Muda Lovers must be familiar with search engines or in Indonesian, also known as search engines. The existence of search engines on the internet allows us to find various kinds of information according to our needs at that time.
There are lots of search engines that we can find and use, starting from Bing, Yahoo, Baidu and perhaps the most popular, Google.
All of the search engines mentioned above, although they have different appearances, have the same function as one another, which is to provide information according to the needs of the searcher.
This search engine will later show links or links that are considered to provide the most appropriate information. The higher the position of the link shown by search engines , it can be said that the information in the link is also more suitable for information seekers.
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Even so, there are other reasons behind why the position of these links can be at the top of search engines. One of these reasons is SEO, which will be the main topic of discussion in this article. Let’s see what SEO means, how it works, and other topics about SEO in the discussion below.
Definition SEO
The term SEO may be fairly common and rarely heard by the general public. Only people who work or work in specific fields such as marketing and information technology usually need an understanding of this.
Understanding SEO itself is quite simple, SEO is an acronym or abbreviation of “Search Engine Optimization”. If translated into Indonesian literally, then Muda Lovers can interpret this as “search engine optimization”. The translation can already describe SEO in general.
The simple definition of SEO can be explained as a way for someone to optimize a site so that the site can appear at the top of search engines . Why do people nowadays want their sites to be at the top of search engines ?
This relates to traffic or how many visitors visit the site. A site that gets a lot of visitors will get a lot of benefits. The benefits felt by the site owner will stem from the credibility of the site because it is visited by many people.
This can get other products to advertise on the site, and potentially increase site revenue as those products are willing to pay a certain amount of money to be able to advertise on the site and get the attention of site visitors.
In the end, SEO has been used by various sites on the internet as a method of marketing their sites that aim to make a profit. This SEO technique has been widely used as a means of promoting a site. We will discuss how SEO itself works in another session in the same article.
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History of SEO
Before that, we will discuss a little about the history of SEO. This is quite interesting because, initially the term SEO only referred to the order in which sites were displayed on search engines.
At that time, precisely in the period of the 90’s where internet technology was increasingly popular, the popularity of search engines was also increasing.
As Muda Lovers has read above, search engines can provide all kinds of information according to the needs of its users. For this reason, at that time, the existence of search engines was loved by many internet users because with this tool, they no longer needed to bother looking for information analogously, such as going to the library to find books or reading newspapers.
In order for the arrangement of sites in search engines to look neat, the webmaster, a term that refers to someone who is responsible for maintaining a site, tries to collect data from many sites to be compiled into search engines .
In the process of tidying up sites in search engines, several variables determine the position of a site, namely the name of the site, the location of the site creator, the contents of the site, up to specific words or sentences on the site.
The more suitable the site is with what internet users are looking for, the higher the location of the site on this search engine will be.
Initially, none of the site builders were concerned about the position of their site. However, eventually there are some website builders who realize that it will be more profitable if their site is located at the top of search engines .
This is what became the forerunner to the creation of the term SEO. It is known, a figure named Bruce Clay is considered to be the inventor as well as the “father” of this SEO. Bruce Clay is known as the person who first pioneered the use of SEO around 1997.
SEO techniques to get their sites to appear at the top of search engines were initially criticized by some site builders. The criticism was launched not against SEO itself, but from the system used by webmasters to determine which sites deserve to appear at the top of search engines .
It is known that webmasters can determine for themselves, or according to the language of site builders at that time, “manipulate” sites that they think are worthy of being at the top of search engines . This is considered detrimental for site builders who have gone to great lengths to make their sites appear at the top of search engines.
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Therefore, until now an algorithm system is still being developed in which it is the computer that will later determine which sites are suitable to be displayed at the top of the search engine based on a number of certain variables in the relevant search engine .
How SEO Works
At the end of the explanation of the history of SEO above, Muda Lovers found that SEO will be quite dependent on the name of the algorithm. So, how does SEO work until we can find sites that match what we are looking for on search engines ?
In short, there are at least 4 important stages that are commonly found in the SEO work process. The four ways are content creation, web crawling or also known as web crawlers, the index process and finally, the process of sorting sites or determining site rankings.
Of course these 4 stages have different explanations from one another. In how SEO works, this stage always starts with content creation. As the name implies, site creators will create various types of content such as images, videos or writing on their sites.
Before going into an explanation regarding the next steps, it’s better if Muda Lovers knows in advance about web crawler applications . This understanding is quite important because the next stage can be said to be one of the crucial steps in how SEO works.
