Search
engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is the process of optimising a website
or web page to increase its visibility within the search engine
results.
Search engine optimization entails making sure that there is content
relevant to the targeted key phrases on the web site, and that search
engine spiders can find this content easily. Good search engine
optimization will ensure that this content is also useful to the
user. Without relevant content, SEO techniques can only be partially
successful, and will probably stray into the wrong side of search
engine Acceptable Use Policies. See also 'ranking algorithms'.
Search engine placement
SEP - Search Engine Placement (see also: Search Engine Positioning,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)) is the art of increasing a site's
visibility within the search engine results.
Search engine placement is achieved by a combination of on-page
SEO, link building and ensuring the site is included in the correct
search engine databases to reach the target market. It may also
involve other strategies such as Pay Per Click campaigns or Trusted
Feeds. Simply increasing occurrences of key phrases will not, in
itself, lead to higher rankings.
Search engine placement techniques are constantly evolving as new
search engines emerge to target different markets and new inclusion
methods are introduced.
Search engine positioning
Search Engine Positioning, also known as Search Engine optimization
(SEO), is a phrase to describe the practice of positioning a web
site within the search engine results.
A multitude of techniques are involved in successful search engine
positioning. Not only must a web site be optimised, but it's link
popularity must also be built. Good visibility in directories must
be gained and other search engine marketing techniques pursued,
such as Pay Per Click campaigns.
Search engine positioning has evolved over the last few years.
While initially involving only search engine optimization, the industry
has grown to include a whole array of additional techniques.
Search engine submission
Search engine submission is the process by which one makes search
engines aware that ones website is ready to be indexed by the search
engine spiders. In general search engines spider the web on a regular
basis, and will eventually find your web site by following a link
from a site already within its index. It is sometimes necessary
however to manually submit a new site which has not been linked,
or to use a paid for inclusion process to ensure quick inclusion
into the database.
The search engine submission process involves going to a specified
section of the search engine web site (the "Add URL" page)
and inputting details which can include those web pages that one
requires to be spidered. The term 'submission' also covers the process
of requesting a listing in the directories.
Search term
A search term is the word or phrase entered by a user into a search
engine in order to perform a search. The search engine or directory
then uses its algorithm to search its database of pages or sites
to find a matching key phrase and return a list of results. Users
may enter general search terms, such as "insurance", or
they may enter more focused terms, such as "uk insurance brokers".
A properly focused search term set forms the core of a good search
engine positioning strategy and it is important to ensure that these
are reflected in the actual content on the website. A search engine
promotion that targets popular but relevant search terms has the
advantage of driving targeted traffic, which can result in high
conversion rates.
Gaining knowledge of the general trends and habits of searchers,
and having experience of the complexities of search term selection,
can make the difference between search engine promotion failure
or success.
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the abbreviation for 'Search Engine Optimization'. SEO is
normally used to describe the process of manipulating a website's
pages in order for them to rank higher in search engine indices.
Successful SEO can result in a site, which features prominently
in a major search engine such as Google or MSN, delivering a significant
amount of new visitors. SEO can contribute to the overall success
of your website marketing.
The process of SEO can involve changing a web page's content and
html code so that a search engine 'spider' can find specific information
more easily. Additionally, SEO occasionally involves the re-coding
of a websites linking architecture.
SEO combined with a set of targeted 'Key Phrases' (search terms
people are using in search engines) can result in your website gaining
high positioning for your most popular products or services. Furthermore,
SEO can help target users focused to your area of expertise, enhancing
user experience and eliminating excess unwanted click-throughs.
SEO is a key element in the online marketing of a website as it
can help potential visitors find the information they are searching
for before discovering a competitor's site.
SEO can also be known as 'Search Engine Positioning' or SEOR 'Search
Engine optimization & Registration'.
SERPs
SERPs is an acronym for 'Search Engine Results Pages'. A term that
has been adopted by the search engine promotion community, this
alludes to the list of search results returned from an enquiry.
These usually consist of 10-15 results by default. It is important
to have a search engine optimization campaign that gains listings
in the first 3 SERPs. 65% of click-throughs come from the first
SERP.
Not to be confused with State Earnings Related Pension Scheme!
Spamming
Spamming, in general, is an attempt to feed misleading information
to search engines in order to gain favourable positioning.
Search engines view spamming seriously, as it compromises the quality
of their results. Unfortunately there is no exact definition of
what is spam and what is not - and search engines disagree between
each other, and often change their own definition of spamming a
number of times in one year!
Here are MSN Search's spam guidelines:
"The following items and techniques are not appropriate uses
of the MSN Search index. Use of these items and techniques may affect
how your site is ranked within MSN Search and may result in the
removal of your site from the index.
- Loading pages with irrelevant words in an attempt to increase
a page's keyword density. This includes stuffing ALT tags that
users are unlikely to view.
- Using hidden text or links. You should use only text and links
that are visible to users.
- Using techniques to artificially increase the number of links
to your page, such as link farms."
References:
Spiders
Spiders are automatic programs that search engine indices use to
catalogue the web and include into their databases. Spiders find
web pages either by working through pages deliberately submitted
to them, or by following links between web pages. They are often
called by quirky names; for example, Google's spider is called 'googlebot',
Yahoo!'s is 'slurp', AltaVista's is 'scooter'.
Spiders have difficulty following certain HTML code, in fact they
can be thought of as very primitive browsers. Spiders cannot follow
JavaScript links or index content in images. Professional search
engine optimization should remove these obstacles and utilise code
that allows spiders to freely roam the web site.
Sponsored listings
Sponsored listings are listings within search engine results pages
which have been paid for by advertising sites. These generally have
to be marked as such to differentiate them from normal search results
after a class-action suit was brought against several major search
engines for misleading their users. Sponsored listings are often
supplied by pay per click engines such as Overture or Google Ads. |