What Is a Search Engine?
And
How do Search Engines Work?
Everyone that owns a website knows the term
SEO, or Search
Engine Optimization, but very few really understand it.
The primary reason for their lack of understanding is the
myriad of things they read or are told about it. Everything from "It only takes
2 Good Keywords" to "Links, Many, Many Links" are the key to Good SEO. So who do
you believe? Well the truth is, as the truth always is, "what really makes
sense?". To know what makes sense, you need to understand what a Search Engine
is, and how it works
Search Engines are machines, human controlled machines but
machines none-the-less.
Everything they do, they do automatically, while being
over-seen by people.
The parameters under which Search Engines function are
defined by the people that own them, and vary accordingly. The good news is they
all look for the very same basis in a website. How much information can be, and
how good is the information that is, found in a particular website?
To determine this each Search Engines' parameters look for
specific things that their Programmers feel best defines the goal.
The bottom line however is still the same; if a site seems
that it can benefit a Searcher best, the Search Engine will put it in the first,
non-paid for spot.
So, what are the primary things a Search Engine looks for?
There are actually only 2 things Search Engines look for:
1.
Content that matches the request of a Searcher
And
2.
Popularity of the site
And, how do the Search Engines judge those 2 things?
1.
Word Counts
And
2.
Links
That's where SEO comes in. A Good Search Engine Optimizer
will maximize the number of popular "keywords" and phrases used in the areas
that Search Engines look. A Good SEO company will also share those keywords and
phrases with the Owner of the site, so his writers can rewrite the public
content to include them.
This is also where Bad SEO can hurt you.
A "Black Hat" Search Engine Optimizer will inappropriately
use keywords and can get your website banned from the Search Engines. This is
why understanding the Search Engines is so important.
If you were overseeing Search Engines, what would you
consider "cheating"? When your Search Engine Optimizer makes a recommendation,
you should ask yourself, does that seem righteous? Is that fair to my
competitors? If not, you should question it, and if it still doesn't make sense,
have it removed.
Links are another matter.
Some lead to content, others show popularity
Does it seem fair to buy numerous links? Could buying
numerous links be considered "cheating"? Could buying numerous links get a
website black-balled?
I think the answer is obvious.
Links should be earned, and should come from appropriate
sources.
That said, there are a lot of ways to make that happen,
That's where another concept comes in SEM, or Search Engine Marketing.
So, What is Search Engine Marketing?
What Is SEM?