With the holidays behind us, it's time to get back to business. If you have a Web site, part of your business is to make sure that site can easily be found in the major search engines and directories. If your site is buried in the rankings, the traffic to your site will suffer.

Part of the problem with some of the sites that offer information on search engine marketing is that you don't know how up to date that advice is, and you don't know if you can really trust the information. In other words, how reliable is the source?

So, let's look at some sites that offer reliable advice in search engine marketing - advice you can trust.

We'll begin at Beyond-SEO, which goes one step beyond traditional search engine marketing strategies. Rather than concentrating strictly on SE strategies, this site also tackles topics such as conversion rates and how to build content that compels visitors to respond. http://www.beyond-seo.com

Spider-Food is loaded with excellent, up-to-date information on SE strategies. Are you using design strategies that may be detrimental in achieving top search engine rankings, such as frames or dynamic content? This site offers in depth tutorials that will walk you through solutions to those problems. http://www.spider-food.net/

Search Engine Watch is an extremely popular site that offers free advice for those who are trying to boost their visibility in the search engines and directories. Be sure to subscribe to their free newsletter. http://wwww.searchenginewatch.com

Another site that offers news relative to the search engine industry is SEO Today. Experts in the industry contribute articles in their area of expertise, so you can learn from those who have achieved success using the power of the search engines and directories. http://www.seotoday.com/

If you like participating in online forums, visit Webmaster World. Some of the best SEO's in the industry visit and post to this forum. The downside is that you don't know the qualifications of those who post, so be sure to read through the posts carefully before making any major decisions relative to your site. http://www.webmasterworld.com/

For a couple of free newsletters written by companies you can trust, subscribe to the MarketPosition Newsletter at http://www.webposition.com/newsletter.htm, or the Academy's Newsletter at http://www.academywebspecialists.com/newsletter.html. RankWrite (http://www.rankwrite.com/) and WebProNews (http://www.webpronews.com) are excellent as well.

Planet Ocean's monthly newsletter is second to none, and by subscribing, you also get access to their Unfair Advantages Search Engine Book. http://www.searchenginehelp.com

Finally, you can read free articles relative to the SE industry by visiting the Academy of Web Specialists at http://www.acws.com/information/index.html. Though not free, the Academy's online search engine marketing courses are comprehensive and updated every single month to take into account any changes in the industry.