It seems as though all new Clients for the UltimateIDX™ all want to know short cuts for ranking well in the three major search engines. The simple truth is there are no short cuts. It takes many months of hard work and dedication to rank well in Google, Yahoo and MSN.

With Search Engine Optimization practices over the past decade I have seen many fads come and go however the only real constant has been good and fresh content. Without fresh content readership inevitably drops and so do rankings in the SERPs.

Over the years I have watched how many website owners will go through a lot of work and effort to manipulate the Search Engines when it would have taken less effort to keep their content current. For this there really is no excuse. Even if a website owner can not write or does not have the time to write there are many copyrighters available that do an excellent job for a reasonable price. There are also a lot of copywriters that will even maintain your blogs and keep them current.

Inbound Links

Inbound links are also very important when it comes to Search Engine Rankings. But all IBLs are not created equally. Incoming links from .edu and .gov sites are cherished but rare. It is much easier to get links from sites that are considered authoritative or “Trusted”. How can you get these links you ask? Maintain good fresh content on your website. If others consider your content to be authoritative, relative, informative or though provoking they will link to your website. This is also known as “Link Baiting”.

Link Baiting

Link Baiting is exactly what it implies. You write though provocative or controversial articles (Blog posts) that will cause other Bloggers or website owners to link to you. An extreme example would be: “Blue Widgets” vs. “Blue Widgets May Cause Cancer”. Of course the latter of the articles is much more likely to be quoted with a backlink. However, be sure to keep your articles or Blog posts accurate and well documented if you want to remain credible in the Blogosphere.

Smaller Search Engines

If you continue to generate good content the first rewards for your efforts will come from listings on smaller Search Engines like PeekYou and if you are lucky enough your site may appear in EDU Search Engines Like Bates.

Again it all depends on the quality of your content.

Summary

While there are many aspects involved in your Search Engine rankings, they all revolve around Content. Content is and will remain “King” and the key to your rankings in the SERPS.

Today is one that will most certainly go into the history books and justly so. The Nation inaugurated the 44th President of The United States, President Barack Hussein Obama. America’s first Black President.

Although I am on the record as opposing Obama in the 2008 election for a multitude of strong reasons, I sincerely wish President Obama “God Speed” and all the best for him, his family and our Nation.

While Obama was elected for all the wrong reasons there has not been a President in my life time that has more reasons to succeed than he. Despite his campaign rhetoric engineered to cater to the left, he has already demonstrated a willingness to govern from the center and in order to be successful he must. The lofty ideals of liberalism are simply unrealistic when taken as a whole. Much like a diet of candy may sound good the simple fact is that it is unsustainable and would be damaging to your health. Liberalism unbridled is just as unsustainable and would damage the health and security of our Nation.

Challenges

President Obama faces many immediate challenges that are just as historic as his Presidency. The faltering economy, the real estate slump, the War on Terror and a House and Senate controlled by the far left are just a few of the challenges ahead. The latter may prove to be his biggest challenge for without the support of the House and Senate it will be difficult to successfully address the others.

Politics and Real Estate

I have recently fielded a couple of calls reprimanding me for discussing politics on a real estate blog. Yes my Mother was a Real Estate Broker and did teach me never to mix politics and religion in real estate however; the current real estate industry crisis we face was created solely by politicians in the name of politics, power and corruption. Let us not forget that the collapse of Wall Street was preceded by the floundering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The truth is that there is no separating Politics and Real Estate.

While President Obama campaigned on promises of “feel good” programs and legislation that would be detrimental to the real estate industry it will be interesting if President Obama attempts to keep Candidate Obama’s promises. My guess is no and that even if he is that naive when it comes to the economy, his economic advisors will enlighten him.

Summary

President Obama must abandon many of his campaign promises and govern from the center if he is to overcome the obstacles and challenges ahead and concentrate on his legacy from day one instead of repaying his political allies. He must rein in spending by the House and Senate and limit any “stimulus” expenditures to programs that will actually stimulate the economy. Ideals such as dumping billions into the Education system in an effort to repay the Teachers Union for their election support must be quashed. Notions such as this are very easy to see through and will not stimulate the economy. He must act and spend responsibly or we may be in for a very rough ride and the Obama Presidency will be mired by failure and controversy. The decision is his alone.

May God Bless President Obama and the United States of America.