Time for a back to basics SEO primer. It's the start of a New Year and rather than getting all carried away with the latest greatest algorithm speculation or complex SEO insights, the Google Caffeine update and other detailed SEO analysis, now is as good a time as any to take a step back and do a quick screen refresh on some of the SEO basics that may be slipping under the radar.
Here are 3 fundamental steps to SEO heaven:
SEO Conversion
First things first - there's SEO and there's SEO. When all is said and done the only SEO that really matters is the SEO that doesn't simply generate improved search engine positioning or increase the numbers of visitors but rather fulfills your business requirements - in most cases to boost your bottom line. Alternative motivations might include inspiring a download or building your contacts list, maybe you are promoting an event or want to distribute information virally.
In the final analysis though the over-riding reason that most people invest hard earned cash into their SEO is to generate additional cash. Though it maybe a long term game you are playing, committing to SEO should nevertheless be a hard-headed business decision not an ego decision or a 'we better do this because everyone else is' decision.
Know your proposition and know your market
A large amount of SEO success and failure revolves around keywords. If you do your research carefully and achieve a clear semantic understanding of what you as an organisation has to offer, who your target audience is and how it searches for what you offer then you will do well. Work with the wrong keywords and you risk months of wasted time and expense as all you are doing is optimising for irrelevant search terms.
SEO is largely a text-based process
Whilst rich media and Flash sites might offer great user experiences they will struggle to get indexed by the search engines, such is the way the Internet works. Use clean and lean HTML to make sure that your site and your message is properly represented through the search engines. What's the point in having a great looking media rich site if nobody can find you?
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