The goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is simple: to attract more visitors to your website by making your listing more prominent in the search engine results pages. Achieving this goal is more complex. Search engine optimization embodies a number of disciplines, including market research, web development and copywriting. Search marketers must first identify their audiences and understand what types of search terms they use in order to find websites or businesses they are looking for. These terms are called “keywords” or “key phrases.” Search engine marketing campaigns will revolve around these keywords.

Next, the contents of the website must be crafted so that search engine spiders recognize it as strongly related to the targeted keywords. This is where the web design and copywriting elements come into play.

First and foremost, the visual elements, underlying HTML, meta tags and other code must be crafted in a way that is readable by search engine spiders. For example, most search engine spiders cannot properly parse out words that are included in Flash elements or images, so the web designer must create the website in such a way that the content is readable to spiders and aesthetically pleasing and intuitive for users. This can be done with relevant tags or alternate text for search engines to read.

SEO copywriters take it from here. The text that appears on the page must be compelling and read naturally, but at the same time, it should mention the targeted key phrases and variations of the keywords so that search engines know what the page is about. Copywriters may also create headings, meta descriptions and image descriptions to help readers and search engine spiders understand what the page is about.

For more information on search engine optimization and SEO consulting, check out some of the links below.