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Went Hot: May 24, 2008 - 1:05 am
Posted By: UtahSEOpro 144 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://searchenginewatch.com)
Category: SEO
The real meat and potatoes of the discussion right now, however, isn't necessarily what standards to employ, but whether we need -- or should even consider -- SEO standards. I've stated here repeatedly how the rules of SEO are always in flux. How do we "catch a wave upon the sand," so to speak? Do we want to?
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Personally, I truly believe there is a need for standards.
There are a ton of folk out there wanting to optimize their sites and not knowing where to start. If they search for an SEO there is just as much chance of them hitting a ratfink as there is of hitting a decent group.
There are enough great SEO companies out there that should be pulling together to create something.
You know, a lot of SEO is about applying existing standards. Take on page SEO for example, much of it is simply Quality Control, nothing more or less. If website owners used the standards that are well established they wouldn't need people like us to fix it for them.
There are many examples of professions where standards simply don't exist and many where they do but are ignored.
I think this is just a lot of hot air and it will never happen. Give me one example where a comparable profession has a single globally recognised qualification.
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There is no industry to standardize.
Standards are for organizations such as SEMPO. If you want to be a member, you adhere to their standards.
No one can stop anyone else from being a search marketer, nor should they. If SEMPO ever becomes big enough that you have to belong in order to practice search marketing, then we'd have another story.
In the meantime, I believe SEMPO is creating their own set of standards, which is great for them and their members.
RedEvo, "you wouldn’t call a mechanic a car engine optimiser just because be puts oil and water in the respective orifices. Putting oil and water in is a given just as constructing a web page correctly should be."
good one. :-)
@Jill 100% Agree
**golf clap** + some of this your way!
http://colossus.mu.nu/WFcowbell.gif
I wonder if it might make sense to think of these standards much like ISO certification in the manufacturing world.. Not every is certifies ISO2000 or whatever, and not everyone wants to be..
The hard part is "who gets to set the standards"?? I know that there are some things the ISO that are just plain silly.. But if you want the certification you have to do them.. I am sure that if anyone decides to set a standard, it will be reidiculed and shot full of holes by those that don't think it's right..
Just like the alphabet soup tech certs.. For the most part worthless and irrelevent.. In any case, any published SEO standards will be esentially worthless for ranking in a competitive market anyway, so who cares??
SEO doesn't NEED standards.
If you WANT standards, start an organization in which every member has to adhere to your standards. If you get enough reputable SEOs to back your set of standards then anyone who pays to be a member of your organization and adheres to your rules can put that badge proudly on their site and reap the benefits of being able to call themselves certified.
But heres the thing. In this industry, its all about results. If I hire a Cisco Certified Network Admin, it's because I trust Cisco. Cisco is vouching for the work that this Network Admin is able to do but I can't see for myself before I pay the Admin.
As an SEO, my work is available at my fingertips whenever I am at a computer with internet access. So... If I were a good SEO, why would I want to pay money for a vouch that I can get for free on Google?
I disagree. This is assuming that the only way to "win" is to not follow agreed upon rules and guidelines. It's also assuming that "standards" are the same as cookie cutter SEO. It's not.
To use gaming as an analogy, this is akin to those kids and lamers that can't handle playing a game without cheat codes. Even in those games, the most successful gamers don't use cheat codes.
Real gamers know and follow the rules, and win anyway due to skill. The rules in chess are always the same for both sides, but it's still possible and even routine for one side to win. SEO is far more complicated, and thus more interesting.
Winning and losing is not based on obeying or disobeying the rules, it's about being better than your opponent.
Skill counts.
I don't know but is it possible to standardize SEO? and if it is..then what should be the basis?
Standardization is impossible in an evolving industry like SEO/SEM . . . the discussion should be whether or not to create some sort of accreditation or SEO ethics certification. To this I say, maybe.
First, I think we're heading in that direction on our own. We have many SEO organizations, blogs, and conferences that generally promote solid, ethical methods of SEO. As with any industry, there are some bad apples that give the rest of us a bad name, but, the wealth of information available to our clients (with minimal research) all points away from sketchy tactics and towards sound methods for conducting SEO. So yes it would be nice to point to something that proved that we are certified ethical SEO's, and that might not be far off (groups like SEOMOZ and SE Journal and SE Roundtable and SEO Book should take this to task and work together to create a certification), but that's only one side of this issue.
Second; to some extent "Buyer Beware" should be included in conversations with potential clients in order to shed light on the seedy side of our industry. People are smart enough to choose Service A once they know WHY Service A costs more than Service B. If you can't verbally differentiate yourself from Shady SEO Company (aka provider of Service B), all the certifications and standardizations in the world aren't going to help you.