Probably the most frustrating part of building a web presence for business is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. I am constantly reading how people are telling me that they have all the answers for SEO strategy, but see that their website gets little to no traffic. Furthermore, they show no solid proof that they are able to provide long term sustainable results.
My SEO strategy has to be more than just getting to the top of search results, it has to be building a relationship with my readers that will cause them to come back over and over. I have to be able to provide a result that not only attracts you, the reader, but gives real value so you will tell others about my site.
SEO strategy is figuring out what the right type of reader is searching for, not all readers are searching for. The fact is that you can't be everything to everybody, but you can be something to somebody, and my goal is to be something to somebody.
It has taken me years to find a solution to this problem, and while I am still implementing and learning, I want to let you know about a source that has given me solid results for what I have learnt so far. That source is called “The Art of SEO” and is available at your local Barnes & Noble on the shelf.
“The Art of SEO” is boring as ever, but the content is valuable. It reads like a school text book and is written by four proven experts in SEO (Eric Enge, Stephen Spencer, Rand Fishkin and Jesse C. Stricchiola). Did I mention it is rather on the expensive side? I also want to give John Chow credit for turning me on to the book. He keeps the book as a reference on his desk top and uses it frequently even though he has years of experience writing and getting position in SEO.
The people that should read and use this book go beyond web designers and include self-professed SEO experts. You just might actually become an SEO expert when you gain this knowledge. Other people that should read it are the website owners and company management that are affected by SEO.
Many people say that SEO changes so fast you can't keep up by writing a book about it, they say the book will be outdated before it is published. What this book teaches doesn't go out, in fact, it is more about solid core value SEO and not all the trendy stuff. It is more of a way of thinking about SEO and less about fly-by-night strategies that the SEO “experts” are coming up with.
This post is not compensated in any way. I am simply telling you my experience so far, and I am not even half way through the book! I hope you enjoy it.