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SEO 101: Search Engine Basics

One of the newest buzzwords in web 2.0 is not so much a word but rather an acronym referring to Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.). SEO is a relatively new science intent on perfecting the art of making a site appealing to search engines and internet robots. Correctly optimizing a website for search engines can effectively increase both volume and quality of traffic to a site, as well as increase overall value of the brand.

How do search engines work?

The majority of search engines online are crawler-based, meaning they use a script to scour the internet for indexing websites and data they find. This index is what you search through, allowing for faster results and a hierarchical ranking system for these results. There are other search engines, however, that rely on human power or a mix of crawling and human input (such as Mahalo) to produce their index, however you are still searching through a cache of data when you perform an individual search.

Why SEO?

When you search for something on your favorite search engine, a list of results is presented to you. These search engines use complex algorithms and formulas to dictate the order of the results you see, which in turn dictates the content you choose to view, as you are more likely to view results in the first few pages. Google, for example, uses at least 200 signals when ranking pages for each search, and it is exactly this algorithm that SEO experts try to understand. Knowing how this system work can allow you to push your site from the bottom of the list to the top, resulting in more visitors and traffic.

How is it done?

SEO may involve various steps to help make your site search-engine-friendly and appealing to online crawlers. This process may include changing the design, structure, layout and overall delivery of the content you present. There are certain things crawlers read and look for when indexing pages, including META tags and relevant URLs.

SEO may also involve compressing a site so the majority of the content will be relevant to the potential topics a person may search for, thus altering the actual content a publisher displays. An SEO expert may also help you initiate ad-campaigns and marketing strategies to effectively create a popular brand.

More Information

This is just part one of a series of posts on SEO, meant to be a very basic introduction to the concepts behind search engines and the roles of SEO experts. If you’d like more information on the topic, I’d suggest the following links:

• Search Engine Optimization - Wikipedia
• How Internet Search Engines Work - HowStuffWorks
• What’s an SEO? - Google
• Search Engine Optimization - SEOChat

If you’re looking for a good SEO and consultancy agency, I’d recommend Advanced Consulting Services, Inc.  They’ve done work with some very popular brands and blogs (including TechCrunch and AOL), helping them achieve their marketing goals.