topr8 - 11:01 am on Sep 7, 2010 (gmt 0)

Welcome to WebmasterWorld JAmes, you're in the right place.

i've been hanging out here one way or another since 1999 and i'd say everything i've learned of value (regarding seo) i've learned here.

there are a few things to be aware of though that are not mentioned very often here, one of which is that working with sites in extremely competitive areas is totally different from working in non competitive fields - and most people who think they are in a competitive market are not!

there are also different ways to go about things, one type are algo chasers who are constantly making tweeks and changes - i'm not saying that is a bad strategy, just it's not for me!

personally these days i think if you are in an average market, then building websites where the html markup makes sense semantically, adding sensibly written content - that is written for the user not overoptimised for a search engine - and doing a few link exchanges with other sites like yours is enough to get you up and running.

finally a word of warning - weigh up all the posts you read here and elsewhere ... not all are correct, imho there is a lot of out of date info and worse there is a lot of stuff written that is just plain wrong or comes from a total misunderstanding of various concepts.