Google and Page Rank

From the "Just When You Thought You Knew The Rules..." category....

PageRank sculpting is a pretty advanced SEO tactic, and it has been widely used by SEO pros since Google’s Matt Cutts described its use on YouTube, giving the strategy the official green light.
At SMX Advanced in Seattle, the same harbinger of Google insider information offered a stunning revelation: Google changed the way it handled link structures intended for sculpting.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/06/03/google-evaporating-excess-pagerank

This leads me to believe that yes SEO is changing rapidly.
Maybe faster than ever before.
With Google rolling out Google Wave, Microsoft replacing Live Search with Bing, Yahoo shutting down Yahoo 360 (did you notice that?) it seems like SEO is about to become a moving target.
And of course we can't forget that Twitter Search and Wolfram/Alpha may also have an effect.

I think one good over all philosophy to follow in all of this is think humans not machines.
I'm not saying forget SEO, but maybe it would be best if everyone concentrated on the old tried and true "User Experience".
If you have a good solid website that delivers, you will get traffic.
You get more good traffic, your profits go up.
Just like everything else, people have been saying that SEO was dying probably since it started.
It's not dying, it's changing.
The best thing to do is keep informed on whats going on and how it affects you.

Oh, by the way, I ran across a website the other day that has a LOT of really good free keyword and traffic ideas.
It's really worth a look if you haven't been there.
The site is Keyword Academy and they are not trying to sell anything, they just give out great advice.
http://thekeywordacademy.com/

How will Microsoft's Bing Affect SEO?

No...not this guy. But 1000 style points if you know who this is.

Microsoft's new search engine " Bing" is getting ready to roll out.
"Bing"?
What was wrong with " Live Search"?
Does "Bing" make more sense?

Anyway, even though it's not out yet, people are trying to figure out how it will affect Google searches and Yahoo.
And how it will affect one of the basic components of SEO...keywords.

New Microsoft search engine 'could affect SEO'

Marketers' approach to search engine optimization(SEO) may have to change significantly following the launch of Microsoft's new search engine, Bing.
This is according to Forrester Research principal analyst Shar VanBoskirk, who explained that the so-called "decision engine" may mean businesses will have to shift away from purely focusing on keywords in their SEO campaigns.

http://www.directnews.co.uk/news/search-engine/msn/new-microsoft-search-engine-could-affect-seo--$1299482.htm

If you want to look at Microsoft's pretty page you can go here:
http://www.bing.com/ComingSoon

Of course there's really nothing there but the logo yet.

Will "Bing" affect Google and Yahoo?
Maybe.
But will the combined efforts of Bing, Twitter Search and Wolfram/Alpha affect the big search engines?
I'm gonna have to say definitely.
And will it affect the way SEO is done?
Well depending on which ones of these catch on and how well they perform, I'm going with yes here too.
But don't chuck out your keyword research just yet.
I'm betting that will still be an important factor.
We may just have to start looking at things in a variety of ways now.
Maybe even different sites,each tailored for Google, Yahoo, Bing, Twitter and Wolfram.

Basic SEO Tips

No matter how far you get along in SEO, it's always good to go back and check on the basics.
Here is an article at sajid-lucky.blogspot.com about 11 basic SEO tips to look over.
Sometimes when you get into the advanced stuff you forget about the basic needs, so go over the list and see if you are doing all of these...

And here is an article by Ann Smarty at Search Engine Journal about the importance of follow up posts, and what they can do to help better target your audience...

And here is a book review of Rebecca Lieb's book, The Truth About Search Engine Opimization (SEO) at Independent Weekly

Like I have said before, with the economic slump going like it is, now is a great time to go over your sites and make sure everything is optimized.