Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking.

For you to show your clients when they blame you for no rankings because you did not put in any keywords (even if they never sent you any) and insist on jamming 600 keywords up there.

10 Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Blogs : Media : Technology : Blogs.com.

I think these 10 could give a n00b a bit of knowledge.

Boy, has Ian really said what many in this profession, the designer end, go thru all the time. So it is not all that much different from a SEO firm! How many times have designers heard the following in a slightly different form?

Have you seen this new tool…?

You just found a neat new gadget that will let visitors spin your product around on your site, zoom in on the minutest detail and then custom-order it.

It’s cool! I agree!

But I think we’d better:

* Fix your shopping cart so it has less than a 90% bailout rate;

* Get your site more than 10% indexed by search engines;

* Set up analytics;

* Stop the bleeding in your PPC account.

I agree – I think it’s a great tool. But you have to set priorities. Sales should be your first priority. Not coolness.

via That’s it. You’re on a time out. | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing.

Seriously, I launched a “placeholder” page for a client a few weeks ago. (not my idea, I do as the client wants). They call me up within hours, and say “I can’t get to my site! Where is it?” I tell them that it is right there, gave the URL and they then reply “Oh OK I can get to it that way, but when I type it into Google, it does not come up. When will it do that?” They was using google instead of the address bar. No really. Not only did they not understand the very basics of web browsing, they did not read a single thing I had given them as part of my intro package. Even after saying they would read it all, that night as they wanted to “understand everything web”. I tell them right up front that they are not going to be in Google for some time, and if they want to rank highly, they really need to hire a professional SEO company for their internet marketing, that “build it and they will come” is in movies only, in real life, they need a marketing plan. And my company is not a SEO pro, not a marketing company.

Ian, so many web designers feel your pain.

And if it is any consolation, perhaps there is a problem going on between the developers of the site and the impatient client. Just maybe they “had” to do things the way they did, because of the client. The personality that you describe in the rant surely does sound like a micro-managing cleint, who probably owes the developer money, and the developer ain’t budging anymore until they are paid.  Not saying it is true, but I’d make sure I had this client up to date in payments.  We see it all too often on this end.

Google Land.

some good reading here, good page to send to your clients who call you the day after you launch a site and ask why they cannot find their site in Google, and will it appear there tomorrow on the hom page. SEO is a separate profession. A nice one too, I just find it immensely boring.

ahhh the dark arts! problem is, that there is probably some SEO/SEM company out there that actually employs these tactics to get those clicks.

PPC Villain | PPC & Search Marketing Worst Practices Blog

Keyword Search Is Just Fine, Thank You | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing

Ian is a good marketing person. His company does some good design as well. You might want to subscribe to his feed, and get a unique outlook. I’m sure I’ll be posting more of his articles

Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO » Google supports META NOODP tag

A Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization