It’s a New Kind of Marketing
When Web search engines appeared in the mid 1990s, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was an inevitable side effect. Site owners quickly understood that moving themselves higher in search results would mean more visitors, and increasing the number of visitors on the Web is the equivalent of increasing the foot traffic for a brick and mortar business. Web search engines have evolved over the past 10 years, and SEO practices have evolved with them.

Search Engine Optimization can help site owners fulfill the business objective of increasing traffic to their site, but it doesn’t necessarily mean more revenue. SEO specialists offer a variety of services, from copywriting to site design and promotion advice. Investing in SEO is something like investing in traditional Public Relations – the pay-back is hard to quantify. On the Web, search engines aren’t compensated for the traffic they send to a site, and they work hard to develop algorithms that satisfy their users. These algorithms change constantly, so Search Engine Optimization offers no guarantees. It’s an ongoing activity, not a one-time event.

Working with Search Engines
The first step is to let the search engines know your company is out there. As a site owner, it’s your responsibility to submit your URL to the various search engines. However, starting in 2007, some leading engines can discover sites automatically. Your Web host will likely have tools that will make the URL submission process easier.

Once your URL has been submitted, the engines activate a special program, called a spider or a crawler, which examines your site and stores information about it on the search engine’s own server. A second program, known as an indexer, extracts information about your content, keywords and links, and assigns some kind of rating. This rating determines where your site will appear in the engine’s search results pages.

Search engines need time to consider a site. Depending on the engine, it may take several days or several weeks for your site to appear in its results listings. Once you are listed, the crawlers will return regularly to check for changes and updates. Depending on how your site evolves, some new features may appear quite quickly in search listings, but others may still be invisible for several weeks.

The early versions of Web search algorithms relied primarily on information provided by the site owners, such as “meta tags.” These are fragments of text that appear within the HTML of the Web page, but are not visible unless you look at the source code. However, site owners quickly realized they could exploit this honor system in ways that would raise their ratings; it’s called “gaming the system.” In the years since, it’s been somewhat of a contest – the search engines try to develop objective forms for rating and ranking, in order to please the searchers. Site owners try to find ways to trick the search engines, so they can move themselves into the first few pages of search results.

There are two basic techniques for Search Engine Optimization, known as “black hat” techniques and “white hat” techniques. Black hat techniques include the use of link farms, hidden text, cloaking sites and various other cheats to make a site seem better than it is. A link farm is a group of Web sites that all link to every other page in the group, thereby making them seem more popular. Hidden text (perhaps white text on a white background) is still visible to the crawlers, so it can make a page appear to be very focused on a topic, even if it says nothing about it. And cloaking is the practice of presenting one set of content to the search engine crawlers and another to the users’ browser, so that the true nature of a site is concealed.

Making the Engines Work for You
White hat optimization uses search-engine approved methods, trying to exploit the engine’s rating and ranking algorithms without breaking the rules. Optimization starts at the design level, so be sure your site is search engine friendly. It’s a matter of optimizing the code, presentation and structure, while avoiding or fixing problems that might keep the engines from fully crawling your site. You should include genuinely unique content on pages that can be easily indexed and extracted.

Incorporating meaningful keywords is a good place to start. Keywords are the terms that people enter when generating a search query; targeting the wrong keywords (or having no keywords) is a common mistake. You need to think like a user, and consider what terms reflect the essence of your site; if you were looking for it, what terms would you use? Some keywords are highly “competitive” in that they will put your site into results with thousands of other sites; it’s better to use words that will put your site into a smaller pond.

Use good practices for your headings and meta tags. The titles of your HTML pages should be relatively short and descriptive. Many search engines place more emphasis on headings, so include your keywords there if you can. Include complete HTML descriptions and meta tags on each page in your site – not just the home page.

For the search engines, the value of a site is reflected by how many other sites link to it. Many search engines count links to your site as votes in favor of you; that is, for example, the basic Page Rank concept for Google. Search engines place the highest value on “natural” links, which exist purely to increase the usefulness of the Web; in an ideal world, all links would be natural. Finding ways to generate backward links from other Web sites is a critical part of search engine optimization. Search engine crawlers follow the links between Web sites; the more inbound links you have, the more often the crawlers will visit your site. There are a number of acceptable ways to acquire inbound links: list your Web site in directories, or contact other sites with similar themes and request a reciprocal link. You can also use your URL as part of your signature file in discussion forums and newsgroups. There are also unacceptable techniques, which if discovered can damage your ratings. Some unacceptable techniques are the use of free-for-all link pages or link farms, as well as purchased links.

Other Things You Can Do
Beyond the basics, you can take other Search Engine Optimization actions on your own. Some search engines will let you submit a site map file, which tells the engine exactly which pages to crawl; it lets you take control of the initial stages of crawling and indexing. You can find tools that analyze searches to identify the most powerful keywords, so you can incorporate them in your site’s copy; some are free, others are available on a subscription basis. Most search engines have tools to identify the inbound links that point to your site, a good starting point when reaching out for more.

There are also SEO service providers who can offer advice and consultation. There’s no certification in this area, so there are lots companies and individuals offering Search Engine Optimization services. Be wary of firms that contact you unsolicited, or that promise #1 rankings. Also be careful of firms that aren’t clear about the techniques they plan to use. SEO abuses include “shadow” domains that use deceptive redirects. This is an extreme form of cloaking, in which a site is designed only to attract the attention of search engines; users who are fooled into visiting it are transferred to the SEO firm’s customers. Unscrupulous providers may also recommend the use of “doorway” pages, which are loaded with attractive keywords to fool the search engine, and then hand off the user to a different site with an automatic browser refresh command.

In Closing
The World Wide Web is one of the most important business changes of the last 50 years, offering tremendous opportunities for small- and medium-sized companies. The Web can let any company “go global,” expanding into new markets and breaking free of geographic boundaries. Doing business on the Web means understanding the implications of the new technology, and using it to serve your customers well. Unfortunately, on the Web, you can’t assume that if you build it, people will come. To connect with all those new, potential customers, you have to be easy to find and also have something of value to offer.

Most of your potential customers will use a search engine to find you, and Search Engine Optimization is the best way to make yourself more visible. Understand what’s involved, and be sure to play by the rules. Depending on your business and competitive position, you may want to consult with an SEO expert.

For more information contact your AT&T Representative or visit us at www.att.com/business.