Content Development

Content development is by far single most important aspect of search engine optimization.

You must continue to develop new directions to move into, open new market areas which in turn help to secure or improve existing ones. Anyone that believes Google or any other search engine will stop seeking out new content that directly competes with your content or that their competitors will simply "give up" attempting to displace you - is not forward thinking.

As an intangible knowledge base service (SEO) you are being paid "to help" -- and you help more by showing not just by doing.

Usability

There are many usability references online. An exceptional one is Software Usability Research Lab, Dept of Psychology, Wichita State University. Extremely detailed and enlightening case studies for practical application.

Usability can not be trivialized. You really need to research usability and convey these aspects to clients or embed them into your own strategies as value added support.

People often become lost within a web site's structure. In fact, 58% of users will make two or more navigational errors while searching a site. 66.8% of users have stated that one of the greatest problems is "not being able to find information they are looking for". This fact is even more astounding if you consider that "search engines" are supposed to make it easier for users to find information. Thus as an SEO it is not enough just "to rank" a website but to help in the convertsion process.

One of the chief mechanisms to do this is the proper use of "perceived use".

Perceived use refers to the properties of a specific object, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how an object could be used.

e.g. A text link label "home" may be perceived as something to "mouse click on" because "home" is synonymous on the web as meaning -- "go to mainpage". In the world of SEO a button labeled "home" in text adds little weight and relevancy to the "homepage" (unless the website topic is "home something" e.g. repair, business, etc.). Often SEOs switch the "home" text anchor to a primary keyword of the website to gain "ranking favor". Consequently, that "perceived use" is lost.

As humans on a preconscious level seek structure in the things w see and if there is no intentional structure, we invent one, which more often than not will result in becoming lost". The "home" label allows visitors to regain position knowledge. A keyword does not. To retain effective "perceived use" while managing ranking favor an image button offers a fair tradeoff.

Research

Ongoing research into the industry and markets is a must to gain a competitive advantage. This is less about "keyword research" and more about establishing opportunity for the client.

By nature SEOs understand web technology and how it can be used to enhance any website. Unfortunately we don't appreciate all the ins and outs of all industries and markets thus to accommodate research into any industry/market may seem daunting. The breadth and depth of information available online may seem daunting -- but it only seems that way. The single most important thing to remember in research in that "recent" is the key and Google offers an enormous time saver.

Use of Google automatic news reference allows you to quickly scan headlines based on keywords. Tailoring your services in this fashion allows you to manage clients using innovative forward thinking, conveying to them recent events and at their level of industry/market comprehension.

Example: News is based on recent industry/market trends - associating clients with such newsworthy items, assisting them to appreciate the need and use of wire services, developing press releases to capitalize on these recent occurrences can generate enormous exposure.

Copywriting

Copywriting may not be your forte - it does however offer a definitive competitive advantage that SEOs must strive to incorporate into their services. Users often miss important pieces of information simply because it is not seen. As SEOs, we focus every effort on "keywords" not realizing that once the search engine user (or visitors from elsewhere) are inside the website "the keywords often matter not".

Read-ability and scan-ability are the primary concerns of text copywriting:

• Use of "Headlines" - topical orientation verses cleverly written,
  
  Succinct writings,
  
  One key idea per paragraph,
  
  One primary topic or theme per page,
  
  Writing in an objective style instead of a promotional style, and
  
  Writing as "Market Focus" versus "Company Focus".

This list is SEO focused issues, and one more - users "instinctively" ignore the graphics that are presented on a website. Visitors are twice as likely to fixate on text than on the images in their initial visit to a site - thus the "text copy" should be your fundamental concern - page by page.

Whether or not you are adept in copywriting isn't the issue - conveying the importance of this content development consideration to the client is.

Additionally, article writing, news, recent events, etc., on the clients' behalf is not normally in a SEOs job description (if we actually had one).

It is paramount that you understand a stagnant website is less appealing to search engines - your attempts to maintain rankings will become more difficult over time by ignoring content development.

Lastly, I often hear "I see no evidence of this, I'm #1". If you watch active forums as much I do - the same voices that say the above - are also the ones crying foul on Google's updates - they don't realize "they are their own evidence".

