Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of "improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results." (see Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization).

To quote a little more from the Wikipedia article: 

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.

One of my first endeavors in the remodeling of narfe65.org will be the analysis of how well we have positioned our web site so that it appears on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) when people look for it. For instance, if someone searches for "narfe meetings in the bay area", will they come up with our Meetings page, which will tell them when we meet and where? What do our members actually search for when they try to find their chapter's web site? Who IS looking for us? All of these are questions for a process of SEO, and the answers are what I will pursue for the next 10 weeks.