Busting through the jargon web Part 1 - SEO
Quite often when talking to prospective clients they tell me they find it difficult to understand ‘tech-speak’ and the ‘jargon’ bandied about so free and easily by those working within a web/digital marketing environment. Cutting through this web of intrigue (pardon the pun) that is spun by the use of digital jargon and acronyms, was part of my original inspiration and motivation for setting up my own web design and marketing support business. I wanted to help people feel less intimidated and fearful of web based terminology that they did not understand and makes them feel vulnerable to being ‘ripped off’ by those ‘in the know’.
As the old saying goes ‘knowledge is power’, so I thought it might be helpful to run a series of short, very simple articles looking at some of this ‘tech speak’ to make it more ‘understandable’. So I intend to share in plain English some basic explanations of these jargon loaded terms. Some of you reading this may know these terms already, some of you are highly likely to be more expert than me in understanding their application, but for those of you who ‘feel in the dark’, I hope this series will help you feel a little more empowered and less bamboozled! At the end of the series I will put everything into a downloadable PDF for you to access easily on my website.
So… let’s start with a very commonly used term:

SEO
Search engine optimization, often referred to as SEO, is the process of improving the position that your website appears in search results returned by search engines such as Google or Bing.
Generally speaking the higher up you can get your website to appear or 'rank' in unpaid search listings, the more traffic you will get to your site and potentially the more business or attention you are likely to get. It has been shown that people trust unpaid search results more than paid for positioning, through for example google ads.
An essential part of good website design is ensuring that content is designed and written to maximise its chances of being found by search engines and improving your online visibility to customers.
How can I improve my website visibility in search engine listings?
- Write good static content that incorporates 'key' words and phrases used by people who search for your products and services. You need to think about what words would they use to search, rather than the words you like to use yourself.
- Tag content and pages on your website with 'key' words and good descriptions.
- Add or refresh content on a regular basis to keep things fresh and current. Use images, blogs, video and other dynamic content.
- Make it as easy as possible for people to find, share and link to