Understanding SEO in Simple Terms

So, you’ve probably heard of this thing called SEO, right? It stands for Search Engine Optimization. I’ll break it down for you just like I would for any of my pals.

SEO is like that cool party everyone wants to be at. You know how everyone wants to be at the party where the vibes are great, the music’s on point, and the people are amazing? That’s your website. The trick is getting people to know about your party in the first place – and that’s where SEO comes in.

Imagine Google as that really popular friend who’s always asked for recommendations – where’s the best coffee, which movie to watch, or which party to go to this weekend. SEO is all about making your website Google’s top recommendation.

In 2021, the SEO game was pretty interesting. It wasn’t just about using certain words or phrases (keywords) anymore that you think people might type into Google. Nope, it got a whole lot more sophisticated.

First, there was this thing called E-A-T. Sounds like a diet plan, right? But it stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Google started really paying attention to the quality of the content on websites. It’s like when you recommend a restaurant to your friend, you make sure it’s a place where you’ve had a good meal, not just because it’s nearby. So, if your website provides high-quality, trustworthy information, Google’s more likely to recommend your site.

Then there’s the mobile-first indexing thing. Most of us use our phones for browsing the web, right? Google knows this. In March 2021, it started using the mobile version of websites for indexing and ranking. So, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s like throwing a party and forgetting to invite half your friends. Not a great move, right?

Remember how annoying it is when you’re trying to find something on a website, and it’s just not user-friendly? Google cares about that too. Core Web Vitals became a ranking factor in 2021. It basically measures how user-friendly your website is – things like how fast your pages load, how interactive they are, and how stable the content is while loading.

Backlinks still mattered in 2021, but not just any backlink. It’s like having references on a resume – they need to be from reputable sources to count.

So, in a nutshell, SEO is all about throwing a great party (a high-quality website), making sure everyone’s invited (mobile-friendly), and keeping your guests happy (user-friendly). And, of course, impressing Google enough to recommend your party.

I hope that clears up what SEO is like. It’s not too different now, but you know, the online world changes pretty quickly. So, let’s keep our eyes open for what’s next!