What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization, other wise known as seo (for short) is the ongoing process of improving both on-site and off-site factors to increase where one 'ranks' in search pages. It is possible to seo a site for any number of search engines, Google (of course), Bing, Yahoo and Ask inclusive.There are many benefits to optimizing your website for higher rankings. The primary benefit of course if profit. Many businesses across the world invest heavily in staying at the top of Google and the other major search players. It is possible, with a 'pay-per-click' (ppc) campaign to get straight to the top of pretty much any search engine for a limited time and with a large enough budget. This only really makes good sense however, if it is cost effective, which it rarely is. I will go into who should and shouldn't think about running a ppc campaign in another post, but to elaborate a little the most likely candidates to make an eventual profit from a good ppc campaign would be the likes of insurance companies, banks, larger seo companies and firms which charge their customers via  subscriptions and direct debits. This means they can throw a lot of money at getting their clients and are likely to recoup their losses later. In business terms this is known as a 'loss-leader'.The most efficient and cost effective way to earn a predictable and regular profit from a business website (or ad revenue generating site) is to run and maintain a solid organic seo  (not ppc) campaign. This can take months to establish any kind of foot hold and years to rank at your desired position. It all depends on how established your competition is online, in terms of the age of their websites (domain age is a big factor), how many links to their site from other relevant websites they have as well as their on-site content and optimization.