If I am ever asked to simplify what it takes to be successful in search engine optimization, I come back to two simple rules…quality, unique and resourceful content, and gaining quality links, pointing to appropriate pages of your website.

If I am allowed to go a little deeper in my explanation, I’ll get into proper site architecture, coding, internal linking, and all the other fun stuff that we get to consider on a daily basis.

There are some bloggers out there who will argue that “all you need is a bunch of links” and others, still, who say that “all you need to do is set up a WordPress website and generate a bunch of content.”

My argument is probably somewhere in the middle of this crowd.

With as complicated as search engine optimization can be at times, I believe it’s important to maintain one of the most important factors in search engine optimization…a bit of common sense.

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Recently, I received an e-mail from a reader who was wondering…”At $2,500 per month budget, is there a rule of thumb for parameters on a dollar return for a retail product site? For example, should the $2,500 generate 10 times that amount on sales? Say, $23,000 to $27,000? Or, 15 times?”

Seems like a reasonable question. And, as with many things related to search engine optimization, the answer is simply not that easy.

Trust me when I say that every single search engine optimizer out there would love to be able to provide you with this kind of information. If we could be as precise as to the return that you might receive from search engine optimization as you might otherwise be with your paid search initiatives, based upon budget and expected return, SEO would have completely matured and – without a doubt – would be in everyone’s marketing budgets.

Sadly, that day has not yet come. And, I suspect that it will never come. There are simply too many variables in play. It’s really not a cop-out. And, this may be a reason why 29 percent of the largest companies (who participated in SEMPO’s 2010 Survey) spent absolutely nothing on search engine optimization in 2009. See my previous column on SEO versus PPC for additional detail.

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OK…once that’s done, now what? You built it, now will they come?

They will come only if you’ve structured your information in a way that’s easy for visitors to navigate, and for search engines to understand. You will see the traffic you desire only if your content complements your overall goals, your reputation feeds itself from top to bottom, and you’ve got good structure. Read more about SEO…

Many sites I visit and review have underutilized sitemap pages. It’s really a shame because these workhorse pages get so little credit, and so little attention, but they can be so important for SEO and the user experience you offer.

The techniques I’m about to describe may sound a bit advanced, but I know you can do it. Because every SEO does things their own way, there may be variations on this theme that others use, and that’s fine.  Read more about sitemaps…