Advanced Search Engine Strategies

The steps covered up to this point are all fairly standard and universally agreed upon. However more advanced techniques are less straightforward. There are many different ideas about what works and what the most effective strategies are. In addition, each search engine works slightly differently and advanced strategies require you to consider these differences.

It pays to learn as much as you can about different ideas and trends, and spend time deciding which is most appropriate for you. Most likely, you will find a certain combination of techniques is the best plan.

To simplify the situation we can say there are two main areas of SEO:

1. Content-based SEO: Building and optimizing the content of your website.
2. Non-Content SEO: Any optimization technique which is unrelated to the actual content of the site.

The relative benefits of these techniques are debated regularly in SEO circles. Many people lean heavily toward one philosophy or the other; that is, "Content Is King" versus "Content is Secondary". The arguments can get very heated but our advice is not to take either side too strongly. Both philosophies are perfectly valid and should co-exist peacefully. The smart webmaster will carefully consider all techniques and work towards the best mix.

Next Page: Content-Based optimization