If SEO is the art of manipulating search engines to make you site rank higher, Google is mastering the art of getting around “sneaky” SEO.

Previously, people who knew how to write the best meta data and tags could push sites higher.

More and more, quality content that is actually about what it says it is about wins.

Here’s an article with additional information about “Panda,” Google’s new system. Suffice it to say, if each of your pages is about what the heading says it is about, you are in good shape. Google is also giving websites brownie points for good design and navigation. I suspect this has more to do with eliminating a high search ranking for sites with 1,000 pages that each have a few key search phrases linking to some other site that pays them per link.

If you are using “black-hat” methods to artificially rank well for keywords that aren’t relevant to your business, you will have to stay on your toes to keep up with Google. If your web site is about your business, and it contains quality content, you don’t need to worry.

That said, there is always more you can do to list your business on other sites and relevant business listings that will improve your search ranking.