Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of manipulating several factors on and off a website to make it more friendly to the search engines and therefore help it to rank higher for several keywords on Google and the other search engines. When you choose an SEO company to begin working on your site, they will work with you to determine the best keywords to pursue and they will perform several services that will help your site to rank at the top of Google and the other search engines for those keywords.

Google and the other search engines use an algorithm to rank sites. No one knows exactly what the algorithms are, but the collective knowledge of the SEO community as a whole has helped us to know the main factors. An example of a factor in the Google algorithm would look something like this:
“If the site example.com uses the word “Example” in their page title, give them relevancy points for that keyword.”
Easy enough, right? Well, yes and no. Google has over 1600 known factors in the algorithm and they make changes to the algorithm frequently. In order to effectively optimize a website, the search engine optimizer needs to understand the mind of Google. Understanding how Google works and implementing changes based on solid logic helps you to get on top and stay on top, even when Google makes changes to the algorithm.

So why do they change the algorithm? Well, along with good companies that are seeking to promote their products and services online, there are spammy websites that continually figure out new ways to trick the Google algorithm, or the algorithms of other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo. Search engines have to come up with new ways to prevent search engine spam in order to deliver you relevant results.

Search engine optimization is generally a combination of on-page and off-page factors. The on-page factors generally relate to making the site appear to be relevant for your keywords, while the off-page factors are generally focused on making the site appear to be important, but both aspects cross over into relevance and importance to a degree. On-page changes generally revolve around text changes and additions, code compression/reformatting, and changes to link structure. Off-page changes are heavily focused on link building and online buzz creation. The combination of relevance and importance is what you need if you want to rank for highly competitive keywords.

Getting to the top of the search engines is no easy task. It takes time, effort and patience, but the reward is great. Search engines are the #1 way that people search for goods and services these days. Being at the top of the search engines provides a way for individuals that are interested in your products or services to find you. Unlike most other forms of marketing, SEO provides a way for individuals to find you at the moment they’re most interested.

SEO is a great marketing strategy for almost any company, whether a company in a small market that’s trying to bring more traffic into their front door, or a giant multi-national corporation that is trying to generate more phone calls. SEO can put you in front of people who are already searching for your products or services.

The most important factor as to whether you’ll be delighted or disappointed with search engine optimization, is the company that does it. To ensure that you get a good company that will do a great job for you, fill out our form to receive quotes from pre-screened SEO companies.