Have some niggling questions? Are you not sure of some facts related to Search Engine Optimization? Or just want to confirm a fact that you are aware of? Why not see the list below? It's got a list of frequently asked questions explained in simple terms. Just browse through the list and find out the answers to some of the commonly asked questions on Search Engine Optimization.

Q. What is SEO?
A. SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. SEO is a technique whereby the website is designed and built in a manner that it is able to rank higher in search results for a particular word/phrase.

Q. What is a search engine?
A. Search engine is a software program. It is designed to aid the users in searching documents, pages, files or folders, images, video, audio that is stored on the Internet.

Q. What is a directory?
A. A directory is similar to a search engine in the sense that it too indexes websites. Directories are divided into various categories and sub-categories. Some directories charge a fee for reviewing a website, while others charge a fee for the inclusion of the website.

Q. Are all search engines same and equal?
A. Though the basic characteristic of all search engines remains the same, each is unique. Algorithms, robots may cause difference in the way a search engine works. From the user point of view, they are different because of the speed with which a search engine gets the result, the layout, the way a sponsored link is displayed and its placement on the page.

Q. Why is SEO important and how can it help my business?
A. To start with the fact that you have a website means that you want to reach out to clients and prospective customers, thus, the visibility of your website is of prime importance. SEO is the process of identifying the ideal keywords for a website and optimizing it in order to ensure that the website achieves high rankings on search engines and directories for those specific search terms and phrases. This in turn will direct the target audience to the website and should translate into revenue for it.

Q. How do I know that my SEO vendor is indulging in unethical SEO practices?
A. Some of the unethical SEO practices that one should steer clear of include the following:

* Page cloaking is when the website shows keyword rich pages to a robot but displays pages that are useless to the Internet user.
* Linkfarms are sites that have numerous links and are used to make a profit usually for an affiliate advertising program.
* Duplicate content should be avoided as it may stop your website from being indexed.
* Keyword stuffing: over usage of keywords in the content
* Spamming keywords in the title tag and meta tags.
* Pagejacking: it means stealing content from other website and pasting it on one's own site.

One should ensure that the SEO vendor is not using such practices or any other black hat SEO practices for it might harm your search engine rankings.

Q. Despite getting a lot of traffic to my website there isn't any change in online sales. Why?
A. You first need to study if the keywords from which your website is optimized is concurrent to your business and the products on sale. Next the website design and structure needs to be analyzed in order to ensure that the website is attractive and inspire confidence in the traffic. Other factors that need to be considered include easy navigation and the amount of time taken to load pages. Similarly, the contact details should be placed in a manner that they are easily noticed on any page.

Q. Despite attempts to get keywords ranked, there have been no results. Why?
A. The website would need to be studied carefully to decide why keywords are not getting ranked. However a few points to consider include:

* If you have paid for submissions but are unable to see results then most probably the keywords and the website are not fitting the criteria set by the search engines.
* If the website is new, wait for at least three months before you start making any major changes.
* After this period if keywords are still not ranked then you need to employ optimization techniques such as linking to quality text from other websites, taking on advertising partners, etc.

Q. Is there any way by which I can get my website accepted faster into DMOZ?

A. The selection process employed by www.dmoz.org is fairly unclear though the guidelines are clear and simple. Here is what you can do to try and get accepted into DMOZ:

* Ensure that editorial guidelines provided by DMOZ are followed
* Select the correct sub-category
* Submit a meaningful website


Q. What is the future of SEO?
A. The future of SEO lies primarily in good, focused content that increase the website's credibility. The visitor popularity criterion is expected to gain a lot of importance and assist in turning traffic into actual sales.

One-way text links will continue to remain important and article PR and niche directory submission will see an increase as will article submission sites. User popularity is expected to become as crucial as link popularity. On the other hand reciprocal linking, mass e-mail link requests, free directory submissions and link buying would see a decline.

Q. What is KEI and how is it useful?
A. KEI or Keyword Effectiveness Index is a system of ranking how popular a keyword is and the amount of competition it has on the Internet. With a high KEI your keywords will be more popular and will have less competition and thus will have a good chance to get a good ranking. A lower KEI indicates that the keywords are not as popular and have a lot of competition. Hence a high KEI means that the keywords on your website are more profitable.

Q. What does PageRank mean?
A. PageRank is a Google ranking system that is based on links. PageRank is calculated by votes given to the links on a web page and the number of links pointing to that web page. Thus lesser number of links means more share of the vote is provided to each link. PageRank is given on a scale of 0-10. However, the importance of the link in that page content is also given due consideration. For e.g. a auto spare part manufacturing site having links to a site on writing will not be given importance by Google. Similarly, Google also gives importance to the site, which is giving the link. For e.g. if 'A' a well-known site provides a link to site 'B', this link will be given more importance than a link given by site 'C' which is a relatively unknown site.

Q. What is TrustRank?
A. TrustRank is a system that helps identify reputable pages from those that considered as Spam. It uses both automation and human efforts. The algorithm chooses a seed set of pages that are then evaluated by humans. An inverse PageRank that selects websites that link to many sites identifies a seed set. The final set is created after eliminating sites that aren't listed on major directories and sites such as DMOZ clones. Once the seed set is analyzed by humans it is then rated by the algorithm on the basis of their connectivity with trusted seed pages. Thus the farer a page is from a trusted site the less chances of it being trusted. TrustRank can be used independently or along with other ranking systems such as PageRank.

Q. What is the purpose of a sandbox?
A. A sandbox is a type of filter that was put to use by Google in 2004.The main purpose of using sandbox is to stop newly formed sites from achieving higher rankings. The philosophy behind sandbox is to let newly formed websites to first prove their mettle, before allotting them a rank. Thus it sieves the good sites from the bad ones.

Q. What is Google Analytics and how is it useful?
A. Google Analytics is a free web-statistics solution that provides regular website statistics and also combines it with Google Adwords. Thus Google Analytics informs you of how visitors found your website and the manner in which they behave on it. The advantages of Google Analytics are that web statistics are accessible and this can be used to make the site more search engine friendly.

Q. How will two websites with mirror content but different keywords and meta tags effect their rankings on a search engine?
A. Most major search engines are clear that they do not want sites with mirror content submitted. Submitting such websites may see them both being banned by search engines.

Q. If a company does not take its website's SEO seriously how can it be convinced to think otherwise?
A. The fact that a company has a website means that it wants attention of the target audience. If it does not take its SEO seriously then the very purpose of the website is lost. In modern economy websites have become a necessity for companies to maintain visibility and focus in the market. Online marketing and sales is a major part of any business' revenue. A company that truly wants to be successful cannot neglect it. Without proper SEO for the website, your company would be losing out on opportunities and sales. Also a website allows you to cultivate a certain image that you want to associate your company with. It is important to recognize the vast opportunities that the Internet holds for your business and then master them. A look at how a rival is doing because of good rankings is also a good way to get the attention of the management of the company.

Q. What leads to a lowering of ranking and how to avoid it?
A. A newly launched website or newly optimized website can lower the rankings of one's own site. Broken link, link farms, excessive usage of keywords are some of the other factors which can lower the rankings of a website.