Why Information Professionals Should Care About Web Search Optimization

Author: Marydee Ojala,  ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals, USA

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Abstract

The essence of Web search optimization is getting noticed, having your Web site show up at the top of Web search engine results. As Web information has grown and changed, search engine optimization (SEO) has had to keep pace.

Information professionals looking at Web site optimization should keep several things in mind. To effectively promote information Web sites, you must understand how SEOs operate and how search engines rank results. On the other side of the coin, it is important to know how optimization efforts affect Web search results. You may want to research an industry, but SEOs want you to buy products manufactured by that industry.

About the author

Marydee Ojala edits ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals and writes its business research column ("The Dollar Sign"). Since 1987, Ojala has owned and operated her own research and writing company with offices in the U.S. and Denmark, specializing in international business, industry analysis, management processes, and competitive intelligence projects. She contributes feature articles and news stories to Information Today, Searcher, and Information Today's NewsBreaks. A long-time observer of the information industry, she speaks frequently at iconferences such as Web Search University, Online Information (London, UK), Internet Librarian International, and national library meetings outside the U.S. Her professional career began at BankAmerica Corporation, San Francisco, directing a worldwide program of research and information services. She has also worked in the academic libraries of West Virginia University and Stanford University. Ojala is an active member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals and Special Libraries Association. She also belongs to the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals and American Library Association. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University and her MLS was earned at the University of Pittsburgh.