In August 2009 Google made a major update to its search engine. These updates are usually met with nervousness by the SEO community, but this time Google decided to take a more softly approach, preferring to allow web professionals to view the update before it was rolled out. This meant that website owners could preview the impact the new changes had on their websites and make the necessary changes before the update went live.

As with any SEO task, there is always more that can be done to drive traffic to your site. You may have done the fundamentals correctly i.e. your keyword research and optimisation, but what else can you do to enhance your SEO efforts.

Social Awareness

No, I don't mean go out and help the poor, noble cause that it is, but getting to grips with he new Web 2.0 technologies out there. Youtube is a great traffic driver.

On-site optimisation of your website does not mean that your site will automatically rise in the search engine rankings. This is something that can disappoint people when they do the on-site optimisation only to see no effect in their search engine ranking.

This is one of those problems that business must continuously address with the search engines .i.e. how do you identify yourself as "local" for the eyes of the search engines? What if a user in Ireland googles for flower shops in Cork. How do the search engines know what results to present to the user? Here are the main reasons that contribute to international ranking success:

Good marketers know what their audience are searching for. This is crucial knowledge to have for you to build your online marketing strategy. If you know how your target audience searches for your products, then you will be more more effective in reaching and keeping those users.

There are lots of excellent reasons why search engine optimisation should be considered for your website. Have a look at the following stats:

• A survey from 2008 into internet surfers found that 60% of potential customers use the web as a tool to find local businesses and services. The survey also found that 60% of these customers go on to buy from local businesses.

Search engine optimisation presents many opportunities for your website. If you are in the business of selling or advertising online, then SEO is one of the best ways to get traffic and sales to your site.

So, here are list of things to consider before making a decision to invest in search engine optimisation.

There has been a big uptake in social media in the last few years and much has been written about it. There are different types of networks ranging from social networks like Linkedin and Facebook, knowledge networks like Wikipedia and Yahoo! Answers as well as social streaming networks like Youtube and Vimeo.