I would like to point out that there are two general principles in SEO that, if followed consistently over a period of time, will result in at least a first page ranking on Google. Note that the period of time depends mostly on the quality and number of web pages you are competing with.

I call this approach “Enduring SEO” since I feel following these principles will get my client’s sites on to the first page of the Google SERPs and keep them there through any algorithm adjustments, etc.

The first principle is to establish a link building program, using keyword focused anchor text, that delivers inbound links to specific pages at a consistent rate, for as long as the client wants to achieve high rankings for those pages.

The second principle is to ensure each page targeted for a high SERP result, has well written, value added content related to the keyword (or words if low competition keywords). I don’t subscribe to the keyword density school of thought, I use the keywords were they make sense and read well.

I have found that following these principles consistently leads to success over the long term.