SEO stands for “SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION” in English, which means search engine optimization in Azerbaijani. As a result of this optimization, your website will rank higher in search engines and help potential customers find you more easily. Before diving into the details of SEO, let’s first talk about the history of search engines and how they work:
The First Search Engine: Archie
In 1990, Archie was created, which was much different from today’s search engines with fewer features. Initially, it could only search for files. It was similar to searching for files on your computer because Archie couldn’t view the content of websites.
In 1994, a more advanced version of Archie, called Altavista, was created. Altavista was the first search engine that could search in different languages. However, it eventually fell behind after the development and growth of systems like “Google” and “Yahoo!”. It was acquired by the “Overture” company, and shortly after, Yahoo! became the owner of the company. For many, “Yahoo!” was unable to utilize its data correctly and failed to gain the desired influence. Meanwhile, Google surpassed Yahoo! and became one of the largest companies in the world.
A Brief History of Google
Google was created by two students from Stanford University. No one expected this project to become so successful. Even when the two creators tried to sell it, their attempts were unsuccessful.
Google first gained success through the “PageRank (PR)” algorithm. This algorithm played a role in ranking Google’s search results on a scale from 1-10. For example, if the value of your site in this algorithm is 1, then your site is poor, but if it ranks between 8-10, your site is in perfect condition.
PageRank evaluates the content of your site, the “backlinks” from you, and the “backlinks” on your site. Today, while there are nearly 200 factors that affect search results, just these three conditions were enough to get your site to rank at the top years ago. SEO services combine many different factors.
How Google Works
When you add a new article or update your website, Google’s smart bots (spiders) visit your site. These bots mainly navigate through your site by following links. If there is no proper link, the “navigation” won’t end with good results.
For SEO services, your site must have a sitemap. It defines the sequence and location of the links.
If you don’t block Google bots in the robot.txt file, the bots will visit your site.
Links that are marked as “NoFollow” will not be visited by the bots.
The page will be checked to see if it complies with Google’s rules. If it doesn’t, the necessary penalties will be applied.
Once everything is in order, the bots will confirm the page, and it will be indexed in a few seconds.
What is SEO and How is Your Site Optimized for SEO?
SEO has three basic rules. If you don’t follow these rules, you’ll waste a lot of time trying to get the desired result:
Compatibility with search bots.
On-page and off-page optimization.
Your website's programming must comply with the latest standards.
Your website’s loading speed should be under 3 seconds. Google bots don’t like sites with long loading speeds.
Methods that block Google bots using robot.txt or other encryption should not be used.
Avoid using “inline Javascript” and “inline CSS” codes.
Another important factor when providing SEO services is to have a mobile version of your website.
By following the guidelines above, you will notice a visible difference in your site’s performance.
Quality Content
The content of your website should not be copied, and should be useful and unique.
Search Volume
Instead of creating content that is never searched, collect the most searched articles, products, and other content.
Title and Meta Descriptions
The more attractive they are, the better.
Eliminate harmful and unnecessary backlinks, one of the most important factors in SEO services.
User Comfort
Many people fail by not following the points mentioned above. Don't forget that Google’s priority is user comfort – easy navigation, consuming content, time spent on the site, and more all affect how your site ranks in search engines.
Another indispensable part of websites is, of course, the Robots.txt file. This file helps search engines understand which parts of your site they can index, which ones they shouldn’t check, and which search engines are not allowed to enter. When a search bot (often called a spider) visits your site, it first checks this file and indexes the allowed sections accordingly. If your robots.txt file is correctly set up, your site will be indexed much faster, reducing crawl budget and helping your site rank higher.



