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Everyone has heard of search engine optimization (SEO), but I am certain few know exactly what it does. In a nutshell, SEO helps websites rank higher in search engine results and gain additional organic traffic. SEO does more than that, but this its primary task. Essentially, SEO has two parts. On-page and off-page optimization.

Let us first begin with on-page. This part of SEO centers around everything that is directly on the website (hence on-page). This includes the HTML code itself as well as the content (text as well as images). On-page optimization is one of the easiest and most effective SEO techniques that can be employed on a site. Certain small changes to your website could result in big gains in terms of increasing search engine rankings and organic traffic. This part also involves conducting keyword research, which is the essential ingredient and backbone of SEO. Keyword research involves researching keywords or phrases that are a good match for your website. For example, if you have a website selling tennis rackets, your keywords would include "buy tennis rackets" as this relates to your website. Due to the content and products on your site, Google will realize that your site is relevant to anyone searching for tennis rackets.

The next and equally important part of SEO is off-page optimization. This involves pointing various links to a website to increase its on-line authority. Consider linking like an on-line voting system. The more links that point to a website, the greater its on-line authority is in the eyes of search engines. Obviously, it is much more complex than that. The quality and diversity of links is also factored into the process. Good quality links will help your site, but bad or spammy links may actually hurt your site. So on-page optimization is essentially all about linking. Now there are 3 types of links that exist. One way linking as the name suggests, is a single link pointing to a website. 2 way or reciprocal linking is when two sites exchange links. And three way linking is when site A links to site B, which links to site C which in turn links back to site A. As you may have already guessed, the best type of linking in the eyes of search engines is a one way link. This ensures that no link "manipulation" or buying has taken place.

So there you have it. Hopefully, after reading this article you are better informed about SEO. If you own a website, you may want to try optimizing it yourself by reading the various on-line articles and posts. Or you can contact a professional SEO agency and get a consultants opinion. This is normally offered for free.

Brent is a traveler, adventurer and self proclaimed internet and SEO expert. He spends most of his time on-line or on his phone (again, on-line).