If you are quite serious in your efforts to understand SEO and learn about its ins and outs, one of the things that you can do is to get a how-to guide in the form of a book. There are many ways to learn about any topic – from web sites to blogs to magazines to pod casts, and so on. Sometimes, though, I prefer to browse through books – whether in paper form or on e-book form – simply because books have a certain structure to them. If you think linearly – like I sometimes do – then a book would be good for you to at least organize your thoughts.

I came across Craig Killick’s free e-book on SEO, entitled Let’s Cut to the Chase, on his blog. To be honest, I have never really heard of him before but after browsing through his blog, I got quite interested in the e-book and since it was for free, I went ahead and downloaded it.

So what does Killick have to offer in his e-book? The book basically documents his journey in the world of SEO and I like that fact – it is very easy reading and most anyone can relate to it. The way he shares and presents his ideas are quite easy to understand and implement. As he himself said in his blog, he does not claim to be THE expert on the matter and his e-book may not be as comprehensive as some might like it to be but the fact remains that his e-book does have something to offer that would change the SEO process for your small business for the better.

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I never thought I’d write something with this title. I am particularly adverse to exploiting this aspect of humankind to make waves. After reading SEOSMARTY’s post on SEO Slogans (Cool, Sexy, and Not Only That..), however, I think that I am willing to make an exception for this case.

He points out that it is a common knowledge that in branding one’s company, it is essential to come up with a catch phrase or a tag line that will stand out and be associated with your brand. Most articles and posts on this topic will tell you the same thing – be unique, catchy, short, succinct, etc. SEOSMARTY points out unique ideas though:

Consider language differences
You are catering to the whole world as your market. You may want to expand your horizons and think about people who may not be able to relate to language particularities. So as much as possible, make your slogan universally understandable.

Exploit English clichés
Some writers would say that this is a bad practice but for slogan writing, it just might do the trick. Of course, you’d have to tweak the cliché a little bit to suit your company.

Don’t overlook look slang and urban lingo
A word of caution when doing this, however. Slang may be specific to a particular geographical location. Another thing, some slang may be a bit on the rough (rude) side so be careful of this as well.

Coming up with a slogan (whether it is for SEO or not) is not an easy matter. Some have the knack for it while others don’t. If you are not sure about what you’ve come up with, don’t hesitate to bring in others on it.

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If you ask different people involved in SEO for a list of the best tips with regard to this activity, the chances are that you will get a host of various answers. The idea behind SEO is simple. As we re-established it in the last post, SEO is all about creating web pages that will get good rankings, no more, no less.

Actually implementing strategies and techniques to achieve the results that SEO aims for is another story altogether, however. Different experts would have their own takes on the subject matter so it is hard to say which ones are the “right” ones. Here are some basic tips to help you get reacquainted with SEO principles.

Keywords
If there is any commonality between varying opinions on SEO techniques, the knowledge of keywords would probably be it. I like how Mike Wayde says it in B2B Insights Blog. He writes:

A good SEO partner will have the tools to evaluate the right keywords that your audience is using to search for you. Just because you think your audience will search for you using a particular keyword or phrase, doesn’t mean that they will. Proper research will go a long way towards reaching your full audience.

I totally agree with this. Research is one of the most important steps when it comes to SEO – you have to know what people are using as search terms. You cannot merely guess or take it for granted that you know which keywords are hot.

Let’s look at other basic tips in the next post.

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Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as we normally call it, has risen to the forefront of activities on the Internet. Anyone who is remotely involved in blog and web site development has at least an idea of what SEO is all about. Today, you cannot carry on your online activities without running into SEO of some sort. Yet what is SEO really about? Have you ever really thought about the core concepts of SEO? I thought it would be a good time to go back to the basics and understand the core principles behind SEO.

I like how SEO is defined by Netuser:

The art of creating web pages that will rank well is called SEO.”

Simple, isn’t it? You have to consider, though, what “rank well” means exactly. You and I both know that to be discovered on the Web, you have to have some sort of visibility. Your blog or web site should be found by other people through a search on any search engine, but most especially Google. These search engines provide search results through a system of ranking. The higher the rank of a web page, the more chances it will have to be in the top results of a search. That is where SEO comes in – it helps you achieve a higher rank in order for your web page to appear in the first few pages of a search related to your niche.

Now that we have re-grounded ourselves on what SEO is all about, it is time to go over the basics of how to go about doing SEO. Let’s look at this in the next few posts.

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Yes, it’s quite a risky (and risqué!) topic. However, good SEO techniques have many important similarities with the other most popular topic on the net (a.k.a. sex). To be a great SEO practitioner, you also need to apply the philosophies of great lovers.

Always add something new to your knowledge and technique. If you want to be the best lover, you keep improving your skills by learning new ways to touch, new positions. To be the best SEO practitioner, you also need to update your knowledge often. After all, search engines update their algorithms all the time, new SEO tools are constantly being developed, and new angles of internet marketing are always explored. Keep abreast (haha!) with the latest SEO news so you won’t be behind everyone else.

For each move, measure a response and let that be your guide. If you stroke your lover’s side and you sense that he or she feels pleasure, you keep doing it. If they seem disinterested or (gasp) in pain, stop doing it. (Unless you’re doing some BDSM stuff that really doesn’t apply here). The same goes for SEO - you apply a certain tactic, then measure its results to see if you’ll keep on doing it or change it altogether. For example, you can reword the homepage title to contain a specific keyword. If you come up higher on SE results for that keyword, then this means you should let the new title stay. If nothing happens, then look for better keywords to use on the title, keywords that will convert more. Also, don’t make several changes at once - do it little by little or else the results will be more difficult to measure.

