Now I’m sure this kind of thing has been said before, but I feel that there’s more to the search engine optimization (SEO) industry than meets the eye.
If you’re running a website or a business today, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of SEO. The industry, which appeared to have sprung up overnight, is booming. It seems like almost every person/marketer on the internet is a qualified SEOer all of a sudden. But how did this happen?
It reminds me of the patent medicine boom in the 1800′s. During that time, the market was flooded with products claiming to cure everything from hair loss to “stoutness” to fever. There was no regulation, so people put together whatever ingredients they wanted, got a fancy label with a fancy name, and peddled it as a magic cure-all. Little did most people know that these tonics had bogus ingredients with serious side effects such as addiction and death.
Now I’m not claiming that SEO can kill you. What I am saying is that it’s easy to be tricked. There’s no four year degree in search engine optimization, and unlike a lawyer, you don’t need to pass a test to be a practicing SEOer. You have to take their word for it (or client testimonials if you’re lucky) and really believe that they can deliver.
It’s important to note that I’m not knocking SEO here. While you could say that I’m in the “Content is King” camp, I honestly believe that SEO is an important tool. However, I still believe that search optimizing a site with poor content is like wrapping a crappy product in a pretty box – it won’t do much good.
That being said, I’d like to invite the SEO readers to respond to this. What could I do to make my website better/more SEO? What are a few simple tips that the average person could use to help them out? And how do you know when a SEO is legit?
4 Responses and Counting...
#1 simple tip has to be to join/create a “network” and cross link between related sites. Comment on other (popular) people’s blogs and sites – they will cross post in time if you have some decent content.
Similar to the post i read on YGG the other day about getting “Dugg” but with no obvious “network”.
I’d do it myself if a) I had some decent content and b) I could be bothered…
It’s very, very simple: If it seems to good to be true, then it is.
If someone promises you a miraculous climb to #1 on the search engines in days or weeks, run away.
A good SEO will talk and think like a marketer. They’ll be able to explain what they’re going to do, and why, in terms you can understand.
There is no secret sauce. Or tonic.
Peter
-Very solid ideas there, and that post at YGG is great. The power of networking is usually under rated, but never should be under estimated.
Ian
-Wise words as always. I really like the idea of a SEO that thinks and talks like a marketer. Now that’s someone I can relate to.
Matt,
A suggestion I have is to look at things like the strength of your title tags. This is what search engines use to determine the importance of your content. For example, your main heading in this article “…and Hair Tonic” is only in an h3. I think it should be an h1.
Cheers!