Naturally by posting this I’m proving I’m not an SEO expert, and anyone who votes/comments for this isn’t either. :)
5 Comments
5 Comments
Sorry this site requires JavaScript to be enabled in your browser. See the following guide on How to enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox and Safari. Alternatively you may be blocking JavaScript with an advert-related or developer plugin. Please check your browser plugins.
Upcoming Conferences
Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.
Join us at an upcoming SMX event:
- SMX West - Feb. 28 - Mar. 1, 2012
- SMX Munich - Mar. 27-28, 2012
- SMX Toronto - Apr. 25-26, 2012
- SMX Sydney - May 1-2, 2012
- SMX London - May 15-16, 2012
- SMX Advanced Seattle - June 5-6, 2012
- SMX Paris - June 7-8 2012
- SMX Melbourne - Aug. 2012
- SMX East - Oct. 2-4, 2012
- SMX Stockholm - Sept. 15-16, 2012
- SMX Social Media Marketing - Dec. 2012
Latest News From Marketing Land
- Slinging Hash Tags: Community Building In 140 Characters
- When Everyone Gets The Vote: Social Shares As The New Link Building
- Marketing Day: February 7, 2012
- Recent Bans Surface AdSense Publishers’ Complaints About Google
- Sandberg Leads All-Star Lineup At Facebook’s First FMC Conference For Marketers
- - See more news at Marketing Land -
Upcoming Webcasts
Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include:
- The Inside Scoop on Automating and Optimizing Your PPC Campaigns - February 21, 2012
Latest News From Search Engine Land
- How To Make Unstructured Data Actionable In Display
- Survey: People Largely Negative About Google’s Personalized Search Results
- Why Does Microsoft’s Bing Search Engine Hate Rick Santorum?
- The Neuroscience Of Search & Conversion
- Apple’s Siri Drives 25 Percent Of Wolfram|Alpha Queries
- - See more news at Search Engine Land -
Comments
I’ve sphunn this as I don’t agree with the fourm member who raised the point either that SEO pro’s shouldn’t be giving up their ’secrets’ - that doesn’t make sense...for any client that I have worked with, they have always appreciated transparency and information, and the education that is provided along the way. It’s like telling an architect or a traditional marketing manager to not share their secrets, when in actual fact, people know what they do but it doesn’t stop them from being employed. I’m pleased SERoundtable stated: SEO isn’t so much about knowledge but about applicationBen M
"He says that the SEOs who consistently tell secrets are putting themselves in danger -- the more secrets revealed, the less likely it will be for them to get clients since new "SEOs" who absorb that knowledge claim themselves to be experts and snatch up those who need SEO services."Rediculous. The experts will always be the ones that generate the knowledge rather than those who repeat it. Look at the world of hacking, the experts find the venerabilities + write the code while the script kiddies use the material. The latter rarely even understand the material they are working with. The same can be said for our industry, being an expert is more than saying the right things, it’s understanding them.As a client who would you rather go to for your business - the expert or the script kiddie? Basides all this, anyone who thinks "tricks" are the high point of SEO really doesn’t understand the profession. Jumping around from the latest "trick" until it get exposed in public and closed: it’s a crazy way to handle clients.
Not invisible, but I do think it is true that the best SEOs don’t necessarily blog. An unfortunate background assumption in the industry is that the people who blog the most are the best. Do the best people in other professions have blogs? The best plumber? The best neurosurgeon? The best meteorologist or railroad conductor or police officer? No, so there is not particular reason to think the best SEOs blog either.
Exactly. I have been in this business for the past 13 years and the SEO blogging community(and before that the forum powerusers) cannot be considered any more knowledgeable than experts who are too busy to self promote in any way. In fact, I think the good old phrase: "Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach." still applies. A successful blog doesn’t give you happy clients and large contracts, actual "on the battlefield" results do. The fear of giving away secrets is a non-issue, SEO is so much more than a bag of tricks.<div></div>
I can see both sides of this, and I bet anyone who has been on both sides also sees it that way. There are tricks... don’t be fooled into thinking all tricks are sketchy risky short-lived hacks. There are some very good, quality tactics that work great and are legit, but are relatively unknown. As soon as some junior wannabee seo blogger highlights them, they get abused and that ruins the benefit for those of us who work hard to discover and use them wisely. I speak from experience... I still have some "tricks" working very well after 3+ years live on the web. If someone "Sphunn" any one of those, they’d be "managed" by Google within hours. Some SEO "leaders" monetize what they can learn from blogs and such... also something to be careful about.As for client work, you simply can’t use everything for every client. As Nick says, SEO wisdom is knowing what works in a particular situation, and which fits the client’s needs and limits. But SEO consulting also requires you to be wise in other ways. Don’t blow the doors off an industry even if you can, because you’ll get flack and ultimately get moderated. You do what you need to do to win, including misdirection of your competitors when warranted, and holding back what is overkill until it is needed (if you can time that right).Remember everyone can "see" what you do on the web. So they can "learn" by watching you, as can your clients. few clients can afford to buy everything you know. It is essential for any SEO project to have a BUSINESS STRATEGY, which often includes "what do I do now that I am at the top?". Without that guiding strategy, it’s hard to know how far to go with SEO tactics. I think that idea is behind the "real SEOs don’t consult" debates. Sans a business strategy for handlign success, it’s too hard to do client SEO.Wise words: " I may have taught you everything you know, but I didn’t teach you everything I know". Applies to the SERPs as well as in-house SEOs you might work with, train, etc. Good SEOs don’t need to be "invisible" but they do need to have discretion.