Even the average Web user has at least a marginal understanding of what search engine optimization means, but the professionals who spend every day in the SEO trenches know that the definition is constantly expanding. A term that once meant simply matching content to search terms now encompasses not only keywords, but also specific website coding and both on-page and off-page efforts that need to be regularly maintained.

Keywords were once the king of search engine optimization. They are still part of the SEO picture, but so many webmasters have either misunderstood or purposely misused keywords that search engines have been required to devise other ways to analyze content.

Nowadays even the use of keywords is a bit of a minefield. Most website optimization experts cannot even agree on what constitutes appropriate keyword density. In many cases this element of mystery actually simplifies keyword usage.
To account for this decreased emphasis on keywords, http://www.webadmarketing.com/">Search engine optimization has adapted. On-page SEO, for example, utilizes links and images in conjunction with optimized code and relevant content to create user loyalty. In coding, title and meta tags take precedence. Page titles that match the content closely help search engines identify relevant information. Meta tags, usually displayed below website links in search engine results, offer Internet users a preview that helps them determine which links are click-worthy.

Further useful on-page optimization methods include image and link optimization. Website users have very high expectations, and images are practically mandatory these days. How these images are named and identified within the website's code can give a site prominence in both image and text searches. Outgoing links and tagged content, on the other hand, add value for visitors and indicate to search engines that a site offers more than simply the text on the page.

Off-page optimization is an ongoing process, and probably the most intensive part of SEO today. Social media offers multiple opportunities to direct users to a specific website, but in order to gain a following a social media account must provide regular, useful updates. Directories and article-submission websites can also offer a source of traffic, but only when the content placed there is useful and well-written. If a review, article or press release comes across as obvious advertising, readers will be turned off and more likely to go elsewhere.

Search engine optimization will only become more complex as search engines expand their technology. Websites that stay on top of these changes will find themselves at the head of the pack, and the top of the search results.