Search Engine Optimization

SEO consists in promoting a site, in particular by making it indexed by search engines. Optimizing is the art to improve the position of a site among others in the list of results of search engines, which answer a query.

Indexing

SEO is preceded by a phase of preparation of the site. The creation of a sitemap of the site, the generation of meta-tags, which describe the page for search engines, can be automated thanks to specialized and free tools.
Then it consists in promoting the site and making it visible on the Web, by registering it on search engines and directories, announcing it on forums and magazines, and by obtaining backlinks from other sites.

See the complete SEO manual for more infos.

The indexing of a page by an engine is accompanied by further information on this one, such PageRanks, which is updated regularly, and that webmasters try to improve by techniques of optimizing.

Optimizing

Optimizing for search engines, is the technique of webmasters to obtain a better position in results of queries on Google and other search engines. Only first pages of results make really traffic and somtime, only the three first line bring visitors. This optimization depends on some factors:

• The domain name
  It is a factor of selection of the site for the list of results, if it contains keywords in connection with the query.
  
• Titles
  The keywords contained in the titles and subtitles have a bigger importance than those which appear in the simple text.
• Keywords
  Certain words are more often requested to earch engines. It should be made sure that the text contains all the words, with synonyms, which belong about the article. To repeat many times a word does not have an effect, on modern engines at least, but two or three occurrences can be useful because the context where appears a word is taken into account.
• Filenames and anchors
  They must also contain the keywords specific to the article (words separated by a dash).
• Links
  The backlinks, links towards a page, if they are numerous and of value (if they are linked themselves), improve the position in results of engines, with equal contents.
  Broken links are obviously to avoid and that requires a monthly control at least.
• PageRank.
  Take part in position of a page in results of the search engines.
• Duration of visits
  Search engines can easily identify on the choice of a site in the list of the result of a request. And the deadline between two clicks (for the same Net surfer), and thus the duration of visit on a site. From that they can evaluate the interest of a webpage. It is thus essential that the contents are sufficiently interesting to retain the visitor.
• The hosting
  The fact that a domain name is associated to an IP address in a given country could improve the position according to the language employed for the request, or the regionality of the subject. Some hosts propose the geolocalisation of the domain name, for professional hostings.

The goal is to reach the top position in SERP for a keyword.

Articles

• The true Google's algorithm
  For a while, the algorithm used by Google to order results of queries is not that of the PagRank... enter in the secret of the Google's labs.
• How to popularize a website.
  Tricks to get visitors.

Resources

Some useful services for webmasters:

• Test a keyword to know its value.
• Test a page for the validity of code HTML.
• Test links to check for broken links.

Sites

• Webmaster World. Forum for SEO.