Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEO is about building your website in such a way that it's visible to search engines. SEM is everything you do to get ranked high on search engine results pages, from SEO to participating in social media. Learn all it at the following sites, listen to our experts or take a basics workshop.

Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF)
The majority of people use Google for search, so start here. Also includes warnings about how to avoid SEO scams.

Search Engine Registration

When your website is ready for public view, make sure the following search engines know about you. There are hundreds of others, but you can disregard them. They get their information from these guys.

• Google
• Bing
• Yahoo
• DMOZ: Many other search engines get their information from this directory, but don't be discouraged if you don't get in. It can be tough.

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Keyword Tools

Keywords are at the heart of any search engine marketing program. They're the digital DNA of the Web. Use these tools to figure out yours.

• Google Adwords Keyword Tool
• Search Engine Watch: What People Search For
• We Build Pages
  Search keyword combinations.
  

Check Competitors

• SpyFu
  Spy on your online competitors. Download competitors keywords and adwords.
  

Track Your Own Site

• Urltrends
  Provides trend reports on your website's rankings.
• Hub Finder
  Find the best sites in your category (in search engine terms) so you are well-linked to them. This will help improve your own search engine rank.
  

Further Reading

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Search Engine Watch
Everything you've always wanted to know about search engines and more. This site's been around since the beginning of the Web.

Search Engine Journal
Latest news about search engines and the Web.

WebmasterWorld
Discussion board about SEO.

Matt Cutts
Google's blog about SEO.