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	'''Search engine optimisation''' ('''SEO''') is the work of improving a website so that search engines can discover, crawl, understand, index, and present its pages more effectively. It mainly concerns unpaid search results, rather than paid search adverts.

	SEO is not a trick for forcing a page to rank. A useful SEO process makes a site clearer for both search engines and visitors. It deals with page structure, technical access, useful content, metadata, internal links, performance, mobile usability, and evidence that a page is trustworthy enough to show for a query.

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, is the practice of improving a website's visibility and organic (non-paid) ranking in search engine results pages. It encompasses a range of strategies and techniques aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of website traffic from search engines. SEO plays a crucial role in driving targeted organic traffic, improving online visibility, and ultimately, achieving higher rankings and better user experience.
	== Purpose ==
	The purpose of SEO is to make relevant pages easier to find. A search engine has to discover a URL, fetch it, understand the content, decide whether it should be indexed, and then decide when it should appear in search results. SEO removes barriers from that chain.

=== History ===
The concept of SEO emerged in the mid-1990s when search engines like Yahoo! and AltaVista began cataloguing the web's content. As the number of websites grew exponentially, website owners realised the need to optimise their websites for search engines to attract more visitors. Over the years, search engines evolved, algorithms became more sophisticated, and SEO practices adapted accordingly to keep up with the changing landscape of search.
	For a business, publication, community site, or wiki, SEO can help people reach the right page without needing to know the site's internal navigation. For a search engine, good SEO provides clearer titles, headings, links, text, and technical signals.

=== Objectives of SEO ===
The primary objectives of SEO are:
	== Search Engines and Indexing ==
	Search engines use crawlers to follow links and collect pages. A crawler may discover pages through links, submitted sitemaps, feeds, or other known URLs. Pages can still fail to appear in results if they are blocked, broken, duplicated badly, too thin, or not useful enough for the search engine's index.

# Increased Visibility: SEO aims to improve a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), ensuring it appears prominently when users search for relevant keywords or phrases.
# Traffic Growth: By optimising a website's ranking in search results, SEO helps drive organic traffic to the site, resulting in increased visits and potential conversions.
# Relevance: SEO involves optimising website content and structure to ensure its relevance to target keywords and user search queries. This helps search engines understand the website's purpose and better match it with relevant searches.
# User Experience: SEO emphasises creating a positive user experience by optimising website load speed, mobile responsiveness, and overall usability. Enhanced user experience leads to longer visit durations, lower bounce rates, and increased user satisfaction.
	Google's Search Central documentation separates basic eligibility for Google Search from further SEO work. Its starter guide describes SEO as the next step after meeting search essentials: improving a site's presence in Search through practical changes.

=== SEO Techniques ===
SEO employs various techniques to improve a website's visibility and ranking. Some common techniques include:
	== Technical SEO ==
	Technical SEO deals with whether the site can be reached, crawled, and understood. Common work includes:

* Keyword Research: Identifying and targeting relevant keywords that users are likely to search for when looking for specific information or products/services.
* On-Page Optimisation: Optimising website elements such as meta tags, headings, URLs, and content to make them search engine-friendly and relevant to target keywords.
* Link Building: Acquiring high-quality inbound links from other websites, which serve as endorsements and signals of the website's authority and relevance.
* Technical SEO: Optimising the technical aspects of a website, such as site structure, crawlability, indexing, and site speed, to improve search engine accessibility and user experience.
* Content Creation: Developing high-quality, informative, and engaging content that satisfies user intent and provides value to visitors. This includes text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements.
* Local SEO: Optimising a website for local search, targeting location-specific keywords and optimising business listings on local directories.
	* Clean URL structures that do not create unnecessary duplicate pages.
	* Correct status codes, redirects, canonical links, and error pages.
	* XML sitemaps and sensible internal linking.
	* Mobile-friendly layouts.
	* Fast pages with images, scripts, and styles kept under control.
	* HTTPS, stable hosting, and secure configuration.
	* Robots.txt and meta robots rules that block only what should be blocked.
	* Structured data where it genuinely describes the page.

