So you have to know everything about SEO and you’re feeling unprepared? Maybe you have a big meeting, maybe you’re taking on more responsibilities at your job. Either way, you’re overwhelmed. It is easy to feel this way, especially when first getting acquainted with the world of SEO. Our first bit of advice is to breathe, because we’ll answer all of the daunting SEO questions you have.

SEO seems intimidating, but it’s really not. In fact it’s a helpful tool that can help your content reach an even wider audience. By breaking down the basic questions of SEO, you can begin to know it like the back of your hand. Before you realize it, you’ll be thinking, breathing, and believing in the gospel of SEO! So get a leg up on the competition and read this list of questions about SEO basics. We pinky swear we won’t tell your CMO!

#1 What is SEO exactly?

You’ve heard the term ‘SEO’. You know it has something to do with your content reaching a larger audience. You’ve nodded politely when someone brought it up to you. You may or may not have already used it in a sentence, even though you weren’t 100% on what it meant yet. It’s okay, confidence is key and we’ve got your back!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is almost exactly what it sounds like. SEO is a method for writing your content in such a way that it will rank higher on search engines. It is essentially the science of getting better search engine results. Like any other form of science it’s constantly growing and we’re always learning more things about it.

#2 Why do we need SEO?

While you would be hard pressed to find someone who ‘loves’ SEO, it is an incredibly important part of how your content will reach a wider audience. It’s important to know about in order to improve our businesses and be better digital marketers. We need SEO simply because search engines have algorithms for how they sift through content.

SEO helps you reach the top of theses searches, which is truly priceless. Simply put, in order to make sure your incredible content is reaching the audiences it needs to be, you need SEO. SEO will insure that you have the correct language that will put your site right where it belong – at the top of your average Internet search.

#3 How many keywords should I be using in SEO?

Like many things in life there is no right or wrong answer. The number of keywords you should be using is entirely up to you and the needs of your business. However the magic number seems to fall around five.

Despite the differences in sites across the world wide web, this seems to be the sweet spot. Time and time again five seems to be the correct number to have your content come up in searches, without keyword stuffing. While it may seem arbitrary, the number five is actually great for you as a content creator. Finding good, reliable keywords will be hard enough. Keeping it to an average of five will give your page a healthy amount of traffic while keeping the language flowing freely. So aim for five. Your traffic will thank you for it.

#4 How often should I be updating my links for SEO?

No one likes to do a job more than once. And while it is easy to think that once you create a link that is the end of it, that’s not really the case. Links need to be revisited a little more than that in order to keep your traffic numbers up. Even though the Internet has only been around for a short while, we’ve already realized that links don’t age well.

Anyone who has revisited an old site they used to love can tell you that that’s the truth. Even what seemed like the most elegant, sleek choice at the time can come across as clunky and unnecessary later on. The same thing can easily happen with the links you use for SEO purposes. If your links age out and are no longer useful it can hurt your SEO standing. This happens simply because the links themselves will get less traffic over time. That’s why it’s important to update links at least every three to six months to keep your traffic fresh. This will ensure that you’re getting new traffic numbers to your site on a regular basis, instead of relying on the same population with your old links.

#5 What’s the difference between hyperlinks and backlinks in SEO?

While they sound similar, these two concepts are actually very different. A hyperlink is simply a linked keyword or website. However a backlink is a link to your website on a different page. An easy way to think about it is that a hyperlink is a link to any website. A backlink is a link to your specific website, on a different website.

These concepts are important because you want and need both of them. You need the traffic from the hyperlinks to come to your site. Similarly, you want the backlinks to bring traffic specifically to your site so you can cut out the middleman and reap the benefits yourself.

#6 How many internal links do I need on each page of content for SEO?

This is actually completely up to you! While there used to be a rule for no more than 100 linksper a Google page, that is no longer the case. 100 might seem like a lot, but certain popular pages such as Wikipedia can have as many as 400 links per a page! While we wouldn’t recommend having that many, having enough that is relevant to your site will boost traffic and increase your SEO standing. Most websites and blogs average 4-8 internal links. However again, this is completely up to you and your team.

#7 How will SEO data inform my website strategy?

The data you draw from your SEO will inform itself. By tracking your organic data, you will be able to tell when you are doing well and where you can improve. For example, if you have steady traffic, and it suddenly dips, you know that you’ve recently done something to hurt your SEO. However the reverse can show you that you’re doing something good with your SEO. The numbers don’t lie, and are the easiest way to see if you are hitting the targets that you would like to be.

#8 How important is social media to SEO?

Social media is incredibly important to your SEO, simply because good social media can help you draw a larger audience. The better and farther reaching your social media presence, the better your SEO will be. Similarly, the better your SEO, the wider the audience that will get to enjoy your incredible social media presence. Having one will only increase the reach of the other!

#9 What’s a good goal to set for your SEO?

The best way to determine a good goal for your SEO is to determine what your site is setting out to accomplish. If you are a small business, you might want to set a goal that helps you increase revenue and traffic to your online store. If you’re a non-profit, you might want to create a goal that educates your audience and gets your content the largest amount of viewers possible. Each goal is totally unique to your own brand, and the industry you occupy. Be sure to measure your goals against peers and competitors to to make sure that you’re on the right track. For example if you’re a startup tech company, compare your data to that of other startups, not a big company like Microsoft.

#10 How long does it take to see results from your SEO?

While it’s easy to get impatient and feel like the correct answer to this question is ‘yesterday’, that’s not really the case. (Although we love the can-do attitude!) The truth is the average time it takes to see real results from your SEO is 4-6 months. So if you’re just getting started, don’t worry! You’ve got plenty of time to see the benefits.

Reviewing SEO questions you have

While this is obviously just scratching the surface of the wonderful world of SEO, it will be enough to get you off the ground. These questions give you the basics that you need to know to start understanding the scope and purpose of SEO. Truthfully, like anything, the more you learn, the more you’ll know. SEO is an incredibly useful tool to help drive traffic to your site, and get the word out about your business. It’s importance shouldn’t be underestimated at any company. Everyone can learn something from delving deeper into driving traffic to your company’s website. So use these answers as a primer to get started on adding this useful bit of knowledge to your job arsenal. Before you know it, you’ll be an SEO pro! And your CMO will be none the wiser about how you picked up all this handy new information!