Jumping off the SEO Boat

[craigmn3]

Okay Boys and Girls......I've had it playing nice, working hard and sharpening my nose out against the SEO grindstone. The bottom line is I have been wasting hours of time refining my sites current SEO standards:to exacting the right amount text to code ratio, i have been elminating tables, cutting code, weighing my keyword density on a postal scale, Drastically cutting back my graphics to decrease load time. and virtually hundreds of other psychotically stimulating adventures call SEO...then I snapped, I burst like a tomato giving his life up for an overweight italian woman's ragu.

I took one of my sites and broke (most) of the rules.

I JAMMED it with pictures elminated 90% of the text.....used graphic and javascript navigation removed anchor tags (well most of them) I mean I did it the way I wanted too... and it popped up overnight on Google from nothing to #11 on google and 13 on yahoo for my Main Keyword
the site is :Above Ground Pools 4 Less

Then I did again with a sister site and it popped up to 11 on yahoofrom nothing to Number 11 of Yahoo.
Pools4Less though I left the achor text on this one (old habits die hard)

both of these sites only have the basic meta tags and minimal optimization....Have I been exuding sweat and blood on the altar of SEO for naught?

I know # 11 is not number 1 but these secondary sites have been struggling for reconition even though duplicate content was kept to a minimum.

My Idols have fallen and my altars have crumbled, what is a know disavowed SEO junkie to do?

[amar]

Is your targeted keyword "Above Ground Pools", if so, you have kept most of the tags necessary for SERP's.

Your keyword is appearing in the following tags:

1. Title tag
2. Keyword tag
3. Description tag
4. Alt tag
5. H1 tag
6. Anchor text in the page link
7. In one of the image name
8. 7 sites the keyword is appearing in the page cache
9. you have few back links with targeted keyword as the title

What else require for ranking ?

[just-trying-to-help]

Wow...

I guess this SEO stuff is out the window.
Where did I put that Flash MX cd???

I have often wondered if SEO was worth all the trouble. There's your answer...

A couple of years ago, i made a complete graphics site. I mean all pictures. the only text was

© 2003-2004 myurl.com All rights reserved.

Thats it.
Ended up 2nd page of Yahoo for a couple of months with 185,000,000 results.

Makes you wonder...
Ken

[nigelaxis]

You have opened an interesting topic.

For me, SEO can only ever be a part of a marketing strategy. Why?
Because a) the very next day the algo's could change and place your site in never-never land. You then have no new business and hungry mouths all around you.
Infact most algo updates seem anti-seo do they not?
b) The search engines have different algo's. So your update might please yahoo but not google. Likewise the update might be great for the search engines but terrible for your users.

I guess the key thing in the mind set of all the search engines is that they want sites that their users will want to find! So if we focus on providing this as part of our "SEO" we will please the search engines and our clients!!!

[Webnauts]

I do not understand what the problem is here. Since one and a half year now, my rankings are improving constantly in all major search engines Google, Yahoo, MSN, even if their algos changed often.

So, I do not get all this here. Sorry... :)

[CAD]

Effective on page optimization techniques (or best practices) is what you do to move you from page 2 to page 1 IMHO.

[ran_dizolph]

personally, i've kinda given up on the SEO thing.

I mean, when push comes to shove, SEO is nothing more than an ever-changing guessing game.

My result of months of building links with 'SEO-Friendly directories' ? A drop in PR for the sites.

With all the time i've spent building links and all that junk, i could've just focused more on making sure my websites are the best they can possibly be from a users point of view.

[G[dot]com]

I am sorry but first I agree with webnauts in the "time factor", the time your site has been online weighs for ranking. Also, I think that your site has not been "de-optimized" at all...

1. You have all images with the ALT attribute and their names with keywords.
2. you have relevant text rigth next to those images.
3. you have text itself in the page.
4. you have a menu which, eventhough is made is javascript is full in keywords.
5. the domain name of your site has the keywords and in the same disposition you mention you rank well with.
6. you have relevant anchor text in links.
7. etc etc

You have an optimized website (not "minimally"). I am sorry, you should have to do better than putting more graphics and less text to break that optimization.

1. not title tag
2. images without ALT attribute and names like "123.jpg".
3. No text in link, but those like "READ MORE" or "CLICK HERE"
4. No footer
6. Hugely smaller main menu and preferently made with images, no text. And again, name those images "menu1.jpg", "menu2.jpg". no TITTLE attribute in link.
7. Texts embed in images, no "real text"
8. use a domain with irrelevant words: "www.MissRobisson.com" if that is the pool's company name.
9. Wait 2 months, do not index it anywhere.

That will do. But will prove you wrong: S.E.O. *does* make a difference and *works*. You just don´t seem to get that what you are doing already at your current site is optimization too.

------
ps: And, btw... how many websites have the "pools4less" keyword? And as anchor text? And in their domain name? I see in google about +200 results only.

[viajero]

I'm confused too. I builded a new website using a template, almost no SEO and in one week appeared on google after submit. For some keywords I'm from page 1 and 3 in G results.

I tried the same with another site of mine and it didn't work :( I totally blew it. I changed a site with all the SEO secrets I know and it dropped positions.

I'm also confused about G. I have another website, domain never listed before, never submitted to anything, no content, and while I prepare the content, I WONT submit it... Surprise!!! after putting a parked page with some text, it started appearing on G... I have no idea how

[RemodelingGuy]

#11 might as well be #111 -

I never even look at the second page of results for terms I am trying to dominate.

A # 9 means I have a LOT of work to do.

If you're not in the top 3, give it up.

Follow the rules and 1-3 should be attainable.

No short cuts baby!