=== SEO and Search Engine Algorithms ===
Search engines, such as Google, use complex algorithms to determine the ranking of web pages in search results. These algorithms consider numerous factors, including relevance, authority, user experience, and trustworthiness, to provide the most relevant and valuable results to users. SEO professionals and website owners continually adapt their strategies to align with the changing algorithms.
	Technical work matters most when a site has many pages, faceted navigation, old redirects, duplicate paths, JavaScript-heavy rendering, or migrated content.

=== SEO Tools and Resources ===
Numerous tools and resources are available to assist in implementing and managing SEO strategies effectively:
	== Content and Relevance ==
	Search engines try to match pages to user intent. A page is more likely to work well when it has a clear topic, accurate title, useful headings, original text, and enough detail to answer the likely query. For a wiki, that means a page should explain the subject plainly, link to related pages where useful, and cite sources for claims that depend on current facts.

* Keyword Research Tools: Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer help identify relevant keywords and provide data on search volume and competition.
* SEO Analytics Tools: Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide insights into website traffic, user behavior, and search performance.
* Technical SEO Tools: Tools like Screaming Frog, Google PageSpeed Insights, and GTmetrix help identify and resolve technical issues that impact website performance and search engine visibility.
* Link Building Tools: Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Majestic help analyse and track backlinks, identify link building opportunities, and monitor competitor link profiles.
* SEO Blogs and Communities: Online resources like Moz Blog, Search Engine Journal, and SEO communities such as Reddit's r/SEO provide valuable insights, tips, and industry updates.
	Keyword research can be useful, but content written only for a crawler usually reads badly to people. Repeated phrases, filler paragraphs, hidden text, and irrelevant headings make content worse. Good SEO usually looks like good editing: remove confusion, explain the subject, and make the page easy to scan.

This is an overview of SEO, its objectives, techniques, and the tools available to support its implementation. By implementing effective SEO strategies and staying up-to-date with best practices and algorithm changes, website owners and SEO professionals can optimise their online presence and achieve higher rankings in search engine results pages, ultimately driving more targeted traffic and achieving their business goals.
	== Links ==
	Links help search engines discover pages and understand relationships between subjects. Internal links connect related pages on the same site. External links can cite sources, point readers to official documentation, or provide further reading.

	Backlinks from other sites may also affect visibility, but link schemes, paid links that pass ranking credit, spam comments, and artificial networks can create search penalties. Search engines generally prefer links that exist because the page is genuinely useful.

	== Structured Data ==
	Structured data is machine-readable information added to a page. It can describe articles, products, organisations, events, breadcrumbs, media, and other items. Google states that most Search structured data uses Schema.org vocabulary, while Google's own documentation decides which properties matter for Google Search features.

	Structured data should match visible page content. It should not invent ratings, prices, dates, authors, or relationships that are not actually present.

	== Local and Specialist SEO ==
	Local SEO focuses on searches with a place-based intent, such as nearby shops, services, venues, or public offices. It can involve consistent names, addresses, phone numbers, business profiles, local landing pages, opening hours, and reviews.

	Other specialist areas include ecommerce SEO, news SEO, image SEO, video SEO, international SEO, and technical SEO for large sites. Each area has its own risks. For example, ecommerce sites often struggle with duplicate product variants, while news sites depend on speed, trust, and clear article metadata.

	== Measurement ==
	SEO is normally measured through a mixture of search impressions, clicks, click-through rate, rankings, indexed-page counts, conversions, and crawl reports. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show search-specific data. Analytics tools show what visitors do after arriving.

	Rank tracking alone is weak evidence because search results vary by location, device, personalisation, query wording, and time. A better review looks at whether relevant pages are being indexed, whether useful queries are improving, and whether visitors are finding what they came for.

	== Bad Practice ==
	Bad SEO usually tries to manipulate search results without improving the page. Examples include copied content, doorway pages, keyword stuffing, hidden text, cloaked pages, mass-produced low-value pages, and link manipulation. These methods may create short-term movement, but they can also damage trust, waste crawl budget, and make a site worse for readers.

	== See Also ==
	* [[Domain name system]]
	* [[Cloud Computing]]
	* [[Website]]

	== References ==
	* [https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide Google Search Central: SEO starter guide]
	* [https://developers.google.com/search/docs Google Search Central documentation]
	* [https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data Google Search Central: structured data]
	* [https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a Bing Webmaster Guidelines]
	* [https://schema.org/ Schema.org]

	[[Category:Web]]
	[[Category:Search]]
	[[Category:Technology]]