When it comes to online searching, page ranking is the name of the game. A high page rank from a search engine such as Google or Bing means a better chance of your business being found. If you offer a product or service, you may be largely or solely dependent on the Internet to attract customers. And if you are like most small business owners, you probably have a tight budget that doesn't allow for a lot of paid placements on search engine results pages (SERP). Yes, you can have a number one placement, but Google AdWords will charge you plenty for each time someone clicks on your entry. Doesn't it make more sense to use organic techniques to achieve a high page ranking without paying for placements?

That's why search engine optimization (SEO) exists. Through SEO techniques, you can steadily raise your website's page rank and improve your traffic volume. The most important technique is to post good content on your site. It should be written grammatically, with proper spelling and punctuation. Google is smart enough to recognize deficient content, and that just about blows any chance you have to achieve a high page rank. You need to include keywords in you headings, subheadings, captions and text so that Google knows what your page is about. They even offer a tool to help you decide which keywords would be best for your business.

The other important SEO element leading to higher page rankings is backlinks. These are links from other websites that point to your site. The search engines grade the quantity and quality of your backlinks to help decide how to rank your web pages. More links are better, but a few good links are better than a bunch of bad ones. A good link is one that comes from an authoritative website - one that boasts a high page ranking of its own. The linking site should cover topics that are related to your website. Unrelated links tend to be ignored or, worse, may be counted against you. The anchor text on the linking site should ideally be one of your keyphrases.

The Internet offers tools to help you check backlinks. These backlink checkers can tell you how many backlinks are pointing at your website, where each originates, and the page rank each source. From this information, you can determine the quantity and quality of your links, and if necessary take steps to improve your situation. For instance, you can leave linked comments at blogs and forums. Another possibility is to hire an SEO firm to strategically place backlinks for you on highly ranked sites. The intelligent use of backlinks can help improve your SERP results, so make sure you understand how to use them properly.