Welcome to the fifth installment of the SEO Interviews. If you’ve been following along at home, I’m embarassed to admit I mis-labeled the last two as number 2 and 3, when in fact they were numbers 3 and 4! Sorry about that. They’ve now been relabeled to reflect reality.

SEO Bio

Michael Martinez has been creating and promoting Web sites since 1996. He learned about and began practicing search engine optimization in 1998. An avid science fiction and fantasy fan, Michael has shared his passion with millions of readers around the world through Web sites, online essays, two print books, and an eBook with more than 1,000,000 downloads. He currently participates in several SEO forums and contributes to SEOMoz’s popular blog.

1) Michael, the series we’re doing is for discussion about “SEO”, but let’s face it, that acronym is not always completely descriptive of what people do. Describe what you do as it relates to search engine rankings.

I begin with research into query trends. What are people searching for? Then I analyze content most likely to be found by query patterns. That gives me an indication of what people are looking for. Then I construct content that matches those query and content patterns. Promoting good content begins with designing the content. Where necessary, I work outside the primary content but that’s not very efficient and has less to do with search engine optimization and more to do with simple advertising.

2) I’ve read some of your writings before, and you are a much bigger proponent of on-page factors helping rankings. Many of your peers are bigger fans of off-page factors, in particular incoming links. Tell us what led you to your beliefs.

Besides extensive experience with ranking successfully on content, I’ve read many technical papers and other authoritative sources of information about how search engines determine their rankings. I have always maintained that just because you CAN rank on linkage doesn’t mean that you MUST or that it’s even the best, most efficient way.

I am constantly testing new content on a large selection of Web sites. I look for where natural language can be strengthened.

There will always be some queries where, because of ranking anxiety, people will rely extensively on links to boost their rankings. Until recently, that made it necessary to compete on links. But as the search engines filter out links, it’s time for us to see how far we can go with content in truly link-competitive expressions.

Maybe the working environment has changed. Time will tell.

3) No one can accurately predict the future, but it’s fun to try. What developments do you see happening in the field of SEO in the next 12 months?

Social tag spamming will probably come under closer scrutiny, as new social linking technologies and forums are rolled out.

More emphasis will be placed on identifying flexible sources of trusted linkage. A “flexible” source is one that can take on a lot of obviously promotional outbound linkage without losing its ability to confer value. Many of today’s trusted link sources stand a very good chance of being burned out by SEOs and spammers alike.

4) What advice would give to a completely new person who wants to get their website to rank highly in the search engines?

Say what you want to say with emphasis, like you believe in it with all your heart. Passion is what dominates search engine success. The spammer with 10,000 pages usually outperforms the spammer with 2,000 pages. The essayist with 200 essays outperforms the essayist with 20 essays.

Unfortunately, it’s not all about quality. It’s about popularity, and you will become popular if you can stir emotional reactions in your readers. The difference between an eCommerce site like Amazon.com and every new canned script-driven ecommerce site is that Amazon’s customer reviews and forums seethe with passion.

If you want to do it all on linkage, then you need a passion for the right kind of links. They don’t come from free directories, article and press release distribution sites, and reciprocal link scripts. You need to fall in love with the links you need and earn their love and trust.

5) Do you think SEO is a “Do It Yourself” business or are people better off hiring professionals?

Many people seem to do fine with DIY campaigns. I think it depends on how much time you have to learn the fundamentals, sift through the nonsense, and experiment for yourself. It also depends on how much money you have. Some people simply cannot afford a professional SEO.

You can divide professional SEOs into three groups: those who truly manage search engine indexing campaigns, those who manage link building businesses, and those who haven’t figured out which model works better for them.

The Old School indexers focus on content first, links second. The link builders pretty much say, “Well, anyone can get links, but good content will get good links faster.”

The third group are struggling young SEOs who often browse the forums looking for advice from more seasoned voices. They tend to be loose cannons. You have no idea of where they’ll roll next or what they may do for you.

6) How did you learn the business? Who are your influences, and where do you get your information from now?

I joined Jim Wilson’s Search Engine Forums in 1998. Because of my interest in the Inktomi engine at the time, I was made the moderator of Jim’s Inktomi forum. Although we parted on bad terms, I learned a great deal about the fundamental elements of search engine optimization from other members of Jim’s forum community.

My first successfully optimized page was a traditional doorway that a spammer gave me the template for. I reworked that sparse doorway template into an optimized content layout that I still use today.

I have learned from many people through the years, mostly by looking at what they say and testing it for myself: Eric Ward, Shari Thurow, Dan Thies, J.K. Bowman, Fantomaster, Jakob Nielsen. No one agrees with all these voices, but they have all influenced huge segments of the industry. Other people whose ideas I respect include Rand Fishkin, Bill Slawski, Jill Whalen, and even Doug Heil.

As much as possible, I read technical papers, patent applications, and transcripts of search engineer interviews and presentations. I also read search engineer blogs and official search engine information pages.

Finally, I watch various SEO forums for indications of major changes in ranking and indexing algorithms. When people start complaining all over the place, you pretty much know that some search engine has made a massive change. But I still actively review Web sites, both openly and privately. By looking at today’s Web sites and seeing how they rank (or fail to), I learn a great deal about techniques I would never think to try on my own.

The entire SEO community influences me with both their failures and their successes.