After focusing on SEO and SEM for over 10 years, I have found one thing to be true: the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Sure, Google might put a little more emphasis on a couple of new algorithms, but it is still possible to get dominant first page placement by doing the same things that worked 10 years ago. 

Although my SEO focus began in basic optimization and has slowly morphed into reputation management and viral marketing, the following rules still apply to all SEO:

Relevant Content
Relevant Linking
Searchability

I recently had a conversation with a potential customer in Atlanta who was price-shopping SEO services for his 2 companies.  After giving him a run-down of what would be provided, I quoted him $800 for each site (basic HTML, non-CMS with flash header).  Included was the standard guarantee: first page Google results with multiple general terms within 3 months or his money gets refunded.

He was surprised at how inexpensive the quote was, considering all of the others were 2 to 3 times that amount.  I chuckled when I told him that I would only have to spend around an hour for each site.  "Are you saying that those $800 an hour jobs aren't a good deal for me also?"

When he asked what I do that separates my services from other SEO professionals, other than the guarantee, I told him that I focus on 3 primary factors:

Relevant Content
Relevant Linking
Searchability

Why worry about focusing on every new optimization strategy that hits the news, when Google still puts the majority of their emphasis on what has worked since their inception?  I'm definitely the last person to answer that question....

JD

Are you asking a question?

Definitely.  Would love to know people's thoughts on focusing beyond the fundamentals.

Well whether or not they apply to your current clients, the SEO should be well versed in covering all of the verticals.

But I have to add that many of my professional SEO friends are leaning towards specializing in very specific areas. E.g. analytics analysis, SMM, Local marketing (my specialty) etc

Which begs the question: if the SEO in the site is good enough to pull high rankings for general search terms, how much easier is it to target specifically or locally (geotargets)?

I wouldn’t use the words easy or hard, its more inline with being able to accurately tailor the needs of the business to the tactics you will be applying. I own 4 ecommerce businesses and a physical store as well as do SEO for some known tourism businesses (I do it for free) and each approach is different.

The GEO stuff is just another vertical, but IMO an important vertical that you should add to your current skill sets.

If your interested in Local you could get your feet wet with one of my older posts at http://www.huomah.com/Business-Developm … eting.html

Hi OnDemand,

I could not understand what exactly you want to question or answer.

I told him that I focus on 3 primary factors:
Relevant Content
Relevant Linking
Searchability

The above things you mentioned are goals of optimization i.e at the end of the day the content should be relevant, linking should be relevant and so on. Right?

Why worry about focusing on every new optimization strategy that hits the news

Now strategy is a mean / method to achieve the goal. For example what strategy to use twitter to get targeted traffic to my website.

The more ways we learn to achieve the goal the better it is. I think that is why we should worry and focus on new strategies.

I am unable to understand why you are mixing strategy and goal? or am I missing something completely?

Seeing the word "overthinking" in the title made me think of this:
Some of us spend too much time thinking and not enough doing.
Some of us spend too much time doing and not enough time thinking.
The challenge is to know WHAT to do and then do it.
I would agree that Quality was and still is the key to long term success... in general. But what specific to do is another matter, and I think that does change...
Also, I'm amazed (if I understand correctly) that with one hour's total work, and one hour only, you can get a site to page one in three months. Wow.

OnDemand wrote:

I chuckled when I told him that I would only have to spend around an hour for each site.

You can build enough relevant links in 1 hour? Please PM me your secret or if you don't mind share it here

Nic wrote:

OnDemand wrote:

I chuckled when I told him that I would only have to spend around an hour for each site.

You can build enough relevant links in 1 hour? Please PM me your secret or if you don't mind share it here

Yer I second that, if you want us to truly beleve you can get on page 1 no matter the site in 3 months with just one hours work (I take it one hour each month right?), you will defo need to tell us what it is you do in an hour.

As Nic said the only thing I can see doing this for an hours work in links, but what links and where from? please do share or is this all a joke or some way for you to get some links to your site when we forget about the thread lol

I am holding my breath waiting for the back link to the site - a good link bait title me thinks.

cynical

I think the main point is that things that are good practices today, were good practices yesterday, and will likely still be good practices tomorrow. I try to stay away from "trendy" things like funneling pagerank, and focus on a well designed and programmed site, great content, and building relevant backlinks. And these practices are likely still going to be important five years from now.

yes Lelo your right about content and quality link building always being the main two factors to SEO but... Its how these are done thats always changing and will keep doing so as google will always want to keep changing to make more money from what they do.

All you have to do is look at googles latest rebuild (caffeine) to see that how we link for SEO has been changed yet again, and I am sure it wont be the last time it happens.

look at googles latest rebuild (caffeine) to see that how we link for SEO has been changed yet again

1-Clan, caffeine is to be reported live on only one data canter and that also not 100% so it is still to see what major changes would be there if any.

1-Clan wrote:

Nic wrote:

OnDemand wrote:

I chuckled when I told him that I would only have to spend around an hour for each site.

You can build enough relevant links in 1 hour? Please PM me your secret or if you don't mind share it here

Yer I second that, if you want us to truly beleve you can get on page 1 no matter the site in 3 months with just one hours work (I take it one hour each month right?), you will defo need to tell us what it is you do in an hour.

