Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.
The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.
SEO Explained Easily
If you have a website and have spent any time on the web, chances are you have heard someone use the term SEO before. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the process by which you design and promote your website so that it will be found when people are searching on the search engines.
It is estimated that currently about 80% of all website traffic comes from people searching for key terms on search engines. Therefore, it makes sense that your website be one of the ones that they can find during their searches. This is much easier said than done though and the process of search engine optimization is regarded as more of a science by most than simply a task that you can perform one time and be done with.
First of all, search engines periodically change the algorithms they use to rank sites in their search engine results. In times past, ranking highly in the search engines was as simple as including specific key words within the design of your website. Nowadays, the process is much more involved and can require an ongoing process to ensure high ranking when someone searches for a particular term.
One of the main things that search engines look for nowadays is the content on the actual site itself. This is not a process by which you simply put a whole bunch of keywords on your site that people may search for, but instead, include those keywords in valuable content that will be helpful to a website visitor such as an informational article or a blog posting.
It is not enough just to have this content on your website, but you will want to update the website on a regular basis as well. Websites that feature static content will move lower in search engine result rankings versus those that are updated on a regular basis. These periodic updates show the search engines that your website is alive and active and constantly providing updated content to its visitors.
One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is the keywords or phrases in which you use to optimize your particular website. You want to include words or phrases that someone might enter into a search engine to find information about a particular subject.
The key words or phrases that are searched the most often and are about the subject of your website will help you to get targeted traffic. Simply entering in a word or phrase that you think someone would search for is not enough. There are keyword search tools available online that will help you decide which search terms get the most traffic and will allow you to use these terms and phrases in your web content for optimization purposes.