SEO - Tricks or Simply Good Content?

Search Engine Optimization. SEO. What is SEO really? How much should you be concerned about all the little tricks? What about spending the majority of your time creating great content on your site?

SEO should stand for Simply Effective Outstanding content. So it should really be: SEOCON

Let’s look at each of these top SEO techniques by David Leonhardt (one of the SEO gurus) and see which ones actually require rolling up of sleeves and creating great content:

1. Be bold. Use the <b> </b> tags around some of your keywords on each page. Do NOT use them everywhere the keyword appears. Once or twice is plenty.

Okay, that’s a trick. Fine. Will do.

2. Deep linking. Make sure you have links coming in to as many pages as possible. What does it tell a search engine when other web sites are linking to different pages on your site? That you obviously have lots of worthwhile content. What does it tell a search engine that all your links are coming in to the home page? That you have a shallow site of little value, or that your links were generated by automation rather than by the value of your site.

This requires creation of great content.

3. Become a foreigner. Canada and the UK have many directories for websites of companies based in those countries. Can you get a business address in one of those countries?

Does anyone really go to this kind of trouble for SEO? Perhaps. But it’s still not worth your time unless you can easily do it.

4. Newsletters. Offer articles to ezine publishers that archive their ezines. The links stay live often for many years in their archives.

This requires great content. And, btw, what would we consider to be in the category of “ezine”?

5. First come, first served. If you must have image links in your navigation bar, include also text links. However, make sure the text links show up first in the source code, because search engine robots will follow the first link they find to any particular page. They won’t follow additional links to the same page.

Okay, neat trick. Thanks David.

6. Multiple domains. If you have several topics that could each support their own website, it might be worth having multiple domains. Why? First, search engines usually list only one page per domain for any given search, and you might warrant two. Second, directories usually accept only home pages, so you can get more directory listings this way. Why not a site dedicated to gumbo pudding pops?

This is a great suggestion. And guess what? It requires great content.

7.  Article exchanges. You’ve heard of link exchanges, useless as they generally are. Article exchanges are like link exchanges, only much more useful. You publish someone else’s article on the history of pudding pops with a link back to their site. They publish your article on the top ten pudding pop flavors in Viet Nam, with a link back to your site. You both have content. You both get high quality links. (More on high quality links in other tips.)

I agreee - to an extent. And guess what? This requires the creation of great content.

8. Titles for links. Links can get titles, too. Not only does this help visually impaired surfers know where you are sending them, but some search engines figure this into their relevancy for a page.

Okay David. Neat trick.

9. Not anchor text. Don’t overdo the anchor text. You don’t want all your inbound links looking the same, because that looks like automation - something Google frowns upon. Use your URL sometimes, your company name other times, “Gumbo Pudding Pop” occasionally, “Get gumbo pudding pops” as well, “Gumbo-flavored pudding pops” some other times, etc.

Yes, but this is contingent on…you guessed it… great content in the first place.

10. Site map. A big site needs a site map, which should be linked to from every page on the site. This will help the search engine robots find every page with just two clicks. A small site needs a site map, too. It’s called the navigation bar.

Fine. Agreed. Though this will not help you if it points to bad content.

How about we discuss methods to prod yourself–and make your life easier–toward the pursuit of creating compelling content for your site? (for another post) Yes, traditional SEO has its place. But that place is not as expansive as it once was, given the many changes in the search environment, not to mention the precipitous rise of social media.