I don't know enough to be an SEO expert.

Truthfully, I simply can't know enough. The amount of information available on SEO (search engine optimization) is staggering. Between the forums, blogs, and podcasts (which sometimes have the juiciest tidbits), it is all too overwhelming. Just following the developments of Google would be a full-time job.

I don't have the time or the energy to keep up with the most up-to-date trends in the SEO industry. I think a really good SEO can be worth their weight in gold to a high-volume website that has the ability to monetize search engine traffic. I don't have any of that, so I have had to go it alone - both by necessity and choice.

My sole claim to fame is that I am the proud owner and operator of a handful of sites that I've managed to get into the top positions of the leading search engines. One of these is on the first page of Google and in the number 1 spot on Yahoo for a competitive keyword phrase that returns close to 7 million sites. (The others rank very high, but in much less competitive spaces.) And I've done it without paying a dime for a link (so far).

Here is what I've discovered about SEO:

1. Planning Matters

I am a researcher and analyst at heart. So this is the area where I feel the most confident.

Right after that moment when you decide you want a website, you need to get on the internet and do some important keyword research (even before you pick out a domain name).

Open up a handful of search engines in multiple browser windows, and start typing in keyword phrases for your idea. Find a keyword research tool on one of the major search engines and record what keywords work with your idea. Determine what are people searching for and how are they typing in the keyword phrases.

To me this is a fundamental step, and I've seen too many small business websites that haven't done it.

These keywords should serve as an outline for the bulk of your website architecture. Each relevant keyword could be a page, or a link, or a paragraph. I say relevant because you can't and shouldn't try to fit in everything that comes up. It's unfair to your readers if you (or someone you've hired) can't speak with some authority on a topic that you're presenting.

So take the keywords, sit down in a quiet location and put together an outline of what your site is going to look like. This should include all of the keyword content you've decided on, as well the pages you would like included and all the standard pages of internet sites (about us, contact us, site map, etc.).

2. Text is King

Absolutely forget that flash site you like. And while you're at it, unless it is absolutely necessary - scrap any and all .pdf files everywhere. Search engines can't read the first one at all, and even if they can read the second one, nobody likes to click on them.

Search engines like text. They eat it up like candy. The more real meaty text they can get (not html code, or java script, or tables, or inline styles, etc.), the better. Put your style sheets off page. Put your javascript off page. Use CSS to style your pages (there are some absolute geniuses out there as far as this kind of stuff is concerned - find them and hire them).

3. Content isn't Everything

While I do honestly believe that content is important (why else would someone come to your site), for some search engines it isn't everything. Right now as I type this I have a half-built e-commerce site on the internet. I hired someone to program the ASP of it, which they did. I was to do the content (write the pages, clean up the design, etc.), which I did not. But I have links and anchor text to the site from most of my other websites. Some of these rank rather high in SERPs.

I was doing some keyword research the other day (preparing to flesh the site out) when I discovered it is already placing on the front page of Google. Since the site is right now only made up of about 4 ASP pages, some of which are no more than input fields, I can only attribute this to the links I have pointing to the site (and the keyword relevant anchor text of the links). But the site is nowhere to be found on Yahoo or any of the other search engines.

On the flip side, I have a website with about 108 pages of great keyword relevant content (but not many links), and it ranks #1 on Yahoo and MSN, but only on the second or third page of Google. So what I know is, if you're interested in traffic (which you should be), you need to focus on both content AND links. Not either/or.

4. Google isn't everybody

I'm amazed at how many site owners seem to worry about their Google ranking. Google is big to be sure, a media behemoth the likes of which we haven't seen in a while. But right now they are only about 50%-55% of the search engine market.

Furthermore, I have found that people who come to my site from Yahoo and MSN are more likely to click through and request information than people from Google. Optimizing just for Google and to the exclusion of others can be a mistake. You need to try to please all of the people, all of the time.

5. Update regularly and be very patient.

Either get into the habit of updating your site or hire someone else to do it, but in any case it should be on your schedule. Depending on the site and the content it can be as regular as going to work every day, going to the gym a few days a week, or changing the oil in your car every few months. Sites need to be updated with fresh (not just new) and timely content. Search engines like it, and your audience will like it.

Don't worry about whether your rankings change right away after you update the content. Update and forget about it. If you're doing it correctly - improvements in rankings (and traffic) will follow.

Speaking about forgetting. Here is the most important thing I know about SEO: You have to be patient. When it comes to SEO, no one seems to want to be patient. Most SEOs are probably called after a site has been ranked too low, for too long. At that point, the last thing the site owner wants to hear is - we're going to make some changes and then it might be a few months or more before your rankings improve. Good SERPs come with time. It takes time for trust to build. It takes time to build content. And it takes time for links to build naturally. Depending on the competition it could take anywhere from a few months, to several months, or more.

You have to be patient.

6. You can't ever stop.

If you're trying to remain visible in a competitive space, even if you get to be #1, you can't ever stop working on SEO. It is like gunslinging in the old west. Right now someone else is researching all of the content, keywords and backlinks of the website in the number 1 position for your keyword phrase. If that website is you, they're coming for you. They're probably going to work harder than you did to get to number 1.  But that doesn't matter - they are willing to put in the time and effort. If they have to and they're able, they'll outspend you on content, links, and design. They'll do it because they think the money is there - even if you know it isn't. To stay in the number 1 position, you need to keep updating your content, keep building links, and even give your site a design face-lift every year or so. If you don't stay on top of your game, someone else will take it from you.

And that is what I know about SEO.