Search Engine Optimization, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

When talk turns to paying for targeted traffic to your site, Search Engine Optimization or SEO always rears its head.

Briefly stated, Search Engine Optimization is a method of optimizing the structure and content of your website in an effort to get the major search engines to rank you higher in the search results. Obviously the intent is to rank higher than your competitors.

In its simplest form, attaining top search engine ranking begins with making sure your specific keywords are in all the right places, such as the page title, meta tags, headlines, body text, links, etc., on each page.

But for most who query Search Engine Optimization they're looking for a fast way to rise in the rankings and make money fast. Perhaps they've read one of the many stories of some SEO guru who has made millions and promises to do the same for them. If that is you, you'll be disappointed with what you find here.

That's because this discussion comes with a warning: Tread carefully when you hire the services of an SEO company. There have been enough abuses in this industry to warrant caution.

First main point to remember when you start falling for the hype: no SEO company can guarantee they will put your website at the top of the search engines. You can throw tons of money at them and still get zero results. A little history will help you understand why.

In the early days of search engines, SEO experts could back engineer and relatively determine what the engines were doing. Then they could plan a strategy around them. Those days are gone.

Now the search engines such as Google have mathematical geniuses working around the clock to fine tune the engines. They use such mechanics as algorithms. What they try to determine is how relevant web sites and web pages are to their customers - the web searcher.

That's right, the web searcher is the first person Google is trying to please. If Google can consistently bring search results containing sites with relevant and useful content that satisfies the searcher, then they can charge higher rates for the ads they sell on those pages.

To accomplish this, the search engines change their ranking algorithms several times a month. As Google reports, they have no special relationships with any Search Engine Optimization companies. Plus, they never reveal their secrets concerning what the search engines really do - even if there was any one person in Google who knew the whole story anyway.

So even if an SEO company managed to get you to the top of a listing this week, next week you could be dropped to the bottom.

Another problem SEO companies have is search engines now look for relevancy factors that are off page, so to speak. These off-page criteria track human behavior, starting from the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) to what happens later (even up to months later), to determine quality of the search results.

For example... they're trying to determine which result got the click. The logic is that the click meant a human must have thought the title and description were pretty relevant.

Another point of consideration is the length of time the surfer spent of the page before returning. The longer the time spent, the better that page must have been. Also considered are the number and quality of links which go to this page. The more high-quality, relevant links to that page, the better it is in the search engine's "mind."

If you decide to hire an SEO here are a few points to cover with them to help keep yourself out of trouble:

• Can they show you examples of previous work success stories?
• Do they follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
• What kind of results do they expect and in what time frame?
• What's their experience in your industry and country? Length of time in business?
• What are their most important SEO techniques?
• Can you tell me precisely what you intend to do and any changes you propose to my website?

"Dear google.com,I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."

Here are some search engine secrets you should keep in mind.

(1) Search Engine Optimization is not a science. It is an attempt to play an algorithm-chasing game.

(2) Reputable SEO companies will not guarantee performance.

(3) If it works at all, it will take 3 months or more to see any real traffic.

It's still fairly easy to trick any single parameter, such as click popularity or time to return to engine or inbound links.

But SEO merely mimics reality. And, as time passes, the ever-smarter search engines will recognize search engine optimized sites for what they are... pale imitations of reality that do not address what the searcher was looking for... quality.

There is a big difference between a web page written for the reader's benefit (although still using keywords appropriately) and a page with stilted content packed with keywords. Your human audience will vote no to your pages by clicking away quickly.

SEO sites are not reality. And the engines are getting better and better at recognizing the importance of offline criteria. As the number and importance of off-page criteria grow, it becomes increasingly more impossible to SEO them.

Indeed, if you're determined to use search engine optimization, you can get for free the same search engine optimized software the SEO companies charge a fortune for. But if you want to build a successful long-term online business there is a better way to do that than through SEO.

The engines want relevant and human pleasing content. Give it to them. That's the best way to climb the search engine ladders. Long after sites relying on SEO have perished by the roadside, websites that provide good content will continue to please both the web surfer and the search engines.