Search Engine Optimization

is the process whereby businesses and website owners work to improve not only the volume but the quality of traffic that comes to their site via the search engines... and remember we are referring to organic traffic not paid.

SEO is marketing by leveraging an understanding of how the search algorithms work. Now, having said this, the key word here is 'understanding' because no one knows precisely what the exact formula is or how the components ultimately are weighted by the search engines.

SEO is really a culmination of on page and off page grooming of each page of a website that makes them ultimately more attractive to the search engines. To understand this, think in terms of who the customers are of the search engines. They are the people who type in the searches. So, if you're a search engine, in order to attract and retain your customers, you must deliver the best, the most on target, the most relevant results... else you lose your customers.

So one of your website's (pages) job is to offer up keyword driven, relevant content that make the search engines look like a hero in the eyes of their customers. If you do this, you'll be rewarded with higher search rankings, which means your website will be in front of more and more people searching. Tweaking and grooming the code, the look, and navigation of your website's pages in order please the search engine spiders is known as on page SEO. Off page SEO, in a word, is garnering as many quality backlinks to your website and internal pages as you can.

A backlink is where someone else's website puts a link on their site that points back or links back to your site. Having said this, backlinking isn't about quantity so much as it is getting quality backlinks from high ranking similarly theme or niched website. Google and the other search engines view these backlinks as social votes for your web page.

As much as it can be, this is a very democratic process and it allows even the smaller websites to compete across the board for organic traffic. Keep in mind though that this although is important, it is still a high level overview. Google considers hundreds of factors in order to determine the ranking of pages in their search results not the least of with along with backlinks are the relevancy of the page, and the keyword/keyword phrase just to name a couple.

Although Search Engine Optimization 

isn't really straightforward or a precisely calculated practice, it does not at all mean that one can ignore it or devalue its importance. It needs to be noted that although some firms may indicate that they can guarantee a high ranking, the reality is that they cannot. Are there best practices that can be employed and deployed in order to give a website page the best opportunity... yes... but guaranteed... not so much.

The point is that a business or website owner needs to be careful if they are considering hiring a service. Make sure that the methods they use to promote your website are completely above board with the search engines (Google).

Google or any search engine doesn't liked to be fooled or spoofed into delivering rankings and traffic to a website, and if your website is doing so, it runs the risk of being de-listed in the searches and at worst, your account shut down.

At websitingsonline.com we take a more long term approach with methods that have proven themselves over the test of time. We understand that your business is in it for the long haul and you need the type of online market strategy that stratifies your customers, and the search engines that deliver your traffic to your website. It's direct, tightly targeted, and focused... e-mail marketing next...