These days it is hard to attend a meeting that covers the internet or digital marketing and not hear the acronym SEO being bandied about. It is everywhere, and it is clearly very important. But what is it? Who does it? Is it important or is it only a buzz word? Where can you learn it? If the digital space is something that you are only starting to dabble in, then it is quite understandable that you won’t have answers to these questions. So, to help you prep ahead of your next meeting with the website developers or the marketing guys, or whoever it is that likes to throw the acronym around, here are a few key points for you to file…

Who does it?

Typically speaking this is something that needs to be done by an expert. Yes, there are elements of the job that you can do yourself, and yes, if you work with the right partner you will get to implement a lot of the strategy (it is your website after all), but the strategic input and the up to date knowledge will come from a premier Australian SEO company – whichever one you choose to partner with. The reason that you want to work with an expert is that SEO is a rapidly changing field and it is hard to stay familiar with eth latest trends and algorithms if you are operating as a solo entity.

What is it?

SEO stands for search engine optimization and it is the way a website is purposed, both in terms of its back end and the content that appears on the user-facing side, to attract the attention of the Google and Bing spiders. In short, each time a person enters something into a search engine, the platform sends out ‘spiders’ that crawl the net to find the most relevant and pertinent pages to recommend to the users. The results are based on a number of ever-changing criteria. But, in short, if you are looking to drive web traffic, then you need to ensure that your site comes up at the top of the search list as often as possible when related searches are made.

Is it actually important

If your page is not deemed good enough by Google, then it simply won’t recommend you. And given that Google is the largest platform for website discovery, if you are not catering to its algorithms and wants then you are going to miss out on users. In the olden days, people who needed service would take out a phone book and find the number for a plumber or electrician. Now they look for the same services on Google. Failing to rank in those searches is the equivalent of not being in the phone book – you are going to miss out on a lot of business.

Where can you learn it?

The best place to learn is online and via a Google course. Google offers all sorts of certifications that can be undertaken, but it is important to remember that it is both complicated and frequently changing. The best idea if you want to make a play in this field would be to study, to get some qualifications and then to join an SEO company.