Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

In Pursuit of Right Now

We admit it: We were shaking in our stiletto heels just thinking about writing this

chapter. The Right Now of search engines? Committed in ink, on old-fashioned paper?

Give us a break. Everybody knows the Right Now of SEO changes every 5 minutes and

you’d do much better finding this stuff on the Web.

Just kidding. We wear sensible shoes. Oh, and there are lots of great reasons for

you to hang onto every word of this chapter.

First off, researching SEO on the Web is a difficult way to learn new concepts

and get the basics down. If you set out to discover the Right Now of SEO for your-

self, you’re likely to run into a mishmash of organic and paid strategies,

white hat

and

black hat

techniques, and beginner and technically advanced concepts. And you

are going to run into conflicting advice, naturally; you’ve got forums running ram-

pant with rumors and expert and not-so-expert blogs, not to mention every Dick

and Jane employed by an SEO firm who has posted an article on SEO. And here’s

our favorite pet peeve: SEO advice on the Web is maddeningly unlikely to be date-

stamped, so you often don’t know if what you’re reading is current advice or yester-

day’s news.

So, instead of trying to jump into your own frustrating pursuit of the Right

Now, read our rundown of the current search landscape. Later, in Chapter 8, “Month

Two: Establish the Habit,” you’ll learn how to keep your knowledge up-to-date using

our favorite trusted sources of information.

Now, let’s get right down to the details.

Google Basics

Simply stated, Google is the standout leader in search today. It has the most

eyeballs

and the most new trends, and it’s the only search engine with its own entry in the

dictionary. Once a search-only entity, Google now offers a mail service, a map serv-

ice, and a traffic and conversion tracking service, not to mention a diverse menu of

specialty search options, including video, image, blog, and local. See Table 4.1 for

handy Google facts for SEOs.

Google has been an all-out trendsetter in the evolution of the search algorithm.

Link popularity? Google made it hugely important. The probable death of

paid inclu-

sion

? Thank Google. A website’s age being a factor in its ranking? Blame Google. We’ll

go into the details throughout the chapter, but let’s face it: The world of SEO is playing

Follow the Leader, and Google’s at the head of the line.

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