Definitive?? List of Google Ranking Factors

I read two articles this morning, and while I'm not sure I agree with everything in them, they do represent A) SEO expert opinions and B) results of a 'study' on what influences Google's search engine rankings.

The first article: New Study on Google Ranking Factors does offer this disclaimer that is VERY important to keep in mind when reading these two articles:

I would not personally bank on either study by themselves but rather a combination of both with an emphasis on personal experience, trial/error and real world data analysis. There simply is no substitute for real world insights, practical experience and data.

The second list: Search Engine Ranking Factors V2, is much more in-depth and is commented by those SEO experts that participated in the survey. You'll note that there is some disagreement from the experts based on their own experience.

Important stuff here for all internet marketers and web site owners. If you're new to the game of SEO, I highly recommend reading both. If you've got that "real world insights and practical experience" these lists could validate what you've been doing, or help you clean up your act.

As a web designer/developer/marketer, I'll be sharing these with my client base. It can only help them to know why I make the suggestions about SEO that I do, without me having to rewrite the book on SEO myself.