The WebDev Buzz

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to a set of methods which is used in improving a website’s ranking in search engine directory. Likewise, it can be used to distinguish industry of consultants which implements optimization projects for the client’s site.

Through search engines, visitors can locate for sites in different ways: via paid-for advertisements in the results pages of the search engine, through third parties who are named in the search engines, or via the results presented to the user by the search engines. The improvement of the site’s visibility in the organic search results is the primary concern of SEO.

High rankings in the organic search results yields trafic that are targeted for a site. Other means of obtaining such traffic is expensive. Several dollars or more are spent when using pay per click advertising or banner advertising. The cost per visitor is roughly a few cents to several tens of dollars. It does make sense for owners of sites to optimize their sites for organic search.
Not all sites have similar objectives in mind in search engine optimization. Some sites are looking for any and all traffic, and may be optimized for high ranks for common search phrase. This can be a bad strategy for advertising for a business because large volume of low-quality inquiries can be generated which may cost the money to handle and yield little business. “Shotgun approach” to optimizing search can possibly work best for a site that has large interests, such as a periodical, a directory, or sites displaying advertising using the CPM revenue model.

A specific population with specific needs or interests are tageted by other sites. Search optimization for large numbers of extremely specific keywords which is a signal of the willingness of a prospective consumer to purchase their product. Concentrating on desired traffic can lead to more high-quality sales leads, and lesser time wasted on inquiries.

History

During the mid-1990s, the first search engines began to catalogue the early Web. Initially, site submission was required of webmasters to different engines which would run a program that searches the Web in a slow and methodical manner. The information is sorted by topic and produce results based on the search pages. As online documents began increasing and more webmasters gave importance to the value of organic search listings, it became crucial for search engines to arrange the wide collection of pages searched and show the most relevant pages first. This was the beginning of a search engine vs. SEO dilemma that continues to the present.

Initially, the webmasters themselves guided the search engines. Initial versions of search algorithms relied on information provided by the webmaster like meta tags, which guides the contents of each page and relevant keywords. Eventually, meta tags were abused by some webmasters, resulting to irrelevant searches being ranked in their pages. As an answer, complex algorithms were developed by search engines, taking into consideration a wider range of factors, with what is called “on-site” considerations still a large factor.