Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week ‘s question is:  SEO, what is it, and how do I use it?

For those of you who are as confused, as I am most of the time about SEO, I’ll try to make this easy to understand. First off, if you have a WordPress blog, they take care of all the technical stuff related to SEO.

What is SEO?  The acronym stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

“… the name given to activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings.”  In search results Google™ displays links to pages it considers relevant and authoritative. Authority is mostly measured by analyzing the number and quality of links from other web pages. In simple terms, your web pages have the potential to rank in Google™ so long as other web pages link to them.” Redevolution.com 

Why is  SEO so important?   Simply put, SEO is a way for your website/blog to be found in search engines  from relevant keywords or phrases.

What are Keywords? Keywords are words or phrases that your target audience might use when searching for your site. Example: if I want to find information on iCloud. I might type into Google, “Tips on using iCloud.”

SEO and keywords are nothing more than how we find things, information, or websites on the internet.  Knowing that, we certainly want our website or blog discoverable.

And the more often your page is found or linked to by someone else, the higher your website is ranked by Google. The higher the rank, the more Page Authority Google gives your site.

What is Page Authority?

“Higher page authority means greater chances of your page showing up on search engines, and that your page will be placed closer to the top of the search results. Note that page authority is related to the pages within sites, not the site itself.” Drumbeatmarketing.net

Images can give your blog/website a big boost in rankings as well,  but you have to label them correctly. Google doesn’t know an image is about the Eiffel Tower unless you provide a clue. ie. the image name, the URL of the image, or using a keyword to tag  the image.

WordPress handles the technical aspect, but it’s up to you to choose the right keywords and phrases. The good thing about that is you can search for trending keywords or even tags  right in your WordPress Reader.

Like everything else, there is a knack to using keywords:

• Use some broad words: ie. Dogs
• Then get specific: Bichon Frise’
• Don’t overdo it.
• Don’t use the same word, repeatedly.

Want more Information? Check out the following articles and always remember WordPress support is always available.

1. SEO and Your Blog
2. WordPress Support
3. You Can Optimize Your WordPress Blog, It’s Easy!
4. Beginner WordPress SEO (Part 1): How to Optimize Your Blog Posts.
5. How to Use Keywords: 4 solid Tips for Building Your WordPress Blog Traffic.
6. WordPress Reader (searching keywords).

So, before you write your next post, check out what’s trending.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

Related articles

• Tips That Will Improve Your SEO Campaign
• What is a search engine and how important are they?
• The natural approach to SEO
• What is SEO and why is it important?