Search Engine Optimization Bible, Second Edition

Introduction

Welcome to the second edition of the Search Engine Optimization Bible. Like all books in the Bible series, you can expect to find both hands-on tutorials and real-world practical-application information, as well as reference and background information that provide a context for what you are learning. This book is a comprehensive resource on search engine optimization. By the time you have completed the SEO Bible, you will be well prepared to optimize your web site or blog to achieve the best possible search engine rankings.

Search engine optimization means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In the strictest sense, SEO is about the on-page and off-page design strategies you can use to improve your search engine ranking. This usually means tweaking your web site using design elements and content — and in most cases, it also means spending no money at all.

SEM, or search engine marketing, is not just SEO. More accurately, SEM includes PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising. Search engine marketing is about doing whatever you need to do to ensure that your web site ranks as high as possible in search engine results. This means not only that you make the needed changes to your web site design, but that you also employ other tactics, such as using a paid advertising program or investing in content strategies.

I lump all these efforts into one category. The ultimate goal of both SEO and SEM is to bring more people to your web site, and you can do that by improving ...