As Nic said the only thing I can see doing this for an hours work in links, but what links and where from? please do share or is this all a joke or some way for you to get some links to your site when we forget about the thread lol

Did we ever get an answer on how you get to page one with one hour of work. And by the way, since the total price was $800 and he was going to make $800/hour, then it is only one hour I think, and not an hour a day, week, or month...
Anyway, I too would love to know this "secret"!

We liked your post OnDemand.

@ Insomniac and others posting comments in this thread who want to know "secrets."

On this page here on the forum on site-reference.com
What strategy do to you use to promote your site
(typing error in that line not ours)

http://forums.site-reference.com/topic/ … page2.html

we described what it is that we do to get our own pages, or pages of our clients coming up on page one of Google.co.za, for various search terms - it takes an hour or two, and often the page one results are there within 6 days of the site going live, or within 6 days of optimising a page that had previously had no optimization, or had too many errors or ommissions in the coding.

But we think when people see others mentioning or explaining what it is they do for SEO, they don't believe it.  (Why would people give their secrets away?) Well, some of it must certainly work, because we got all our information from posts and articles very similar to the one we left as a comment on the post above.  It's up to people to use the information or not, or to at least try out the info.  Not all advice works, no, but by trial and error, one discovers what does.  Another problem with not believing everything one reads is that in today's society many people have lost their trust in others, and in honesty.  People will look a gift horse in the mouth just because they don't believe it really is a gift and they will think that the gift givers have ulterior motives.

Why we said we liked what OnDemand said is because it's so true - old methods still work, and really can be simple and not take a lot of time.

We think that too many people automatically assume that with amazing advances in technology, things are getting more and more "difficult and complicated" - but, other than "SEO specialists" being able to charge a fortune to these people who believe it's difficult and a "specialised area", basic SEO, that does a pretty good job, is not that difficult, and does not take too long.

We're not saying that anyone should ever guarantee clients page one search engine results, as a lot can also depend on how many competitors there are for the search terms.

Now the odd thing is, we're miles away from being experts or knowing all that much about SEO and all the special techniques the experts use, yet many of our sites' pages are coming up on page one of Google.co.za results (and depending on what the search term or niche is, sometimes out of over a million results), simply from us having used basic old-fashioned SEO tactics.

We're still learning more and more, from just browsing the Internet, and although we do agree we still have some work to do regards the extremely highly competitive keywords or niches, we're really pleased that just basic SEO work (based mostly around a decent amount of content, or placing of words within individual paragraphs too) is getting the sites we've worked with (a variety of niches) excellent results.

People should not make mountains out of molehills.  Basic content-based old-fashioned SEO works in most cases, and is easy.

I think he wanted to tell us that stick to the basics. Content.. Link etc etc, we know all. Everyday we fight for new links, spend $300 for a Link from yahoo or business.com like sites. Our main target about SEO have come here - if by some means we can manage one link, and if from a related site for Free or by any deal I shall be king ( dofollow HURRAY, nofollow..HUMM )

But with time many new aspects came into play.. Geo targeting.. Video marketing, ranks in Video search

Think,,, try... fail .. incorporate new methods ... thats SEO... outside new link hunts

BY THE WAY I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE TERM VERTICAL AND IMO

BY THE WAY I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE TERM VERTICAL AND IMO

@bikramchoudhury vertical is also know as niche. Anything which cater a specialized need.

In context of search, image search , video search are all verticals.

IMO is "In my opinion"

OnDemand wrote:

After focusing on SEO and SEM for over 10 years, I have found one thing to be true: the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Sure, Google might put a little more emphasis on a couple of new algorithms, but it is still possible to get dominant first page placement by doing the same things that worked 10 years ago. 

Although my SEO focus began in basic optimization and has slowly morphed into reputation management and viral marketing, the following rules still apply to all SEO:

Relevant Content
Relevant Linking
Searchability

I recently had a conversation with a potential customer in Atlanta who was price-shopping SEO services for his 2 companies.  After giving him a run-down of what would be provided, I quoted him $800 for each site (basic HTML, non-CMS with flash header).  Included was the standard guarantee: first page Google results with multiple general terms within 3 months or his money gets refunded.

He was surprised at how inexpensive the quote was, considering all of the others were 2 to 3 times that amount.  I chuckled when I told him that I would only have to spend around an hour for each site.  "Are you saying that those $800 an hour jobs aren't a good deal for me also?"

When he asked what I do that separates my services from other SEO professionals, other than the guarantee, I told him that I focus on 3 primary factors:

Relevant Content
Relevant Linking
Searchability

Why worry about focusing on every new optimization strategy that hits the news, when Google still puts the majority of their emphasis on what has worked since their inception?  I'm definitely the last person to answer that question....

JD

While I do agree that content is important I have seen plenty of lousy sites with poor content rank well. A more accurate approach might be to optimize for your targeted keyword phrases. Content has more to do with conversion than SEO.

You state that little has changed well link building has changed tremendously over the past decade... Just think No Follow!

I am not sure what you mean by searchablility? If you mean can the pages be crawled then I would agree.