Here is an interesting video from www.intralinkinc.com, which explains their Website marketing plan. What caught my eye about this is they are basically describing a content site, and taking a much broader view of marketing than just SEO.

The key point is they start with the content and force the SEO into the content rather than forcing the content into the SEO. The emphasis is on marketing the content, not marketing and then finding filler content to market.

Here is a recap of their 5 point marketing plan.

1. Product Mix. What is the thesis statement for your website? What is the something special about your site that distinguishes it from everything else?

2. Keyword Research — How customers can/are finding your website. Keywords focus on the Root, and the Long Tail. The root keyword might be,
real estate Denver, and the Long Tail would be keywords targeting communities surrounding Denver

3. Competition Level — 1. determine level of SEO required & 2) Normalization — Look at the top 10 results and their content and match it according to the number of words etc.

4. Search Engine Optimization. Force the Search Engine Optimization into the content rather than forcing the SEO into the content. The emphasis is on the marketing and the content.