SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a fairly new term that has been bouncing around the business market. What it refers to is simply a document or web page that is most likely to come up in a search conducted by a search engine. For example, if you go to one of the familiar internet search engines like Google and type in "web page designers" you'll find a list of related sites that will feature different articles and info on web page designers and who I should contact if I wish to hire someone to design my web page.

A web site that has been optimized for search engines has considered what key words a person is most likely to use in their search and tries to fit those words into the HTML code, and general web site itself. The more key words that appear on a specific web site, and the number of times they appear, effects what place on the list your specific web page shows up. This is a crucial element in online business marketing as well as for individuals.

Let's look at online marketing first. Whatever service you are providing, be it simply giving out information about a non-profit organization you're running or trying to sell your company's new product or service over the internet, you need customers to be able to see what you offer. Unfortunately, with the millions of pages out there and businesses competing for customers, your company can easily get lost in the shuffle. When you design your site with specific key words in mind, search engines are more likely not only to list your website, but to put it at the top of the list. People usually go with one of the first three choices they are offered, so going lower on the list can mean death when it comes to publicity.

But business isn't the only place that search engine optimization can be helpful. If you own your own website, regardless of whether it is for a profit or not, having other people be able to find it on a search engine will greatly help direct traffic to your site. Freelance writers in particular should be aware of using search engine optimization. Many sites pay depending on the number of page views your article gets. While quality of the article is important, key words will direct a user to your page, thus earning you more views. Many companies request the articles you write for them be optimized to increase traffic.

Over all, anyone who plans to use the internet needs to know about how a search engine works, and how to optimize their own work to come up in searches. It takes knowledge and understanding of not only how to optimize your site, but the knowledge of what people commonly search for when they want your particular service. The words you choose can make or break you online, and optimization is the key to crushing the competition.

Many people don’t realize there are hundreds of internet search engines out there. The reason for this is that there are undoubtedly only a few search engines that the majority of the online community uses for their searches. The best search engines as far as volume of people using the search engine is as followed.
08/2008 Google Yahoo! MSN/Live Ask
71.01% 18.26% 5.32% 3.45%