Build good & original content regularly - and eventually you will get there. Just keep working. Its a marathon, not a sprint.
You're always right on the money. I constantly target words and phrases that return small chunks of traffic rather than going for the whole enchilada at the beginning. Eventually as you build content on a blog or site, you'll notice mysteriously that everything you post jumps to the top of the serps..
Yah well I would rather be in RAM than some harddrive in the back 40. I don't think thats exactly true but I know some sites have this ability. As well the most competitive search results don't net that much traffic anyway more show than go.
Hang on, you're all over the place here. Now your saying a top site will get stomped down, yet before you said: "Its often much easier for a top site to hold the top if they do their work right, than it is for an underdog to try and overtake the top." So which is it? It's either easy for a top site to hold their spot, or when you get to the top i'll get stomped back down... Pick one and stick to it. It is, again i say there is nothing stopping you from regging a site and taking out top spot in a few months. If you havn't got the ability, then hire someone who does. It's a no-brainer saying if you havn't got the ability you can't do something.. I thought that was glaringly obvious with anything in life.
I agree with the person who said people are lazy. This is true. A lot of webmasters tend to give up on it if they don't make money fast. There is this assumption they can make quick money. Indeed, it takes months if not years to make good profits. It takes hard work to make profits online and dedication.
Wouldn't it be easier to just get a job? Sometimes I feel like people work very hard to not work. What if I told a secret webmaster secret to GUARANTEE $72 a day. What if I told you the secret would be flipping burgers at McDonalds? I think this is an easy way for people to make money in a country like India because you don't have to make much in order to make more than a day job. If you are willing to work for $2 an hour then you might just make more on the internet. If you want to make real money on the web in the USA you better bring something very useful to people that someone else is not doing better than you can do already.
Pay attention to what I wrote in detail - it pertains to your post. You were claiming that you are on the rise, and I'm assuming that connotes you are not the only one who can do what you say you can do, or will try. So if you can do it to others, your own logic denotes your belief that somebody could do it too (even to you). I wasn't referring to anything I said. Merely letting you be subject to being on the giving or receiving end of your own advice. For if what you said was right and you can stomp down the top site. Then anybody with the skills can stomp you back down. ESPECIALLY if Google changes an algo and knocks you off balance. Or them. So as you see, I'm only in one spot. Repeating virtually the same thing I wrote in the previous reply.
OK, but if you work at McDonalds, you don't make $72 a day on your day off. And if you have figured out how to make $72 a day on the web, then you have the knowledge to make $300 a day on the web. I haven't been able to replace my income. Far from it. I've had some good supplements though. One day I'd like to be able to quit my day job and do this full time. It's the lifestyle. It's the difference between having a boss, and being your OWN boss. If it's done right, it's the difference between running a business and working a job.
it's simple. there will always be room for the small guy? why? Sure websites grow, there will always be more websites to compete with. But there will also be more new internet users, searching for something different, therefore new keywords to compete with. There will always be a growth in long-tail keywords and there will always be a growth in websites. Saying SEO is fantasy is as dumb as saying, your cafe shop will never succeed because there's thousands of starbucks around the world. Your cafe shop may not be a powerhouse, but I bet you'll still bring in profit.
Well some people do have control over it - that's the like of Matt and hundred, perhaps thousands of Google engineers that tweaking the algo - days in, days out - to make sure it's becoming unpredictable.
I would really like these guys to get a day job Flippin the McVeggie instead of sending me 500 spam link exchange emails every day. http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/home.html This is required reading The Lazy SEO Manifesto to get on the right track. The key point to me is to develop passive revenue streams that maintain themselves using automated systems
I disagree with the OP a little. Just be smarter and work your hardest and you will have just as good a chance as anyone.
There's some good ideas there. But a lot of people, venture out on the internet to be "starbucks". Even in my trade. New website owners want to be number one, not just on page two or three. Someday, some coffee shop may compete with Starbucks like Pepsi has with Coke, but it will be a whole lot slower getting there than if Starbucks was not around. There is a lot to be said for being the first one to wear the title belt on Google's page. Because its not lost in the same way as a boxer takes it from another. (Hey... new idea for website page - the prize fighter illustration )
If the age of a website, is genuinely even one factor. the chances cannot be even. ...step one... If I were a gambler, which I'm not, I'd wager you $40,000 if you could make a landscape design and tree service website that could overtake mine on Google's first page for my city and state. And I'd give you 1 year, maybe 2. Conditions would be... - You can't pay for a directory or a link. - Get any webmaster you want, and this bozo arborist will do his own site - You have to hold the lead for 2 months - I'd need to know, so I could turn the flames up on my burners. They are off right now. Aside from all wagers, I'd challenge any webmaster or web designer in the country to try the same goal and competion. Provided I know about it. I haven't chased website links in almost 2 years. I've only added about 3 in the past year, just for people who contacted me. But I'd love the competition of attempting to hold a lead against someone who thinks our chances are even. Sort of like the pole climbing and arborist competions for log cutting. The internet should start having website ranking competitions. But it just wouldn't work, as a genuine competition even, because there's no way to keep other people from meddling with the projects and affecting one side's or the other's work.
And if i thought for one minute you would actually pay the $40,000 i'd take you up on that in a split second. In under 3 months i've taken top 5 for "SEO Company" against the industries best, so taking some low result from a city specific landscape search would be a simple achievement. I've got some .gov sites i maintain that i havn't untilized for links which i could use, if i did that much juice would knock seocompany.ca out of top spot after all i'm beating them for "SEO". I've taken page one for "Web Design" so seriously, if you think your city based landscape search is difficult i'd think again.
Wow, I think you should put down the Karl Marx literature and pick up a little Ann Rand. 1) Wealth and ideas (one in the same really) is not a finite resource it can be created. 2) Create your own niche. 3) Stop complaining, create something new or create something better. The Google company you're complaining about grandfathering in the old sites and woe is the newcomer....when did they start? You think they were the first search engine do you? They got in an insanely saturated industry and built something better. Or just be a defeatist, and blame your defeat on preordained crap and tearfully mutter lines like 'the rich keep getting richer' over some cheap bourbon.
Yeah. If you don't like it get a job to get a day job Flippin the McVeggie. Starbucks fills a niche but they aren't the only guys out there selling a cup of coffee. Donukin Donuts has built a niche for themselves. In order to make money build a niche for yourself.
I would like to take you up on this offer. I have ranked new domains as number 1 on very highly competitive keywords. I have bumped out wikipedia, about.com and more. Challenge me! lol