Do words like SEO, backlinks, conversion optimization, or schema markup make your eyes roll to the back of your head? SEO isn’t the easiest paradigm to understand, especially if you do not have a background in the internet or technology. I found some great metaphors to help explain what all this confusing jargon means.
First, let’s start with the definition of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is the methods used to boost the ranking or frequency of a website in results returned by a search engine, in an effort to maximize user traffic to the site. The first, and very important, step in SEO is to generate keywords that are relevant to your site’s content.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF SEO:
1. Backlinks
Metaphors: Votes of Confidence / Popularity Contest
Simple Explanation: Other websites linking to your site are vouching for your site to the search engines, thus giving you votes of confidence.
2. Conversion Optimization
Metaphors: Billboard on the Side of the Highway / Restaurant Menu
Simple Explanation: The goal of a website is to guide a user to take some action, whether it be to read a blog, purchase an item, or fill out a contact form. People can drive past the billboard on the highway all day long, but if they don’t pull over and write down your information, what is the point of having a billboard? The users need to convert to an action.
3. Schema Markup
Metaphor: Writing Your 11th Grade Term Paper
Simple Explanation: When you wrote your high school term paper, you likely had to use footnotes, MLA Format, and proper quotation practices or your teacher marked you off. There were certain structures that you had to include in your paper to properly convey the meaning you wanted to convey to anyone reading it. Schema markup is a way of coding a website so that the search engines better understand its content.
Some material used was found on https://smallbiztrends.com