Value Added

Whether a website is "informative" or merely a product/service based eCommerce website, all must take advantage of the web

 

WRONG! Links will do infinitely more for your SERP ranking than content. Content will work for sites with unusual of seldomly searched keywords, but in the competitive world of e-commerce or other highly competitive subject matter SEO without a strong linking strategy isn't SEO at all.

That is not to say all the things you mention are not important and should not be done. But to stop there and claim that the SEO chore is complete is a sham and a deceit. The complete SEO technician will include an aggressive link building strategy in his work. Then and only then will all the elements of SEO be in place.

 

Links more important than content....I don't know about that.

Content has to come first, without it links don't mean a thing. This is an extreme example, but 1000 links pointing to a blank page won't help serp results at all...will they?

Quality content will always help in SERPS. Always has, always will. While linking is all the rage today, can anyone guarantee that it will carry as much importance in the coming years?

 

I fully agree. Both are important.

Content will create repeat visitors too - links will not. I've seen a ton of pages that have tons of links, but the content is junk & I wouldn't ever return to the site. Content is what "consumers" are looking for. If you build it they will come...or something like that.

 

Links are important, as is the text inside them. Search google for miserable failure, and tell me links arent important! "miserable failure" appears nowhere on the top page in the SERPs - this is a result of people linking to it with that link text.

Dont get me wrong though, content is important too! And good content, should get you free links which you also need.

 

And where in my message did I say you don't need content. However there are lots of example out there of pages coming up on the SERPs for keywords that don't exist anywhere on the page. How is that possible? It is only possible as the result of the anchor text used in the backlinks.

Now I would never do a site without content. I've never suggested that I would. But anybody who thinks SEO is complete when the content is finished is wrong. More than that they are either a charlatan or an idiot.

Let me repeat one more time Complete SEO must always include an aggressive linking strategy. Without it it just isn't SEO.

How anybody can deny this is beyond my understanding. What is the unique basis of Googles algorithm? It is the use of links to determine the ranking of a page in the SERPs. One of the owners didn't name a content evaluation system after himself. The system that bears his name is PageRank, based on the links to and from a page. If content is the most important factor for Google why don't we have a measure call PageContent?

Get with the plan. As I said in my first message do all the stuff that Fathom advocates in his lengthy epistle. But don't stop there. The job has only just been started at that point. Finish the job by getting those votes of confidence for the site that Google has always told us they value so highly. How do you do this? By actively and aggressively pursuing backlinks.

Then and only then can you proudly wear the moniker or a SEO technician.

 

And how about the ton of pages that are junk and have no links. The one quality does not have anything to do with the other.

No matter how good the quality you have to find it the first time before you can ever come back. Links will get you found. That's how Google says they work.

So make the best quality page you can. Never stop working on it. Make it a real keeper. Then finish the damn job and with lots of links so that somebody searching can find your masterpiece.

Why would you want to stop short and only do half the job?

 

I agree with both sides of this discussion. A good page is going to have equally fresh content / quality links. However, this isn't like the 'what came first, the chicken or the egg.' discussion.

Content needs to come first, then quality links will come. 'If you build it, they will come' - you know? If you have more quality information (Shawn will attest to this) You will get free incoming links from everywhere, without much link-exchange work.

 

Once people finally learn and understand this, SEO becomes so much easier!

 

Then tell it to all those idiots out there who think Content is King and that linking is some kind of spammy, sleazy unnecessary pursuit.

I don't talk down to people who are working on content. I encourage them to do the best job they can with content. But I get tired of having them look down their noses at all of us who are also preaching the "linking is mandatory" message.

Content will reward and hold your viewers, but it's ability to get you high in the SERPs is limited except for relatively unique keyword phrases. So I say to people who are obsessing over keyword density for instance, forget it. Keyword density doesn't help your visitor. In fact if not very carefully done it may drive them away.

If you want to improve your place in the SERPs get links rather than wasting time finetuning, or futzing around with keyword density. Keyword density is a content element that is virtually useless for any slightly competitive search term. So move beyond Content is King and get some links.

 

I agree with you Bob, and Im sure most people do. It is pretty obvious that linking plays an equal (*if not more) role in SEO.

 

for good seo you also need some coding knowledge?

 

Won't say you need good coding knowledge, but it does help a lot.