Be an SEO Star in 2013: Your Top SEO Takeaways From 2012

Over the past few years, Google has continually refined SEO with an unwavering focus on the concept of relevance. However, there still is often a gap in expectations between the team delivering SEO services and the client literally banking on the results. Here are Search Engine Watch's SEO Truths for 2012 for managing client expectations.
- Rank Doesn’t Matter, Conversion Does
- Great SEO Results Require Great SEO Data
- Report on Social Signals Just Like Back links
- Daily Insights into SEO Metrics is Essential
- A Backlink Strategy Without a Content Marketing Strategy is Just Plain Scary
- Spend Less Time on Reporting, More Time on SEO
- Think Outside the Google Search Box
We agree with Search Engine Watch that great insights lead to great outcomes, and that SEO data and SEO software should be considered a cost of doing business or executing a campaign-- just as email marketing campaigns require an email marketing platform.
What do you think of that list? What have your experiences with SEO expectations and reality-- from either side of the experience?