Introduction to SEO - Benjamin Beck
Today (01-15-2020) on my blog, I would like to discuss an expert session I listened to conducted by Benjamin Beck, or Ben for short. I learned about the introduction of SEO. I liked how Ben broke the search engine in Google into two sections. When searching something in Google, it is broken down into two sections. One being the”Paid Ads” section on the upper portion of the Google search and the bottom portion being “Free SEO.” Not every search result is the same however this is the most common search result we will see. Another important topic that was discussed was about how important keywords are. Google picks up on keywords and something as little as the word “to” could change the search volume for Google. There are 5 different stages when it comes to keywords. The five stages are Discover, Research, Compare, Purchase and Post Purchase. This is what is used to figure out what to search in Google and what keywords to use. Ben used airline tickets as an example. Students would research “Vacation Ideas, Cheapest Airline Tickets, Flights to China, Cheapest Flights to China.” As we go down the different stages, this means the search engine is getting closer on target to what it is that student would like to purchase. Ben talks about how if a person searches something broad, a list of many things will pop up, which won’t make the search results as accurate as it would if it is more specific. The more specific a search is, the more that person is likely to buy that product or service they are searching for. When looking for keywords, it is important to look for more “long-tail” keywords that are farther along in the funnel because that is where most of the success and purchases come from. The last concept I was intrigued by and feel the need to share on this blog is "Onsight Optimization.” Ben explains this as when a person Googles something and only images and pictures pop up on a website, there are ways to optimize a website to make sure consumers know exactly what the website is about. Sometimes websites can be full of images with no other content that really leaves you wondering what the website is exactly trying to target and that is where Ben talks about ways to help websites. It is important to always have a title, headline, and information about the website. Focus on one to three keywords to use through the page to target what the website is about in order to optimize the website. Doing this is what will attract consumers and will help search engines bring up that website using the keywords displayed on the website. Make sure not to sound bland and monotone and not to repeat words because the more words on the website, the greater the chances are of the search engines capturing that website for consumers.
