Many of those who work in the field of search engine optimization (SEO) spend a lot of time trying to “optimize” their websites for better Google rankings.

This is both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, doing so makes total sense: after all, Google is by far the most-used search engine these days by far. Google just gets a lot of traffic, every day. Period. You can’t argue with traffic. So, it makes complete sense that SEO types and webmasters would do anything they can to garner better Google rankings for themselves.

On the other hand, there is a downside to worrying too much about what Google thinks about your site or trying too hard to please Google. Trying to outsmart Google or game the system is only going to get you into trouble. And, any short-term gains from doing so will probably quickly dissipate as others learn these same gaming techniques. (Note the recent “Panda Update” that greatly shook up search results for a significant number of websites). Moreover, no search engine is guaranteed to remain the top of the heap in the area of search forever. Somebody could potentially come along with a way to serve up more relevant search results than Google offers, rendering Google less relevant in a matter of months.

So, where does this leave your SEO efforts? Any good SEO person will tell you that, short-term and long-term, obeying the following rule month in and month out will yield for you the best search rankings:

Create relevant, well-written, and value-added content for your site’s visitors. And, refresh that content frequently. Try to include the keywords and search terms that your target audience use most often to find content like yours.

It’s really that simple!

In conclusion, Google’s success does mean that they know more than a little about online search. But, rather than trying to game the system, you and your site’s visitors will be best-served by continuing to serve up excellent content on your website – and doing so often.