The Laws of SEO
The First Law of Search Engine Optimization
For every searchable ecosystem there are precisely three sets of arbitrary criteria that determine the outcome of any search operation.
The Second Law of Search Engine Optimization
The result of any search function is determined by the inseparable union of the three perspectives.
The Third Law of Search Engine Optimization
Search ecosystems seek or tend toward optimum use.
The Fourth Law of Search Engine Optimization
A search ecosystem transits through states of diminishing Conflict toward Perfect Agreement.
For more information, Cf. The Laws of SEO: How The Searchable Web Ecosystem Works.
Fundamental Principles of Off-site SEO
The Principle of Search Engagement
The optimizer must choose which search engine(s) for which content will be optimized.
The Principle of Resource Engagement
The optimizer must leverage links by providing them with context, recognition, and an active framework in which people find the links to be part of useful resources.
The Principle of Message Engagement
The optimizer must take responsibility for shaping the message that people see about a given site on other Websites.
The Principle of Link Engagement
The optimizer must take responsibility for the relevance, context, and neighborhood of a given link.
For more information, Cf. The Fundamental Principles of Off-site SEO.
Other Laws and Principles
The Filthy Linking Rich Principle
New links on the Web are more likely to point to well-linked sites than to poorly-linked sites.
AKA: The Law of Preferential Attachment.
The First Visibility Principle
The first document that crosses the Idiot Threshold (the point where enough idiots pass links around to other idiiots to create momentum) becomes the first authority on a topic. Cf. The Physics of SEO Theory.
The Law of Copy Expansion Efficiency
The return on investment decreases as the scope of your copy increases. Cf. Introduction to Co-lateral Query Space Optimization
The Law of Influence (aka The Law of Influences)
An influence reveals itself through its effects.
Alt.: You will know the tree by the fruit it bears.
The Law of Link Placement Efficiency
The return on investment decreases as the number of placed, targeted links increases. Cf. Introduction to Co-lateral Query Space Optimization
The Magic Content Principle
Any sufficiently developed content works like magic.
The Principle of Child Inheritance
A search engine is more likely to trust a new document from a trusted host than a new document from an untrusted host.
The Principle of Conservation of PageRank
Any allocation of “starter” PageRank-like value must be adjusted according to the size of the collection of documents to which the PageRank-like value is being assigned. Cf. The Physics of SEO Theory.
The Principle of Corroboration
In any class of inexpert observers, the more agreement between conclusive arguments provided by multiple observers (agreement establishes corroboration), the more likely the corroborated arguments are correct. Cf. Is it time to put relevance back into search?
The Principle of Link Gravity
Any Website attracting a sufficient number of links spawns a network of satellite sites that benefit from being linked to by the link-rich site.
Corollary: The Wikipedia Effect: A Web site of very questionable value accrues extensive link mass from the votes of many idiots who did not know better than to link to the site of questionable value. Cf. The Physics of SEO Theory.
The Principle of Result Fatigue
Any search result that includes listings with null relevance is said to be fatigued. A fully fatigued search result contains at least one document with null relevance and no relevant documents in its listings. Cf. How Much Does SEO Help or Hinder the Search Process?
The Principle of Sequential Processing
Any document must be processed in a sequence of steps before it appears in search engine results. Cf. The Physics of SEO Theory.
The SEO Method
Experiment. Evaluate. Adjust.
The Uncertainty Principle of Search Engine Optimization
An observer cannot know both a document’s state of indexing and the document’s relevance to a set of queries at the same time. Cf. The Physics of SEO Theory.
The Theory of Search Engine Optimization
Any member of the Searchable Web Ecosystem can use or apply algorithms to influence the predictable content and quality of search engine results according to the chosen criteria of the optimizer.
The Wikipedia Principle
A search engine intentionally promotes low quality content that is minimally acceptable to searchers because it costs less to do that than to promote better content.
Theorems and Formulas
The Theorem of Four SEO Influences
There are four reasons for why your search engine rankings change:
You do something with your site
Someone else does something with their site
The search engines do something with their data
People search for something different
The Theorem of Query Space Optimization
A query space exists only as long as there is interesting content populating the query space.
Corollary: A query space is self-sustaining if and only if the query space continually produces new and interesting content independent of driving events.
The Theorem of Search Engine Optimization
Achieving optimal performance from search engine results diminishes the naturality of search results.
Alt.: The naturality of a search result declines as optimization increases.
Naturality, Transparency, and Opacity are probability distributions based on the size of the search result.
1 = Ny + Ty + Oy
For more information, Cf. SEO Math: Axioms for Search Analysis.
Viral Propaganda Theory
The First Principle of Viral Propaganda Theory
The first point of view constitutes the first majority. Cf. An Introduction To Viral Propaganda Theory
The Second Principle of Viral Propaganda Theory
A majority point of view sustains itself by reaching previously uncommitted supporters before other points of view. Cf. An Introduction To Viral Propaganda Theory
Viral Effect of Social Organization
The majority (inner) members of a group receive their information from members on the periphery of the group. Group members are more likely to agree with their neighbors than to dispute their neighbors’ expressed opinions. Cf. An Introduction To Viral Propaganda Theory
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