-- Paul Tedesco Online Market For Writers
JASC PaintShop Pro 8.0 A graphic program, for the casual user or professional, priced around US$100
If you enjoy WebSite Primer please recommend this site to your friends!
Optimization: What Is SEO?
Originally Published: 2005-02-21
Updated: 2006
Some people want to dive in and learn about search engine optimization thinking this is the magic bullet their site's need. A few are disappointed when "secrets" aren't openly shared with them or, worse, told that search engine optimization will require part of their time to implement.
No Short-Cuts to Good SEO
When I say "good SEO" I am referring to tweaks or touches to page's that will generally hold - hopefully even when a search engine rolls out a change in the algorithm used to determine placement or rankings. This means less reliance on tricks and hacks or what people refer to as Black Hat techniques.
First one needs to understand that SEO is based upon observation. Search engines roll out algorithm changes more often than many people may realize. For example, in since late-2004 Google shared some major algorithm changes that became known as Florida, Hilltop, Austin, Bourbon, and (in late 2005) Jagger and Big Daddy. Each of these were also followed by tweaks or adjustments to the new algorithm.
Prior to November 2004 people, interested in SEO on some level, focused on at the PageRank (PR) value. Google has sicne been viewed to have lowered the dominance of PR within their algorithm. PR is still a factor, within the Google algorithm, just no longer the main one.
Why all the algorithm changes?
The reason for algorithm changes is obvious. Although these tend to shake things up among the results and creates some drama for some site owners, that is not why the search engines roll out algorithm changes. Search engines want, and need, to keep their results relevant to search queries. If their results are felt not return relevant results to a person's search query, then that person may start using another search engine instead.
It is for that above reason why search engines have a love-hate relationship with search engine optimization. Search engines aren't against someone trying to rank better or optimizing the site's contents. Some methods and techniques of SEO actually can help improve or better a page's contents.
However, the problem arises. on the search engine's side, when people hear about a trick or technique that "works" and abuse or over-use it within the pages. This is when the search results can risk being manipulated and start to have irrelevant returns showing up on the results pages.
"... But SEO Is Manipulation!"
Yes, it is. A person will manipulate their page's contents in hopes of appealing to the search engine algorithm and, as a result, achieve higher placement. Using Google as an example, there are over 100 criteria within their algorithm used to gauge placement.
A site with, let's say, PR value of 3 can land in the Top 10 results ahead of a PR 4 page. Why? That PR 3 page managed to hit upon other criteria within the algorithm to tip the scales in their favor.
SEO Is Not A Magic Pill
Excuse my bluntness, but if a site's contents sucks - that content will still suck even if it somehow manages to land within the Top 10 or Top 5 on a search results page. Particularly if the page relies on tricks and hacks to achieve that ranking.
High ranking may not always equal out to more customers or sales resulting. Search engines will only help send traffic your way, and in response to queries that happen to pull up your site's pages. After that, the work falls onto your site's shoulders to turn a percentage of that traffic into sales.