Search Engine Ranking - A

Algorithm - An algorithm is the ranking criteria that are used by each individual engine when determining relevancy and ranking. One engine's algorithm is totally different from another engine's algorithm, and algorithms are known to change quite frequently. Your goal in search engine optimization is to optimize your pages as close to an engine's algorithm as possible. This isn't as easy as it sounds, because just as soon as you think you have an engine figured out, the engine will change its algorithm, and you're back to the drawing board. Should you spend time trying to figure out an engine's algorithm? NO! Spend your time creating the best pages that you can! If you do, everything else will fall into place.

ALT Attribute - Text used to describe an image, generally for the benefit of those who surf with the images turned off. With search engine optimization, you can insert your important keyword phrase in the ALT tag along with describing the graphic. Many of the engines consider the content of ALT tags when determining relevancy. Don't just use your keyword phrase and not describe the graphic - this could ultimately be considered spam by an engine.
Example:

<IMG SRC="box.gif" ALT="red box" WIDTH="415" HEIGHT="100">

Analyzing - Remember that with search engine optimization, your ultimate goal should be to increase traffic that converts to sales. If you're trying to sell products or services, increasing traffic only will do the site no good. So, be sure to analyze your traffic and your log files and determine your hits to sales ratio. Then, take that information and use it to improve your site.