News Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com
Published: Apr 13, 2009 - 12:44 pm
Story Found By: michddot 1497 Days ago
Category: SEO
15 Comments
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News Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com
Published: Apr 13, 2009 - 12:44 pm
Story Found By: michddot 1497 Days ago
Category: SEO
15 Comments
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Comments
Seth actually calls SEO "a glorious crap shoot that usually fails but is wonderful when it works."He got it wrong on two points:- there are lots of easy to rank phrases that bring targeted, well converting traffic- you can rank #1 for a targeted phrase, if you know what you are doingThat being said, I wish more SEO clients would also try to create better products/services that’d market themselves. It’s almost useless to SEO a site without an USP.Anyway, did Seth pull a Jason Calacanis on this one? I hope it’s just his unfortunate experience with SEOs and lack of SEO knowledge speaking.My thoughts at the SEO Refugee forums:http://cli.gs/uDsP4z
Not even worth a Sphinn really. I mean, how do write an article about SEO and focus on a generic keyword like plumber as the hook? Come on Seth, I’ve seen you do much better than this.The most common way to use search engine optimization is to find a keyword (like "plumbing") and do whatever you can to ’own’ that word on Google. This is Google as the Yellow Pages (with free ads).When exactly was the last time you were involved with Search Engine Optimization?The problem: how to be the first listing, because being the 40th listing is fairly worthless.Who exactly is this article appealing to? What SEO takes a generic keyword like Plumber and tries to pwn it for a local Mom and Pop? There might be a few and Pop better have some very deep pockets. He also needs to prepare for the onslaught of poor quality leads.That article fails at whatever point it was trying to get across due to those opening paragraphs. Next time you decide to write about SEO, how about using something of value and not some generic single keyword that few would ever pwn.^ Ya, it’s Monday morning and I’m my usual passionate self. :)
Anyway, did Seth pull a Jason Calacanis on this one?Godin is actually the original Calacanis. He published something similar many years ago before Jason ever did, along these same lines.Thought he learned more about SEO by now, but apparently not.He’s completely missed the third, most important way of doing SEO. Researching keywords that people actually use at search engines and ensuring that the pages of your website are relevant to them.
I happen to love Aaron’s rebuttal here: http://www.seobook.com/most-seo-strategies-are-not-focused-hitting-home-runs
Seth made a follow up comment worth reading on Aarons site here:http://www.seobook.com/most-seo-strategies-are-not-focused-hitting-home-runs#34958
Good article. Some good points stated.
@tamar & @merrick thank you so much, i was almost in shock when i read it and knew sphinn was the right eyes to see it. very cool to see an seo step up and the back n forth between them :) again thnx 4 the links out, c00lish
I read it. I agree - it was not great. But not so bad anyone should be flamed for it either. I just didn’t really think it hit the mark. I don’t really follow the comparison of SEO to a "lottery." In my opinion, there is nothing random or accidental about SEO. Nor is it magic. That’s sort of the nature of computers, the tend to not be very creative...
Actually, with Google’s latest move of showing local results for non-geo modified keywords, ranking well for for ’plumber’ is much more readily attainable than this article appears to recognize. Most people searching for ’plumber’ are seeking local services, and I found it hard to get the sense of what the author was saying in this post because of the keyword premise it was based upon.
I think that post only shows that Seth doesn’t know anything about SEO. Quality SEO isn’t about ranking #1 for some generic keyword, it’s about getting more conversions by increasing the amount of traffic coming from Google.
I respect your opinion about Seth’s piece, but seriously, there is no reason to put him down like that. I’ve never met him or even chatted with him, but I’m sure it doesn’t feel good to hear that. Again - I respect your opinion and right to have it. But I’m sure you can find a much more polite way to express that. I was posting about this same thing in another thread today. Why are people so mean online?
Maybe I’ve been reading WickedFire too much recently... I’m huge fan of Seth and I read his blog regularly. But still the fact is that that post was written by someone, who doesn’t understand what SEO is. To be honest, most people don’t seem to understand what SEO really is. Not even SEO "professionals", so maybe you’re right - no need to put him down.
Seth is basically talking about personal branding here, and he makes valid points. Remember who Seth is, he’s ’Mr Purple Cow’ - he’s all about being remarkable and generating interest that way, rather than being a goldfish in a sea of goldfish, which is what most SEO is. I didn’t see this as dissing SEO, rather providing another way to look at it. Make something people for people to look for, rather than try to appear as a top result on a packed list. Seth is pretty darn good at what he does, critizing him when you have barely a fraction of his expertise or results seems churlish at best.
Now that I think about it more, this is worth a Desphinn. I like this feature.
Should have read it thru first, sorry seth, but a couple glaring mistakes in there mate.