Search engine optimization (SEO) is the effort targeted at improving the ranking of a website and, in turn, traffic from organic search results. In addition to text search results, SEO can also target image, map and video searches.
SEO is just one part of an online marketing strategy and primarily focuses on how search engines find pages when a search engine visitor searches for a particular keyword or phrase. The key to being found in these searches is a combination of both “on page” and “off page” techniques. On page tends to focus on content, HTML tags, and URLs. Off page techniques include developing relationships with other sites, publishing content outside of your site, directory submissions and inbound linking campaigns.
Often times, the selection of the core technology that drives a website can significantly impact the ability to take advantage of SEO opportunities. While content management systems (CMS) may be right for some companies, others find the use of flash is what makes their site hum – often times at the expense of search engine indexing. The old black hat SEO techniques simply don’t work like they used to and may, in fact, cause long term damage to your brand’s online presence as search engines remove sites that employ these techniques from their spidering processes.