WHAT IS SEO ?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's unpaid results - often referred to as "natural," "organic," or "earned" results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search,news search and industry-specific vertical search engines. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.

Types of SEO

As the colors of the types of search engine optimization suggest, there are stark differences in the approach and long-term results of white hat and black hat search engine optimization. Though both types of SEO have their proponents, most companies/websites with long-term, stable, and sustainable goals will tend to stay away from the dark-colored variety.
Here is a quick overview:

	White Hat SEO	Black Hat SEO
Definition	White hat SEO utilizes techniques and methods to improve the search engine rankings of a website which don't run afoul of search engine (mainly Google) guidelines.	Black Hat SEO exploits weaknesses in the search engine algorithms to obtain high rankings for a website. Such techniques and methods are in direct conflict with search engine guidelines.
Wholesomeness Level	High	Very Low (not wholesome at all if you ask those in charge of cleaning search engine result page spam)
Techniques	Some white hat SEO techniques include: high quality content development, website HTML optimization and restructuring, link acquisition campaigns supported by high quality content and manual research and outreach.	Some black hat SEO techniques include: link spam, keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text, and hidden links.
What to Expect	Steady, gradual, but lasting growth in rankings.	Quick, unpredictable, and short-lasting growth in rankings.

The work of most search engine optimization companies, however, operate in a gray area, aptly named Gray Hat search engine optimization. Whether by design or pressure from clients to deliver results, many search engine optimization companies try to deliver solutions and results for customers by utilizing techniques which don't quite cross the line into black hat SEO, but are well outside of what would be considered white hat search engine optimization.
Gray hat search engine optimization is recognizable by 'affordable' pricing, since the search engine optimization company has to reduce cost by resorting to questionable techniques in order to deliver results, instead of highly involved campaign activities.
In the end there is really no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do search engine optimization, but those shopping for SEO services should be aware of the different types and approaches so that they know the level of risk they are taking on.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services

There are a variety of search engine optimization

services which offer solutions for a variety of ranking issues, and deficiencies. Depending on your goals, and needs one, or a combination, of the below services may be right for your website.

Website SEO Audit

A search engine optimization audit can come in a varying levels of detail and complexity. A simple website audit can be as short as a few pages long, and would address glaring on-page issues such as missing titles, and lack of content. On the other hand other end of the spectrum, a comprehensive website SEO audit will be comprised of dozens of pages (for most larger sites it will be over one hundred pages) and address even the tiniest of website elements which may potentially be detrimental to the ranking-ability of a website.

On-Page SEO

On-page or on-site search engine optimization refers to SEO techniques which are designed to implement the problems and potential issues that an SEO audit uncovers. This is something which should always be part of all good SEO packages
. On-page SEO addresses a variety of fundamental elements (as they relate to SEO) such as page titles, headings, content and content organization, and internal link structure.
As with a website SEO audit, there are basic, as well as comprehensive services when it comes to on-page search engine optimization. At the most basic level, an on-page optimization campaign can be a one-time project which includes recommendations developed through an audit, and the implementation thereof. This type of on-page optimization would generally target the home page and a few other important pages on the website. More comprehensive on-page search engine optimization campaigns will use the findings of a highly detailed website SEO audit, and monitor results to guide ongoing changes to the on-page optimization.

Link Development (Link Building)

Link development is one of the most controversial and often talked (written) about topics of the search engine optimization industry. Since backlinks are the most vital component of any search engine optimization campaign, and at the same time the most time consuming and consequently most expensive (assuming they are good quality links and not just random directory submissions and blog comment spam) part, inevitably, there are many service providers who offer inexpensive link building services in order to attract and impress potential clients. Such schemes include large volumes of directory submissions (e.g., 200 directory submissions per month), worthless blog and forum comment spam (e.g., 100 blog links per month), or article writing and submissions which result in extremely poor quality content published on equally low-quality article directories which contribute in no positive way to ranking improvements. So if someone is quoting you a $500 per month search engine optimization services which includes large volumes of directory submissions, blog posts, articles, blog/forum comments and so on, all you will be doing is throwing your money away. This is not to say that you can't get link-work for $500 per month; however, it won't be for a large volume of links.
Good quality link development work focuses on quality rather than quantity. A well researched and relevant, good quality link is worth many times more than hundreds of free directory submissions.
The fundamentals of link building are, have always been and always will be, based on good quality (i.e., useful, interesting, entertaining, educational) content. Because if there is no good content on your site that people can link to, it will be very difficult to convince them to do so.

SEO Content Writing

SEO content writing is somewhat of a misnomer--it really should be replaced with high quality and well researched content writing. The term "SEO content writing" implies that there is a secret writing formula which turns plain everyday text into something magical that gets the attention of the search engines--this could not be further from the truth.
If you are looking for content writing services which will help your website attain higher rankings, what you are really looking for is high quality and well written content, and not SEO content. SEO content is what you would get from a writing sweatshop or someone who cannot afford to write good content because they are only charging you $12 per "article".
SEO content writing as a service can be useful, if shortcuts are not taken, and the content is not expected to perform magic. Well written, interesting and useful content will inevitably be found, and get attention on its own merits; however, it also helps lay the foundation for a successful link development campaign.

Code Optimization

Code optimization is a service you can expect at the highest levels of search engine optimization services, as it involves an overhaul of your website HTML. The optimization of your HTML can impact search engine rankings in two ways. First, it can help alleviate code-clutter, and present your content in an easy-to-understand (for machines, that is, search engine algorithms) format. Second, it can help reduce the load-time of your website pages, so that search engine spiders don't have to wait around while your page loads (because it's too long, or has too many images, etc).
A comprehensive search engine optimization campaign will have all of the above elements, but it will also incorporate other important services such as keyword research, ranking reports, traffic reports, and conversion tracking.