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Rule of SEO No. 1: There Is Always More Than One Search Engine
Rule of SEO No. 2: The Visitor Experience Comes First
Rule of SEO No. 3: Do Not Depend On Any Single Optimization Method
Rule of SEO No. 4: Content Before Links
Rule of SEO No. 5: Measure Everything
Rule of SEO No. 6: Question Everything
Rule of SEO No. 7: Do Not Share Your Secrets

The SEO community sets itself up for failure pretty easily by flaunting all of these rules on a regular basis. Most of you focus solely on Google’s search results, arguing that there is no point to optimizing for other search engines because you don’t get traffic from them (that’s called a “self-fulfilling prophecy” and a “self-excluding policy”).

Google is only one of dozens of search engines and despite the crap statistics you hear from Compete, comScore, Hitwise, and Nielsen Google’s real search market share stands at less than 40% of the field today. That doesn’t mean you should only see 40% of your referrals from Google — it means that Google only accounts for 40% or less of the actual search activity occurring on commercial search resources.

There are Web sites that see absolutely no traffic from Google and yet they still get traffic from search. I know this because I block Google from some sites and get plenty of search traffic. So the first rule of SEO is very simple: There is ALWAYS more than one search engine.

If you’re not getting significant traffic from other search engines, it’s because you’re not optimizing for them, not because they don’t send traffic. Trust me, I get traffic from all of them. If I can do it, you can do it.

Many an SEO has shot himself (and clients) in the foot by neglecting the visitor experience. I think the majority of people in the SEO community now understand that visitor experience is important but most SEOs don’t yet seem to put the visitor experience first. A lot of things fall into place when you focus on the visitor experience. It’s not all about your advertising and conversions — it’s about making visitors happy. That’s not nearly as easy as we would like it to be.

The second rule of SEO must be that The Visitor Experience Comes First.

The third rule of SEO, “Do Not Depend On Any Single Optimization Method”, should not need explanation. However, the fourth rule of SEO, “Content Before Links”, probably does. Why? Because too many SEOs still obsess over links.

If you have no place to put your links, it’s because you lack content.

If you have nothing specific to link to, it’s because you lack content.

If you feel you have to “sculpt PageRank”, it’s because you lack optimized content.

If you feel you have “unimportant pages”, it’s because you don’t understand content.

If the content is not important, you don’t need to put it on your site or anyone else’s site. If it’s important, then treat it with the respect it deserves for being important.

You can always get links — just create some content and embed links in it.

Measure Everything and Question Everything are two rules that most SEOs seem to ignore on a daily basis. You rarely see people challenge the assertions made on the majority of SEO blogs and forums. And since people don’t challenge the intuitively good assertions, they are left without any defense against the nonsense that crops up every now and then.

Challenging ideas you agree with helps you improve your search engine optimization. In our field, which lacks standards, most ideas are presented in a very flimsy, unscientific manner. They may be very good ideas but they don’t stand up to logical scrutiny, not even when show-cased in very lengthy, detailed explanations. You’ll help your friends more by raising the bar of acceptable support for their ideas than by telling them, “Great post”.

Measurement falls right in line with challenge. If your goal is to improve your search optimization, you need some metrics — preferably metrics no one else has yet figured out.

Do Not Share Your Secrets is a very difficult rule for people to understand. I have a hard time explaining it. It’s one of those intuitively good ideas that lacks sufficient logical explanation.

On the one hand, everyone in the SEO blogging community is trying to draw some attention — I am certainly not blogging just because I like to see my words on the Web. We do this in the hope that someone else will read what we write. But too often I see SEO bloggers sacrifice good information for the sake of having something to say.

If you have access to an endless stream of good information, you’re safe to share some ideas occasionally. If, however, you’re not sitting on a huge stockpile of secrets (and I am not) then you need to offer something else instead of the latest hot SEO trick or tip.

Try offering people your opinion. Do some analysis. Figure out ways to measure things. Sum up the number of new search engines you’re optimizing for. In other words, don’t give away your secrets just because you feel they are not secret. Other people may know what you know but they don’t know “what you know” unless you reveal the extent of your knowledge.

We don’t have to answer to the SEO credentials police. We don’t have to constantly prove ourselves to every nitwit who wants to pick a fight with us. You’re free to just offer an opinion, make an analysis, and leave it at that.

Someone will disagree with you. You should be so lucky as to have someone openly challenge you. It only makes you a better SEO.

That’s why these are the rules of SEO. Following them makes you better at this business.