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Posted By:
theGypsy
106 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://searchenginewatch.com)
Category: SEO
SEO Standards Signal the Maturing of Our Industry - Search Engine Watch - Some SEOs must not like this idea because it could mean they'll actually have to provide more assurance and clearer goals in their statements of work. God forbid that SEOs should be held to standards like the rest of the world.
7 Comments
Comments
Wow, way to attack the messenger rather than the message, Chris Boggs.
I've already addressed most of the issues brought up in this article in various other posts here, on my forum and in the original article. Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this topic.
Hmmm. Standards? There are of course business ethics issues related to scams, which unfortunately are prevalent in the SEO "industry". But other than that, how can one create standards?
SEO is not a science, where the same actions deliver the same results each time. In fact, SEO is like a sport. There is only one top site for each search phrase and only ten sites in the "playoffs", the top 10, for any search term. I deliver great results for my clients, but there are often inexplicable things that happen. Just today I blogged about a client whose website is bouncing between #13 and #2 for its main search term. I have another client whose website is rising everywhere in the world at Google.com for its main search term...everywhere except in the USA. These are inexplicable, and standards would not change anything, because SEO practitioners are not in control of the ultimate results.
And although you could theoretically place standards on methods, that would be foolish, since innovation is key in a competitive environment. Standards work in scientific fields, such as manufacturing or medicine, where inputs and results are measurable, where their relationships can be calculated, where the process can be repeated as frequently as there is a return on investment.
Now, to the statement about the rest of the world being help to standards, this is of course rubbish. Hockey players are not held to standards, not even standards of assault, which they routinely do to each other live on television with total impunity. Artists produce the most ghastly creations and then have the nerve to place them in front of the most important public buildings that innocent passers by are forced to view. Politicians are free to say whatever they wish despite the obvious fact that it is all rubbish (except when I agree with them, of course!)
SEO is a form of PR. It is about delivering one's message in a crowded marketplace. It is pure competition and it succeeds by being better -- more creative -- than competitors. It calls for creativity. It calls for thinking outside the box. It does not call for "standards".
"marketers become more aware of the power of SEO, they're also becoming increasingly victimized by unscrupulous practitioners of SEO"
Excuse me? Mom and pop victimized is something I can imagine. But a marketer? Is he worth anything if he can be totally misled with regards to a sub-segment of his profession?
Oh, boy, another tired chestnut.
The trouble with standards is that these fall into a simple equation:
1. What we do is great
2. Everything other people do should be debarred, because we aren't doing it
Which means the argument for standards ends up as an argument for specific types of business models over others.
Before we ask SEO/M to accept standards, can we please ask for a list of other enforcable standards applied in the general marketing world?
Here's a comprehensive list of them:
No, that's not a posting error. There are no enforced standards in marketing. Just organisations set up to promote themselves and collect subscriptions, and posture that they are cleaning up the marketing world. In the event of dispute - protect subscribers first, because it's in their interest.
Seen this first-hand as cowboy companies in the UK seek protection from associations here.
It's all steaming BS.
I'm a little jaded on the topic, though. :)
They are enforcable in the sense they can kick you out of their org, no?
Could someone please give me a few examples of an seo standard and then tell me who is going to agree on them let alone read them. Sure there are standards for other industries as everyone points out but do you really think the average consumer reads or even knows about those standards? I'm not against standards and I sure woudn't debate the idea with the likes of Chris Boggs, Lisa Barone or Ian McAnerin. I'm just pragmatic and don't see this industry ever agreeing on anything, let alone standards. But I still want to see a few examples of seo standards. How about starting with a standard for no follow ;).
The big area of argument on this topic is about definition of standards.
adj 1: conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or
value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted
kind; "standard operating procedure" [ant: nonstandard]
2: commonly used or supplied; "standard procedure"; "standard
car equipment"
3: established or widely recognized as a model of authority or
excellence; "a standard reference work" [ant: nonstandard]
n 1: a basis for comparison; a reference point against which
other things can be evaluated; "they set the measure for
all subsequent work" [syn: criterion, measure, touchstone]
2: the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they
live by the standards of their community" [syn: criterion]
Standard actions - as semscholar suggests - of how to use no follow and all the meta tagging methodology can be developed into a standard - the way all webmasters use them.
Community standards can create a level of quality of our work. Agreement that obvious potentially damaging actions are not part of what a client should receive. As this develops there is no need for policing... more a need to educate clients on what to avoid. Have organizations like SEMPO get behind this area.
Standard measurements - how pageviews, uniques, visitors etc. are counted - these are necessary
The problem is many of us are using differing concepts of standards. These are community agreed ways of doing things, but first the community needs to define what we are talking about as opposed toi just having shots at each other.