Google Webmaster Guidelines: A Starting Point

Before you start the meter running on your SEO investment, you might want to start with Google's Webmaster Guidelines to educate yourself a bit. It's a pretty good rundown on the big picture.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there is some debate on some of the guidelines mentioned. If you intend to tackle things yourself you should dig a little deeper into forums and blogs to get some sense of the debate. If you're planning on outsourcing anyway, your consultant can help you sort things out.

One item that many disagree on is Google's suggestion that you submit your site to Google via their "add url" page. Most agree that this really doesn't help, and a few of the more cautious folks even suggest that it might hamper you a bit initially. General consensus is that the way Google's algo works you're better off letting Google find your site on it's own via links from other sites. Google itself suggests that you submit your site to major directories such as Yahoo, DMOZ and others. That should do the trick, and you shouldn't need to submit directly to Google.

Also be aware that there are some "grey areas" and ambiguities in these guidelines. If you're in the early stages of educating yourself about search marketing I wouldn't worry too much about those things. However, just be aware that if you're in a hyper-competitive industry, there are those who assert that strict adherance to Google's guidelines will only get you so far before you find yourself looking for an extra edge that may bend the rules a bit.

That's where you may need to look beyond Google for guidance, through blogs, forums or consultants. That in itself can be a little challenging. There are a lot of opinions out there, and  a lot of bad advice being asserted as "best practices". Over time you should be able to start sorting it out. If you don't feel that you have the time, you should considering hooking up with a reputable search agency or consultant to help you navigate.