Is my SEO strategy solid moving forward (post panda update) or am I doing risky things that might hurt my sites down the road?

[creativeguy]

Hey all,

WIhen I first started doing SEO, I was encouraged by several supposed experts that it was a good idea to buy links from "respectable" sources and as well make use of SEO experimentation offered on Fiverr.

I did that a lot for the clients I represented not knowing if this was going to hurt.  But now after the latest Google shift, I am realizing that this was stupid and thus deserving of the ranking drops I have received.

In the aftermath, I want to list out here what I am doing now to try to build better and stronger rankings for my sites using white hat techniques only...

Below is a list of what I'm doing.  Please let me know if any of these are bad choices and I will immediately dump them.  Also, If i am not including some good options, please let me know that too.

I am really embarrassed and humbled by this and could use whatever help you can offer.  Thanks in advance for your help...

What am I doing now?

*Writing quality articles for external blogs with keyword links back to sites

*Taking the above articles and spinning them at SEOLINKVINE to create several articles

*Writing quality articles for every site's internal blog and using keywords to link out to other sites that are on different servers - All articles are original, varied and not duplicate content.

*Writing quality, relevant articles and submitting them to places like Ezine

*Signing clients up for Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, etc so they have a social presence

*Working to fix mistakes with onsite issues (mirror sites, duplicate page titles, etc.)

*Writing quality keyword-rich unique content on each page of each site

*Submitting URL listings and descriptions to directories like JoeAnt, REALS and business.com

(Any other good ones that people can recommend that give good link juice?)

*Doing competitive research and going after highly authoritative links that our competitors have

That is about it...

HELP!!!

Thanks again

[EGOL]

The opinions that you get on this will vary depending upon the content development skills of the person who is speaking and their tolerance of creating competition for their own websites.

I would not do any of the following.....

*Writing quality articles for external blogs with keyword links back to sites

*Taking the above articles and spinning them at SEOLINKVINE to create several articles

*Writing quality articles for every site's internal blog and using keywords to link out to other sites that are on different servers - All articles are original, varied and not duplicate content.

*Writing quality, relevant articles and submitting them to places like Ezine

[Mcarle]

I would seriously start researching more about Panda and what it has done to the blogs as well as article based sites. Many blog based link boosting sites have been dropped, and are shutting down, many more are to follow if this trend continues. Posting to other link based blogs and sites like Ezine, Squidoo, and the like might just hurt you more in the future.

Google is going through and seriously changing they way that SEO has worked in the past. They are utilizing HUMAN raters that go through and rate sites at random by actually reading them and seeing them with human eyes, this rating information is then tested and built into the new algo changes. This means that if a human can read spun crap content then it is rated down. If you are linking to spun crap then those links are rated down.

Internal blogs are great if they are filled with unique content. about your services and products. Stop posting to other sites and blogs and get people to link to you by posting to your own. Write good content for your sties not other sites that just host spun content..

Twitter, Yelp, Facebook are good for social if people are going to use them for social....

Remember people can SEE what you are doing, a twitter account that is just blank is not s social site, Just like Facebook account with no activity. Not only do you have to maintain these social sites, but you have to post to them as well as INTERACT with your clients customers on them.

[Mark_Ginsberg]

Some of what you're doing sounds ok, but I'd definitely stay away from the article spinners and the article directories. In short, don't pollute the web with crappy content that no human would ever read - Google is catching on more and  more and punishing those who do.

For link building ideas and tactics, Jon Cooper recently put together an awesome post of tactics - http://pointblankseo.com/link-building-strategies - be sure to check that out.

Also, I'd focus on making onsite improvements - make sure your titles and meta are written well, aren't keyword stuffed. That your internal linking is solid and your pages are crawlable and configured properly. Try to improve on things like site speed, and markup your data using schema.

Bottom line is - try to create awesome pieces of content for your sites, and build relationships with others to market them and spread publicity.

Hope this helps

Mark