Being new to blogging, I initially envisioned a free-flowing format with articles, advice, and news from around the web with my own two pennies thrown in here and there. I’m now encountering a big problem that I didn’t even see coming, and it’s prohibiting me from posting the kind of information I’d really like to share with the rest of the world.

The problem is you never know who’s reading your blog (until later when you check your stats, of course) and you never want to give too much away to the general public. I definitely didn’t expect to come up with so many great ideas for posts only to later realize that it would NOT be in my best interest to “show my hand” so to speak to fellow marketers, competitors, and others. E-commerce and internet marketing both take years of trial and error before you find the right combination for success. If you have something that’s working well for you, it’s probably best not to share it.

While I have never been what’s considered a “black hat” SEO nor performed any unethical marketing methods, I certainly don’t need everyone knowing about all the sites I own and everything that I did to get them positioned so well in the search engines. Proprietary services and solutions are what set you apart from the competition, but if you share them they’re no longer unique.

I completely understand that I need to keep it fresh and capture your attention with secrets and content you won’t find elsewhere. At the same time I need to be cautious not to get too carried away. If, though, you’re looking for precise rules or exact formulas for SEO, the bad news is there aren’t any. Changes occur so quickly that the constant “gamble” of what may work next is necessary to stay ahead of the curve. The best I can offer for now is a post from a friend of mine Todd Malicoat (VP of Marketing for We Build Pages and SEO Guru) that offers valuable insight into some simple benchmark rules for an effective SEO campaign.

Would you share your online business and marketing strategies that you’ve worked for years to perfect with the general public?