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Introduction to Search Engine Optimization
from: Lee SchmidtIntroduction
Imagine that you would like to find information on red widgets.
Since you don't know any online resources for red widgets, you
will have to use a search engine. How will you do this?
Most likely you will use either Google, Yahoo, or MSN. After
searching, you will see a number of different things on your
screen. The top section of your results will most likely display
pay-per-click ads. This simply means that any link you find here
was put here by somebody paying for it. You will also find these
ads usually running down the right side of the screen. However,
the largest section of the results page is in the center, where
you will find the natural search engine results. You notice that
there are thousands, if not millions of results returned. Each
individual search engine must have a way of ordering these
websites in order to display the most relative results to you.
This is where the term search engine optimization (or SEO) comes
in. This leads us to the first frequently asked question.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is the art of employing certain
methods which, in the end, have the intent to move your own
website as high as possible in the search results for specific
keywords or keyword phrases. This is also what is meant when you
hear ads about "boosting your ranking" or something similar.
These methods cover a wide range of factors, including both
on-site optimization and off-site optimization. What is also
interesting about search engine optimization is that there
really are very few objective factors which affect your
rankings. Webmasters and SEOs have a pretty good idea of what
factors have at least minimal impact on your rankings - but the
significance of each factor is largely disputed. So why do you
hear about SEO firms and companies that claim to be able to help
your ranking?
Many theories on search engine optimization are actually
theories. Meaning, they have actual data to back up any
conclusions. Other than the largely accepted theories, different
people develop their own hypothesis on what they feel to be
important. These are often supported by many different SEOs but
often do not have any evidence or data to back it up.
How do you know what to do?
Google, the single largest and most used search engine, has
provided webmasters with quality guidelines for getting your
site included in their results. This should be the most basic
set of guidelines any webmaster should follow. There are,
however, many factors which the majority of search engine
optimizers agree on. These factors are based on research,
observation, and accounts of experiences from webmasters and
search engine optimizers.
What are the factors?
Although this list could be overwhelmingly long, the factors
below are a brief list of basic factors which are known to have
some type of effect on website ranking. Keep in mind, that each
search engine most likely weights each factor differently, which
is partly why you see different results at Google, Yahoo, and
MSN. The following 10 factors are a list of what are conisidered
the most significant things you can do:
Title Tag
The title tag is one of the most important aspects of on-site
optimization. It should both describe the page and contain
keywords.
Keyword Usage
The frequency and method you use keywords on a page affects the
value each search engine gives your site.
The full version of this article (3 pages) is here:
FAQ
About the author:
Lee Schmidt is a website analyst for a small business, and also
writes for SEO Inside
Out.
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