Shaddows - 8:41 am on Jul 17, 2012 (gmt 0)

So i ask what does over optimizing really mean?

Interesting question.

I would refine your answer slightly:
"Overt optimisation without sufficient knowledge of the current acceptable limits"

From which it follows, learn and stay abreast of the limits, or work well within them. For most, that should mean the latter.

Marketing Guy makes a point on another thread, about Branding. SEO is just one marketing channel. Don't peg your success on your SEO proficiency.

If you are pegging your success on SEO, then you should act like SEO is your core product. In which case, get out the forums and do some testing. Engaging in sophistry in the hope of enlightenment is probably not the way to go.

To extend the lipstick/pig analogy. For most, makeup is a way of accentuating your natural beauty. For some, makeup is a business in itself, transforming the plain into the beautiful. Those people are probably not reading makeup tips in glossy magazines. And they still can't transform a pig with just lipstick.