SEO - Search engine optimization

SEO Basis

Being found on the internet - principles

• The principle of the internet
• How does the internet work?
• Getting information to be found on the internet
• How does a search engine robot function
• Value of information

The principle of the internet

To understand what search engine optimization is all about, it is important to understand how the internet works. Lets just focus on what the principle of the internet is:

Internet startet out of a need to obtain more and more information. Espacially at university's where masses of information are needed and research is done that delivers even more information without knowing if a certain research hadn't been done already somewhere else. So, there had to be found a solution to get that and more information quick and in an appropriate format.

That, making information available is the principle of the internet.

How does the internet work?

After computers had been introduced and got integrated in research on a large scale the development of local networks speeded up.

Small internal networks developed to distribute the information to all the departments on the university. This network was then connected to other networks of university's, building a larger network. Regional networks turned into large country wide networks and after a while those separate small networks in different country's got connected. The WWW World Wide Web was born.

All this based on just one thought: "Collecting, using and to distribute information, not bound by borders and boundaries. Making it available for every one."

Getting information to be found on the internet

To locate the information and make it available, parts of the internet get an address. A unique number IP to locate that special part and being able to connect to it. As those numbers are not very usefull for us humans, they are converted into a URl. A Unique Resource Locator, ""http://vision2form.nl/websitedesign/" for example. (simplified explanation)

To address to a certain piece of information on a website, a link is used. By activating that link (clicking on it) the location of that information is being searched and if found the information on that address is displayed.

The only way to allow the distribution of information on the internet is showing where it is, a link to it is the best way to ensure that exactly that will be possible.

How does a search engine robot function

Google's robot follows those links, no matter where they point to, if the address is somewhere in Timboektoe, or in down town New York is of no concern to it. The only thing that matters to the robot is that there is information and that it is made available without technical blockades.

All the information that will be found by just following links, from one page onto another, is stored into a large database in the most logical way a search engine can.

From these databases, each time information is requested, the most relevant parts will be presented based upon what was searched for.

That is the principle on which a search engine works. A link therefor, is very important to unlock the information on a certain location. Just look at it as if you were in a large city where you don't know the way. If there aren't any signposts to show you the way, getting where you want to be, will be very difficult.

Value of information

To deliver the most appropriate information, a search engine has to estimate what the value of the information is, therefor Google introduced a ranking system called PR - Page Rank.

A very simple principle: the more pages link to a certain piece of information, the more important this information must be, and therefor valued with a higher PR. NOTE: PR is just a small part of Googles algorithm to estimate the value of a certain page!

That is the basis for SEO / search engine optimization.

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