Internet scammers chase Google’s ranking algorithm looking for ways to profit off those hungry for better rankings. Factors like PageRank and keyword density – even, latent semantic indexing (!) - all give opportunities for the technically inclined to go on analytical tangents to develop tools based on guesses, rumors, and footnotes. How can you not buy an SEO tool that has ten pages of technical documentation along with a 3-D chart? Resist the temptation, because here is the real secret to getting better Google rankings, to becoming number one . . . and it’s coming at you totally for FREE:

Provide something unique in your site that search engine users are looking for.

There it is, now run with it! The best thing about this secret is it’s algorithm-detail independent. Google’s goal is to rank the most relevant resources for a query, and on some level, they are good at it. As long as you’re providing something unique in your site that is being searched for, you will be the most relevant source. Google will spot your site and rank it high. Although this might not get you ranked for the terms you absolutely want to get ranked for, it helps build your site’s reputation and offers a gateway to more competitive terms.

How To Find Something Unique

You have to be quick, and you have to be informed. You should know a lot about your industry and related industries. It also helps to have a knowledge of HTML and an ability to edit your site. Ask these questions:

• What are customers in my industry looking for that is not totally obvious but is new and exciting?
• What am I looking for that other folks in my industry might be looking for?
• What kind of information or services can I leverage to achieve better (internet) business relationships?

A couple of the best sources for answers to these questions are on the web: blogs and forums. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need your own blog, it means you have to take a look at the blogs that are around town. Post comments, ask questions, get an idea, make a plan.

Doing what everyone else in your industry is doing won’t get you far on the Web. Why? Because the chances are, they have been doing it longer than you, and they have already established a history as the reputable source for that information.

Chasing Google’s Algorithm

You might not like Google’s real secret because it’s not easy to provide unique content. So go after those schemes, scams, and fly-by-nights. Google doesn’t talk in detail about their algorithm. At best, algorithm-chasing tools are based on observations and experience in an environment where there are factors that the experimenter is unaware of and cannot control. Not very scientific. Worst yet it’s subject to change at Google’s whim.

So instead of throwing your money at software standing on shaky ground, why not use what’s written in stone – Google’s real secret?