What is SEO? A Detailed Knowledge Guide

SEO in digital marketing stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is practiced to improve the organic visibility of websites on major search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, etc. The motive of performing seo campaigns on the website is to bring organic visibility as well as organic leads for the business/brand. It works by understanding how search engines work and optimizing the content for search engines so it appears higher on search results.

However, if you are working for a client or aiming to improve a website’s organic rankings, then securing a position within the top 3 or top 5 results is considered ideal, as it helps generate maximum organic traffic to the website.

SEO relies on two wheels, On-Page and Off-Page SEO

1. On-page SEO – The term on-page SEO includes the practice of optimizing webpages/landing pages from the backend of the website or through the HTML code, which further includes optimization for the Page titles, meta descriptions, keyword optimization, technical on-page seo, Image optimisation, sitemaps, and crawling, etc.
2. Off-page SEO – The Off-Page SEO practice includes high-quality backlink building from Google’s recognized highly authoritative domains, traffic from social media, brand mentions, and guest posting. It involves creating both do-follow and no-follow backlinks through various activities such as article submissions, business listings, local business citations, social bookmarking, classified ad submissions, SEO podcast submissions, blog commenting, PDF submissions, PPT submissions, question-and-answer submissions, and more.

There is also one less talked about SEO that helps your website perform better. It’s called Technical SEO. Technical SEO is used to improve the speed of your website, optimizing the content for mobile users, structuring data ( Schema markup ), and XML Sitemaps, which helps Google crawlers navigate your page more easily. 

Some other term related to SEO  – 

• Black hat SEO – This type of SEO includes keyword stuffing, Hidden links, buying links, and article spinning. Though this is considered unethical by many and carries the risk of the website being dropped from rankings. 

• White hat SEO – Quality content, Engagement through social media, Natural link building, and easy-to-use website designs. This works better in the long term, and it is a completely ethical way of doing SEO. 

• Grey hat SEO – This type of SEO is neither completely ethical nor unethical. It includes keywords stuffing in meta tags, cloaking, article spinning, buying expired domains, and creating negative links but also includes white hat practices. All of this comes under grey hat SEO. People often use this for fast ranking while avoiding the black hat route completely. 

What Are the Level of SEO?

SEO can be further classified in to 3 levels based upon the business type and it’s targeted audience demographics.

• Local Level SEO: This refers to the optimisation of a website for a locally targeted audience or customers. This SEO strategy is most suitable for businesses providing professional services within specific local areas. Examples include pet shops, salons, healthcare clinics, HVAC services, home improvement companies, restaurants, and more.

• National Level SEO: This refers to the optimisation of a website for a broader audience within the boundaries of a single country. A national-level SEO campaign is ideal for businesses offering services or products on a country-wide scale. Examples include e-commerce stores, tools and software companies, astrologers providing online consultations, EdTech businesses, lawyers, and more.

• International Level SEO: This involves optimising a business website without any geographical limitations, targeting customers across multiple countries. Such businesses operate both nationally and internationally. Examples include IT outsourcing companies, freelancers, international language experts, import–export businesses, consultants, handicraft exporters, and more.