Search engine optimisation can mean many things but what really is search engine optimisation? First off it's not search engine marketing or sem. Search engine marketing is the ability for advertisers, ad agencies, marketing firms etc. to pay for a sponsored listing in cpc (cost per click) search engines like Overture and via Google AdWords Programs. Search engine marketing is the quick fix to driving targeted traffic to a web site but it's also the most expensive to get search engine traffic.

Search engine optimisation or SEO on the other hand is the technique employed by web site owners to make their web site more search engine friendly. When a site is optimized for the search engines properly it will receive traffic from the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and others at no additional cost per visitor. That's right! The major search engines will send traffic to your site for cheap! What's the catch? Your site needs to look good to the search engine spiders and needs to be on the first page of the major search engines when users type in keywords that relate to your web site's business. A good search engine optimisation firm can get you to the top of the search engines and will keep you there. But its not an easy task.