Stay focused. You need to know your goal and focus all your efforts on them. If a lover strays and forgets about the orgasm he or she intended to induce, then the rhythm is lost. If it’s SEO we’re talking about, you need a list of goals and all your SEO efforts must be concrete steps towards those goals. You must not be distracted. Directing your SEO towards too many things at the same time leads to a disorganized campaign.

You can do it yourself, but not with the same results. Some things are better done alone, but S-E-X and SEO aren’t included in that list. You may think you can do all there is to do and know all there is to know, but without the involvement of other experts or assistants, it’ll be a much heavier task. So you have to read all the SEO material you need to get your hands on, get the opinion of experts, or get an assistant to do the menial tasks (such as submitting to directories). If you do everything yourself, it’ll take a long time and by the time you finish, the search engine trends would’ve changed.

Keep these ideas in mind the next time you’re passionate - about an SEO campaign, that is. Who knows? By applying these tips you might reach an all time high… in search engine results.

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Everybody’s buzzing about SEO. Like a lover it promises the earth, the sun, and the sky, which, for web masters, equates to higher ranking, higher exposure, and ultimately, higher profit. But here’s a general truth: not everyone likes to read, especially when it’s littered with technical jargon like SEO books are. If you’re the type who gets dizzy after reading the first page, I’m giving you an alternative: free online video tutorials. So get off your lazy ass and put that popcorn in the microwave. It’s time for some serious video marathon.

Eyeflow

If it’s basic you want, then it’s Eyeflow you must see. Eyeflow contains video tutorials that introduce what SEO is and what are the different basic elements involved in the SEO process. Explained by segments, it introduces the crucial players of SEO; keywords, links, and some dos and don’ts in the SEO arena.

SEOBOOK

Worthy of mention is another free video tutorial site named SEOBOOK. It features the basics of SEO as well as different topics that would help you in your quest for a higher rank. The main site itself shows only a few of the available tutorials by SEOBOOK. The bulk of the guides are housed under YouTube. Click on the YouTube profile link and view all 19 guides ranging from the most basic to the advanced techniques as well as reviews of tools to let you stay ahead in the SEO race.

GSINC

Another site with comprehensive tutorials available in the Net for free is GSINC. Here, SEO consultant Gareth Davies discusses search engine optimization basics, as well as tips and tricks to get you fast-tracked. He talks about most of the important topics dealing with SEO, from keywords to backlinks as well as search engine features, and how to use them to your own advantage.

Do you know of other SEO video tutorials that I haven’t listed? Please let me know via the comments to share them with the other readers.

(Unless you’re so secretive about your resources )

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SEO topics have taken the Internet by storm, extending its reach even on Internet radio. Experts are quick to pounce on this technology via podcasts, offering expertise, tips and tactics. However, we know that not all SEO podcasts are created equal. And so I have taken the liberty of listing a few podcasts which I think is worthy of your time (look at me talk as if I’m some big SEO hotshot). Anyway, without further ado, here they are:

Podcast #1: SEO 101: The Beginning SEO

One of the best podcasts out there, hands down. Ranging from the very basic to advanced techniques discussions, SEO 101 caters to the different levels of expertise in SEO. Tips, tactics, news - you name it, they have it. Browse their neatly arranged categories for the desired topic and listen immediately. No time to sit in front of the computer for extended periods? Then download the episodes on MP3 format and plug them in your MP3 player. Now that’s learning on the go.

Podcast #2: Daily SearchCast

Featuring the latest news on search engine giants, the anchors of Daily SearchCast brings you the newest industry gossips from Google, MSN and other major search engines without sounding like a weather report. Humorous lines and witty yet razor-sharp commentaries gives you the itty-gritty facts on how these developments could affect and eventually change the face of search engine optimization.

Podcast #3: Mr SEO

Never mind the site layout. We came here for the goodies right? Mr SEO focuses on listeners’ questions and tries to answer them via podcast. These questions range from basic ones to advanced techniques, so there’s something for everybody. Though it lacks a sense of organization (podcasts are just arranged by date, no tags, or categories) or even a podcast search function, digging through the many episodes might give you a treasure of a find.

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Ah, the Black Hat SEO world… something that invokes either a disappointing look or an evil grin.  Still, SEO practitioners - whatever their hat color - must look at black hat techniques from time to time.  Here’s why:

Your competition could be using black hat tips.  If they are, you need to understand their SEO gameplan well if you’re to outwit them.  You can only do that if you’re familiar with black hat seo techniques yourself.  Find out what their strategy is and try to beat them with your own tricks.  Or, you know, you could just report them when you find out (sneaky!).

Black hat tricks give you a better idea of how search engine algorithms work.  This is because black hat SEO practitioners exploit weaknesses in the algorithms, and use it at their own advantage.  This kind of knowledge will prove to be useful when you’re planning your SEO campaign.  Almost everyday, black hats figure out new ways to take shortcuts to the top of SERPs.  If you find out about these shortcuts, you can find a legit way to use them for your own site.

It’s much easier to explain to others what they can/can’t do during their SEO campaigns.  If you’re a web designer or SEO practitioner and your client is saying “I’ve heard something about raising your PR through a 301 redirect…” you need to know what your client is talking about.  A lot of people, especially those new to the SEO world, get a series of bad advice, often black hat in nature.  Knowing these techniques like the back of your hand can help you explain to people the downsides of applying them to their SEO campaign.

Because they make you look marginally cooler.  In other words, if you’re an SEO practitioner, you’d have more credibility if you know all the possible tricks - whether you actually apply them or not.  Although wearing an actual black hat on your head might make it seem like you’re trying too hard.

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