Bravo! to Edgy SEO for taking the time earlier this year to pull together the latest search engine optimization (SEO) DOs and DON’Ts from 18 experts who live and breathe this stuff every day. Playing off this great compilation of ideas from SEO thought-leaders, I’d like to share the advice we’ve given our clients:

Inherently, SEO implies that a website or webpage exists that’s highly relevant, offers quality content and is something people want to click through to. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. The first step in SEO is to take a good hard look at the content, usability and conversion-worthiness of the destination site/page. If it isn’t up to par, no matter how much traffic you drive to it, it will never deliver positive results.

Once the site/page’s content is deemed meaningful and effective, search optimization can begin. And, this process does indeed involve all the channels we use to drive traffic to our client’s website, microsites and landing pages, including email, social media, PPC, partner sites, ePR, and more. From this sturdy foundation, new levels of optimization such as link building and user engagement enhancements can be built.

This approach will help web marketers prepare for the possibility that the future of SEO will enable individual preferences and social endorsements to outrank those web properties that are devised by corporations.

The underlying theme here emphasizes the importance of incorporating measurability into your online marketing efforts so that you can gauge relevance and effectiveness based on cold hard facts. Faithfully consult your analytics regularly to confirm decisions, make new decisions and plan improvements.

What is your best SEO tip for 2012?

Now it’s your turn. Let’s hear it. Maybe it’s 1 sentence, maybe its a few paragraphs. Share your favorite SEO tip or the best advice you’ve employed to improve your search results. You’ll not only lend a hand to a fellow marketer, but you’ll be helping your friends at Johnson Direct create highly relevant content!