Search engine optimization (SEO), a subset of search engine marketing, is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. This field of marketing online never rests, much like your competition. SEO is a constant evolving technology that keeps even the seasoned pros on their heels. It was not too many years ago that search engine optimization and submission were considered fairly easy. Those days are far, far behind us.

Search engine optimization in today's online environment can be difficult and confusing. When starting out in this field some try and beat the search engines through black hat techniques. These can range from pages of content where the keyword density is over 50% to putting a bunch of keywords on a sites page and having those words blend into the background. This may have worked in the old days but today, there is no "fooling" search engines. Something very important to remember is that search engine optimization as a part of your internet marketing efforts is only as effective as the quality and usefulness of the content of your site.

It is important to realize that search engines are trying to provide their users with the most relevant sites for any particular query. Their reputation depends on relevancy and accuracy. Without these two components a particular search engine is obsolete.

So why worry so much about SEO and is it really that important? Yes, SEO is important and here is why. The objective of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to increase web visitor counts by ranking very high in the results of searches using the most appropriate keywords describing the content of your site. When you are on the first page of Google for a particular keyword or phrase, this can literally be the difference in $40,000 and $80,000 in sales.

Research has been done to show the click patterns of individuals after doing a search in a particular search engine. What was found is that the clicking patterns of multiple searchers on results displayed actually made a triangle in the upper left hand corner of the page. Another words, searchers where clicking on the number 1,2 and 3 results primarily. This research solidified the importance of SEO and even more the important on being on page one of a particular search engines results.

So what is something the average joe can do to help boost their SEO rankings for a particular keyword? Well, one of the major variables in attaining high rankings is developing incoming one-way links from other websites that are well established and have commonality with your website. This can be done a few ways but the two easiest are through submitting your site to directories and through writing articles and submitting them to article directories.

While one-way links from relevant sites are ideal, there are other linking possibilities. Reciprocal links or link trading are an effective way to establish links from related websites as well. This can be done by directly contacting a webmaster and simply asking to exchange links or through link exchange services. One of the best sites to handle these link exchanges is linkmetro.com. You can find relevant sites and exchange links with them all in one location instead of searching the web.

Something you will want to do is to begin to develop links as soon as you possibly can. Link popularity and gaining new links from outside websites to your website have proven to be a popular concept for people seeking to improve their search engine rankings. Many sites focus on exchanging, buying, and selling links, often on a massive scale. On the subject of popularity, acquiring links is vital to long-term search engine optimization and ranking. To the point, if enough quality sites link to you then your site becomes a quality site by association.

It is very important when undertaking a new project online that SEO is a major focus not only in the beginning but throughout your projects stay. When done correctly, search engine optimization can mean the difference in doubling your sales and profits. It does take work but the rewards are truly spectacular and can keep rewarding for many years to come. It is never to late to start optimizing a site for search engine rankings. Make time every week to concentrate on SEO and over time you will see the rewards.