Nearly all people on the Web visit search engines to find information or Web sites. They enter keywords into the search line of these search engines. Often they enter several keywords, or "phrases," to further refine their searches. Search engines are in the business of sorting Web sites in their databases by the words they contain that match a given search.
How well you incorporate important keywords into your Web site consistent with each individual search engine's ranking criteria will determine your Web site's rank. Since there could be thousands of pages with that same keyword or phrase on it, it's important that you rank near the top of the results to be found.

Generally, each search engine assigns "points" to Web sites or the submission someone made describing that Web site based on some predefined criteria. While this ranking criteria may vary from search engine to search engine, most "grade" the page based on the following general rules:

- Keyword Placement

- Keyword Frequency

- Total Words

- Keyword Weight

- Keyword Prominence

- Starting Point

- Site Popularity

- Other Factors