Googlers have emerged on the scene as a powerful marketing cohort. To attract them businesses must find favor with search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the use of intentional techniques to optimize your Web presence and gain attention from search engine crawlers so when googlers search online for your type of business, product or service, your website pops up near the top of the organic search engine listing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) involves using specific structural, design, and copywriting techniques to drive traffic from search portals to your site. There are several strategies you can use to optimize your website so that search engines will notice it and display it prominently.

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What appeals to search engines?

Each one is different and uses a slightly different set of criteria to rank websites. But it is safe to say that all search engines look for freshness, relevance, word proximity and ordering, as well as both inbound and outbound links. Occurrences of specific terms, called keywords, are important. But keywords may be weighted differently by search engine crawlers depending on where they are located and whether structural and presentational elements (such as being in bold, italics or titles) are present.

How do you identify the words and phrases that searchers will use to look for what you offer?

The process of keyword discovery often starts with a combination of brainstorming, trial and error, and listening to your customers to understand what terms they actually use in asking for or about your offerings.

The second phase of the process involves doing online research, visiting competitors’ sites, perusing online discussion forums and Usenet newsgroups, and reviewing keyword research information that is available from the search engines themselves.

Finding the right keywords to optimize in your site can be an intensive process. There are literally thousands of words and word combinations that users could use to find your business, product or service. It is a process of continuous refining to hone in on those keywords that are neither too broad nor too narrow and that will boost your website’s position on organic search listings.

Generally, look for keywords that are popular, relevant and targeted to attract the greatest amount of high-quality traffic to your site. You may even incorporate common grammar errors, misspellings and typos if that’s what searchers are likely to input.

Finally comes the task of integrating all the research and discovery into your site by way of copywriting, keyword placement, structure and design. This is the real art of search engine optimization - using the information you have gathered to craft your site without compromising its look and readability.

Avoid search engine-speak! It takes practice, creativity, patience and skill, but it is possible n and highly desirable n to have the search terms fall into the text and layout naturally so that the copy still communicates with site visitors. Avoid stuffing keywords into every nook and cranny, but place them strategically.

Mike Schmidt is the founder and principal of Anchor Wave Internet Solutions, a Tucson-based website design and development company. Contact Schmidt at Anchor Wave, 245 S. Plumer Ave., on the Web at www.anchorwave.com or call (520) 622-3731.