SEO - Search Engine Optimization (Basics)

What is SEO?

SEO is Search Engine Optimization. In this process, with the help of proper techniques we build and optimize a website in a way that it gets well ranked in a search engine. The designing of such web pages require knowledge of HTML, DHTML and CSS. The site is designed using the proper rules and regulations so that the search engines rank the site high. SEO is all about marketing the site in the Internet world with the help of Google, Yahoo, Msn and all the other search engines! The right articles, content and proper link farming will make the site a favorite amongst the search engines.

Every business organization has their website which represents the company in different parts of the world through the internet. Every company has their own category to which they belong to. For example there are Software Development companies, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) companies, Offshore Development Companies, etc. We search on Google for a particular key phrase and we get the listing of the relevant sites. If we search with the key phrase as "Offshore Software Development Company, India " in GOOGLE it will display the search results for it.

Ever thought why even though certain sites that look and feel good are not listed high on the search results . This is because the sites listed higher have a successful SEO campaign carried on the website. Users normally do not go to the 2 nd or third page of the search results. The probability of the user selecting the top search results is high is evident. Very rarely do users visit the 3 rd or 4 th page of the results. SEO in simple words is building a website in such a way that it is ranked well on a search engine. There is lengthy process involved in preparing or starting a SEO campaign on the website.

Why SEO ?

The WEB has become the best platform to sell, buy and display. A company which makes TOYS can sell toys to different parts of the world. People have been buying from e-Bay, Amazon for more than 10 years. The concept of e-Shopping has really picked up well with customers. SEO essentially ranks your website well in the search engine results. Bringing your site on the first page of Google will definitely bring traffic to your site. Getting more traffic will bring you more customers and eventually more business. There is no point in having a commercial site which does not get listed high on the search page of the search engines. A commercial or a business site always has one goal, which is customers. Carrying a good SEO campaign on your website is the key to success.

Steps for a successful SEO campaign:-

1) Keywords: Keywords are the words which the user will search in the search engine to find your company. Find the specific and relevant words that match your website subject and category. Keywords also have variations. A user could type "ofshore company " to search for offshore company. Search engines hate repetition or stuffing of keywords.

2) Link Farming: Links are an important part of a SEO process. There are three types of links. Inbound Links, Outbound Links and Reciprocal links. Out of the three types the Inbound Links (Incoming links) are more important than the rest.

3) Content and Articles: Any site needs to be rich in the content. Visitors come and read the content on the site. The content should be very informative. Setting up a BLOG on your site is one such idea. Search engines love the pages that are updated frequently. So, a blog satisfies this condition.

4) Directory Listing: The site should be submitted to different directories on the web. There are many such directories. DMOZ and yahoo directory. The type of directories are paid and free. Choose the best category for your website to be listed.

5) Sitemap: The sitemap of any website should be well designed. It should contain links to all pages present and vice versa.