Many online initiatives constitute "SEO"
Within the last twenty years, computers have revolutionized our world. They have changed the way we learn, the way we communicate, and (most certainly) the way we do business.
Last century, a "business" denoted a physical place with four walls, but now a business can supply goods and services via the Web without the need for physical stores. To many, this was seen as a great opportunity to start a Web-based business.
Quickly, it became apparent that search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, MSN) dictated the visibility of Web sites. When a consumer searched for goods or services via an engine, in theory, the results delivered the most pertinent Web pages based on the search terms.
Businesses realized that it was in its best interest to increase result rankings, and in order to do so it needed the engines to associate the business' Web pages with whatever terms consumers used to find desired goods and services. It was realized the task was not an easy one considering the ease at which anyone could start a Web-based business. Competition was fierce. Search engine optimization started to help businesses market search terms in order to gain more visibiilty and more revenue.
In some circles, search engine optimization (SEO), has acquired a bad reputation. The industry moves fast because search engine algorithms (the unknown "logic" search engines use to associate searched terms or phrases with germane Web pages) is constantly changing. It is simply not in the search engines' best interest to make this logic known (Google, Yahoo, etc. host advertising platforms and would rather a business pay for rankings - hey, they are running a business too!). The vast knowledge needed to implement SEO created an "us" and "them" dichotomy - if one didn't "know" seo, then it was better left to the "experts". The obvious problem being that if one does not know, how would they know their SEO services "knows". It is kind of like bringing a car to a mechanic - one can get an outrageous bill and not acquire the knowledge to determine if the large amount was vindicated or not.
The specific "logic" is constantly changing, but SEO implements online initiatives to help a business' quest for visibility. Simply, SEO is marketing for words and phrases associated with goods and services, in comparison to traditional marketing, which would seek to promote a business' name, executive, etc. That is a very simple definition, and SEO is a lot more complicated (such as the need to acquire in-bound links from reputable sources), but it is an easy, elementary way to begin thinking about search optimization.
It is strongly suggested that any businessperson, thinking about using search engine optimization, do some reading on the subject. Frankly, there are many "SEO experts" out there who will take money, obfuscate, and get no results. On the other hand, many genuine providers exist that can greatly help a company. Researching the topic makes for a better result in finding a provider (after research, a business may find SEO services are not in their budget or presently desirable).
The following two Web sites are great resources to learn more about the topic of Search Engine Optimization:
For more online marketing info:
Making a community your business
Twitter, Facebook, and social media for marketing
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