A recent research has proved that a huge number of people generally click at the top search results whenever they type in a keyword or they will simply go to another search engine for results. With that in mind each and every business is fighting its way to the top listings as they increase the chances of getting better traffic which is the main aim of search engine optimization. Getting your website listed at the top, doesn't only get you customers but will make your customers trust you as they believe that better ranked sites are the most relevant ones.

search engine optimization (SEO) means getting the search engines (like Google and Yahoo) to place your website at the top of the rankings. Getting "free advertising" from the search engines is great. However, it is not easy, and it does take some time. The key is make your site the best possible site for your theme - tricks and scams may provide you with an instant "boost" but this rarely last (and sometimes even gets you banned permanently!) Over the past few years, I've made lots of money by having high rankings - and I've lost money when my rankings have fallen. It's part of the process, so you shouldn't count only on free traffic from the search engines.

Most blogs never gain a real readership because it simply is a mishmash of a writer's thoughts, with very little coherent theme to bind the entire blog together. If the blogger does it for the sheer purpose of a journal, there's really nothing wrong with that.

No doubt, there are some legit online jobs faux pases that will do harm to your site's rankings, especially in Google, the ultimate hall-monitor all puffed up and ready to pounce on any misbehaving webmaster. Things such as keyword stuffing, keyword spamming or linking out to bad neighborhoods such as link farms, pharmaceutical or gambling sites may get you blacklisted.

But how much SEO do you need? How much search engine optimization do you need to get top rankings? Do you need a whole lot or do you need very little SEO?

These tools cost quite a bit, but if you can narrow your research using them, you're sure to recoup your investment in a short period of time.