Writing by Nick Stamoulis
Mobile SEO could very well be the next big stage in search engine optimization. While it is unclear at this point whether optimizing web pages for mobile phones will be any different than optimizing them for PCs and laptops, we can say that it is possible.

A report from Nielsen shows that Internet use from mobile phones has grown 74% in the last two years. Both iPhones and smartphones have seen incredible increases in the last year or so and it is projected that Android, an open source operating system for cell phones, will grow by 900% this next year.

While all of this is merely academic at this point, keep in mind that web-based SEO developed in response to Google’s entrance into the search field and rose along with the search giant’s own success. It is now an industry in its own right.

The support of Android by Google will likely lead to the OSs success as well, but I think there will be commercial competition before too long and traditionally commercial products outpace open source products due to their ability to spend money on marketing. Such a development would likely lead to the need for mobile phone apps that are compatible with leading commercial OSs and web browsers for mobile phones. That development would likely lead to the need for web page optimization for mobile phones as the market continues to grow.

Will SEO for mobile phones stay the same? Will current best practices need to be modified in order for mobile phone users to access the web from their cell phone browsers? Based on how mobile phones read e-books, .pdfs, and other files, I think it is possible. What do you think?

by Nick Stamoulis

Every now and then we like to talk about "how SEO has limitations". It isn’t everything. You can have the very best optimized site in your niche and still not close any sales. You can achieve No. 1 rankings for a dozen keywords related to your niche and not make any money. A bit worthless that would be, wouldn’t it?

Of course, I’m a big believer in search engine optimization. It’s not much better to have a site that really sells, but can only achieve page 100 rankings. If people can’t find your website, what good is it that it can close sales?

Still, SEO. Important, right? Yes, it is. But it doesn’t solve every problem. Here are some additional things to consider as you plan your new website. It isn’t all about the SEO:
Sales - Your content has to sell your service. Make sure it does.

Design - Is your web design attractive? Will people like your site? While design isn’t everything, it does matter. In fact, a poorly designed site could cost you sales.

Development - Do you need that widget? Will that RSS feed fit in to what we are doing? Not all sites should be strict HTML. In fact, many Web 2.0 features can help you in your SEO efforts as well as in your traffic conversions.

Social Media Friendly - Is your website social media friendly? It’s hard to ignore the impact of sites like Digg, Facebook, and Twitter. Is your site set up to assist your readers in distributing your content through social media? That’s something you need to consider, not just that your site is set up for social media, but a consideration as to which social media sites it should be set up for.

Functionality - What is your website designed to do? Is it a lead generation website? A membership site? The functionality should match the function. Make sure you include features in your site that make sense for its purpose.

Search engine optimization can go a long way and you should employ it well. But it does have its limitations. It alone can’t save your site from being irrelevant. Optimization should compliment everything else you do, and vice-versa.

by Nick Stamoulis

When it comes to link building there is no way to overemphasize the importance of backlinks. It is pretty much common knowledge that you need them. Different search engine optimization experts will put varying degrees of emphasis on them, but all SEOs pretty much agree that they are important. How important are they? Do you need thousands? Hundreds? How many is enough?

There’s no easy answer to the how much is enough question. It depends on a lot of factors, primarily the competitive nature of your niche. One keyword in a very competitive niche may require tens or hundreds of thousands of thousands of backlinks just to make a dent, and a small one at that, in the armor of your competition. Why bother beating your head against a stone wall?

Instead, go for the smaller, less competitive keywords first. The ones that won’t require an army of link builders to spread artillery all over kingdom come just to sound like the squeak of a mouse. If you target those less competitive key phrases and get respectable traffic from those, once you capture the top of the search engine rankings for the long tail phrases, you’ll start to see yourself climb for the more generic phrases within your niche. But it takes time. And patience.

How many backlinks does it take to succeed? One more than you had yesterday. Just keep plugging away, one link at a time, until you win.