YNOT – Each time Google changes the way it searches, you get another chance to bump your competitors out of that sweet spot for free organic traffic.

Here are some considerations when turning your pages for SEO under Google’s latest guidelines.

Ensure your content is focused and clear. Keep first-time visitors’ interest in mind. Make sure your keywords and other meta tags directly relate to the content on the page, or you risk “points off” for irrelevance.

Avoid content that doesn’t relate to your niche. Give your website a “theme,” and stick to it. Every page on the site should reflect the theme in some way. Content that isn’t relevant not only will impact your page rank, but it also will drive away visitors.

Work to obtain organic inbound links. Getting your site listed on link lists (sometimes called “link dumps”) is worthless, for the most part. The same can be said for inbound links obtained through paid link-submission services. Google and other search engines now attach penalties to hanging out in garbage dumps. Again, relevance is the key. Outbound and inbound links to sites that have nothing to do with yours do more harm than good.

Employ social media. Link to your site from legitimate profiles at Twitter, Facebook and other social networks, but do so in accordance with rules and acceptable-use policies at those sites. As your networks grow, your links will spread.

Update your content as often as possible. Updated content tells both visitors and search engines this isn’t just another abandoned site. Caveat: “Republishing” content that previously appeared in other places could count against you. Originality counts.

Mobilize, if possible. The more formats in which you can provide your content, the better. You might even consider developing subdomains designed for easy viewing on smart phones and mobile pads.

Jim “GonZo” McAnally is marketing consultant and a veteran of the adult online industry. For more about him, visit GonZoConsulting.com.