There are really only two types of web sites (doesn’t matter if they are great sites or poorly designed sites):

• Those that are seen by target audience
• Those that are not seen by your target audience

Unfortunately, most sites are the latter. Most marketers pay attention to the quality of the site and not the marketing of the site. The point is that a big expensive highly designed site that doesn't attract visitors is worth a lot less than a $500 site that gets visited and communicates what it needs to communicate.

Today, more than half of web traffic is estimated to originate from search engines. The remaining traffic comes from those who are already aware of your site URL and either have an existing relationship with your brand or noticed it on some other form of marketing.

Content is king on the Internet. Your target customers do not visit sites to listen to you crow about your brand or service. They need to get value or they will not visit or stay or come back. Search engines understand that and rank sites based on whether they think your content matches the searchers' term or desire. Unfortunately the competition is huge. When one types in on Google the term Maple Sugar, for example, there are over 10.5 million pages competing for that term. How do you get noticed?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of methods aimed at improving the ranking of a website in search engine listings. The primary purpose of SEO is to get higher rankings on the search engines which in turn creates a larger target audience. If done correctly, SEO can bring high rankings on many of the search engines for the proper keywords you'd like people to be searching for. Paying attention to SEO strategies can help raise your site up in the Organic (non paid) rankings.

Accordingly, search engine optimization is a long term process which involves several factors:

• Web site optimized from backend to front via its meta tags, design & structure
• Competitive analysis and comparison
• Keyword research and integration
• Sitemap, navigation & resources
• Launching an incoming links strategy
• Search engine submission
• A tracking or web analytics program

Not all sites have identical goals for search optimization. Some sites are seeking any and all traffic, and may be optimized to rank highly for common search phrases. A broad search optimization strategy can work for a site that has broad interest, such as a periodical or a directory. In contrast, many businesses try to optimize their sites for large numbers of highly specific keywords that indicate readiness to buy. Overly broad search optimization can hinder marketing strategy by generating a large volume of low-quality inquiries that cost money to handle, yet result in little business. Focusing on desirable traffic generates better quality sales leads, resulting in more sales. Search engine optimization can be very effective when used as part of a smart niche marketing strategy.

For competitive, high-traffic search terms, it is often very difficult to rank highly in the search results. Even with highly optimized sites using SEO techniques, you will need to look at natural search engine optimization as a long-term project. While you may see some encouraging results relatively early on with SEO, you would do well to think of search engine optimization as a strategy that is going to start paying its greatest dividends after a year or so of constant, ongoing, slow but steady site improvement.

Search engines reward sites that have a constant, steady influx of new, fresh content. They also reward you for being around a while. Getting traffic for some terms as soon as possible is important because search engines pay attention to which pages actually receive click-throughs from their search engine result pages. Furthermore, the search engines notice how long a visitor stays on your site before returning to the results page to try another site or do another search. These are indications that your website is worthy and important. These are indications that your web site deserves a higher ranking so that people can find it easier.

Search engine optimization has the potential to extract large amounts of traffic from the search engines, and further build brands and create profitability. Just keep in mind that SEO is not the end-all, be-all of traffic generation. Marketing and brand building are still the primary activities of a successful business. In the big scheme of things, SEO must take a back seat to brand building marketing activities and profitability. SEO is a tool unto a means, and nothing more. The design of the website must first build the brand and present a viable marketing strategy which results in higher conversion rates and profitability.