Understanding Organic SEO - Basic Concepts and Terms

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - the science of to "Organically Ranking" a website or web page for specific keywords. Search Engines rank websites based upon their perceived relevancy for a given keyword. SEO is a sub-discipline of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

A Keyword - a word, or phrase, entered into a search engine.

Every few weeks or months, the various search engines run their respective Algorithms across the Internet, scanning each website/webpage in order to rank their relevance.

Google, MSN, Yahoo! gauge both on-site and off-site factors to determine a website/webpage's relative placement in the search results. A website/webpage is ranked upon the formatted information provided on the site, as well as by the quantity and quality of links pointing to the site from other websites.


Onsite SEO: The process of formatting a website with specific keywords to make it appealing to search engine algorithms. This includes multiple factors of page content, the types of coding/programming used, site maps and keyword integration throughout the site. Onsite optimization is the foundation and starting point of any SEO/SEM program. Perhaps the single most important aspect of Onsite work is keyword density. This entails inserting the specific keywords a client wants to build rank for, into the site in the appropriate places, including:

  • URL
  • Page Title
  • graphic-tags
  • H1 header
  • Body text
  • Navigation/Menu
  • Meta fields

Offsite SEO: The process of aligning multiple offsite factors which tell the search engine that your site is everything it claims to be. Industry experts agree that offsite optimization is the single most important SEO factor, which employs what are known as "backlinks". You want your site to appear as a credible source of information regarding your keywords - you want Google and Yahoo to think your site is providing a level of expertise that others cannot provide, which is in large part determined by what, how and who is linking to your site. The value of these backlinks is determined by the quality of the host, market relevance, and quantity of backlinks a site or page has pointing to it. Links can be built through the following online initiatives:

  • directory submissions
  • press releases
  • article submissions
  • purchased or traded text links

By quantifying a given website's relevance based upon not only what a site says about itself, but what others say about the site in question.

Caution: Many "tricks" have come and gone over the years for manipulating Page Rank, some of which can lead to search engine retribution. These are to be avoided at all costs, as having your site "blacklisted" by Google or Yahoo will not only eliminate your site from the search results, but will also be extremely expensive to remediate! Even if you decide to work with someone else, you must be careful who you choose to do your SEO. "Professionals" (often really expensive ad agencies) can do untold damage no matter their good intentions.

Where to Begin: Organic SEO Strategy Development - Stage 1

Your SEO Strategy - Let us know if we can take your concept and turn it into reality. We have no problem with NDAs, and we'll even throw in a free 30-minute consultation. Contact Us when you're ready. We'd be more than happy to schedule some time to speak with you.