Many people believe that there are numerous secrets to a successful SEO campaign. You will hear from experts who talk about encrypting a web-site with off-site keywords, and build pages outside the viewable area of your screen. In other words, numerous tactics exist for Search Engine Optimizers to attempt to game the system.

But the reality is that Google creates an algorithm that works to deliver the best value for their searchers. They want their searchers to be happy with what they find above all. I’ll tell you right now, the secret to delivering good value for their searchers lies in empowering websites that deliver good value to their readers, users, and consumers. And how do you deliver great value to your consumer base and readership? By providing great content.

In the world of internet SEO, content is truly king (it’s queen, of course, would be a well-built universe of links). There is no better way to rank a site for a keyword than for providing a lot of high-value content related to that keyword.

Two cases in point. I designed and built an affiliate site http://WeLoveToms.com, which tells people about the incredible benefits of Toms Shoes (a social enterprise that gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes they sell). I built that site around content that I spent a long time crafting, proof-reading, and generally sculpting to effectively convey a brand, a voice, and a message to my desired audience (people interested in learning more about and potentially purchasing Toms Shoes).

The result? Go ahead and Google it. I built that site to rank for the keywords “toms shoes cordones” and “toms shoes alpargatas”, which are the two main styles of Toms Shoes. Someone searching for those terms know something about Toms Shoes, and they’re probably getting ready to buy. After doing that Google search, you’ll see that the site ranks #1 on Google for both of those search terms.

Don’t get me wrong – linkbuilding played a role – in fact a big one. And social bookmarking and effective back-link building through relevant blog comments on subjects related to the content I was crafting was immensely important.

Or go ahead and Google “Los Angeles Consumer Attorney”.  I built the site and did link-building for http://losangelesconsumerattorney.com/ and the result was the attorney was ranked for a competitive keyword with over 10,800,000 results.  His website is ranked #3, on the very 1st page, and this ranking occurred within the first month of building out the site.  Check out his content, it’s very high quality and very relevant to his audience.  It also shows the high value of using your keywords in your domain.  But that’s fodder for another article.  But I must say – the link-building was minimal.  The key to his success, other than that great domain name, was some fantastic content.

So don’t be fooled. People talk about PageRank this and SEO tactic that. And the #1 thing you have to do is simply to create great content. Impress your readership, provide your consumers what they are looking for, and Google will respond by raising you highly in the ranks.

Step two, based on the title of this post (and I’ll be brief in making it) is that just getting all your content up once isn’t enough. You need to be generating content, and building links, regularly, in order for your site to succeed in the rankings. when Google sees that you are for real, over a months-long period of time, in providing real value for your readers and customers, then they will bring the truth from their side – a 1st page keyword ranking.

Much of my writing isn’t technical. Perhaps you noticed. And that’s the point. I don’t want you reading a didactically worded, sharply-angled article that gets into the mechanical details of SEO Content. Because that simply isn’t the point. Good SEO-optimized content is NOT mechanical, is NOT boring, and IS readable. If this article flows and leaves you feeling better about writing good content for your website, then I’ve done my job and I feel great. So – to recap. Want your site to rank highly on Google for the keywords you want? Write clear, effective, and engaging content.

Get it?  Got it?  Good.

PS I’ll be up front with the keywords I’m targeting: “SEO Los Angeles” and “search engine optimization Los Angeles”.

Fudoshin, LLC is an online marketing and advertising firm specializing in social media and search engine optimization.  We cater to businesses of all stripes, but especially want to work with you if you are a social enterprise, are socially conscious, or are a green and sustainable business.  We need to make the world better, that’s priority one!  Fudoshin, LLC is based in Venice, California, but works all throughout Los Angeles, from Santa Monica to Torrance, to Encino and the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Beverly Hills.