What is Search Engine Optimization?
The basic working concept of the internet is that a user finds new web sites using search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, or one of the smaller engines, such as Ask. A user will go to their site, type in what they are looking for and usually find it in the top two or three results. What goes on behind the scenes of every internet search involves complex software which has been designed intelligently enough to figure out which pages are the most relevant to what you are searching for. If you are looking to buy a product online, you will search for the product name and typically buy it from a company whose site comes up near the top of the result list. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of determining which search phrases, or “key words”, potential customers might use to find what you are offering, and then making the necessary changes to move to the top of the search results so that these users visit your website.
Determining what key words to target is where the process becomes complex. If you run a company that sells clothing, your first thought might be to target the key word “clothing”. There are a number of problems with targeting such a general word or phrase. If somebody is logging on to the internet to buy clothing, they are just as likely to use a search phrase like “pants”. The other problem is that if someone searches for “clothing”, they might simply be looking for images or information on sewing or perhaps they are simply interested in fashion trends. Spending advertising money on search engine optimization which results in visits from people looking for knitting instructions to make their own scarf will not be beneficial to your company or to the searcher.
A major part of the search engine optimization process is tailoring your site to be near the top of the search results for the key phrases you chose. This can be challenging, as the internet in inundated with competing web sites that would also like to be higher on the list. An important element of SEO is called SEO copyrighting because many of the techniques that are used to promote sites in search engines deal with text. Generally, SEO can be defined as the activity of optimizing Web pages or whole sites in order to make them more search engine-friendly, thus getting higher positions in search results.
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