Even the search-friendliest sites can’t control when, how often, or how deeply they’re crawled and indexed by search engine spiders. That part is up to the search engines. Merely being found, however, isn’t the goal. A well-optimized website will not only be found, but will also rank high in organic search results for relevant, targeted keywords and phrases—the very same words and phrases searchers use in making queries. Often, a site may show up in search results, but not rank well until its keywords and phrases are fine-tuned to reflect the language searchers use when they’re looking for you. This can vary considerably from the language you use (more about this in Part III, “Tag, You’re It!”).

Another time-intensive element of SEO is creating and implementing a solid link strategy (which we’ll go into in depth in Part III). It’s not only about your site linking out to other places on the Web; it’s also about getting as many relevant and authoritative sites to link to yours as possible. Because you don’t control what other sites do, this, too, requires an investment in time and resources.

Links are critical not only to how search engine spiders find your site, but also in terms of how highly a site is ranked by search engines. Remember, spiders navigate by “crawling” the Web from link to link, so more links pointing to your site makes it that much easier to find. High rankings are determined not by relevance alone, but by the quantity and, above all, the quality of sites linking to your own. Developing high-quality inbound links isn’t something that happens overnight.

Well, perhaps it is. But the odds that you’re going to get a solid gold link from a site as authoritative as The New York Times, or a blog as widely-read as boingboing.net, are like hitting the jackpot. It could happen, but don’t hold your breath.

Looking for shortcuts? You could consider paid inclusion in the search engine index, once offered by a number of search directories, but now only available from Yahoo! among the major search players. For an annual fee, Yahoo!’s Search Submit Basic program promises an express human review of the submitted URLs for inclusion in its search index within four days. You pay upfront, and although inclusion isn’t guaranteed, it’s pretty much assured for sites not violating Yahoo!’s policy guidelines. The approved URLs remain in the index so long as the fee is paid, and Yahoo! promises to regularly crawl those pages.

Paying for placement is great, but you’re probably counting on being found on Google, too. Google has close to an 80 percent share of all searches conducted on the Web. And you don’t pay Google to get into its index. You do your best, and wait for them to find you.

Need a quick fix? Is it critical your site shows up in search results today? It can happen.

Often, websites do have short-term visibility needs. A sale or promotion is one example. Perhaps your organization needs public visibility in the short term related to news, current events, or a holiday. In such cases, SEO is not a viable option.

There’s only one really viable alternative to guarantee you’ll appear on a search results page for a specific word or term: Buy an ad.

Like public relations, SEO is a long-term process. It offers very tangible benefits and rewards. There’s a level of credibility inherent in appearing in organic, as opposed to paid, search results that marketers and consumers alike understand and appreciate. It’s not unlike a mention in the objective editorial section of a newspaper or magazine.

Good, solid SEO can heavily and positively influence how and where you appear in search results. But influence isn’t the same thing as control, which is why organic search optimization is frequently combined with paid search, as well as all the other tools in a marketer’s arsenal.

SEO requires a long-term strategy and an ongoing commitment to deliver long-term—but rarely immediate—benefits. Recently, I launched a new site, and to my surprise and delight, it showed up on the first page of Google’s results for my top keyword within 72 hours.

I was delighted. But I also considered myself lucky. I would have worried if four weeks had gone by with no results, but three days was pretty darn good!

Sure, I can pat myself on the back and congratulate myself for knowing a thing or two about search. And yes, the site was optimized. But at the same time, I know a few things about search engine algorithms and spiders.

So thanks, Google, for getting my site into the index so quickly. (Weeks later, it’s even risen a bit in the rankings.) I may have done the SEO part, but in this case, I also know where the credit is due.

While you’re waiting for spiders to visit, and revisit, your site, make sure the house is in order by continually doing the following: