Earlier today we had a call to the office regarding SEO (search engine optimisation) for a new site, on a brand new domain. It served to remind me there is a huge need for assistance in this area, which on the most part is not catered for.

Not that the process of SEO will help very much on a site this young as a rule, especially if the search terms on the wish list are at all competitive.

Generally individuals/companies setting up new sites on new domains are "start-ups" as such won't have a great deal of cash. To this end I would always suggest the paid search route for the first year. This way you can test your keywords, not only for clicks but also conversions, you can limit your budget to what you can afford and most importantly ensure you get your sales pitch, calls to action and unique selling points tuned to maximise the ROI (return on investment)

In about a year you can start the SEO process with a degree of knowledge of the market and the users. Having this knowledge before you take on a campaign of reducing your long term marketing costs though SEO will pay significant dividends.

This isn't to say that you don't do any SEO, you should always follow the three rules, Spider Accessibility, Page Relevancy and Site Credibility see SEO Tutorials for more information.