Search Engine Optimization, or "SEO", is the process of driving traffic to a website by weighing algorithmic search results in the site's favor. Soon after a webmaster discovered that good search engine placement meant more traffic, the idea and business of SEO started to emerge. Some webmasters use friendly or "White Hat" techniques to improve placement, while others opt for more deceptive or "Black Hat" optimization techniques.http://www.smashapps.org/2010/07/black-white-philosophies-of-seo.html Most major search engines do not disclose their algorithms for determining search engine placement. To help webmasters, an industry of search engine optimizers has been created, they assist in various techniques for improving page rank and placement.

A white hat SEO is someone who works to optimize a web site though quality content and "search engine friendly" web pages. The techniques performed by a white hat are considered to be safer and more ethical by Internet users and search engine companies themselves.http://www.whitehatseo.com/

Some of these proven techniques are:

Using keywords throughout the web page. Keywords are words that people are likely to type into the search engines when looking for the content that is on your page. It is important to use these words naturally throughout the page, but not to over use them, which is called "keyword stuffing". Linking or Inlinking to related pages on the Internet helps to get related pages on the Internet to link back to your page.

A black hat SEO will use risky and sometimes unethical means of promoting a web site. These can include the use of paid links, cloaking, scraping, and various link farming techniques. These methods are considered high risk and if abused can cause a web site to be banned from inclusion within a search engine's index.http://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-blackhat-seo-5-definitions/8151/