While 2009 has only just begun, our economy is well into a recession. This leaves some marketers facing the new year with a slimed-down budget. In the realm of search engine marketing, many have turned to organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) due to its lasting results and greater ROI. One key to successful SEO is content development.

For the sake of simplicity, your rank in Google is primarily based on three factors. One, a complicated ever-changing algorithm. Two, the amount of inbound and outbound links your site has. Three, the relevancy and freshness of your content.

The mystery of the google algorithm will never be uncovered (or if it does, be assured they will change it), so your focus should be on the remaining factors. Link-building is often best left to the experts (to ensure it's being done both ethically and effectively), so consider partnering with a company that specializes in organic SEO. An added benefit of this relationship is they will help you optimize your website from the inside out. Even a small change in code could significantly improve how your site communicates with the search engines. In addition to pinpointing the key words you should target, they can also identify (and then track) key measurement statistics.

This leaves the third and most important factor, developing the content of your website. This is an area where you can really take the reigns, and with a little time and effort, make a big difference in your search engine ranking. When developing content on your website, consider both relevancy and freshness.

Relevancy. First things first, optimize your current content for keywords. Don't force it, but where it is appropriate, incorporate them. Then, if you don't have it already, Product Information, About Us, or F.A.Q. pages are easy to create and are a positive addition to your site. Next, what information would be interesting to your customer? Any content on your website should be related to your product or service in some way, but be creative. For example, if you sell Christmas trees, you could provide content on The History of Christmas Trees, How to Decorate a Tree, or Famous Christmas Trees. The goal is to be a trusted source that provides both education and entertainment to your visitors. Not only does this contribute to your natural SEO efforts, it provides value to your customers. You should build a solid content base, then continue to add on?which brings us to the next factor.

Freshness. Google and other search engines will frequently scan your website for new information'if your site is static, you are being ignored. Think of your website as a work in progress, a database of information that is continually being added to. For example, you could write a few articles in a series, and post one each month. Or, create a News page that is updated frequently with company or industry news.

The best content combines both relevancy and freshness. To easily meet both criteria, consider adding a social application to your site. Not only will this contribute to the strength of your content, it allows you to establish and maintain a connection with your customers.

You could start a simple forum where you and customers can connect or share information. A blog would achieve the same outcome.

Keep in mind that any organic SEO efforts will take some time to take effect. Due to the enormous amount of websites on the internet and the manual and automatic crawling process, results are not immediate. The good news however, as the strength of your content continues to improve, when your ranking goes up, its likely to stay there.

Organic SEO is an ideal strategy to make the most your marketing budget. While the algorithm remains a mystery it's no secret that link building is effective. Most importantly, search engines value relevant and fresh content. You can contribute to the success of any search engine marketing campaign by developing your website content.