There are two types of services typically provided for search engines -
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). The former deals with optimization of a website to achieve optimal placement for search results among various search engines. The latter deals with management of pay-per-click advertising on these search engines. Typically you will see a ratio of 80/20 for search engine referrals, 80% from natural search results (not paid) and 20% from paid pay-per-click spots. Unfortunately most search engine service providers make most of their revenue from managing these paid campaigns (pay-per clicks). What this often results in is sub-standard execution of the SEO and heavy focus (and cost) on the SEM. More dollars must be spent and continually spent to ensure the smaller amount (20%) of traffic is making up for the loss of traffic by having a sub-standard implemention of SEO.

We primarily focus on SEO. We do this to ensure that our clients get the best search engine referral service possible. We have seen tremendous success in this space. Our clients have experienced not only an increase in web traffic as a result of higher placement, but those referrals were more qualified. Our clients are also able to redirect use of their pay-per click advertising budgets that were previously spent on those keywords. Below are some of the highlights of this service:

• Keyword research - we identify search phrases that are actually used versus keywords that might be searched on.
• Qualitative Competive Analysis - we do more than look at the number of competitors for a particular search phrase. We actually look at the competition and see how well they are executing their SEO (if at all).
• Content Integration - we will implement the keywords into your existing site, or develop a new site with them in mind. This is the most critical component for SEO. A page must be relevant for a certain search phase. The more relevant it appears to be for a search engine, the higher it will "rank". Relevancy for a search phrase is dependant on a lot of factors - how often is the phrase used, is it used too much, where is it used, how many pages are linking to it with similar content, how is the phrase displayed on the page... just to name a few.
• Site Architecture - the architecture of a site also has impact on how search engines index a site. A site with too many subfolders, long urls, or multiple query parameters might pose problems to a search engine - often they will simply ignore the page. The names of those folders also has an impact of the relevancy of a page.
• Site Submission - now that the site has been optimized, search engines need to know about it. Different search engines (Goggle vs. MSN) have different requirements and methods for submitting a site and ensuring all pages get indexed.
• Ongoing Maintenance - we continually monitor your placement for the best keywords and make adjustments where necessary to ensure optimal placement. We will also provide a easy-to-read monthly report of your placement.