The reason for this spike in debate, research and worry among SEO companies and website owners is due to two simple facts:

1. The vast majority of people use Google to search for anything online.  The verb 'to google' for something has entered modern language.
2. Google is always looking for ways in which to improve the quality of the results it delivers for any given search term.

In other words, Google's boffins carry out detailed research and devise stronger and more sophisticated algorithms to determine whose website should appear at the top of Page 1 for a given search term and whose site should appear in all other positions beneath the top slot.  Every now and again they come up with a major upgrade and two of the most recent have been codenamed Panda and Penguin.

So far, so good you might think.  If you search for "Harry Potter wands" because you want to buy one for your nephew then you'll probably want to see the name of most respected website selling such items at the top of the list of results.  The problem is though that whereas previous Google algorithm changes caused a few ripples in the SEO world, the most recent Penguin update has been like dropping a huge boulder into the pond.

Website owners are up in arms because they've seen a huge drop in traffic with the knock-on effect of a big drop in sales and advertising revenue.  All this despite the fact that many of these sites adhere (to one degree or another) to Google's own Webmaster Guidelines (or so the owners claim), and it does appear from all the reports and research being done that the results for all kinds of search times are worse at the moment now than they were pre Penguin.

So what's to be done?  I'm no SEO expert so I can't tell you what to do with your site (I wish I were such an expert - have seen what they charge!?), but by doing a little research among the more respected SEO blogs a few hints are beginning to emerge.  What follows are a few examples.  I make no claims for their accuracy and whether or not you use them is up to you and the risk is entirely your own:

1. Don't panic and don't do anything drastic until you've got a good understanding of what's happened.
2. Develop an SEO strategy for your site(s).  This may involve doing less SEO.  You can over optimise pages and sites.
3. Audit your site(s) for quality from the point of view of someone seeing it for the first time. Is it engaging?  Interesting?  Trustworthy?
4. Audit your site(s) for the speed of its delivery.  Do the pages loads quickly?  Do you really need all those plugins and adverts?
5. Keep adding fresh and original content.
6. If you've outsourced your SEO ask the company you're paying to explain how they've modified their techniques in light the effect of Google's changes.
7. Consider focusing your SEO strategy around Bing for a few months.
8. Consider the option of moving your entire site to a new domain name.
9. Place more emphasis on engaging readers through social media by legitimate means.
10. Finally, don't believe everything you read on this subject.  I've seen totally contradictory advice from several so-called SEO experts.

I suppose one could say that this is an opportunity for review and for raising the bar in terms of the quality and integrity of the sites we build and how we optimise them for the search engines.

Then I noticed the name StudioPress and thought "That rings a bell" and began searching my email archive. Sure enough, I'd bought a package from them three years ago and the purchase was still valid, so I renewed my member login at their site and downloaded the latest copies of all the WordPress themes to which I still have the rights to use.

Fantastic!  These are great themes and everything about them speaks quality and care. The collection consists of child themes based on one framework - Genesis, so you upload the Genesis theme and add your chosen child themes.  Of course, you can upload several and experiment with each until you find the one you like (or if you're like me you'll be changing it frequently because you can't decide!).

A common mistake when designing house interiors, office decor and websites is to design it for yourself instead of those who will be using it i.e. your target audience.  It's not just the themes that are attractive and well designed - the StudioPress site and the way it displays and describes each theme is impressive too.  It makes the process of choosing the right one easier by translating the look of a design into words.  So if you can't make up your mind then the descriptions are to to help with the decision.

The members' support area is professionally managed and populated by busy owners finding new ways to make the most of the themes.  There's also a list of Genesis developers for hire if you want some expert customisation.

But don't take my word for it, check out the StudioPress themes for yourself.

Website owners hoping to reach a certain niche market may be in need of content, but they may not have the means, knowledge or resources to write articles each week on a given subject, let alone more frequently and for various sites they manage.  They can outsource this task by hiring authors to write for them and although this is definitely a viable and fruitful option there is alternative.

Authors seeking homes for articles written for themselves or for clients may not have a site on which to publish the article, so bring the authors with homeless articles together with websites hungry for content and you have the ingredients for a mutually beneficial exchange of resources.

Step forward MyBlogGuest.com and BloggerLinkup.com.  Two sites that provide the same service i.e. bring authors and webmasters together and give them the means to help each other, but do so in different ways.

I use MyBlogGuest so can speak of that that BloggerLinkup, but you may prefer to use the latter.

The brains behind MyBlogGuest is Ann Smarty and she has created a site that fulfills a need and does so in an efficient and uncomplicated way.  If, like me, you're looking for content then you can obtain it for free, and if the authors make full use of all the functions the site provides then they can post their articles to your blog/site directly, leaving you the simple task of checking it over and publishing it.

Why do they do this?  The payoff for authors is that there are two or three links in the copy and these are hyperlinks to specifically chosen sites for theirs or those of clients for whom they've written the article.

So as publisher you get unique and good quality content that hasn't been used elsewhere, and the authors get backlinks that are in context both in the copy and on the site in which it's published.

All I would add is that you should read all rules on the site before diving in and make sure you understand the standards expected for both authors and publishers.  Also, check any articles you're offered for quality and reject anything that looks like it's been spun or isn't up to a good standard of English.

Be wary also of using the supplied images.  I may be being over cautious (I have bitter experience of copyright infringement), but it isn't mandatory to use the images sent with articles.

You might think that your browser's automatic storage of passwords is enough and for you that may be so, but what if you're on holiday, away from your regular computer, or what if you use a variety of devices? Roboform synchronises the data between all the devices so that you can retrieve your passwords whichever device you're using.

Using someone else's computer? Using a public computer? Roboform2Go can be stored on a memory stick so that you can use it and remove it when you log out of the internet café or wherever. Likewise, there are versions for all the main mobile devices.

Roboform is more that must a password storage tool though. It also stores profiles so that at a click of button you can fill out a form with either your personal details or your business details. It can also save 'Safe Notes' i.e. piece of data that may not be passwords but which you want to store under lock and key. Time is money and this tool saves you time.

Whatever websites you use, if they require you to login then manually typing out your user ID and some obscure password is a chore, but with Roboform it's just one click and you're in (well, after a second or two anyway).

There's a free trial download here so give it a go. I think you'll find it very useful and it's certainly the best piece of software I've bought in a long while.

The trouble is that for every product there are scores of review sites and many of them are built by affiliate marketers who want you to read the glowing reviews, click on the embedded links or the banner adverts and buy the product thus earning the marketer some commission.  There's nothing wrong with this of course (it's perfectly legitimate and keeps the wheels of business well oiled), but only as long as the reviews are genuine.

Herein lies the problem; sometimes the reviewers post glowing praises for products that aren't as good as they really believe, or worse - they haven't even used the product at all.

The list I have compiled consists of tools that I use on a regular basis.  Some, like Roboform, are used every day (hourly in fact).  Others are used weekly, monthly, or as required for the task for which they were designed.

Rest assured that my reviews are genuine.  I use these products regularly and I've tried others that have promised much but have been found wanting, so save yourself some time and money by going straight to products that work well.

Let's start at the beginning then with number 1 on the list - Roboform,