Search engine optimization

The phrase, ‘search engine optimization’ is one of the new catch phrases around. The ever-faithful Wikipedia, which is becoming an increasingly useful tool on the Web, tells us that "Search engine optimization (SEO) is a subset of search engine marketing, and deals with improving the number and/or quality of visitors to a web site from "natural" (aka "organic" or "algorithmic" search engine) listings. In effect, SEO is marketing by appealing to machine algorithms to increase search engine relevance and ultimately web traffic. This is analogous to foot traffic in retail advertising. The term SEO can also refer to "search engine optimizers", an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients."

I’m not entirely sure that I understand everything there (but what’s new?) but the gist of it is that attracting people to your website by better means is pretty much what you want! A few posts back I talked about USWeb, and that’s a site worth visiting for its expert views on improving SEO (which means something else here in NZ, I think! – something political?). As soon as I get a minute from all the other things I have to do I’m going to sit down and see what it has to say that’s useful to me. A quick glance at it suggests there’s quite a bit!