Search engines have become a key tool for Internet users.

More than 8 in 10 computer users have gone to search engines to find information on the Web, according to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life project in Washington, D.C. The study also found that 1 in 4 Americans query search engines on any given day.

So if Internet users live by the search, position on a listing giving search results can be key for companies that want to sell their goods and services on the Web.

For a fee, that ranking can be vastly improved.

MoreVisibility.com, a Boca Raton company, has specialized in search-engine optimization since it was founded in 1999. Using key words, a variety of techniques and software programs, the marketing company can boost the rankings of its clients' websites on search engines.

A rarity in the Internet world, the company is still in business. It continues to focus on this niche and it has been cash flow positive from day one, says Dennis Pushkin, its CEO and a co-founder, along with Andrew Wetzler, who serves as president.

''Many businesses have realized there is a need for professionalism as they're trying to market their websites,'' says Pushkin, who is the former president of U.S. operations for Dryclean USA and former owner of Tidy Car International.

MoreVisibility works with a variety of search engines including Google.com, which is considered the premier search engine on the Internet.

Pushkin says about 75 percent of MoreVisibility's placements are done the traditional way, managing key words that lead to client sites and ensure high placement on a list of search results.

About 25 percent of the work MoreVisibility does is pay-for-placement business.

Most search engines will accept payment for high placement on its search result listings. But some do a better job of letting Internet users know which listings have paid for top billing. The Federal Trade Commission is demanding that search engines clearly identify paid listings.

For instance, Google.com will highlight paid, or ''sponsor'' listings, on green background. It also lists more paid sites on the right hand of a Web page with search results.

Pushkin admits that with the growing use of pay-for-placement services, it's ''a little harder'' to position a website using just key words. But it still can be done.

To win over customers, MoreVisibility offers prospective clients a free report, showing how a company's website ranks on major search engines.

The company also signed a deal last month to work as strategic partner with Overture.com, which is the leading pay-for-placement search engine. That means it sells key words to the highest bidder.

Typically, MoreVisibility is paid $900 to $1,200 a year for each key word that it manages in a company's site.

MoreVisibility has more than 350 clients so far. The company has now 14 employees. So far, it has been funded by its founders and through operations.

'NET NETWORKING IS ALIVE AND WELL

Just when you thought all the Internet networking groups had died away, a new one pops up and one with a twist continues.

Mark Grossman, the tech law expert with Becker & Poliakoff and who writes a column for Business Monday every other week, is teaming up with Seth Gordon, the Miami PR man, to start a new networking group for the Internet-related.

But rather than the massive throngs of old groups in the dot-com boom, the first meeting of ''NeXtwork'' -- next network -- will have only 20 invitees. Grossman and Gordon want a core group of Internet impresarios that will help grow this organization into the kind of networking groups found in New York City or Silicon Valley, Grossman says.

The other group had its start in 1999 with a small, selected few, says Keith Wasserstrom, an attorney with Hogan & Hartson in Miami.

He gathered about 20 professionals, initially just one from each specialty including law, accounting, public relations, marketing and advertising, to keep up with the huge proliferation of business and technology news that coincided with the tech boom.

Also, one member of the group would invite two clients, who would provide information their company. The idea was to introduce clients to group members and combine networking with an opportunity to drum up new business.

The group, which called itself Internet Monday because it meets on the first Monday of each month, continues to thrive. Membership -- an informal measure -- now numbers around 100. The group has evolved. It also invites experts to its meetings as speakers.

Because Wasserstrom is Kosher, he agreed to provide the food for each of the luncheon meetings. Not too many networking group offer a Kosher meal, he says.