Amazon was able to reduce its AWS costs for big data processing by 37% over a six-month period by implementing effective query optimization strategies. SQL is the third most popular language among professional programmers, and optimizing queries can significantly boost performance, reduce load times, and improve user satisfaction. Understanding the general order of query execution helps you write more accurate and efficient queries. This order includes FROM (and JOIN), WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, SELECT, UNION, and ORDER BY. Efficient SQL queries can enhance database performance by reducing unnecessary data retrieval, improving indexing, using comments for clarity, utilizing query caching, managing data integrity with transactions, normalizing data, optimizing queries with WHERE clauses, using batch processing for large data inserts, and regularly cleaning up the database. Optimizing SQL queries is essential as data volumes grow and queries become more complex, ensuring better database performance to support evolving business needs. By implementing best practices and utilizing tools like Acceldata's observability platform, organizations can optimize and maintain database responsiveness at scale, driving business success.