Marcia posted a fun thread at Search Engine Watch Forums named 12 Step Program for Google Optimization and Updates. She ends off the list by saying; "Hello, my name is Marcia and I'm an SEO." I am sure she will be OK if I quote the 12 steps here, but make sure to join the discussion at SEW Forums.
1. We admitted that we were powerless over Google and that our rankings had become unmanageable.2. Came to believe that our sanity and Google traffic could be restored.
3. Made a decision to turn our time and our efforts over to creating better sites for our users.
4. Made a searching and fearless inventory of our sites.
5. Admitted to ourselves and another trusted human being the exact nature of our wrongs and deficiencies.
6. Were entirely ready to have all of of our spam and optimization defects removed.
7. Humbly asked for help in overcoming and correcting our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all the ways we had overstepped Google's guidelines and sound optimization principles and practices, and became willing to make amends and modifications.
9. Made direct modifications wherever possible, except when to do so would hurt or injure other webmasters.
10. Continued to take inventory of our sites, and when something was wrong we promptly faced it, admitted it and and fixed it.
11. Sought through diligent effort to improve our knowledge and understanding of Information Retrieval science and algorithms and marketing, praying only for knowledge of sound, effective optimization principles and practices and the ability to carry them out.
12. Having had an awakening as a result of these steps and having received the help we needed from others, we tried to carry the message and offer our help to other webmasters and marketers in return, and to follow sound optimization and marketing practices for all of our sites.
