to the speed of the web, to the development of the content structure in accordance with the theme created.

The easier it is for users to access your site, it will be directly proportional to the increase in visitor traffic and increase the authority value of your website.

2. Off-Page SEO

The second type is website optimization by way of off-page SEO. This step usually serves to help increase website traffic, if in its development on-page optimization is still not enough and is able to increase traffic conversions for your business.

Backlinks are the method most often used by website owners to increase their website authority. If your site link is placed on another website, it will usually serve as a form of recommendation for your site.

You can also do promotions by uploading your website pages on your social media sites. The goal is to get a wider range of visitors. For social media, platforms that you can target are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

The three platforms also provide promotions in the form of paid advertising to promote your business products. The more relationships that are formed can increase the amount of incoming traffic on the site that you create.

Key SEO Indicators

There are at least 8 main indicators for optimizing web pages with SEO. The following is an explanation related to the eight indicators.

1. URL Structure

The first indicator that must be considered is the creation of the correct URL structure and in accordance with the topic discussed. In addition, make sure to also create permalinks or slugs that contain the main keywords of your web content page.

2. Use of SSL/TLS 

Since 2014, Google has prioritized websites that use SSL/TLS. With SSL, it can improve the security of user data because it has been encrypted when the data transfer process occurs on the website.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates are very important in optimizing websites. The way to find out whether your website has SSL/TLS or not is to look at your URL. If you are still using HTTP, then your website is confirmed to not have SSL/TLS. However, if you have proof of certificate, then your URL will start with HTTPS.

3. Determining the Topic of Content

After doing some of the preparation above, the next step is to determine the topic you want to master. To get interesting content, with great traffic, we recommend doing keyword research to get more detailed information that is relevant to your business.

4. Define Search Intent

The next indicator is to determine the search intent first. Search intent itself is a division of keywords based on business goals to be achieved. There are at least four types of search intents , including:

5. Create Content Structure

Next, create a good content structure and in accordance with the principles of good article writing. In general it will use the 5W + 1H principle. Don't forget to create a heading structure, add images, videos or infographics to support the content you create.

6. Adding Meta Tags

The sixth indicator is to add a meta title and description. This is very important, to help Google in recognizing your website pages. In its manufacture, there are also important rules, which are not to write too many meta titles and descriptions.

7. Add backlinks

The more backlinks you get, then Google will consider your website to have high credibility. Make sure the backlinks you get come from quality blogs or websites.

8. Optimize website speed

For the last indicator, it is the most important thing to do. Since 2018, Google has determined that website loading speed, both on desktop and mobile, is included in one of the SEO indicators. The faster your website, the easier it is for you to rank on search pages on search engines .

Benefits of having SEO

There are several benefits that you can get from SEO. The following are some explanations related to this.

1. Increase Visitor Traffic

With SEO, the benefits you can get are increasing the number of organic website visitor traffic. You don't need to spend money on advertising promotions. 

2. Increase Business Conversions

Conversion value will also increase with SEO. Make sure to target transactional keywords to get visitors who want to buy your product or service.

3. Reaching a Wider User

SEO can also reach a wider audience. It is enough to create blog articles, apply informational keywords , and optimize both on page and off page .

4. Gaining Business Profits in the Long Term

And the last benefit is to get profit (profit) in a longer period of time. Also make sure to always optimize your website regularly and do competitor research and follow the development of Google's updated algorithm.

Conclusion

Search Engine Optimization is a solution for optimizing your website pages in order to rank on Google Search Engine search results pages. There are two types of SEO, namely On-Page and Off-Page SEO. Make sure to apply all the indicators that we have described, and keep up-to-date with the algorithm updates at any time. In addition, create content that does not contain elements of plagiarism and duplication with your competitors.