  One of the most promising methods of discovering nearby, low-mass planets in
the habitable zones of stars is the precision radial velocity technique.
However, there are many challenges that must be overcome to efficiently detect
low-amplitude Doppler signals. This is both due to the required instrumental
sensitivity and the limited amount of observing time. In this paper, we examine
statistical and instrumental effects on precision radial velocity detection of
extrasolar planets, an approach by which we maximize the planet yield in a
fixed amount of observing time available on a given telescope. From this
perspective, we show that G and K dwarfs observed at 400-600 nm are the best
targets for surveys complete down to a given planet mass and out to a specified
orbital period. Overall we find that M dwarfs observed at 700-800 nm are the
best targets for habitable-zone planets, particularly when including the
effects of systematic noise floors. Also, we give quantitative specifications
of the instrumental stability necessary to achieve the required velocity
precision.
