As I look across the SEO industry and identify the most competent, capable, successful firms and people, I find that the common thread between them is not their capability in search engine optimization, but in website optmization.
This continues a long conversation thread we've had here at SEOmoz on the topic of integrated optimization. Below is a list of items we review and think about with every client, whether it's a simple consultation report, or a full-fledged design and build:
- Accessibility
- Usability
- Functionality
- Design
- Quality of Written Work
- Completeness of Information
- Appeal to Target Market
- Use of Convetion
- Personality and Voice
- On-Page SEO Guidelines
- Link Building
- Topical Community
- Content Opportunities
- Coding
- Download Speed
It's my belief that one cannot separate these items from SEO without causing harm to the overall success of a website. The best sites pay attention to every one of these factors, and thus, so must the best consultants. Although we call ourselves SEOs, we're really website optimizers. We build great sites and make good sites better.
What's even more interesting is how SEO naturally put me onto this path. If you're a usability expert or a design guru or a reknowned programmer, you may easily have skills in those arenas that dwarf ours. But, more often than not, it's very hard to take a holistic approach to a site from these viewpoints. In SEO, there is a great force pushing from all of these many angles. It is in our interest to pursue every item on that list and many more to help push the chances of gaining a link, a mention, more traffic, higher conversions, etc.
SEO is about driving traffic and growing conversions (in whatever form they take). This goal is the driving force the pushes SEOs beyond their specialty - to become greater influencers of all things on the web or be left behind by those who can optimize more than just links, title, tags and text.
BTW - Photo of me reading the newspaper classifieds has little to do with this, but I couldn't think of an image and I've been getting tired of the blog looking so plain.
It seems nowadays that SEO techniques are varying from day to day although the objective will always remain the same which is achieving high rankings on search engines. We must be aware of all the methods that are used especially when it come to link building since the trend of reciproacl links are dead, press releases & articles are taking place instead.
Head tags are more important now than ever which potential keywords should be inserted in.
Monia Hassan SEO Consultant
These are excellent points... and it is nice to see your pic on the site.
There are many different skills in your list and very rarely do these converge in a single person - or even a single firm. Many of us are strong in a few and sort of ignore the rest or take a slap at them and hope that it works.
There is that old saying... "if you know how to use a hammer then everything looks like a nail". I think that you are talking about the same thing.
This is what separates great sites from good sites. I need to work on many of the items in your list and can't say that I have total mastery of any of these items - as they change constantly.
Also, to many people measuring of performance is difficult and very few people do that beyond checking where they rank on Google!
I'm off now to run your KW difficulty tool :-)