Hey, I'm new to the whole internet marketing thing so I don't understand a lot concepts. What does search engine optimization do and how does it help your website grow? I want to make my website more popular but I'm not sure how to even start.

Internet marketing is basically promoting your business in the internet so it's more visible to your potential customers. It's a big field so a lot of reading is required to understand how it works. I suggest starting with bill slawski, most of his posts are instant classics on the digital marketing forums so you'll get a lot of practical knowledge by reading them.