I used to be a strong proponent of common-sense SEO and a detractor from optimization by algorithm chasing.
While I still believe strongly in common-sense SEO (now more than ever) my views on algorithm chasing have evolved a certain degree. Many SEOs believe that the two are mutually exclusive, meaning you cant optimize in a common sense manner if you are going to optimize specifically for a search engine algorithm. There is some truth to this; I think that those that are proponents of either one method or the other are missing the big picture.
Algorithm Chasers:
I still dont believe in algorithm chasing in the way that most who practice this technique do because it tends to be very shortsighted and too narrowly focused in the approach. This is the main argument for the proponents of common-sense SEO, and in that they are correct. Algorithm chasers tend to focus on a very narrow set of elements in an attempt to beat the search engine at its own game. Often times, these algo chasers are effective, but only for a single search engine, and only until the search engine algorithm changes in ways that do not favor their techniques. This leaves them looking for the next set of elements in which to manipulate, and in doing so, rankings for their clients drop significantly while they attempt to figure out what works now.
The basic problem here is that the search engine algorithms analyze a very broad range of factors (more than most SEOs are aware of) and are very dynamic. Algorithm chasers are all about finding what works and trying to make that work for everyone. In the past, this type of SEO was very effective, but todays search engine algorithms are not only broad in their range of analyzed elements; they are extremely dynamic in how those elements are analyzed. This means that using a mathematical formula to create an effective title tag or body copy is not longer effective from one site to the next. Optimizing from one site to the next requires a whole different set of formulas in order to be effective.
Common-Sense SEO:
Todays search engine algorithms favor common-sense SEO now more than ever. Search engines have gone beyond analyzing the mathematical elements of keyword usage on the page and are striving to analyze normal human behavior. All things being equal, if you write keywords into text so they sound natural, you should rank better than those who are simply trying to get the right number of keywords on the page.
But it goes far beyond that. Search engines are no longer just looking for keywords on the page; they are looking for other related words that should be on the page as well. Such words would be stemmed variations, natural alternatives and similarly related words. Again, there is no magical mathematic formula, which is why common-sense often works well.
This is also where most common-sense SEO proponents go wrong. They simply dont believe they need to know or understand search engine algorithms. As long as its common sense then no additional knowledge or skills are required. This, too, is shortsighted and narrowly focused.
The biggest problem with common-sense SEO is that it relies only on what is commonly known. What is in the search engine algorithms is NOT commonly known but those who seek to understand how and why search engine algorithms do as they do will end up knowing far more than that which is common and are therefore more apt to succeed against those that rely only on what is common.
Common-Sense Algorithm Chasing:
The best SEOs are those that utilize what I will call common-sense algorithm chasing. They have a thorough knowledge of SEO that will make sense to the visitor as well as knowing and understanding where search engine algorithms are and where they are headed as well.
In any industry, you can hire an expert that knows you need the very best products, services, techniques etc. for the job to be done right. But if said expert doesnt know which of these are best for different types of jobs, you wont end up with the very best result for YOUR particular needs. You can also hire an expert that knows one particular product, service or technique very well, but if the expert isnt aware that there are other product, services or techniques better suited for your particular job youre going to find that the effectiveness of the work is limited.
SEO works in the same way. You need an SEO that understands search engine algorithms, how they function, their goals in producing quality results, while not focusing too narrowly on a few analyzed elements. Anything less than that and youll find that optimization will only end up being moderately successful. Common-Sense Algorithm Chasing is essential for any successful optimization campaign. If your SEO cannot provide that, its time to consider one that can.
Stoney deGeyter is president of Pole Position Marketing, a professional firm providing SEO services since 1998. Stoney is also a part-time instructor at the community College in Reno, Nevada, where he resides, as well as a moderator in the Small Business Ideas Forum. He also contributes daily to the (EMP) E-Marketing Performance .
