Any
website owner will tell you, they want to be in the #1 spot of search engine
results. However most website owners have misconceptions of how search engines
work, and often don't know where to start. The pages in this section will give
you a good overview of how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) works, and some
tips to get you started on your way to that coveted #1 spot.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization is the ongoing process of ensuring
each page of your website has been optimized and growing your online presence
and popularity to give your website favorable rankings in the search engines. You
may optimize your own website and manage your online presence, or you may contact Web
Solutions Omaha to assist you. If you choose to do your own optimization,
the information in this section will be very helpful.
How are websites indexed by Search Engines?
Search engines use
automated software programs known as robots, spiders, or crawlers to survey the
World Wide Web and build their search databases. These robots automatically
follow hyperlinks from one page to the next around the Web. When a robot comes
across your website, it sends information back to its search database to be
indexed and analyzed using an algorithm. Because website content changes
regularly, robots also update previously catalogued sites. How quickly and
comprehensively they carry out these tasks varies from one search engine to the
next.
When a person enters a query at a search engine site, the
keywords and/or phrases they used are checked against the search engine's database
index of all the web pages it has indexed. The most relevant and popular URLs
are then returned to you as search results, ranked in order by what each search
engine's algorithm's believe are the most relevant and popular at the top.
How can I be #1 on Google?
There is no concrete way to ensure that you'll receive a
high ranking on any one search engine. Even if you do get a great
ranking, there's no assurance that you'll keep it for long. Why? Because each
search engine uses different algorithms to rank sites, and those algorithms are
always changing. To compete for a spot in the top 10 search results is
literally like trying to hit a moving target. In addition, it requires a
regular investment of time and resources to achieve and maintain a top spot.
For example, this week you may have a web page that is
ranked number one on Google for the search phrase "website designers and
developers in Omaha, NE". A few days
later your web page may drop from number 1 ranking to number 10. Rankings on
search engines are dynamic and rarely stay the same from one day to the next.
Next,
let's look at few basic
components of effective SEO that will increase your chances at a favorable
placement with search engines…
