»» What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a website promotion strategy, the goal of which is to get your website to appear at the top of search engine results under keywords or phrases appropriate to your business. For example a site that sells CDs online will want to be found in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista and AOL under key phrases such as "online CDs," "buy CDs," or "CDs for sale."

Below are examples of three major search engines and the types of search results that are attainable through search engine optimization.

Click on any of the images below to view the images in full size.

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»» How Can You Make My Website Appear in Search Engines?

Search engines search the Internet for web pages and then categorize the web pages based on what they "see." However, this search is not done by people, but by automated programs called search engine robots or spiders. These automated programs search for specific elements on web pages in order to categorize the web pages and to know under which keywords and phrases the website should appear. A Search engine optimizer makes it their job to discover what these programs are looking for and to optimize your website accordingly.

»» Is there a Difference Between Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Submission?

There is a HUGE difference. Many people fall into the trap of purchasing search engine submission and thinking they are purchasing search engine optimization (SEO). Search engine submission is the act of submitting your website to search engines. That is, someone goes to the search engine's site, fills on some online paperwork requesting that your site be included in the search engine and hits submit.

Now this is important: Just because your website has been submitted and is listed in a search engine doesn't mean that it will EVER be found. Google has catalogued over 3 billion web pages, yet the vast majority of these cannot be found under search terms relating to the website's company. Just think of all the searches you've done that turned up 100,000 or 500,000 or 5 million results. Sure, all those web pages were in the search engine's listings somewhere, but how many of them are actually going to be seen?

Search engine submission will get you listed somewhere. Search engine optimization will get you listed where you will be found.

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»» Why Do Some Companies Charge a One-Time Fee for SEO, while Others Recommend a Monthly Charge?

Many companies offer both monthly and one-time search engine optimization services. There is a definite advantage to monthly search engine optimization, yet, understandably, not everyone wants another monthly bill. One-time search engine optimization can work fine for a while. For a period of weeks or months your site can attain good rankings after a one-time search engine optimization.

However, search engines are constantly evolving. The algorithms they use to catalog websites are constantly being tweaked and improved, and the aspects of a website which are important to them are forever being adjusted. Basically, as search engines improve their results, they fiddle with the way they judge a websites relevancy to search terms. The job of the monthly search engine optimizer is to keep up with what the search engines are changing and to adjust your website accordingly.

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»» Can I Do my Search Engine Optimization Myself?

Absolutely. We will be the first to tell you that learning how to do search engine optimization really isn't that hard.

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»» So why bother to hire someone else to do SEO?

Search engine optimization is time consuming. Good search engine optimization requires a lot of constant research to find out what the search engines, and your competitors are up to. It also involves a lot of experimentation, hours of changes to HTML code, continuous ranking checks, link upkeep, updating content, and frequent research for new directories for further exposure. To us, and many SEO's it's fascinating, and we enjoy keeping up with the changes in the industry and keeping on top of the search engine game. To others, this sounds like a nightmare.

»» About the Author

Sean Odom runs a Houston, Texas based firm specializing in search engine marketing
and Social Media Optimization.