By Sindhu Bhattarai

A creative website with lots of information, images, and links is only successful if the target audience visits the site. Search Engine Optimization aids to gain the attention websites need to be competitive in the digital age. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a set of rules that can be followed by website owners to optimize their websites for search engines and, thus, improve their search engine rankings. It is a great way to increase the quality of their websites by making them user-friendly, faster, and easier to navigate.

Ninety-three percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. While there are hundreds of different marketing practices for businesses, it is especially important to focus some of your energy on search engine optimization. The benefits of a successful SEO strategy can be best amongst other marketing practices.

Major essentials of search engine optimization are:

• Most web users are more likely to open the top 5 suggestions in the results pages, so using SEO to ensure you show up at the top can be very beneficial.
• Web users trust search engines, and having the presence of your web in the top positions for keywords increases trust for the particular website.
• SEO is very good for the social promotion of a website. People who find your web site by searching Google or Yahoo are more likely to promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media channels.
• SEO is not only about search engines but good SEO practices improve the user experience and usability of a web site.

The major success factor for SEO practice is building the content which is strong enough to link the users’ thoughts and the website. If you try to optimize a website with poor content, the chances of succeeding are minimal. Also, website structure of SEO websites is important. Which pages are imperative to have? What is a high-quality site? Why are the navigation and URL structure vital for good SEO? These are some of the main factors to think about.

Applying the search engine optimization strategy can garner many benefits. We just need to follow the few steps: Research, plan, monitor, and create.

Research
Learn what’s important in search engine optimization. At the very core, search engine optimization helps identify the high-quality websites on topics people are searching. Learn what the experts suggest and use the Google Keyword Planner Tool to learn what words you should be optimizing for your specific pages.

Plan
So many companies trying to handle their own SEO strategy just go into it blindly. They read a couple articles and dive head first into writing blogs, optimizing content, and building links. Make a plan and stick to it. Some top keywords can be decided and shortlisted to optimize in the browser. Once you decide those, it’s easy to create keyword phrases and content calendars.

Monitor
Make sure to plan a time when you can review your SEO strategy. Review what’s working and what needs to be reworked. You can use free tools such as Google Web Master Tools and Google Keyword Planner to help you measure your campaign.

Create
New content is one of the most important parts of SEO. The more new, viable content you add to your site regularly, the more likely it is for search bots to find your content. Make sure the content is high-quality, well written, and optimized for your targets. And remember, just because you put up a blog once a week doesn’t mean you’re going to get thousands of page views. You need to promote your content, and promote it to the right people.