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Another great post from SEOHack offering definitive SEO Standards. I think they should be adopted and we can put this issue to bed.
Comments30 Comments  

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Avatar Moderator
from Jill 1514 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Awesome! I vote SEOHack King of the SEO Board! YEAH!

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from SEOhack 1514 Days ago #
Votes: 1

Mr. Pilatowski and Ms. Whalen are people of superior intellect, wit and character.  =)

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from Jill 1514 Days ago #
Votes: 0

But of course!

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from kevinheisler 1514 Days ago #
Votes: 0

No argument here - this is a great debate, though - would hate to see it put to bed

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from mpilatow 1513 Days ago #
Votes: 1

Yeah Kevin, it is an important topic but these common sense intitiatives will creative definitive and workable standards :>)

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from Syzlak 1513 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Awesome! Great post ’Hack, also thanks for betting me that it wouldn’t crack 12! Looks like you owe me a drink

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from streko 1513 Days ago #
Votes: 2

Hack - remember us little people when you get pushed into SEO stardom and begin giving keynotes and stuff like that. kthnxbye

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from Jill 1513 Days ago #
Votes: 1

@kevinheisler what more do we need? We all just blindly follow SEOhack’s standards and we’re good to go!

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from massa 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Hmmmm, I thought I was familiar with everyone that has ever said anything even remotely intelligent or even interesting about seo or sem but in #11 who is this heil person he’s talking about?

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from mpilatow 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

He has a forum, go check it out. Just do a search for Doug Heil. He probably hates you though since you are a Sphinn member and he considers Sphinn the ultimate SEO spammer haven.

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from streko 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Just read his wikipage...

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from seofactor 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

Ahh geez. Consider me signed up.

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from BogglesMyMind 1512 Days ago #
Votes: -3

desphunn because this is an important topic.  If we ever really want to achieve true respect as a marketing industry, we have to establish standards.  That is the bottom line.There are a few people in this industry that have gotten very far on brains alone without having to operate in the same professional manner that the majority of the rest of the marketing world does.  As SEO grows as a viable option and more large corporations adopt SEO as a part of their planning, we need more professionals out there carrying our standards.  We do not need crusty old experts telling us standards are unneeded.What we need even less is people that make light of this situation and throw even more clutter in the way of our evolution as an industry.  Again, I thought this was funny but really, I do hope that people understand this is important.  I’ll have more on Friday…

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from DarkMatter 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 2

those "crusty old experts" are experts for a good reason. the idea of industry standards is ridiculous for many reasons that have already been put forth more than once by people smarter than me.Best practices are not the same for every site, even though that would be very convenient for everyone. Also, despite what you may read in the odd blog post, there are hard won secrets in this industry. And no one’s going to put them on a list for you to follow, sorry.

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from BogglesMyMind 1512 Days ago #
Votes: -2

OK have fun working on the viagra sites of the world and those with standards will continue to win the fortune 500 business.  No problem with me.

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from DarkMatter 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Of course anyone who doesn’t agree with you must be a pharma-spammer right? If you say so buddy...you obviously know better than all of us.

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from Syzlak 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

@BogglesMyMind - exactly what types of industries are you comparing SEO to? Certainly there are industries that warrant the existence of standards, but in an industry that is tied to the whims of search engines, algorithms, user content, infinite competition and ever evolving technology/code can standards really be put into place.  We’re not mechanics & electricians here, we are, at the base of this, advertisers on a media which is not governed (at least not very much, thank God) by any body.  It’s not as though the FCC is going to clamp on us like they would television advertisers.  So why develop a set of standards for this industry?

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from SEOhack 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

@ boggs - yeah, those "crusty old experts" need to make way some young snot-nosed punk with friggin’ dreamweaver and broadband connection.  If it weren’t for those "crusty old experts", you’d not have an industry to complain about not having any standards.  And believe it or not, you owe those pharma-spammers and porn site operators from way back a debt of gratitude.thanks for enlightening me.  i didn’t realize there was a governing body for advertising and marketing that will come and pull your advertising or marketing card and not allow you to operate anymore.we have plenty of standards, as i explained to you in my reply to your comment on the post.  And if you’re looking for codification of an "SEO’d" site, you’re being lazy.  Just like DarkMatter said, every site is different.  And the search engines don’t treat every site the same.  But if you’re hung up on standards, do a search for "Google Webmaster Guidelines".

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from DarkMatter 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

c’mon guys, let’s disagree without letting this degrade into a Digg style flame thread.

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from Syzlak 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

@DarkMatter - please don’t associate me with him.

