Three Simple Truths on Search Engine Optimization
Let me begin by stating upfront, I do NOT consider myself a Search Engine Optimization expert. In a previous life, I worked for an SEO company and have done SEO for a number of years, but there are many folks who are far more knowledgeable than I am on this subject. There are also a number of slimy, snake oil, unethical people who give used car salesman a bad name also working in the SEO industry.
What I would like to do is share with you my take on SEO. I am going to start by not pretending that there is some kind of secret sauce, there isn’t. No-one has a special algorithm, decoder ring or the phone number to Mr. Google. Very simply put, this is my opinion on where to start and how to move forward to effectively compete on your most important keywords and phrases in the search engines. Here are my three simple truths on search engine optimization. I do want to warn you before you continue reading, you are not going to like what I have to say. As long as we are clear, let’s continue.
1. Google is all that matters
When I use the words ‘search engine(s)’ I am referring to Google. Yes, there are other search engines out there, but they really don’t matter.
“You are talking crazy there Cord! This is one of the last employees left in the search department from Yahoo! and I take offense to your last remark.”
“Hello Mr. Cord, this is Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. We have this great new search engine named Bing. How dare you say we don’t matter. Bing is even fun to say. You try it, Bing, Bing, Bing….”
Sorry Steve and Last Yahoo, but it’s true and here’s why:
- Newsflash: There are more searches done on Google each day than all the other search engines combined. They dominate the search market.
- If you achieve strong visibility in Google’s natural search, you will absolutely be doing well in the other search engines.
I guess what I am trying to say is when that SEO firm you hired sends you a ranking report and calls out that one keyword moved from #25 to #5 in Alta Vista, you shouldn’t get that excited. Is Alta Vista still around?
2. Your website must technically work
If your website was developed incorrectly and does not allow search engine spiders or bots to easily index or read your website, you’re toast. You could have the greatest website ever created, if the bots cannot index it, you will have no visibility in the search engines.
An easy way to confirm your website is being indexed as long as your site has been around for a little while is to go to google.com and do the following search: site:yoururl.com
Make sure you replace yoururl.com with the domain of your website. This search asks Google to show how many pages it has indexed within the domain you chose in your search. I did a search using Marketing Hipster, site:marketinghipster.com. As you can see by the screen shot, it returned a result of 960 total pages in Google’s index. If the number of pages in your search seems low or is at zero, you might have a problem.
Alright, you have done your search and your website is being indexed by Google, outstanding! Now all we need to do is get your website competing on your most important and relevant keywords. This is where some might suggest “optimizing” your website by focusing on things like meta-tags, alt tags, site map, page names, search engine friendly URL’s, etc. etc. etc. Please don’t get me wrong, all these items have merit, but they are not going to have a great impact on effectively competing on your important and competitive keywords.
You have only so many hours a day to focus on SEO if you are lucky. My recommendation would be to spend them working on things that will deliver you the best results possible. You want to compete on relevant terms in Google, in my humble opinion, there is only one thing you should focus on, drum roll please……. CONTENT.
This is why I warned you. I know this might be a bit of a letdown as there is nothing earth shattering about content. I told you there is no secret sauce, you want to compete, you need to put all your available time and effort into developing well written content that your readers will find interesting and want to share.
3. Content, Content and oh by the way, Content!
Two things determine your rankings and visibility in Google: content and links. You need well written, interesting content that includes the keywords and phrases that you want to compete on. That’s it. Write kick butt content with your keywords and you will get the visibility you are looking for.
“But wait Cord, what about the links? How do I get them?”
Right, well lets first make sure everyone is clear on what a link is. A link is when another website takes the time to link to a specific page on your website. Google believes that if someone has taken the time to link to your website, you must be offering something of value and will reward you with better rankings and visibility. There a number of ways to get links and there are some really strong folks who have written great articles on linkbait, but if you write well written, interesting content, people are going to want to share that content with others. That sharing will deliver you links that Google loves and will reward you with better visibility.
I know I am making this seem simple when it is not. Writing great content is a huge challenge, but that is my point. My experience has been that people tend to focus on the other things like meta-tags because it is easier to do. Though in my opinion, your valuable time should be spent on the research and development of great content giving your target audience something to talk about.
I have a number of friends who are true experts in this. If you would like further help, contact me and I will be more than happy to make an introduction.
So what are you still doing here? Get writing!
Any feedback and/or disagreements are welcome in the comments below.
“There are also a number of slimy, snake oil, unethical people who give used car salesman a bad name also working in the SEO industry.”
I’ve run across a bunch of people in Raleigh who say they are SEO “Gurus” and charge people a ton of $ to do little to nothing. One company was charging a client over $5000 a month to do local optimization. I couldn’t figure out what they did aside from adding a link back to their site in the footer. (http://www.dan-london.com/2010/seo-site-links/). There seems to be more and more crap SEO/PPC companies popping up in the area.
Also, you left out conversion optimization. Driving all that traffic is worthless unless you can convert those visitors into revenue.
