Kevin M. Ryan, Motivity Marketing, Inc., and Chairman of Search Engine Strategies Advisory Board In this book, leading search optimization expert Rebecca Lieb brings together more than 50 absolutely crucial facts and insights decision-makers must know to drive more web traffic through better search engine placement. The Truth About Search Engine Optimization doesn''t deliver abstract theory: it delivers quick, bite-size, just-the-facts information and plain-English explanations that executives, decision-makers, and even small business owners can actually use, no matter what kind of sites you''re running, or what your goals are. You will learn how to set realistic goals for search optimization... attract qualified traffic, not just "any" site visitors... incorporate search engine optimization into both new sites and redesigns... write for users... implement search-friendly content management... avoid problems with rich content technologies such as Flash and AJAX... create metatags that actually work... use public relations, blogging, and other techniques to drive traffic... budget and manage search optimization projects... and much more. This book reveals 51 PROVEN SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES and bite-size, easy-to-use advice that gets results including The truth about page rankings The truth about best SEO practices and SEO no-no''s The truth about link love, keywords, and tags Introduction vii Foreword by Fredrick Marckini ix Part I: The Basics of Search Truth 1: Getting noticed by spiders, robots, and crawlers 1 Truth 2: Learn to do the Google dance 5 Truth 3: It''s not about traffic--it''s about qualified traffic 9 Truth 4: Your reputation is on the line 13 Part II: The Truth About Being Site-Specific Truth 5: SEO is an ongoing project, not set-it-and-forget-it 17 Truth 6: SEO is not an afterthought 21 Truth 7: SEO results aren''t immediate or lasting 25 Truth 8: You don''t have a homepage anymore 29 Truth 9: Think like a publisher, even if you''re not 33 Truth 10: Site and page design count 37 Truth 11: Write for users and search engines will follow 41 Truth 12: Keywords are key 45 Truth 13: Use analytics and keyword research tools 49 Truth 14: Site stats share the bad news, too 53 Truth 15: Think twice about hot new technologies 57 Truth 16: Content management systems matter--a lot 67 Part III: Tag, You''re It! Truth 17: What''s in a title? 65 Truth 18: The relative importance of meta tags 71 Truth 19: Tag images, audio, video, and other media 75 Part IV: The Truth About Links Truth 20: Some links are more equal than others 79 Truth 21: Building links through online directories 83 Truth 22: Using SEO PR as a link strategy 87 Truth 23: The jury is out on paid links 91 Truth 24: Share and share alike: Reciprocal linking 95 Truth 25: Ads are links, too 99 Truth 26: Build your site in a good neighborhood 103 Truth 27: Blogs are a terrific link strategy 107 Truth 28: Putting the kibosh on link love with nofollow links 111 Part V: You Call That a Search Engine? Truth 29: Search is going vertical 115 Truth 30: Everyone is local somewhere 119 Truth 31: Get listed to get vertical 125 Truth 32: Optimize off-site searches 129 Truth 33: Universal search and personalized search 133 Part VI: Get a Social Life Truth 34: Blogs are built for SEO 137 Truth 35: RSS feeds "feed" SEO efforts 141 Truth 36: Users will create content for you 145 Truth 37: Tag images, video, links, and other media 149 Part VII: Search Ranking Truth 38: Being #1 ain''t what it used to be 153 Truth 39: Don''t live and die by PageRank 157 Truth 40: Wag the long tail 161 Part VIII: The Truth About SEO Management Truth 41: In-house or outsource?