A client came to us with a web site that was not generating any business. They had been guaranteed by the previous web developer that they would be in the top five on all major search engines. However, there are thousands of search engines in existence and each has its own variable ranking rules, making this feat impossible. To help, we had to adhere to some basic rules and designs to raise their rank. We redesigned their metatags and site content, began link exchanging with other sites, and submitted their site to search engines and directories.

Metatags (also called metacontent): We created new keywords, descriptions, and other positioning items which may be hidden from view in a Web browser, but are often the first thing a search engine reviews when it comes time to deciding where a site should be placed in its results. Near the top of the page's code are lines that begin with
META NAME followed by the type of metatag it is. Among the most important metatags for search engine optimization are TITLE, KEYWORDS, and DESCRIPTION.

	Title: the text seen at the very top of a browser window, not the one seen on the Web page itself. This title is what is displayed on search engine results pages.
	Keywords: words and phrases potential customers might use, in the order they would use them, usually the words used to describe the client's company.
	Description: this portion of code is shown under the client's web site title on search engine results pages. This is a short description that helps the client's customers decide if the site is what they are looking for or not.

Site Content: We redesigned the site's visible text so it involved more keywords that people will use to find our client in search engines. We applied "alt tags" to all site graphics.

	Text: words in the visible site are searched by search engines, just like the metatags. Having the text also be words or phrases potential customers might use increases search engine ranking.
	Graphics: applying "alt tags" to all of the graphics allows another searchable aspect to the site. Search engines can only search text, not graphics. Therefore, attaching tags to each of the graphics gives search engines something else to add to their ranking score. "Alt tags" are only visible behind the graphic when the graphic is loading or the mouse's cursor hovers over it.

Link Exchanging and Search Engine Submission: We set up link exchanges with other sites relvant to our client's company and submitted the site to the big 4 search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the Open Directory Project.

	Link Exchange: finding sites relevant to our client's site and offering to put a link to them on our client's site if they put one to our client's site on theirs. Search engines will also see how many links TO our client's site (not FROM) are on the net. The more sites that link to our client's site, the higher it will rank.
	Search Engine Submission: most search engines will have an "Add Your URL" or "Submit Your Site" button on their page. Some charge and some are free. It takes some time for a submitted site to be added to a search engine this way as thousands are submitted everyday.

We optimized their site in one week and improved their ranking on the search engines - while educating the client and showing them how to keep up their site marketing efforts.