Dan,
Great point on conversation optimization. It was funny you mentioned it because I had several other paragraphs in this post including one on call to actions and metrics, but felt like the post was way too long. Maybe a follow-up. Thanks for the comment.
I agree that content is the answer. I also agree that a little knowledge goes a long way. A good writer is worth paying, a good writer who can write SEO savvy copy is worth hiring full-time!
SEO is a mindset more than anything. Once you start looking at things from a search perspective you can never go back.
A perfect example is the Title of this post. I’m sure you put some thought into it and it’s search friendliness.
Phil Buckley´s last [type] ..Caught Off Guard
SEO, SEO, SEO. Man, that game has ch-ch-changed over the years. All I can say is with Google constantly updating algorithms at the rate that they are, thank GOODNESS there are people…like Phil Buckley…that love to keep up with all of it!
My philosophy – follow the “rules” no matter how much they change, create valuable content and LOTS of it, and you WILL see the conversion optimization you desire.
That’s why social media is so important to any marketing strategy. When used correctly, it WILL lead to conversion because of the relationships that are built upon it, which ultimately will only help your search engine optimization too. It’s a win-win in my book!
Another great post, Cord. You are on a roll!
I agree with one and two and most of three. But inbound links are a huge part of the Google algorithm. So good Google rank and links are like the chicken and egg. You can’t have one without the other.
“if you write well written, interesting content, people are going to want to share that content with others”
I’ve seen too may sites with great content languish because they aren’t ranked and linked well. Most of the time it’s because the producers had a “if you build it, they will come attitude”
Cord, love the post, and I really think the best emphasis is the third point.
If you write great content, the people will come and the people will link back through their own followup posts/twitter/Digg or Delicious.
I don’t find that there are “rules” for SEO, but more so polite suggestions, just like social media strategies, not all SEO is the same, and everyone needs their own way to manage their technique and strategy.
Greg de Lima´s last [type] ..Collective Thinking – Part 2
OK, Phil–since you brought up the title of this post…
From a search perspective is there a difference in the title as it stands “Three Simple Truths on Search Engine Optimization” and “Search Engine Optimization: Three Simple Truths”?
Phil, absolutely. I don;t think of SEO as a marketing channel, it is a foundation that must be included with any web development.
Lisa, Could not agree more. Those conversations will absolutely drive qualified traffic through sharing and SEO. Hope the new job is going well.
John, I would hear an example you have of a website that has great content that is not receiving any attention. I think there might be other things going on.
Greg, right on. Will see you in a little while.
Jeff, would love to hear what Phil says, but my answer would be there is no difference from an SEO standpoint. One might get more attention from users than the other, but you are using the same words so it would not have an SEO impact.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and thoughts!
Great SEO framework, Cord — structure the site properly and update it regularly with useful content.
At a recent event, a blackhat SEO guy was skulking around telling people he could get them top local Google rankings for only $200/month. Yeah, right. He wasn’t even technically competent — he was talking about targeting people based on “ISP address” (not a real term; he was actually referring to “IP address”).
Karl Sakas´s last [type] ..Using criticism for the power of good, not evil, and other lessons from pundit Jay Dolan of The Anti-Social Media
I could be wrong, I know that there was one time back in ’91 when I was… the title (and all important parts of the page) do best when the most important keywords/phrases are front loaded.
My research shows that the first 2 or 3 words mean the most. Assuming you want to optimize for “search engine optimization” the second title would have a slight advantage, but Cord’s correct in pointing out that they both would have the desired keywords.
When you get to the point where you’re re-thinking the location of keywords, your thinking about SEO at a higher level than about 90% of your blogging peers.
Phil Buckley´s last [type] ..Caught Off Guard
Karl, there have been times that I needed to shower after speaking with some of these SEO guys.
Phil, your thoughts seem right on. You might be absolutely right. Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, thanks.
I used to believe SEO was madness and nonsense.
And then I fixed my Tumblr scheme up with a lot of tricks and things I’ve learned from Phil and Dan, and Hello truckloads of people who hate Facebook!
These are great tips Cord, and I will keep them in mind as I continue to create content.
Jay Dolan´s last [type] ..Social Media 101: Facebook Isn’t Real
Good article you’ve posted here, thanks, just to make a quick note to anyone interested in self SEO, that once you’re done submiting your website to the important search engines, you could do a quick check for your website in http://ministatus.com and see the exact number of indexed pages or the number of backlinks (according to most important engines) … more you could do a daily check and see the changes or just download your seo score in PDF file and hand it to someone who knows what to make of it
What you say is all correct and you’re also correct about many people selling BS SEO info or services. There is certainly more than just optimizing your site, creating content, and getting links, however these three things are more than enough to give your site/blog traction with Google.
ABVT´s last [type] ..The iPhone 4 Says- “You’re Doing It Wrong”
We have been through so many SEO companies over the last few years, it’s crazy. In my experience most of these businesses take your money and do a little re-hash on the site and then sit-back doing very little for a monthly fee.
We ditched our SEO and instead we use the cash to concentrate on article writing and generating backlinks through social media and other related websites.
It is quite surprising how much traffic a well written article can generate.