Re-inventing search engine optimization - an old new approach

A happier time.

There was a happy time, a friendlier time, many many years ago when sex was dirty and the air was clean. It was also the time when search engine optimization was just a glint in google's eye and lives of web designers was very simple. All we had to do was create a great site and made sure it had great content and sooner or later we would get an excellent ranking on baby google and other search rankings.

Then it got nasty.

Link building. Link exchanges. Link buying. Link farms. White hat. Black hat. Blue hat. Keyword stuffing and on and on. Every tom, dick and his uncle became an SEO expert and jumped into the fray with whatever tactic was the flavour of the day.

But that's just it. They were all tactics.

Zoom ahead to today.

Google has pulled the rug from under every search engine optimization expert's feet. Update after update hacked away at the normal SEO practises. Panda and Penguin and every other animal in the endangered animals list made the SEO expert almost extinct. But all hope is not lost.

Observe.

In case you missed it. Link earning v/s link building.

Link Building	Link Earning
Link Exchanges / Reciprocal Links	Cross Promotions / Partnerships
Email Blasts for links	Social sharing that leads to links
Buy links directly with dollars	Earns links directly with content
Submit to directories	Request inclusion on curated blogs/portals
Article Directories / Article Marketing	Getting a guest post on picky websites / blogs.
Leaving links on message boards, blogs, forums etc.	Participating in active communities so members can notice and link to you organically
Mining Competitors Back links	Mining competitors content
Building a network of sites for links	Building a social network of influencers

For the full article by Rand Fishkin visit:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-death-of-link-building-and-the-rebirth-of-link-earning-whiteboard-friday

So what have we learned today?

Its got tougher for SEO experts. Much tougher. Its no longer a numbers game. You have to be smart and not just have street smart. I mean professor smart. Its become much more human now, much more evolved. It also means that SEO experts cannot take on too many clients and do justice to them all.

Take a hard look at the right side of the table above. Link earning is hard, time consuming work. No scripts or bots will do it for you now.

What's the good news?

It might look like a short term disaster for most SEO experts but long term it means greater engagement with clients, a deeper relationship with the client's business and website. Possibly an overall more fulfilling experience for both the SEO expert and the client. And also a chance to earn more. Cause if you got it baby, they'll pay.

Cheers,
Ron

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