The Basics of SEO

Everyone who has a web site needs to be aware of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Without an organized and effective SEO process, you could have the most attractive and functional web site, but very few people will be able to find it.

SEO has two main parts. The first is adjusting your site so it naturally ranks well in the search engine (also called "organic SEO). The second part is paid advertising where your web site shows up in the sponsored portion of the search engine results pages.

Organic SEO has a number of key elements. You can adjust the Meta HTML tags on each of your web site pages. After doing an analysis on what phrases your target audience is entering to find companies like yours, you can adjust your text content so those phrases show up. Another aspect of organic SEO is convincing other relevant web sites to link to your site. Overall, however, it is important to focus on providing your audience with the best site you possibly can. If you do this and keep improving your site over time, you will reap higher search engine rankings.

The other side of the SEO coin is paid advertising also known as "Pay-Per-Click" advertising. In plain English, this means you are paying money to get your site exposure in the sponsored areas of search result screens. Google Adwords is a major player in this arena. You bid on phrases, and if a person enters that phrase, your site is listed on the screen. If they click through to your site, the amount you bid is deducted from your account. Well-researched paid advertising like this can be a great way to accent your organic SEO efforts or get you fast, first-page rankings (if your site is brand new for example).

Overall, Search Engine Optimization (or Search Engine Marketing as it is also known) is a vital part of any web site effort. If you are not showing up when people search for you, then what is the use of having a web site?

- Kaufman Web Design™