SEO is a series of methods aimed at improving an internet facing web site in search engine rankings and ultimately drawing in more visitors.  It covers a wide range of activities that can range from the server configuration to the actual content on the pages and who links to them.

Optimisation commonly falls into two categories:

• White hat SEO
• Black hat SEO

White hat SEO are techniques that the search engines themselves allow and encourage in some circumstances whereas black hat SEO are techniques that influence search engine rankings by using frowned upon techniques that can result in a website being banned altogether from the search engine.