Popularity is about consensus not an algorithm. Options

[Mike_Grehan]

When we stop thinking about computers (or even like computers as some do) then we'll start thinking about the real world again.

What is it that makes some people great? What is it that makes some companies or organisations great?

Well greatness comes from the feelings, loyalties, beliefs and values that other people have for you.

And that's why people get attached (linked) to you. They just need to know who you are first.

Well done with this review Kim. http://www.cre8pc.com/blog/2004/10/search-...resent-all.html

Mike.

PS - with regard to this bit...

"Many of us have spiritual or motivational teachers, from the past or present day, who have said something that clicked with us and made us followers, if not admirers. If you notice, many of our most beloved teachers are those who make themselves readily available to us. They'll travel the world, for example, to talk in shopping malls, hospitals, or spiritual centers. They speak from podiums, or join walks to raise money. Countless ways..."

You did forget to mention that they can also be found in open spaces on park benches... I thought it was important that your audience should... er... know that. It's... er... very important to know.

[Charlie_D]

Let us not lose sight or hope

SEO is the way it is. We must play by the rules. You must play by the rules in any venture that you are trying to achieve success.

I believe strongly in Free enterprise. As well as role modeling

The search engines want you to achive link popularity among many other things. No it is not very fair. But if you work hard and do the right things IT WILL HAPPEN FOR YOU

You need to go through the ranks. But imagine when you get there. You have achieved top rankings through link popularity. You are a heavy hitter and the revenue pours in. Would you want a new site that was just made, to be able to achieve the same results overnight? NO

Yes a new site may take years to optimize and become something. Maybee even 5 to 10 years. But if you role model (another site in your genre that has achieved success) and you have strong content and a good product and of course links pointing to you. You will acheive success too. I firmly believe this.

I believe that you can really become a milionare optimising to search engines with no other form of advertising.

[Black_Knight]

I believe that you can really become a milionare optimising to search engines with no other form of advertising.

Ah, but the interesting question is whether anyone still can optimise for search engines without engaging in the other forms of advertising that the search engines are seeking and rewarding (like getting links in directories, generating PR, viral marketing, etc).

The engines are getting smarter by actually moving back to what we have successfully used before the internet - reputation, public opinion, expert opinion, media coverage, etc. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that it is virtually impossible to attain high placements for competitive topics unless you are using other marketing methods and channels than just SEO.

[bwelford]

I think you've got to realize that the Internet is part of the fabric of society now. For example if you do a search for "Mike Grehan" and "park bench", Google has 19 web pages on that. It may be only an algorithm, but the "word-of-mouth" that generates the popularity travels by the Internet now.

BTW if you do the search without the quotes, you get a listing of 102 web pages. I'm not sure whether that means the Grehans are well-known for sitting on park benches. :?

[Nick_W]

What about when we have to link out to places (or associate with people) we dont want to?

I routinely link out to places that i would rather not be associated with becuase of the value of a particular page to my readers. I suppose that that speaks volumes for the other sites content though, and kind of perversely ratifies their importance/popularity in a certain field of knowledge...

forgive me, just a random thought on the subject

[bwelford]

Then you have that other phenomenon created by the speed of "word-of-mouth" in this Internet era.
Blogs Blamed for Exit Poll Fiasco

[Black_Knight]

I routinely link out to places that i would rather not be associated with becuase of the value of a particular page to my readers.

Yup. A lotta folks find that's true. In fact, that's the main reason why many folks still say that content is King. Truly great content makes even the grudging webmasters link to you, and on-topic links too.

There's a lesson in it. If one wants to really gain quality links, even those that can't be bought, then one should generate content that makes even one's competitors and rivals link to it - even if they would rather not, they can't be seen to miss the most valuable resource without making themselves less usefull.