A simple search online for website design firms will result in thousands of ads by firms that offer high search engine rankings. These firms offer services ranging from top ten placements to expedited submissions. What is changing is the manner that these firms achieve their results through.

Search engines are simply online yellow pages which match sites with searches conducted by users. The search engines will then display their results, or site listings, according to the relevancy between the site, or the page on the site, and the search term searched for by the user.

While search engines keep their selection process a closely held secret, many search engine ranking firms spend thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to crack the code.

Some search engine ranking firms will place hidden text on their customers sites hoping that the search engines will pick up that text, and give the sites a higher ranking in the search engine results.

Other tactics include increasing the relevant content on a site, obtaining links from other sites, and creating mini sites that lead a user to the main site.

But as the number of pages online exponentially grows, the search engine themselves have started changing their methods for ranking sites. In the past there was more attention to site by site inspection, while today search engine robots and search engine programs inspect the sites.

In response many site designers who offer search engine ranking services have now started to use automated software programs that seek to match the needs of the search engine robots that will be visiting their clients sites.

Automated programs seek to create content and modify web pages for sites according to the requirements of the search engines. This is similar to a property owner remodeling a house so that it will pass inspection.

Sites like www.websitevisitorscenter.com offer programs that automate this process for site owners looking to increase their search engine rankings.

Site owners need to understand that the services they are paying for, can often be accomplished by utilizing available software, said Donny Lowy, the author of Selling Online: Beyond eBay.