So, after hard and time consuming process you got your web site on the internet, optimized it for certain keywords and cant wait to see it at No.1 position on Google, Yahoo and MSN Not so fast. First of all, youll need 3 things to be taken care of: on-site optimization, search engine submission and some major work on link popularity building. Theres plenty of information about internal web page optimization on the internet, and its not a secret how to submit all your web pages to Google or Yahoo through their new feed systems. If it is you should educate yourself about the first two elements first, and then worry about link popularity.
The first thing you should do is to listen to what search engines have to say about search engine optimization. Its not a secret that they hate web pages artificially stuffed with keywords or bought incoming links. Such techniques give them a hard time to deliver relevant results to their users. In fact, current search engine ranking algorithms are so advanced that in a lot of cases they can distinguish between natural and bought incoming links.
So, what do search engines have to say about their rankings Never try artificially boosting your rankings. Dont participate in link farms. Dont buy links. Dont stuff your text with keywords just to get higher rankings. In conclusion do not interfere with their function to deliver relevant and useful information to the user.
Well, its not a bad idea to listen to them for a change. The techniques of getting links that I am going to tell you about are both search engine legal and not so legal. The choice is yours.
The first thing that everyone should do is make the content of their web site useful and informative to people. Doesnt matter what kind of website you have, try to give something useful to your visitors. This can be useful information, some attractions, free service, or anything you may come up with. This may sound banal, but this strategy eventually will pay off. Other web sites will notice that you have something useful and original, and will start linking to you. This is the best and most legal link building strategy anyone can come up with, although it takes the most time and patience.
Second legal choice for building link popularity is through articles. Try to write an interesting article about something you are good at and know a lot. Then find thousands of article submission and publishing web sites that are available on the internet. Use your best friend and enemy at the same time Google to find them. The most important part of the article is the Resources box, where you can use HTML code and place links to your web site.
The next perfectly legal and effective area to build your link popularity is forums. You can find millions of forums on the internet take advantage of them. Post your answers to relevant topics, and dont forget to use HTML and links to your site. It cant get any easier than that, and at the same time, it might help your rankings a lot.
I bet you heard about reciprocal links when you link to some web page, which in exchange places a link to your web page on their site. This strategy may be not as effective as couple of years ago, but it still works. Search engines simply cant ignore links to your webpage. The most important thing to remember about reciprocal linking, as with all other links, is that links from related websites will have much higher impact on your rankings than those from unrelated ones. Also, dont forget the importance of keywords and rephrases in the anchor text without it, your links are close to useless.
Do some research and find websites similar to yours. They dont have to offer exactly same services or information something broad as computers or internet if you are offering web design services is good enough. E-mail their administrators with a request to exchange links. How to persuade them to place a link to you, especially if their web site has good rankings on the search engines thats another subject. Offer something useful in exchange for example, suggest placing a link to them on your home page, while they put the reciprocal link on their partners or resources page.
Find millions of directories where you can submit your web site. Some of them offer free inclusion, some of them ask for a reciprocal link, while others require to be paid for the listing. Whether to pay or not, thats totally up to you, but from my experience, some of their links are worth several dollars that they are usually asking for. Make sure they have substantial Page Rank, and sacrifice several dollars. It will pay off eventually. But to start, try to find countless free directories and submit you web site there.
Finally, time has come for the most controversial and dangerous link building strategy link buying. I dont recommend anyone to use it, but a lot of search engine optimization specialists are utilizing this unfair tactics, placing honest optimizers in serious disadvantage. If you decide to go ahead and buy some links, make sure of two things: the page you are buying a link from has a high Page Rank, and find the links for sale in search engine optimization forums never buy links from the websites that specialize in this. Otherwise, Google will weed your web site out from their index faster than your eyes blink.
In conclusion, I would recommend staying away from unethical link building strategies, and concentrate on long-time goals versus short-term ones. Keep in mind, that if everyone starts buying links and using other unethical search engine optimization techniques, search engines will not be able to deliver relevant results, and eventually come up with new and smarter algorithm to kick such websites out from their indexes. With all the ethical search engine optimization methods I told you about, everyone can build substantial link popularity and get good rankings.
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