In Part I of this article, we discussed how SEO is the most cost-effective and quantifyable use of your company's advertising and marketing budget.  Now it's time to move on to just how and why search engine optimization works.

If your company is like most these days, you face a dilemma. You offer a good product, but sales are lagging, cash flow is weak, reserves are dwindling, and there doesn't seem to be fat to cut anywhere. You're afraid to even talk to your bank given the state of commercial lending. For years you've been successful, and you know your company will thrive if you can just ride out this storm. So what can you do?

A common misconception is that that once a website is created, it is "done" - it will quickly appear predominantly in search engine listings and traffic will skyrocket. The reality, however is that even if your website's design is as search engine friendly as possible, if you expect long term, progressive improvement in your visibility and a healthy traffic volume, the site is not done.

Creating an optimized website is the only first step.

One of the first considerations in creating a web design is whether a content management system, or CMS, makes sense. There are some situations when a CMS is clearly the best choice, while it may be an unnecessary collection of bells and whistles at other times.

Whether you live in Seattle or Boston, search engine optimization, or SEO, is a critical factor in your site's success. Before beginning the search engine optimization process, however, it is important to understand that approximately 80-85% of all web traffic is generated by the engines...