SEO A fresh and rational approach

We take a fundamentally different view of preparing for search. It is incredibly simple. Here’s the foundation.

1. Google is king of search – so when choosing whose rules to play by, play by Google’s Rules.
2. Google produces a rule book!
3. If you don’t do the basics that Google is clearly and openly tell you to do, you don’t belong on top of search.
4. Only after meeting the baseline standards from Google’s rule book, should you invest in high end search tactics.

It never ceases to amaze me that Google produces a very clear, easy to read, and rational book on what you need to do to rank, and nearly no web developers follow it. Your site has deficiencies, but overall is far better than most sites I have been called in to evaluate. Most SEO firms have amazing strategies to get lift in different areas, but these efforts fall flat. They fall flat, because you end up driving Google to a site that does not conform to their standards. If Google is driven to your site, and you aren’t doing the basics of what they tell you, why should Google rank you well?

This feels so fundamentally simple, like a parent and a child, do what you are told if you want me to do something for you. Instead my experience with the current seo industry seems to be that a lot of people are making a lot of money doing a lot of search activity to overcome inadequate design and site structure. My model is more along the line of, do it right the first time. Wait and gauge the results. If you need a more aggressive search strategy after starting with a solid site, then your additional efforts will yield much larger return than if you engaged in search efforts that lead to a deficient site.
Some believe I am against a rational search strategy. I am not. I merely believe that a search campaign that is run driving search to a site that does not meet Google’s minimum standards, is an enormous expenditure, with assured minimal return. Roughly ¾ of our clients do not engage in any form of search strategy other then simply being socially active, and enjoy first page listings that have the stamina of years of first page rankings. The minority of my clients end up needing ongoing search strategies to rank.

Amazingly, most of my clients enjoy front page presence for years, with nothing other than a solid foundation, and social activity done in-house. RobertCrumPhotography.com – has ranked on the first page of search (for the 10 years he has been a client) for a variety of search terms, and the only thing he does, other than have a solidly designed site, is post new photos to Facebook occasionally. FloorCleaningExperts.com (10 years a client) doesn’t even consistently blog or facebook, and are front page of search for nearly every one of their services. MarcadisLaw is on the front page 24 times in 11 geographic areas (2 years a client). Their fiercest competitor only 12, and all we do on an ongoing basis for them is blog and social media.

There are clearly times when more is needed to overcome competition; however my experience is that nothing is more powerful than solid web architecture.

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