Search Engine Optimization means many things to many people. Some think of it as the shady deeds of money hungry characters. Others see it as a simple ploy that, once they figure it out, will get them number one positions in Google for any term they would like.

In truth, Search Engine Optimization is something you should want to do on the Web since much of your traffic can come from these search engines. If you actually offer what your audience is looking for, the search engines will essentially direct people to you.

Offer your audience what they want. Don’t just give them what you think they need unless you’re advising them on what they need. Giving them what they want means you have to know your audience and use your head. If I’m looking up a local dry cleaner online, I want hours of operation, information about turnaround time and maybe a phone number. If you present me with a flash movie about your ironing talents, I’ll lose interest and leave.

Not surprisingly, the real contradiction is a lot of people spend a lot of time making sure people get to their sites without actually giving them what they want once they actually arrive. That’s like spending time and money advertising a huge sale on Saturday and then opening the store for only 15 minutes because you’re exhausted from all the advertising.

Of course, there are other points you should consider. For instance, what people search for and what people want are two different things. The search engines don’t always understand what you’re talking about. You want to clearly state your topic using key words and phrases so there’s no confusion.

It’s expected that you link to yourself. It is much more significant when somebody else links to you. This is how the search engines establish what is important. When other people in your field link to you, you become, obviously, important to someone other than yourself. The search engines take you that much more seriously.

This covers about 90% of the process of search engine optimization. Realize that you’re designing and writing for what your audience is looking for (not what they need), make sure you use keywords in such a way that the search engines know what you’re talking about and get others to link to you by all means necessary.