Understanding the Mechanics of SEO as Both Art and Science  

This article has three main ideas: the first two explain just how science and art are used in SEO, but concludes by arguing that a huge key to success is based on using precise mathematics to understand competitors.
SEO seems to have been boiled down to a list of steps that changes as it gets transferred from one source to the next. John Alexander, the author of this article, states that many companies get hung up on SEO being a "science"and constantly battling to find algorithms to reach true optimization. He says that some key scientific applications to SEO including figuring out which areas will have the most impact and which 200 words will prove most useful in SEO for the month. The art and creativity play in when trying to separate the company from competitors by figuring out the most logical key words customers will use and finding different appeals such as nostalgia to gain increased site traffic.

While these two areas must come together for SEO, Alexander states firmly that in the end success is using precise mathematics the first time and using that not only to discover advantages for the firm, but also predict competitor strengths and weaknesses.

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