The Best Free SEO Advice

People ask me for SEO advice all the time, and for the most part I tell them all the same thing. Build better links and write quality content. When you think about it these are no brainers so why beat people over the head with it over and over again. Today I’m going to give you some SEO advice that you can truly benefit from if you put them into play. It’s not a blue print to SEO, just some good old fashion encouragement, which, believe it or not some people really do need, including myself. Some of you might think this is a little harsh, but that’s just the way I am. Anyway, read, take heed, and enjoy.

Two Heads Are Better Than One:
Ever heard the term “Man can only do so much alone”?  This is especially true in the field of SEO. If your doing SEO on your own and still can’t get over the hump then don’t you think it is time to start seeking the help of a professional? Clearly you have brought your site as high as you yourself can bring it and from the looks of things it doesn’t appear you can do any better. If this is the case then professional help is your only option.

If you run your own SEO Company this also applies to you. I know of alot of SEO firms out there closing people down yet producing 0 results. If your having problems ranking your clients then you might want to take some of those spam emails you get from outsourcing companies into consideration. The bottom line here is that while you might be good in one area it doesn’t hurt to get help for the ones your lacking in. As good as I am at SEO I have no problem going out to the forums and seeking some advice. That’s how I learned most of what I know now and I’m sure other would agree.

Don’t Be Afraid To Fire Your SEO:
It just amazes me how people refuse to fire a person or company who is producing absolutely 0 results. I understand that sometimes you might be working with a friend or someone you think is a good person. But that is no excuse to keep them around, if they are not producing then they got to go, and that is all there is to it. They might have done wonders to get you were you are now, but if your site is at a stand still then most likely they have run out of gas and it is time to start looking for a replacement. If you don’t want to fire them then at least give them some help by hiring a few more SEO guys to complete what they can’t. Remember, it’s your business and if you want to succeed then you need to have the best people on board at all times. So don’t be afraid to hand out the pinks slips when rankings aren’t climbing.

Get More Aggressive:
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like losing rankings. My goal is to rank as high as I can for every keyword I’m targeting, no exceptions. If your rankings have dropped lately don’t be so quick to blame the Google update, chances are your competitors have stepped it up a notch. If you think that your the only one interested in your current ranking position I can promise that you are wrong. There are thousands of sites waiting to take that spot from you and some of them aren’t to far behind. If you want to continue to be where you are or climb higher then it is time for you start stepping up your game. Don’t just sit around and watch your ranking get took, do something about it. Build more links, buy more links if you have to, do whatever it takes to make sure that your site doesn’t get pushed around by some new hot shot who probably isn’t even as smart as you in terms of SEO. He or she is just more aggressive,  and you better jump on board as well, or get left behind.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read:
There is so much misinformation about SEO out there that it is almost impossible to find out what really works. Funny thing is that people teach this stuff like it’s the Gospel without ever even trying it themselves. If you want to know for sure what really works then your going to have just do it yourself. I have found that the best way to do this is by creating a throw away site that targets just one keyword and then slamming the hell out of it with every trick I can think of, but one at a time. This is the best way to see which tactic works and which doesn’t, it’s a little time consuming but you learn alot in the process.

Buy Some Software:
If you really think that you can do everything manually and produce better results then I’m all for it. However, some of these can in fact be automated and bring no harm to your website. The trick is finding the right program that fits your needs. Don’t be afraid to grab a few of these and give them a spin, it just might get you over the hump you been stuck on. Now there are a ton of programs out there and all claim to be the best, I won’t tell you which ones I think are better so don’t ask, you’ll have to discover that on your own. What I will tell is that which ever program you choose make sure that it really fits what you are looking for. You might have to test a few before you find the right ones, but once you do it will be well worth the investment.

Beef Up Your Backlinks:
If your not linking to your own backlinks by now then you better get with the program. Consider this, your site is ranking pretty well based on the links you have now. If you are in the top 10 then I would say you probably have some pretty strong links pointing at your site. Why not add more strength to those links by linking to them from other sources? Remember, rankings are based on authority, the stronger the links pointing at your site the stronger your site becomes, and the higher you rank. Not only is this a powerful method for boosting your own links, it also helps hide your footprints from competitors. I’m sure you heard people complaining about someone out ranking them with only 5 links, now you know why.

And Finally – Stop Being Cheap:
To many people think they can fly to the top of the search engines just by using all of the free services they can find, or going with the cheapest SEO Company in the city. While this might be true for less competitive keywords, you’ll never get there doing this for the terms that are the most important or that produce the most sales. If you want to be a dominate force in your market then you need to pay to play. If your not investing a few hundred bucks a month to improve your rankings or hold the ones you already have then you deserve to stay at the bottom. There is nothing wrong with forking out some cash to get you ahead of your competitors, how do you think the top companies got where they are today? I can promise you it didn’t happen for free. I know, I know, you can get people to do the same thing I do for cheaper. Well I can also build my own race car, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll win the Indy 500. Remember you get what you pay for, I’m not saying you can’t throw in a few cheap services here and there, but if your only dropping $50 or $60 into your site every 6 months and see little results, then again, you deserve to stay at the bottom. The point is, if you can’t afford to truly compete in your market then my advice is that you switch to one that you can handle. There’s no point drooling over a market you’ll never taste.

While writing this I did a search for the 10 Commandments of SEO, just to see if anyone had it already, and of course someone did. So for further reading and motivation I highly recommend that you check out Eric On Search and his Ten Commandments of SEO. I was gonna swipe it, but I didn’t want to break the 7th Commandment .

Well that’s it for now, as always, thanks for reading and if you need some SEO Service just let me know. “May the Serps be with you”.