Search engine optimization or SEO is an important part of search engine marketing. Search engine marketing aims at increasing the quantity and quality of site visitors. It is very important to understand that not all of the site visitors are the intended target audience. Many sites tend to target specific audiences by advertising or categorizing their site visitors in different ways. In SEO, the emphasis lies on building quality in-bound traffic. SEO aims at increasing the number of site visitors rather than the number of site visits.

Search engine optimization involves several strategies for increasing the quantity and quality of inbound traffic to a site or a web page. SEO aims at increasing the number of site visitors, but not necessarily the amount of actual sales. It is generally accepted that it takes about 4 quality points (IQPs) to influence the search results. SEO primarily targets free traffic instead of paid or directed traffic.

Keywords play a vital role in an SEO campaign. The use of the best keywords to attract visitors ensures higher search engine rankings. Using the wrong keywords may also have adverse effects on SEO efforts. Some SEO consultants believe that content optimization is a part of a wider SEO program, when this is not true. Content optimization refers specifically to optimizing the content of the site.

Content optimization pertains specifically to making sure that the keywords used in the title and other meta tags are relevant to the content on the site. Meta tags identify the keywords to which the search engine gives priority when a visitor conducts a search. These tags can be combined with the title and other meta-tags to form meta-tags. The content provided by the visitor has to be relevant to the search being conducted.

One important factor to remember in SEO is that content provided by the visitor has to be unique. This means content that is not already present on the site. It also means ensuring that the keywords used by the visitors do not appear too often. This is where a professional SEO consultant can be helpful.

It is essential for every website to achieve a good search engine ranking. This is possible only if the SEO effort is well executed. An SEO consultant helps in achieving this goal by offering effective Search Engine Optimization techniques to the client. They help the client to understand the need of the business in the SEO context and accordingly design the website. The result is a rise in website traffic and an increase in the site’s search engine ranking.