WBL Seminar #1 Search Engine Optimiztion

     On 4 Apr 2018 I attended a Noble Desktop seminar for my CTE requirements. This seminar was about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is about increasing the amount of traffic your website gets by making it appear high on the list of returns by a search engine. Before the seminar all I knew about SEO was that visual design is important in making your website look attractive and gaining traffic. After the seminar I learned a lot more about SEO. First of all, there are multiple types of results a search engine like Google can yield. There are paid ads which usually come as the first result if you see one. This is obviously because the company behind the ad paid far it to be the top result. Next are the organic results. The order these appear on in the results is based on relevancy and quality, with the most relevant and higher quality appearing higher on the list than those of a lower relevancy and quality. Finally, there is Google My Business. These results are mainly for local business such as restaurants and depend on reviews and citations.

     Two qualities that attracts audience into a website are expertise and authority. Experience and quality are the two main things one need to show to prove expertise in their business. Authority is shown through positive reputation, recommendations, professional association, and popularity. Trust is another thing that attracts people to a website. An 'About Us' page in your website can build trust with the audience by making it easy for them to understand what your business is about. Contact information builds trust by providing your audience a means to reach you if they have any questions or concerns. It lets them know you're there when they're confused. A privacy policy and SSL certificate might be the most important in regards to the website itself. Customers don't like it if particular information about themselves is recorded and shared. A privacy policy is a way of telling your customers they are free to do whatever they want and their information will not be shared. This builds a lot of trust and keeps them coming back. An SSL certificate basically says your website is protected and safe from hacking. This certificate is particularly be useful for sites where commerce takes place. Customers who give their credit card information to a site don't want it to be stolen by hackers. If the customer sees HTTPS (which means the site has the SSL certificate) they know the site is secure and are more likely to trust and buy on it. Lastly, there are keywords. A website attracts a particular audience and certain keywords can help attract that audience. If a websites is selling clothes it should use key words relating to the clothing its selling in its content and URLs. Tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Keyword Anywhere help businesses figure what keywords to use to be relevant.
     This information is important to me as a web designer because I need to make attractive websites. Not only through looks alone but through other aspects. In my content I must include things that help build trust between my customers and my business. Not only is it about selling stuff but selling it in a welcoming environment online. I now know about the SSL certification and know I must keep my site safe from hacker. And finally, key words will be crucial in how my website ranks in the search results. It's no longer about visual design only but about trust, safety, and relevancy.