Finding Reliable SEO Information
Everything you ever wanted to know is accessible through a simple Google search and that includes the topic of search engine optimization.
Here’s the problem with reading about SEO
Just like almost any topic, there’s a plethora of conflicting information floating around. SEO is a topic that has been discussed on various blogs and websites for about a decade now, leading to all kinds of information being readily available. A simple Google search for the term “SEO” shows that there are 896 million results for that phrase. Let’s just imagine you decided to read all of it. Spend 3 minutes reading each article and you will have spent more than 400 years reading about SEO and you would be more confused than when you started!
Let me me give you an example of a problem that many beginners run into. They Google “SEO tips” and find an SEO article from 2008, which is fairly up-to-date, right? 4 years isn’t THAT long ago. The bad news is that if you were to follow through on some of the strategies that are suggested in an article from 2009 and you might find your website on Google’s hitlist! The same tactics that worked very well in 2008, will now get your website penalized or even de-indexed.
For the beginner, a simple Google search isn’t as simple as it might seem. Because much of the information is conflicting, who do you believe? Which websites have the best information?
The first step is to find a reliable source of information. Find out who is reputable and who isn’t. Reputable sources of SEO advice include SEOMoz, Search Engine Journal and SEO Book. These are good places to start because they will provide quality information that has been tested and doesn’t include unethical or blackhat strategies.
Once you have a few regular websites that you read, now you have to keep up on the information on an almost daily basis. What you learn about SEO may only apply for 6 months and then you may have to tweak your process.
The building blocks of SEO haven’t changed too much in the past decade or so, but what has happened is that the playing field has been leveled. There are no more magic tricks, silver bullets, page #1 overnight kind of tactics. Google is constantly evolving its algorithm which makes SEO a ever-changing field. Don’t believe those that tell you they know all the tricks to get you to page #1 quickly because they could be doing more harm than good.
There’s currently 3 things that are going to help you more than all of the reading you can do.
1. Provide good, quality content for your readers and keep the content flowing.
2. Get involved in social media in a meaningful way.
3. Make sure your website is structured properly with basic on-site SEO.
Those of us involved in SEO are constantly learning, reading, creating content and applying what we read. The trouble for most small business owners is that they simply don’t have the time to be doing all of this, plus running their business. If you don’t have the time to be doing SEO for yourself, you should seek the services of an SEO consultant who can take care of these details for you.
If you are interested in some good quality SEO tips, here’s a few terms for you to search for. I won’t provide their links because they will be number 1 for their search terms…because they’re in the SEO business. 🙂
SEOmoz, Search Engine Journal, SEO Book
