Search engine optimization is one of those items that evokes confusion and debate, with as many opinions as their are practitioners. We get asked to explain how it works by just about every client, and it can be difficult to relay the subtleties and theories that we use to build rankings.
I often compare it to professional networking or losing weight, as it isn’t rocket science, but it does require a sustained effort of many different types of activities. And, when you don’t see results immediately, it can be difficult to maintain your effort level.
The web is saturated with articles suggesting SEO tactics, but there is little information about how the search engines define their rankings. This is due to the ever-changing nature of these formulas.
While the full details of search engine results is above the scope of any single article, SEO Moz does a bang-up job of summarizing the high impact items used to influence the results. The most current Search Engine Ranking Factors article is online here, and sums up the top factors clearly and visually.
It seems that while there are many new tactics and tools always becoming available, but nothing has unseated good ol’ fashioned quality link building and content publishing.
If you don’t know where to start, and you want to invest time in your search engine rankings, start writing relevant and attractive content. If you’re writing what your customers want to know about, there’s a good chance they will link to it. Over time, with a little bit of sustained effort, you’ll be sure to increase your traffic and search engine rankings.
Write for your customers and promote the content (using Digg, Twitter, etc). It’s a fundamental strategy for SEO.
Tags: blogging, Content Strategy, SEO, website traffic