If you’re optimizing a site that is in a very competitive space, you may want to look into getting a list of TONS of longtail keywords for your niche.  Filter and rank them based on competition level.   Optimize for the lower competition items first. Here’s the tested and proven strategy you might want to try:

1)  Build content for the first priority long tail keywords but mention secondary priority keywords in subheadings and content body.  Keep track of your secondary priority keywords and where you mentioned them.

2) Optimize for the first priority items.  Build links using cheap outsourced linkbuilding services.

3) Once you rank well with first priority items, build your secondary priority keyword pages.  Take out the list you made at Step #1 above and link from those pages to your new pages.  Keep the linking to a minimum (1 per page is enough).  Mention tertiary terms.  Keep track of them.

4) Optimize the secondary keywords.  Repeat this process until you are targeting the most competitive terms in your niche.

5)  This process “banks” authority and “rolls up” to higher volume and higher paying (but often less converting) terms.

What will speed up this process?

The best form of “SEO” is quality content.  That’s it.  Period.  Good content will inspire your readers to link to you.  However, you can speed this process up by using social bookmarks, linking to the content through blog comments, sending the link to relevant discussion email groups.

Will I be spamming?

There is a line between welcome content and spam.  Know that line.  Good, relevant, and useful content will almost always be welcomed since it ADDS VALUE to ongoing online conversations about your niche.  How you present this content also determines whether it will be regarded as spam.  Blasting the same message over and over again will probably get you banned for spamming.  Same with formatting your message in obnoxious ways.  Use Web 2.0 sites to get people to “taste” your content.  If it is good, they will do your job for you.  Regardless of what you do though–never give up and keep thinking “LINKS LINKS LINKS“.  Keeping links in mind focuses you on the task at hand–make every second you are online count.

What if I don’t have the time to ROLL UP?

If you don’t have the time, energy, patience or motivation to roll up your site project, outsource the job to someone who does.  Webmasterlabor.Com will do your SEO project for you and send you periodic job reports and progress reports.  They can do this AFFORDABLY–you set a monthly budget, they propose deliverables, you agree, they do the work, you get reports.  Nice and easy.  No fuss.  No muss.  Contact them today.