If your new to the internet, or at least new to the world of search engine optimization, you may be wondering what all these acronyms stand for. Here is a brief run down on each acronym with a Wikipedia reference for each one. [ source ]Search engine optimization )SEO( is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" )"organic" or "algorithmic"( search results for targeted keywords. Usually,

Over the years I have come across many online businesses that have ranked reasonably well in the search results yet failed as online businesses. The traffic hasn't been sufficient to create sales and the costs of developing their websites exceeds profits. So why do they fail? There are of course many reasons why a business fails, whether it is online or offline. Poor page design, poor products, the list is endless. However,

As the dust settles around Google's knowledge base, Knol, it appears there may be a lot of value for online businesses. Knol's are going to rate well in the search results, that is already apparent. Google's content policy leaves the door open for businesses to publish Knol's on commercial related material including links back to their own sites.

When it comes to SEO, there are three kinds of people. There are those that know little and do little; then there are those that know everything, they drill down into analytics and search results and can tell you where a page ranks on any given day. Somewhere in the middle is your ordinary everyday website owner who is trying to deliver the best SEO program on a learn as you go basis. For these individuals, PageRank can still be a valuable tool.

Search engines crawl the web reading pages, indexing them then following links to the next page where it goes through the same process. Along the way it tries to assess the appropriate connections between the search phrases entered by users and the content - it does this using what we call keywords and keyphrases. Can you train the search engines to read and index your pages in certain ways?

Many website owners create their first site simply because 'it was a good idea at the time'. The site is put together with little thought as to why, with little direction, and certainly with little or no thought of search engine optimization. Trying to undo several years' worth of aimless site building can be a nightmare from a search engine optimization view point. In fact at times the quickest option is to scrap the lot and start all over.

Many website owners create their first site simply because 'it was a good idea at the time'. The site is put together with little thought as to why, with little direction, and certainly with little or no thought of search engine optimization. Trying to undo several years worth of aimless site building can be a nightmare from a search engine optimization view point. In fact at times the quickest option is to scrap the lot and start all over.

One of the first steps in the long and arduous search engine optimization plan is the research of keywords. Keywords are center of all SEO programs, your content is written around keywords, your titles should be keyword optimized and your link building program relies on keywords as anchor text. Here are ten keyword research tips to help you get started: Misspellings and Typos: use common misspellings or typos such as double strikes,

Google is the dominant search engine and has been for many years. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the recent release of Cuil. The founders certainly have the credentials to develop a top search engine. There are two former employees of Google along with Tom Costello from IBM and Louis Monier, a founder of Altavista. Will they challenge Google and if so, will we need to rethink our search engine optimization strategies? Cuil is different in four areas; web index,

A question on WebmasterWorld has brought up a few interesting comments. As part of a search engine optimization program you may decide to include your own business blog - an activity I highly recommend. The question was, "What are the problems associated with getting loads of blog links?". There were a wide range of views presented during the discussion.

A small blogger asked me a little while ago about an email he had received. The email was a link request, however it was a standard link exchange or one way request. They were offering to pay to have a few links added to the bottom of a few old posts. My advice - it will kill your pages SEO efforts. There are a number of issues to look at when it comes to this type of link request. 1: Search engines, particularly Google, don't like them and may penalize your pages.

Newbies - the new kids on the block. Fresh young websites that are still in diapers. These sites often show an unranked Google PageRank so is there any value in linking to, or more importantly from a search engine optimization perspective, getting linked from? There are many quotes that come to mind, however, in plain terms, what may appear useless today could prove to be powerful down the road.

Newbies - the new kids on the block. Fresh young sites that are still in diapers. These sites often show an unranked PageRank so is there any value in linking to, or more importantly from a search engine optimization perspective, getting linked from? There are many quotes that come to mind, however, in plain terms, what may appear useless today could prove to be powerful down the track.The real art of search engine optimization is just reaching the top of the SERP's,

The fact that Yahoo! is including 'breaking news' in the search results is probably no longer news, however some of what they have written on their ysearch blog is rather interesting. Every user will cheer when a search engine tries to improve the quality and relevance of the data returned for a search query. The improved to the search include: Based on the newsworthiness of each query,

Most SEO consultants pay little to the importance of Google PageRank these days and its relevance to ranking a website naturally in the search engines. However, the data used to determine Google PageRank can often be an indication of what direction your overall search engine optimization strategy should take. Search Engine Roundtable has picked up on a thread from Webmaster World on the Changes Made To Google PageRank.

Most SEO consultant pay little heed of PageRank these days and it's relevance to search engine optimization is only minor. However, the data used to determine PageRank can often be an indication of what direction your search engine optimization strategies should take. SearchEngineRoundtable has picked up on a thread from WebmasterWorld on the Changes Made To Google PageRank .

The major aim of a websites search engine optimization strategy is to balance on page and off page activities. The off page activities lean heavily towards building inbound links. Microsoft's BrowseRank will base ranking on an entirely different set of data. How will that effect SEO. It appears that BrowseRank is intended to be based on the activities of the user. In other words, traffic will be the major component of any algorithm.

There are a lot of articles around the net at present regarding Google's Wikipedia like concept; aptly named Knol. Much of the talk has revolved around the high rankings that some Knol's are already receiving. As a frequent search user, it can be frustrating to continually see Wikipedia pages at the top of the search results. One recent search returned three entries in the top ten, two in the top five. If Knol also starts to rank highly, will I start to find three,

There are times when even the best SEO program struggles to get a couple of places up the search engine ranking ladder to make to the front page. There are number of strategies you could apply; one of these uses Yahoo! Site Explorer. The differences between being on the front page and being on page two often comes down to site age and the number of backlinks a site has. Pages that are appearing above yours in the SERP's most likely have these extra backlinks.

Websites are created for a reason and for many websites they are created for commercial purposes. Whether it is direct sales through the website or attracting customers to a bricks and mortar outlet, the aim is the same. Attracting customers. Search engine optimization is designed to get your website rated highly within the search results so your customers can find you. It should also be considered a part of your customer service program.