If you are asking this question, you are not alone. Many small business owners and people who are self employed understand they need a website, but don't have a clue how to make visitors come to it. The truth is, understanding websites is pretty simple; bringing tons of visitors is another topic altogether though. Let's start with how search engines work to index your website and what is so vital about them.

What are Search Engines?

Search engines are like phone books for the internet. In the same way you look to the phone book to find a local business, a search engine allows you to look for online businesses. You simply type in the word or words that represent what you are searching for and you get a list of possible sites. The search engines use what they call “spiders” to crawl the internet and index websites by term. For example, a spider from a search engine would crawl through your site and see the word shoes. If “Shoes” is the most used word on your web page, you'll get indexed for shoes, along with every other site using that word. However, if your site uses the term “Shoes Boston,” you would be indexed for that term. For this reason, you need to include words relevant to what you are selling or offering.

Why are Search Engines Important?

The majority of people use search engines to find what they are looking for. No matter how much you advertise your website and url, the fact is very few people will remember it. Most people simply search by the name of your company or the industry it is a part of. However, all search engines only lists ten search results on each page. Statistics show that very few people go past page two of the search results. Therefore, if you are on page nine or you are listing 150,000 out of one million, you may never get seen.

How Do You Get On Page One Or Two Of Popular Search Engines?

Having your site displayed on page or two of the most popular search engine results is not easy. There are a number of things to consider such as keywords, meta tags, headers, and even the website name you choose. You also have to know which sites to link to and which to stay away from. It is not an easy process, but with a little time and determination, you can get your site up there. The process is called SEO or search engine optimization. If you do a search for either term you will quickly see that it is the foundation on which search engines work. There are companies that do nothing but optimize websites each day. There are also sites that sell links to promote your website. Some of these sites are great; they help you get on page one and develop a good website. However, some companies use techniques that are not so prudent and can not only keep you off page one, but they can also get you banned from the search engines all together.

What Should You Avoid?

Avoid using companies that stuff your pages full of keywords or link you to hundreds of sites in one day! These techniques are not useful and the major search engines will quickly catch on. You need to use techniques that build your site up in a natural order that would occur without these companies. You should slowly add links, use lots of new relevant content, and grow your site over time. Do not try to force the process or use bad techniques. Do things correctly and you will quickly be on page one of the search results.