Where to get up to date SEO info!?

oneofakind32

Hi Guys! I'm new to the SEO seen. Im more of a web developer but my new job involves alot of SEO. I coming out of 5 years of college with a very technical background (B. Sc. and H.Dip Software Design) so I am having difficulty adapting to SEO as it seems as though its not a very exact science and more of a guessing game. So my question is where can I get information that I know is correct (or close to correct). I get alot of varying opinions on keyword stuffing. My boss is telling me to load up on keywords while other tell me you dont want the same word in close proximity to its self. How do search engines know what keywords are relavant to a particular site? I dont expect complete answers to thses questions here but I would appriciate if someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

cormee

oneofakind32 wrote: »

Hi Guys! I'm new to the SEO seen. Im more of a web developer but my new job involves alot of SEO. I coming out of 5 years of college with a very technical background (B. Sc. and H.Dip Software Design) so I am having difficulty adapting to SEO as it seems as though its not a very exact science and more of a guessing game. So my question is where can I get information that I know is correct (or close to correct). I get alot of varying opinions on keyword stuffing. My boss is telling me to load up on keywords while other tell me you dont want the same word in close proximity to its self. How do search engines know what keywords are relavant to a particular site? I dont expect complete answers to thses questions here but I would appriciate if someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Hi,
How basic are you looking for? Google have a very good pdf that covers the basics of SEO, they also have an SEO channel on YouTube with some great videos. Try use Google Webmaster Tools and reading their webmaster blog and Matt Cutts' blog. Google bloggoscoped is good for keeping up with news and there are lots of other great blogs out there. Always try SEO according to guidelines, don't pay much heed to theories unless there's evidence to back them up.

If I was going to describe it I'd say it's an exact science mixed with a juggling act.

cormee

URLs for the above (was on my phone yesterday)

http://www.google.com%2Fwebmasters%2Fdocs%2Fsearch-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/type/googleseo/
http://blogoscoped.com/
http://searchenginewatch.com/

tomED

Cormee offers some great links there - well worth the read.

SEO is nothing like software development, however your knowledge of how software works should stand to you a lot.

If you can understand how Google could be interpreting a web page and deciding how to rank it, combine it with your knowledge of software development and what is possible programmatically you will do well.

The problem with a lot of the information online is that a lot of it is out of date, a lot of suggestions are taken out of context and that everyone has a different opinion.

My approach is to test test test. Use examples, test each one, record your results and try them over and over again until you find a specific pattern that you can safely say "that's how it's doing that".

It takes a lot of time to get that experience, so there's no point in cramming. Spend time understanding how it works and then use your experience from there on in.

Also - make sure you keep up-to-date with changes, by becoming member of SEO forums, mailing lists etc.

Oh!! And always have an open mind - don't take the first apparent reason as to why something works the way it does!