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from hilker 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 3

sounds like someone wants control. you see, inevitably, standards require a governing body. who appoints that governing body? elitist morons who rarely participate in the day-to-day activities they supposedly govern. these men will, by nature, govern as is politically beneficial to them. (see a trend here?) conversely, a fluid industry enables growth, creativity & innovation. compare: interactive vs. print media.  standards will emerge not because somebody says, "this is what we should do" but because something works well for everyone involved.if you’re interested in controlling conversations, stay off the interwebs.

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from kevinheisler 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

sounds like heated debate should move to "SEM Crossfire" - maybe BogglesMyMind could get one of those porn site operators from way back a say.

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from double07 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

I certainly enjoy the rhetoric and humor...without it I think we’d all go crazy <insert smile here>. We are all friends here; and we can agree it is much better to be percieved a "professional" rather than a opportunist or loose-cannon. "Standards" add an element of credibility and authenticity to a group or organization and thereby present a much more "professional" attitude to outsiders (clients) and insiders (practitioners) alike. We will begin to see more advancement, organization and structure around the issue of "Standards" in search marketing; and those who take the time to participate (such as this group of Sphinn’ers) will look back in 10-years to see search marketing as a more integral part of Interactive Marketing. Best regards and if ever approached with an opportunity to help in developing Standards for Search, please give it serious consideration. You are a valued member of an innoavtive, expanding, profitable and worthwhile community.

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from Jeremy 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

The search industry as it is today has plenty of credibility, respect and admiration from the marketing community as a whole. If you can’t see that from where you’re sitting you need to move.The idea that we need some kind of universal standards or governing body for this industry is just silly.

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from SEOhack 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 2

@ DarkMatter - didn’t mean to offend you or boggs. just thought his remarks were a little snotty and replied in kind with snot.@ hilker - yes! exactly!@ double07 - i’m going to have to agree to disagree with you. i fail to see what value, if any, having standards will do for this industry. for standards to matter they have to have a governing body as well as people willing to sign up, abide by and be governed by these standards on top of what the search engines require and governmental law dictates. As Jill has said many times, that’s plenty of standards already! Advertising, marketing, public relations, journalism, grocery clerks, soccer coaches - the list is endless really - have all been doing their jobs for a long time without the need of a governing body. Some of those people bemoan the fact that that technically doesn’t make them "professionals". but does that really matter? do only the best mechanics have an ASE patch on their shirt? hell no. i’ve seen some rather poor auto mechanics that are "certified". As to boggs’ complaints about not having standards and that only "crusty old experts" oppose having written in stone standards, the only standards you need to abide by are the ones you set for yourself. If you’re going to go out and screw people over, you’ll get your cumuppance. Traffic Power seems to come to mind. do right by what you think is right and your client. there’s your standards.

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from DarkMatter 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

@seohackno offense taken, and I understand. I thought he was rude as well but I’d prefer to keep things friendly...there are all to few sites these days where people can disagree without hurling personal insults and I’d like to keep Sphinn on that list!

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from mphung 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 1

If the complaint (re. the rest of the world not taking SEOs seriously) is really about professionalism, I don’t see how having a codified set of standards will help. If there’s a rule that SEOs aren’t allowed to show up to client meetings in their underwear, will that makes us look more respectable as an industry? Because this issue of whether someone is professional enough to work with Fortune 500 clients isn’t about technical standards -- either you can convince someone you can produce results or you can’t. And if there’s anything I’d want clients to understand it’s that following a set of "rules" doesn’t guarantee success. I think enough people already get that SEO is important and effective. We don’t need to keep working hard to prove that. Whether people take us seriously as individuals is an entirely different matter that wouldn’t be affected by a set of official standards.Seems like some issues are being conflated here.

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from BogglesMyMind 1512 Days ago #
Votes: 0

OK people no time right now for much detail.  I want to clarify that I have every bit of respect for those dealing with ranking sites in the much more difficult world of adult/etc.  Try being in that world and using only the techniques advocated by Jill.  As I repeatedly said (I feel a bit like Nader here) there are two main sides to this argument, plus mine which calls for a glossary and tactical risk rating.  I have been bunched into the standards side because my version leans that way, I guess.Those that have to participate in techniques outside of the SEO guidelines stand to lose the most from a set of standards, or at least a definition of MOST techniques used by SEOs.  the benefactors are the general marketing population (including "your" competitors in some cases).Please this is a spirited debate but I want you to know that I respect everyone involved.. hehe unless that Doug Heil guy comes in. ;)

Avatar Moderator
from Jill 1511 Days ago #
Votes: 0

SEOHack, I think we can solve the dilemma put forth by boggles by appointing one crusty old expert to be a knight or princess or something on your rock star board.  Oh wait, or not appointing one, or something like that.  This thread is hilarious! It’s a joke guys.  SEOhack’s standards.  HE WAS JOKING. (In case anyone didn’t notice.)

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from BogglesMyMind 1047 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Sorry but this does not add much value to a debate that is serious. More reasons in my comment.

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