Search Engine Optimization, or for short SEO, is an on-going process of improving the ranking and visibility of a web page or a website in the search engine results provided by companies such as Google. A complex algorithm determines how search engines list the results for any phrase or term that is searched for by the user. Although the algorithm is a well-protected and guarded secret, a lot of the important aspects and parts of the algorithm are known, and these parts are what SEO is focused on. From the beginning, you need to understand that SEO is always evolving and changing, just as search engines keep changing their algorithms, making them faster, smarter, and more efficient. In this article, you will be able to read about how Search engine optimization works, as well as on-site and off-site elements of SEO. Let’s take a look:
How does SEO work?
In order to understand how SEO works, you will need to first learn about how a Google Search Query is executed, and there are three steps:
- Google Web Server – the web server will send a query to the index server. The content that is inside the index servers is also similar to the index in the back of any book, it will tell which pages have the words that you are looking for.
- Then, the index servers will travel to the doc servers that will retrieve the documents that are stored. You will get snippets that will describe each search result that is given.
- After the first two steps are completed, the search results will return to the user in less than a second.
As you were able to read, everything will go through the servers at Google and Google will find the most relevant indexed content based on the query (term) you searched for.
Indexing and Site Maps
As you know, Google is the largest system of indexed content that was ever created. In order to be included in the index, Google has to first know about your website, web page, or blog. If you design and publish a website, it does not mean that you will be automatically displayed on the search results. Firstly, Google needs to index your site for it to be crawled and ranked. So, in order for your site to be found in the results, it needs to include a listing.
How to get Google to index your site?
- Make sure that your website is crawlable, with good server response, and content that crawlers will actually understand.
- Make sure that you verify your account with the Google Search Console. There are various ways that you can verify it, all you will have to do is follow the instructions carefully and you will be able to instantly access the tools that Google offers.
- Do not forget to submit your sitemap. Both Bing and Google will offer testing tools in order to check if your sitemap is properly set up and that there is nothing blocking the bots from crawling your site.
The Elements of On-Site SEO
On-site SEO refers to optimizing the site within by using the before mentioned parts as well as the content, especially the targeted words that are written strategically. Here are some of the most important components of on-site SEO: page titles, meta descriptions, valuable, and worthwhile content.
The Elements of Off-Site SEO
Off-site SEO is an overall term for all strategies and actions that are done to improve the site domain authority and visibility. According to Inspira SEO agency, the most important elements of off-site SEO is backlinking. Here are some types of backlinking that you can implement: organic backlink, brand mentions, deep backlinks, and placed backlinks.
Conclusion
As you were able to read from this article, these are the most important things that you should know about SEO. If you want to boost traffic to your website, as well as generate more sales, this is perhaps the best thing you could do.
Kim Marks 
Nicola Holder