100 Lessons for SEO
1. Don’t link-build too fast – When I first started in SEO, I built a
site and started going gung-ho, not realizing that I should pace myself.
I’d built all the links I could, and then be totally inconsistent
about my efforts in the following months. As you might expect, my
rankings shot up but, tumbled down just as fast – a situation I could
have avoided by taking a steady, more sustainable approach.
2. Meta descriptions matter – Even if they don’t have any SEO value now, they’re still useful from a CTR standpoint.
3. Don’t obsess over rankings and traffic – Things move monthly; not daily or weekly.
4. There’s a fine line between being analytical and being obsessed – When I first started, I would watch my site’s rankings every day, every hour, thinking something would change. As a result, I was wasting time obsessing over something I couldn’t change, when my time would have been better spent building extra links or writing extra blog posts.
5. There’s no replacement for a good product – I’ve done SEO for hundreds of sites, and I found the best SEO tactic is a great product – and that will never change.
6. There is a huge difference between optimizing ecommerce, lead generation sites, small sites and user generated sites – You need to understand not just the current situation of a website, but the type of website it is, as your whole strategy should revolve around the type of site you’re working with.
7. Tactics come and go, but creativity never dies – I hate seeing people blindly following the advice of other SEO experts, without even thinking about whether or not the techniques they’re using work well for their sites. You can’t go wrong by putting the emphasis on providing value for your customers and finding creative ways to do it.
8. Age is just a number – The age of a domain and site definitely help a site rank, but don’t let your young site intimidate you. There are plenty of other factors weighted in the ranking algorithms, which gives you plenty of other opportunities to beat your competition.
9. Big brands aren’t that hard to beat – In general, I’ve found that the bigger the brand, the bigger their budget – but the slower they are to move. Just think about how much effort it takes to move a speed boat versus a cargo ship.
10. Diversify everything you do – Google devalues entire link types on a regular basis, so don’t get caught with your pants down!
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