Search Engine Optimisation - Intro

The internet is still essentially an information medium. And where web information is concerned the Search Engine rules.

It is impossible to have an effective web presence without being aware of Search Engine Optimisation.

So what do search engines want from your website? Well, search engines want to deliver as good a service as possible to their customers and delivering relevant results is what matters to them. In the main they judge your site on relevant content, useability, and popularity.

They guard their secrets very well, the algorithims that they use to judge your site are deeply complex and ever changing, but there are a few basic principles to follow.

The first of these is to understand how search engines see your site. And since computers don't have eyes, they have to read the coding behind your site. By 'right-clicking' on any web page and selecting 'view source', you can get an idea of what this coding looks like.

Parts of this code is used to layout the text and images that you see through your browser, and other parts provide information to other computers.

These are called 'Meta Tags' and are the first place to start when optimising your site. The main 'Meta Tags' to be concerned with are as follows:

• Title (a heading to be displayed in the browser)


• Keywords (words which relate to your website content)


• Description (a brief summary of your site and its purpose)