SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is very important for a websites ability to be found on search engines, and its marketability. Basic SEO is a series of optimization that are made to a websites code and content that increases its friendliness to search engines. Search engines such as Google look for specific words and phrases within a website to categorize the website and give it a ranking. The better the optimizations, the higher your websites initial rank will be.
Basic SEO only goes so far though, recent changes to search engines put a lot of weight on traffic to a website, and internal links to the website (for example when someone on Facebook posts a link to your website). To increase a website ranking past its initial position advanced SEO such as pay-per-click campaigns, email blasts and social media marketing techniques come into play. These techniques push traffic to your website and encourage people to link and discuss your website. More traffic and more incoming links to your website equals a higher rank.
The last important thing to remember about SEO is “content is king”, search engines are looking for detailed and UNIQUE content. For example if you browse the internet and copy content from other websites for your new website the website will not rank very high. The search engines know the content is not unique, and they will credit the website that posted the content originally. Unique detailed content will help your website rank higher and with quicker speed then a website with little detail or copied content.
Updating your content regularly will also help your search engine rank. Search engines are looking for “active” websites and will give the best rank to websites that continually update. If you populate your website and then don’t touch it for 2 years the search engines will see this and your rank will slowly decrease as the content becomes more and more out of date.