What does SEO mean?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search 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.
What is a search engine?
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERP's). The information may be a specialist in web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web crawler.
What is an organic search engine result?
A term used for the free search results found on the center of the returns as you do a search in the search engines. The paid entries at the top and on the side and are called pay per click results.
What is a keyword?
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords. It is these keywords or phrases that should be in your internal code. The use of general keywords like "dog" is not recommended. Instead you want to use a more specific phrase such as "male cocker spaniel dog". The more specific the search keyword, the better chance it has of being found.
What is the top search engine currently?
There is always a debate here on this, but generally speaking if asked I tell a person that Google is the place to be followed by Bing then by Yahoo.
Should I be in all the top search engines?
My answer here is yes. Try to be in as many search engines as you can be in, but especially the top ones that I previously mentioned.
Is being on the first page of Google or any search engine important?
This is a debatable subject, and it is my belief that being ranked is good but getting leads by various means is better. Ranking is a part of an overall strategy to get leads. Therefore my answer is yes, it is good to be on the first page if possible.
Can you always guarantee that I will be on the first page of a search engine?
My answer is no. I cannot guarantee it, and I believe anyone that says they can for any length of time is pulling your leg. The search engines change so often and so fast, it is a constant battle to stay in the top page but one that is achievable if using the right program.