The Internet is becoming the number one source of information for a large part of the world's population. Its use varies by age group and education level with the higher usage being the more educated and younger generation. However most of the world's population is quickly becoming computer and Internet literate. Therefore, it is imperative that all businesses and professions establish a web presence (a web site).

The Keys to a successful web site start before the site is created and do not cease when the site is up and running. For example, the selection of the domain name and web site organization are critical factors that need much thought prior to constructing a web site.

Once a site is up and running site metrics should be evaluated on a regular basis to monitor the effectiveness of the site. Over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of articles that will discuss the following subjects;

1. Domain Name Selection/registration
2. Site Layout (site map)
3. Importance of Page Layout and Content
4. Importance and Construction of Meta Tags
5. Search Engine Submission & Rankings
6. Importance of Links
7. Using Web Page Analysis Tools
8. Using Web Site Metrics/Statistics

All of the above topics are important and in most cases the optimization of each is critical in achieving and maintaining a high search engine ranking. Search engine ranking is critical if the success of your business or professional service depends upon people finding you using the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, & MSN).

Usually when one uses these search engines for a word or phrase search they return thousands of pages. Most of us only glance at the first few pages. Therefore, if your page is not ranked in the first fifty or so most will never find you.

If you have not become familiar with the above, I would suggest that you do so. There are a number of good article on each topic available on the Internet. My follow on articles will attempt to explain each topic and show not only the importance of each topic, but also how the topic relates to the whole subject of Web Site Optimization.

About the author

Charles King has over thirty years of experience working for computer manufactures, computer software companies, communication companies, and computer consulting firms. He also has a BS in physics and Mathematics with a Masters in Computer Systems. The importance of the above subject became apparent to him as he developed a site for Four Soils Ministry. Also you might visit www.simplewebsites.info if you have questions or need assistance.