SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

In common usage the phrase seems to have different meanings to different people.

There are two definitions I accept. They are similar to each other, but not exact.

Definition #1

SEO is the technical aspects of making your website easy for the search engines to search and index, and the setting of specific technical details for each and every individual page and post.

Site wide

Every website has:

• a title
• a description
• a set of categories used to categorize pages and posts

Additionally the site must have:

• a sitemap.xml file that is updated every time the site is updated
• proper formatting of the URLs so the category and postname appear in the individual webpage URL

For each individual page and post:

• the post title must be set to use keywords the articles uses and discusses
• the post must contain at least one image with a properly set:
  • caption
  • alt text
  • description
• the meta data for the post must be set well:
  • the title tag
  • the meta description
• each post must contain:
  • one internal link
  • one external link

Definition #2

This is a broader and more generic definition and requires that all the stuff listed above be properly attended to.

Search Engine Optimization is when you publish articles and stories to your website such that the articles are written for the enjoyment of people, but with the knowledge that the search engines must find the articles first because that is what will bring the people.

Your website is properly optimized when you strike that balance.

In essence, you write for people, and part of your formatting is for the search engine spiders.