Don't let your website be like a "dead fish in the water" - Phillip D. Nguyen, DMS CIO

1) 56.6% of Internet users abandon their searches after the first two pages - MIT Tech
2) Over 85% of prospective customers use the Internet to find what they are looking for - Georgia Institute of Technology
3) A good ranking on a major Web search engine can make the difference between commercial success and failure - Penn State School of Information Sciences & Technology

According to Brand Week On-line Magazine, "Search engine optimization may be just one part of an on-line Internet marketing strategy, but it is the fundamental part. It's the baseline. If you are doing nothing else, search engine placement and keyword-related advertising can make up 80 to 90 percent of your traffic."

Why search engine optimization? Because there are more than 5 million searches performed on the Internet per day and if your prospective client can't find you; you are a "fish dead in the water" as they say. Many people assume that if they have a website, the world will see it. It's true in many ways but it's not true if we talk about what it means to be found on major search engines. Lets put it in a simple analogy. If you have a telephone number assigned to you by your local telephone company, this means anyone who knows your number can reach you. However, in order for people to be able to find your phone number, you have to be listed. Not only that, in the search engine world, competition to be listed on the top ten on any subject or category is getting tougher and tougher, but it's not impossible. To be easily found and top ranked on any search engine, you may need the help of a SEO professional. Please note that I said a "search engine professional, SEO" not a web designer. Most website designers or programmers by trade know little about SEO and that is why there is such as service called search engine optimization services. Read more about how to do it yourself SEO .