After experimenting with several SEO techniques in 2009, I’m definitely feeling that “less is more” when it comes to what techniques to use. In the past, fairly heavy handed SEO used to do a great job to land rankings, but Google has developed a more subtle algo as the years have rolled on. If you try to “force-feed” Google, you very well might choke as a result.
On-page optimization along with gaining TrustRank work well. Of course these terms are relatively meaningless for many, and YMMV, but obviously Google likes well structured web pages on domains they “trust” to rank. Take a gander at any of the millions of pages that rank in top spots for WikiPedia. These pages are text-dense, have a wide variety of incoming links, and reference external trusted web pages.
Your website won’t have anywhere the “trust” that WikiPedia has, at least not for broad terms. But you can work on gaining trust for subsets of important keywords. The way to do this is to stay topically focuses on a specific niche. If you devote your time to top-notch content creation, make sure your mechanical SEO is in place, you’ll likely acquire the bank link profile needed to rank well for a wide variety of keywords in a given category.
Search engine optimization is only one part of the internet marketing puzzle
It’s no secret that the fields of search engine marketing, public relations, and SEO interlap in many areas. To be ignorant of the capabilities of any of these disciplines is a way to short-change your online efforts. The people who use a synthesized approach to the task of online marketing don’t neglect one area in the favor of another. They attempt to balance their efforts across a multitude of mediums from social networks to offline publicity.
Google follows success and builds their algorithm around what they know historically represents “quality” in websites. That’s why you see so many of the same types of pages presented in their search engine results year after year. Their model for what constitutes authoritative pages doesn’t seem to be changing that quickly. Building your websites for long term success is the simplest way to build web pages with durable rankings.
The secondary online advertising market has been drying up a bit
Lately, second tier ad companies have been announcing troubles at a quickening rate. Blog networks are shutting their doors, and less ad money is going out to the throngs of bloggers who have started up in the last few years, intent on making money during the internet Gold Rush.
Less money going to online advertising might just mean increased revenues for SEO companies, who give customers a chance at lasting traffic, rather than just selling them disposable clicks. These near-permanent effects are enticing to advertisers who have to decide how to effectively spend their online budget. SEM, social media optimization, and SEO promise to have strong years because many of the leading companies have built ongoing relationships with clients who can clearly see the benefits of their online spends.