I am not going to patronise anyone in this post by saying it is obvious that you need both quality content and links in order to survive the search engines....... The debate here at Base One is between me and a co-worker over what is MORE important as we realise the significance of both for ranking purposes.


The Background

The co-worker  is a link building machine - he could be considered an Arnold Schwarzenegger of the link building world, except his phrase is not "I will be back", it is more like "I am not going anywhere"....

Me?  Well my strengths lie more in on- page optimisation. This major difference is perhaps where this year- long debate has stemmed from...........




 The Arguments

For Content: Whilst acknowledging the co-worker's argument, and the importance of links towards any search marketing effort, I remain in favour of quality, keyword rich content as the more significant element. I am debating for the user whilst the co worker is debating for the search engines. In my opinion, the ultimate objective for any website is to gain user intrigue, navigate throughout the site and hopefully get them to convert.

A website can have a million quality links but, if it has poor or limited content, that is not relevant to the search, it is likely that any user will instantly bounce off the website. What will gain conversions, links or content? And if this is, after all, the objective, should there not then be more importance placed on quality content rather than links? Without great content, link building can prove difficult.....particularly when approaching high authority websites. People are more likely to link to strong, well optimised content with relevance to their own website. Be it a product or a service, quality and interesting content more often than not will have people blogging about it or linking their own websites naturally to yours.

For Links: Without links there is little or no chance of ranking on the first page for any competitive terms. They are vital to off-page optimisation in allowing a website to be found and potentially gain a high volume of traffic. If using logos as links on relevant websites then this also increases online brand awareness, as users will start to recognise the brand. Referring traffic or even direct traffic can increase with this type of link building.

Closing Statement

I put this question to you......User or search engine? Good content MORE important than links? I ask you this: can you, the user, live in a world where websites are revolved around the number of links they have and the importance that Google has placed on these sites, or do you want to create a society where the content is interesting and relevant to your search?

"Let us not despair...

And so, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream, that one day content will reign over the link weight in the Google algorithm, that content will be able to walk the worldwide web with heads held high.... "

VOTE CONTENT!!!!!

At one of my first SEO conferences I heard a respected SEO professional present the importance of keyword research. Being new to SEO, and agreeing with what she was discussing, I went to put this into practice, as part of a research campaign for a number of new clients. Little did I know that the difficulty would not be the research itself, but convincing the client of the proposed targeted keywords. Bear with me on this analogy...

The Foundations of the Relationship
The foundation of any relationship is based on understanding each other, what each other want and each other's natural behaviour. Most relationships break down as communication is lost and they do not try or want to change in order to gain a solution to each others problems. Particularly for women (feminist shmeminist) the age old question comes to mind what do women want? The fact is that men will never know because we don't even know, the difference is trying to understand what we want. This is the first step for any company, to understand their customer and their potential audience, their search behaviour and the types of persona they will be targeting.

First Date- Getting to know Each Other
No one knows the company better than the company in terms of product/services and brand. Any SEO company should be provided with a list of keywords from the company that outline basically what the company does - a kind of what's your name, where do you come from and what do you do (thanks Cilla) This will be the basis of our keyword research. The problem is that you will not always be found for keywords that you WANT to be found for, particularly smaller less well known brands, but should focus instead on search terms users WILL use. The first date is where you get to find out all about the other person - in understanding exactly what they are looking for in a relationship. Depending on your type (target audience) they may be looking for different things, using different search methods and keywords to gain their perfect match, search results.

Keyword research often reveals hidden opportunities, digging deeper on the first date could mean that you skip a lot of dates before you get to the end result, saving time and cost of wining and dining. Knowing your audience means that you know the right things to say and do in order to reel them in and get them to want to see you again.

The BIG question!!
Don't panic, the big question is looming...... now if you want to seal the deal and convert that relationship into a lifelong partnership you cannot dither with the language you use, get to the point, and just ask the question!! There is a danger using jargon or industry related keywords and phrases that a user, unfamiliar to a brand or service, would not search for. Keep it simple, remember users are lazy and want answers to their questions without redefining their search term. The problem is that a company provides solutions, whereby the user asks questions. The key is to optimise for both problem and solution for the search engines in order for a potential customer to find your site. A search engine, as sophisticated as it is, cannot work out the answer to a question which is why you should base the targeted keywords more of a conversation with your audience.

Once a company understands and targets the customers/audiences behaviour, you will be able to satisfy the customers needs. And it might sound a little something like this:  

A Little Dating Advice
Here are a select few keyword research tools to help ease you into the first date;

For a free and fun date, SEObooks keyword research tool  allows you to get to know the customer and start to collate information on their behaviour.  Another free tool is Quintura which shows searched keywords (and related) in the form of a mind map. 

Moving on to the special (paid for) night, worth the money for the end result is Wordtracker which costs £165 for annual subscription; they also have a recommended free version of their tool .Trellian's Keyword Discovery tool, is an supposedly accurate tool drawing on data from 180 search engines. It is a gourmet meal for 2 at $49.95 monthly fee.

"Most people don't know what they don't know about relationships. They don't know there is a proven body of knowledge and skills that, when learned, result in lasting, successful relationships"
(Paul and Layne Cutright)

Never being good at science homework, and often making more explosions than finding the cure to the common cold, I vouched that I would leave the test tubes in the class room. Little did I know that entering the world of search engine optimisation would I find myself experimenting more than ever!



With search engine optimisation the algorithm of how things are measured is constantly changing. When you think you have found a fool proof theory and formula, the powers that be will rupture that theory and make you re-evaluate your methods.  To be successful in SEO you must be open minded to change and to new theories. You will always have an end result, however it is knowing WHAT components in the experiment got you to that point.

For example;
There is the argument that anyone can do SEO, that anyone can "bash" in a few keywords and can see some results. It is not the result that counts it is a process of trial and error, of knowing HOW you got a result and adapt that to each new algorithm.