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Something a little different

The SEO Process
(Search Engine Optimization)

SEO - Search Engine Optimization

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of making your website search engine friendly. When a web crawler, from one of the search sites, visits your website it should not be impeded in its attempt to understand the nature of the site and the main focus of its message. The better a search engine sees the content of your website the better chance you have of ranking well in web searches.

The Search Engine Optimization Process

There are five basic steps in any search engine optimization process. In order to web optimize your website you will need to repeat the process on a regular basis.

Fig. 1 Basic diagram of the search engine optimization process

Keyword Research

Finding the words and search terms used by web surfers to locate websites like yours is the first order of business. Your attempts to rank well in organic internet searches will fail if you neglect to orient your website to reflect these words and phrases.

Most of these search terms are highly competitive and there are so many sites using them that its difficult to create a niche among them. Your job is to find the keywords that rank well among web surfers that visit websites like yours but are just slightly askew of the keywords used by the heavy competition.

Website Optimization

The structure of a website is a key factor in the SEO process. This entails creating a proper directory structure and employing the correct means of navigation to mine the data. In other words, the framework in which you present your website must complement its theme.

Search engines attempt to view a website as an organic whole. Although certain individual pages of a website will sometimes rank better than others its the overall impression of your website that factors into how this happens.

Content Optimization

I am sure that you have heard the phrase, "content is king" and believe me when it comes to internet success no words could be more true. The web has evolved into an information exchange network. If you have interesting information to share your website will not go unnoticed.

Transmitting solid information through your website should be your primary goal. This is the reason your visitors come in the first place. The search engine spiders, like human web surfers, look for content that is both logical and organized. This is how they percieve the theme and content of your website.

Search Engine Submission

In order to keep your website up to date and ensure that the search engines are aware of your site it is often necessary to resubmit it. When you make changes to your website it can take the search engines and directories a month or more to reflect these changes.

It is your responsability to see that the latest and greatest version of your site is available on the web at all times. This can be accomplished through the use of a submission service or your own hard work.

Tracking and Analysis

Tracking and analyzing the effect that the SEO process is having on your web rankings is an ongoing procedure. You will need to see what your optimization efforts are accomplishing. By tracking the results and you can see what works and what dosen't.

Analysis of the tracking data is paramount. You can look for trends in your search engine rankings as well as the type and quality of the visitors who are enterning your website. Observing a few key data points will pay dividends.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Website Optimization
Optimizing Your Website	It's no good having a website if no one can find it. That's the bottom line. But the good news is that there is plenty that you can do to increase your chances of the right people finding you.
Landing Pages - What You Need to Explain to your Website Design Company	The definition of a landing page is simply "the first page that visitors hit on your site," so it is not strictly a certain page but any page that a user "lands" on. All websites have landing pages, whether they like it or not, even if it was not specifically designed as such.
6 Website Redesign SEO Secrets Your Developer May Not Know	At the end of the year, many businesses start to think about redesigning their tired old website to breathe some new life into it. If so, the first thing is to make sure you hire a design and development company that knows how to build the infrastructure of the website in a search engine crawler–friendly manner.
Do-It-Yourself SEO - A Beginner's Checklist	It is becoming more important for webmasters to have an internal approach and awareness of search engine marketing.
For SEO Beginners - Twelve Definitions You Need To Know	This líst of twelve SEO-related definitions in alphabetical order serves as a great companion for your initial SEO reading.
Most Common SEO Mistakes	Here are the most common mistakes people make which keep their sites from being ranked well.
Keywords Are It! Seven Powerful and Useful Keyword Marketing Tools	After years of running websites and earning a full-time online income, I am constantly reminded that it all comes down to keywords.
How to Begin Keyword Research	Keyword research starts with the understanding that finding lots of related keywords that deliver targeted traffic is the ultimate goal of any keyword research.
Writing And Optimizing Your Website's Content	Content is the messages and information that accurately and significantly describe your business or purpose of your web site.
Link Popularity	Search engines are the gateway to the Internet; they are the first tool that potential customers use to find the products and services they need. This is why link popularity is so imperative.
Link Building Basics - 5 Easy Tips	Today building a website is so easy even a child could do it. The difficult part however is to get targeted traffic to your newly created website.
Content and Optimization	The content of your individual webpages determines how your visitors and the search engines se your website.
The Top 10 Tools for Monitoring the Success of Your Website	By monitoring your website you will be able to see how it is performing and how it can be improved.
The Search Engine Optimization Process - Beginners Guide