About Search Engines

Search Engines - A Little History
Search engines began in the early 1990's as a means to index, organize, and categorize the seemingly endless amount of information on the Internet.  Imagine how much information now "lives" on the Internet.  Now, imagine trying to find what you need without being able to go to a search engine, entering a keyword phrase and immediately being presented with a myriad of choices.  For the vast majority of us, the Internet and search engines have become a part of our day-to-day existence...as much as traditional phone books, "1-411" phone directories, and "The Weather Line" were in the past.  Does anyone else remember having to make a phone call to check the weather?

What Do Search Engines Do?
Search engines and online directories help people find relevant information on the Internet.  Major search engines maintain huge databases that users can search by typing in individual keywords (like "iPod") or keyword phrases (like "refurbished iPod Nano").  In order to compile databases, search engines rely on computer programs based on mathematical algorithms (often referred to as "robots", "spiders" or "crawlers").  These programs traverse the Internet by following links from website to website, indexing the information contained within each website they visit as they go. 

Search engines use their own set of criteria to determine what to include in their databases.  Each search engine is different and the criteria used to determine rankings is ever-changing, so there is no magic formula or fool-proof system for achieving a first page ranking in any given search engine's "natural" or "organic" results.  Knowing the basics of what the search engines are looking for is the first of many steps to achieving a better ranking for your keyword search terms.

Flash Websites and Search Engines
Many people comment, "...I don't want that much text...I have a Flash website for a reason...".  That's an option.  It's just not a realistic option for most small business owners if the goal is to have the site rank well in a keyword search.  Search engines cannot access the information within Flash files - period.  That said, when a search engine crawler access the source code of a Flash site there is essentially nothing to read.  Here's the basic premise:  if a site is to perform well in a keyWORD search, there must be WORDs on the page that the search engines can get access to.  Seems simple, I know.  For those who wish to have a site that doesn't incorporate text content, there are some options.

Start printing business cards, flyers, direct mail, etc. that include the URL and find out the hard way how difficult it is to market a small business "the old-fashioned way".  How many individuals can one person hand a business card to every day for the next...well, maybe forever?  Let's not forget about the costs associated with traditional marketing...supplies, printing, envelopes, payroll, postage...and all for a small return on a potentially large initial financial investment.  What about yellow page listings and newspaper ads?  What about them...when was the last time you picked up a phone book or read the ads in the newspaper? 

If you're not interested in turning back the hands of time and relying on traditional marketing methods, there are a plethora of SEO companies out there that will do all the work...some reputable, others not - do some research.  Hiring a company to do all of the SEO for you is a viable option.

The work done by an SEO firm will not be inexpensive.  Between the initial set up fees which are typically anywhere from $100 to $2000, as well as monthly costs ranging from $50 well into the thousands, hiring an SEO firm can be is a significant investment.  The costs associated with Do-It-For-Me SEO are typically directly related to how competitive the market is for a site's keyword terms. 

For small business owners who have a large enough marketing budget, SEO firms like Submitawebsite.com can be a great solution to help with achieving a better ranking with a Flash website.  Many small business owners, though, simply can't afford to hire a D-I-F-M (Do-It-For-Me) SEO company.  In that case, having a traditional, search engine friendly website in lieu of a fancy Flash website might be the best course of action intially.