In most fields of endeavor, there are technical terms, jargon, slang, euphemisms, etc., that a person not involved in that field would know little or nothing about.  While those terms are likely to be well-known within an industry, a niche, or a hobby, someone new to that field wouldn’t necessarily know what they mean.  For example, when I first heard the term “Search Engine Optimization” I had no idea what was meant by it.  Analyzing the words, I came to the conclusion that it must be something that search engine companies like Google do to give people better search results… you know, optimizing their “search engine” to make it better.

Turns out, it’s almost the exact opposite of that.  Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is something that a web site owner, author, blogger, etc., should do on a regular basis if they want their web site to appear early enough in search results that people will find it and click on it.  After all, if you’ve spent time writing a review of your “I Love Lucy” video collection, you’d like to think that someone looking for such a review will find it - right?  Otherwise, what would be the point of writing it?  It turns out there are some specific things you can do with your site and your article that will help search engines like Google figure out how “relevant” your review is, how high it should be in the search results, etc.  That’s what Search Engine Optimization is all about.  If you want to learn more, do a web search.

How about you?  Is there something like SEO that you can explain for your readers?  Something you can define for them, explain to them, and help them understand if they’ve never heard the term before?