Defining SEO

Defining SEO: The Process

SEO is short for search engine optimization, which is the process of designing a website that will perform well in search engine rankings. SEO is an important practice, because it is the only way to guarantee that Internet users will find your website when using a search engine.

How It Works

Search engines are the most commonly used method of finding websites. When an Internet user wants to find something online, they simply type a word or phrase into a search engine. The search engine displays a listing of results that relates to the search term.

To make sure that the user will get the type of information that they are looking for, the search engine ranks pages based on how well the content on the page matches the search term. Results 1-10 usually offer the best matches, 11-20 has the second best batch of matches, 21-30 offers the third best set of matches, etc, etc.

Most Internet users will select websites that appear within the top 20 results. If your web page doesn't show up there, the user may never see your site—no matter how valuable your information is. This is what makes SEO so important to your success.

Optimizing a Web Page

To properly optimize a web page for search engines, you will first need to determine what your user will be searching for. Try to pick one keyword or key phrase per web page. If you need help choosing popular keywords, use the Keyword Selector Tool at http://inventory.overture.com.

The next step involves adding the keyword or key phrase to your web page. Places to include the term include:

• Title: Use the keyword in the title. If possible, repeat it more than once. (Example: Discount Shoes – Buying Discount Shoes)
• META Description – For search engines that are META enables, META information is very important. Take care to write a short but natural META description that incorporates your keywords and describes the page. (Buying discount shoes can save you a great deal of money, especially if you have a large family. This article offers tips on finding and shopping for discount shoes.)
• META Keywords – Don't fret too much over this section. The most important thing is that you type in your chosen keyword here. You can also use other words that appear on the page. (Example: discount shoes, shopping for discount shoes, shoe shopping)
• Headings/Sub Headings – Your keyword should appear not only in the title, but also in headings and subheadings.
• Content - The bulk of the content located on the web page must include keywords if you want the page to be properly optimized.

For additional tips on how defining SEO can improve your business, check out the following resources:

• How to Improve Search Engine Rankings
• Search Engine Optimization Tips
• E-Commerce: An Interview with a Web Expert

Defining SEO Terms

As you get further and further into the process of SEO, you are bound to hear or read a few terms that you don't understand. To make defining SEO terms a little easier, the following list has been included. Reference it often to make yourself more familiar with common SEO lingo:

• Algorithm – Mathematical formula commonly used by search engines to rank websites.
• Backlink – A link to your website on another website.
• Directory – A human generated listing of websites.
• Domain Name – The name of a website. For example, the domain name for http://www.lovetoknow.com is lovetoknow.com.
• Domain Registration – The act of registering/buying a domain name.
• Image Link – A non-textual link
• Keyword – A word used on a web page to match a search term used by Internet users.
• RSS – Really Simple Syndication
• Search Term – A keyword of keyphrase typed into a search engine.
• SEM – Short for search engine marketing, a.k.a. pay per click marketing.
• SEP – Short for search engine placement.
• SEU – Short for search engine usability.
• Spider – A search engine robot that checks for new and relevant content
• Text Link – A textual link with no images
• URL – Short for uniform resource locator. The address of a resource, website, or file on the Internet.