The method of fashioning websites to look appealing to search engines is the essence of search engine optimization. Optimization is the goal, as a well-optimized web page will take the majority of high rankings from the search engine web crawlers. The higher the site ranks with the search engines, the more visitors to the website. Obviously, the more visitors you receive, the healthier your bank account will become. Why is receiving a high ranking so important to the future success of your online business? Studies have shown that consumers seldom look at websites that don't rank on the first two pages the search engines displays. Websites that receive a ranking that places them on the third page (or any pages after that) see a significantly lower amount of traffic at their websites than those that are ranked on the second page. There is even a staggering difference in the numbers between websites on the first page versus the second page. In the world of e-commerce, ranking and strong search engine optimization is everything. For most, just the term 'search engine optimization' is a pretty big pill to swallow. Add to that such phrases as algorithms, page rank, web crawlers and Meta tags and you'll definitely feel overwhelmed! Unless you're a mathematics professor, an Internet search for the word "algorithm' won't help, as all you'll see are weird symbols and mind boggling equations. Don't let this intimidate you, as search engine optimization is much simpler than you know. Now that you're in a better frame of mind, let's go over these terms. Algorithms really are every bit as complicated as they look. Simply defined, they are a finite set of carefully defined instructions. Most, if not all, computer programs are designed with strict algorithms. Page rank is simply the program Google designed to search, index, and rank its registered web pages. Page rank operates on a link analysis algorithm and is credited for Google's incredible success. Web crawlers are tools search engines use to browse the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner. When web crawlers are browsing websites, they are looking for algorithms. Meta tags are special HTML tags that provide information to us about a web page. They are written directly into the title tag and are only visible to the search engine. Truth be told, you can begin to optimize your webpage and not have any idea of the intricacies of search engine optimization. If you're planning to be in the website business for the long haul, it may help to have at least some idea of how optimization works. However, you're sadly mistaken if you think a PhD in search engine optimization was a prerequisite for the owners of the top websites on the Internet today. You probably know more about the technical aspects of optimization than most of them do now. So exactly what then is their claim to high ranking website fame? They've mastered the three basic steps to search engine optimization. The first step in search engine optimization is to produce a website that is rich in content. The more useful, informative, educational or entertaining your content is, the better. Your site will steadily grow in popularity as more traffic discovers that your site can be depended upon to always provide this rich content. Be careful only to use content from origins with the same general subject matter as your site. Fresh, new reviews, articles and editorials are great examples of rich content and you should be diligent in adding such content to your webpage often. Once you've satisfied your audience with content, you'll now want to focus your attention on coming up with the right keywords for the search engine web crawlers. Please keep in mind that web crawlers sniff out words, not images. You'll want to do a good job of clearly presenting exactly what you want your audience feel, think and do by choosing the best keywords possible. Since your goal in this step is to lure the web crawler to your site, use your keywords as much as you can. It also wouldn't hurt to take a peek at similar web pages that are currently in the top positions on the search engines (where you want your site to be), studying their keyword usage and then make your site even better. Last but not least, you need to select the best search engine(s) to apply for your site's inclusion to ensure maximum optimization. You've done everything possible to produce the best website possible, now you want your potential customers to find it. Do your homework and find the search engines from which your target traffic is using to find the products and services similar to your own. This shouldn't be too hard, as chances are you'll find that search engines like MSN, Google Yahoo!, and AOL are getting the lion's share of web surfers. Together, people go to these four search engines 90% of the time to find what there are looking for. It doesn't take a scholar to conclude that it would be in your best interest to have your site listed at the top of the pile within these engines.
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