SEO Service Stop Articles

If you are webmaster, website owner or business owner who has an online presence, you must have heard of search engine optimization or SEO and wondered; “what is search engine optimization?”

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a traffic generation method used for the purpose of increasing the quantity and quality of a web site’s visitor’s, that come from search engines. The general idea is to get a website found preferably on the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for keywords or keyword phrase searches by search engine users, because the top ranked sites or web pages get the most traffic.

Search engine optimization is simply about identifying the most appropriate keyword phrases that relate to your site, and making sure that site is ranked highly on the SERPs whenever search engine users search for these keyword phrases.

There are two facets of search engine optimization: On-Page Search Engine Optimization and Off-Page Search Engine Optimization.

On-Page Search Engine Optimization
This process involves optimizing and fine tuning of a website and web page’s content, the proper use of page elements such as Meta tags and the overall improvement of a web page’s attributes. On Page SEO generally refers to actions or tasks performed on a web page or web pages in a site, and is internal in nature.

Off-Page Search Engine Optimization
This process involves link building tasks and other activities that are of an external nature and not within a site or on the site’s own pages. It is more than just simply building links; but also involves identifying ideal websites and web pages to have a link on, and observing guidelines that help contribute to getting a site found at the top of the SERPs.

Search Engine Algorithms
The most popular search engines today are Google, Live Search (MSN), Yahoo Search, AOL and Ask Jeeves. Each have a set or rules or criteria used to rank websites on the SERPs with a purpose of ensuring that a search engine user finds the most relevant results to the keyword phrase being searched, this is referred to as a search engine’s ranking algorithm. Search engines keep their methods and ranking algorithms secret, otherwise these can be manipulated by individuals who merely want to get sites into top positions. Aside from finding the most valuable search-results, search engine ranking algorithms deter spam pages from cluttering those results.

A search engine can use over a hundred factors for ranking the listings, and these factors and the weight or value they carry changes constantly.

One common problem most webmasters face is first getting their site crawled and indexed by search engine spiders. While some search engines accept submission of a website for crawling, it is actually easier to have an established authority site link to the new website in order for it to get crawled by search engine spiders. The fastest I got a new site indexed using this method was 2 days.

Search engine optimization can be a very tedious task, especially with the amount of research that goes into it, that it may be easier to hire someone to perform these tasks. This is especially crucial for corporate sites or online businesses who lose money every day if no sales are made online.

Search engine optimization companies or specialists will check out your website and make recommendations to increase your search engine ranking and website traffic. They can also provide long term consultation and reporting to monitor your site and make recommendations and further improvements to keep your website traffic coming by ensuring that your search engine ranking high.

If you are not satisfied with your web site’s traffic, you can get a free Website Traffic Check by clicking o the link.

So what is search engine optimization other than being a way of generating traffic? I’d have to say it is a key component of any smart business owner who wants to make the most out of a website that promotes and sells the business, its products or services.

Roy Sencio
SEO Service Stop