June 8, 2016 - Facebook
The Opinion
We live in the information age, so naturally there is a ton of data coming at us on a daily basis. Some of that info is interesting, and helpful. Then there’s trolling articles, aimed at getting as many shares and hits as possible to bolster their ad revenue through sensational headlines.
Case in point: This article.
I’ll say this out of the gate. We provide SEO services to clients, so at first glance, this blog could be perceived as me scrambling to keep business. However, dig deeper. The above linked article is dangerous for many reasons.
1) Some of Us “Hang” With Google
Just last week, I was on a call with Google. They outlined that 30,000,000 sites would take a ranking hit in the next few months. They’re cleaning up, and are kicking sites with grossly misleading content to the curb. While it is true that no search marketer has access to Google’s code, we do have access to their people. Through years of communications and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent, we have built relationships with those people. You have a business to run, and don’t have time to build relationships with the right people at Google.
2) His 6 Points are Valid
Jayson talks about 6 important points of SEO, and he’s right. These elements of SEO are important. However, they’re 6 of 205 points identified as an SEO priority by us at Sync. Simply put, there’s steak sandwiches, and then there’s prime rib. Steak sandwiches are fine, but for that top tier experience, you want prime rib. SEO functions the same way. There are shortcuts, but ultimately if you’re taking SEO seriously, you need to cover all of your bases. Eventually, one day SEO might boil down to 6 core principals, but that day is not today. You have a business to run, and don’t have time to figure out what’s happening in SEO on a daily basis.
3) No Technical Expertise Needed
How interesting that Jayson wrote this article, when his company itself, offers technical SEO services. Google has stated in their official SEO guide that technical aspects are important. While content plays a huge role in this, you have a business to run, and don’t have time to deal with sitemaps, canonical data, W3C errors, titles, URL optimization, staying on top of the latest website trends (*cough frames anyone?), and the perfect text to graphics ratio.
4) What’s in a Strategy?
We can’t speak to other companies, but our overall SEO strategy includes on-site optimization, off-site optimization, back linking, content, and directories. We have a full-time department dedicated to these strategies. If, it was at all possible to stay ahead of the SEO game with a more simplistic process, thus saving us time, money, and further streamlining our workflows, we would be all over it. Think from the stand point of a business owner. If something came along to make your life easier, wouldn’t you institute the policy? Of course you would. I’m a business owner and I think the same way. What Jayson is talking about is not an industry killer, but rather an industry optimization shift. His article doesn’t take a client’s industry into consideration, or any other factor. He’s just highlighting what we already know. After all, you have a business to run, and you don’t have time for his core principals (never mind the over 199 points to SEO).
5) What about “The Other Guys”?
Lest we forget, Bing, Yahoo, and the other search engines. While Bing swallowed up Yahoo, there’s still factors for those search engines that don’t resinate across to Google. While Google is the most popular search engine, it’s not the only provider. Concentrating solely on Google is like a social media strategy that ignores Twitter and Instagram. Only in select cases is this not a mis-step. You have a business to run, and don’t have time to worry about all these search engines.
I could go on, but I don’t come off as a bully picking on Jayson. Ultimately, what you want out of SEO will be in direct proportion to the effort. Sound familiar? It should, because that principal is relevant to everything we do in life. Think about it this way; you have a business to run, and barely had time to read this blog.
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Written by: Jay Hall - Chief Strategist