So what is web site SEO? – well it stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the alchemy of optimizing a website so that it is indexed by the search engines in order to rank highly in the SERP´s (Search Engine Results Page).

It is often referred to as “The Dark Arts” due to the nefarious nature that Search Engines operate in and the more murkier waters that SEO specialists trawl in to achieve high ranking for any site.

I once heard it described as trying to reverse engineer a UFO propulsion unit in a ship you´ve never seen, that´s in orbit 200 miles above the earth and which change its design every 2 weeks – lol!! and that´s one of the reasons that there is so much mystery surrounding the subject.

Much of this is because the algorithms that search engines use to evaluate a site are not only kept more secret than the Kremlin files but are also evolving over time to reflect the dynamic nature of the Internet. Therefore SEO is a dynamic beast by nature and subject to much conjecture as to what works and doesn´t work.

Website SEO consists of two main areas, On Page Optimization and Off Page Optimization, the former being fairly simple and revolves around ensuring the site has the correct elements in order to make it SE friendly. The latter, however, consists of a number of areas which, when combined, ensure that the web site is evaluated by SE´s to achieve high ranking and consists of, amongst other things, attaining backlinks from Authority sites to improve it´s relevancy. These are achieved in a number of ways and include but are not limited to, Directory submission, Social Bookmarking, article writing and Article Directory Submission, Forum posting, Press Releases and Site Content Management, to mention but a few strategies. Off Page Optimization is an on going, time and labour intensive process but one which, over the long term, will produce results.

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