This web crawler application is basically an application that functions to collect the data needed on a site on a search engine . Later, these data will be used as one of the determinants regarding the position of a site in the search engine .
The existence of this web crawler can carry out 2 stages in SEO work, namely web crawling and the index process. After collecting data from a site, web crawlers will index it to gather information that is needed in a search on search engines .
After these two processes are passed, the algorithm on the search engine will sort or determine the ranking of a site on search engines . Determination of this sequence will be based on a number of different variables on each search engine.
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Although this process sounds long, in fact it can be done in minutes or even seconds. This is all because every search engine already has a computer and algorithms that move by themselves without the need for human control.
SEO Techniques
After reading the explanation above, maybe there are some from Muda Lovers who understand that the SEO system can be run entirely by a computer without having to be disturbed by human intervention. Even so, SEO itself is not always perfect.
It cannot be denied that computer technology is constantly evolving with the times. However, computers themselves also basically follow human programming languages so that they can function properly and correctly.
Unfortunately, sometimes the programming language cannot be executed according to plan due to limitations, be it limited capabilities, limited funds to limited time. This is the reason why there are still many deficiencies found in computer technology.
This also applies in SEO. It is often found that an algorithm in a search engine cannot find data that matches the needs of its users. This makes what appears at the top of search engines turn out to be information that is less needed by information seekers.
For this reason, it’s no wonder that many companies or site owners are looking for people with deep understanding of SEO for their sites. The goal is clear, namely that the site can still appear at the top of search engines and get lots of visitors.
There are at least 3 ways for SEO experts to make the sites they want appear at the top of search engines . These methods are technical optimization , on-page optimization and off-page optimization . The simple explanation will be explained below.
1. Technical Optimization
The first technique has the intention of optimizing the site itself. So, people will be involved in improving related sites and thinking about how to make this site appear frequently at the top of search engines .
Some of the ways that someone can do to optimize their site are by making it look as good and as comfortable as possible for readers, determining the right font and image sizes, to reducing loading times or site loading.
2. On-page Optimization
If the first technique relates to a site as a whole, then the second technique will relate to the content on that site. So, people will focus more on fixing content so it can appear at the top of search engines .
This one technique will usually be directly related to uploading content through a CMS or Content Management System on the site. Someone can determine the appropriate image, enter a description and a number of other things in order to optimize related content SEO.
3. Off-page Optimization
The last technique that Muda Lovers will learn this time generally involves hyperlinks or in Indonesian, known as “links”. This term may have often been heard by some of us, namely a link that will later direct us to a site.
This is the reason why many sites distribute links to various social media. The higher the number of clicks obtained from these links, the higher the ranking or order they get in search engines.
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Benefits of Implementing SEO
In closing, we will discuss a little about what are the advantages if someone applies this SEO technique. It was mentioned above that in the end, SEO is used to gain financial benefits from a site.
For this reason, Muda Lovers will briefly study how SEO can bring benefits to its users. There will be at least 5 advantages that we will find in using this SEO technique. Let’s look together at the explanation below.
1. Increase Site Credibility
As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, sites that are at the top of search engines will be considered trustworthy and more credible, because they are known to present a lot of information according to the wishes of their users.
2. Reach More Visitors
Because the linked site has gained credibility as a trusted site, there will also be more and more visitors coming to the site. The existence of these visitors can open up opportunities for several other benefits which we will discuss below.
3. Streamlining Site Marketing
Now, a site can do various kinds of marketing related to the products provided by that site. These products can take various forms, both in physical form, such as trinkets or in non-physical forms, such as services and information.
4. Open Advertising Areas for Other Products
The site can also attract the attention of other products to advertise on the site. High visitor traffic allows the product to gain exposure after advertising on the site. It is not impossible that there are some visitors who seem interested in the advertised product.
5. Get a Return on Capital
Lastly, these sites could have gotten their capital back after spending it running SEO techniques. It is possible that their income will far cover the capital they have spent, and have entered the profit category.
Conclusion
Thus, the article that discusses the meaning of SEO and other things ends. Earlier, we discussed a number of topics ranging from the meaning of SEO, the history of SEO, some SEO techniques, to the advantages of implementing SEO.
Hopefully this article can be of benefit to Muda Lovers who really need related information. Or at least, I hope that Muda Lovers, who reads this article, can gain new knowledge and insights that who knows might be of use to us in the future.
Of course, there are still a number of computer technologies that Muda Lovers can utilize for their daily needs. We just need to explore further and not be afraid to try new things that can bring benefits.