After reading several post's on this forum, I felt the need to start this article series on the subject. This is an excerpt from my blog that I wanted to share with the rest of the community. Take the time to read this series if you can, the information from my own experiences might help you either succeed in this industry or open your eyes to the truth that maybe it just isn't right for you. If it isn't right for you, at least you will know now before spending a lot of time and money starting something that wasn't right for you from the beginning. I want to be an SEO, what do I need to do? I have seen that question several times and I cannot believe that some think it is so easy. I do not think many people realize the amount of time that goes into marketing a website on the internet today. They think buying search engine submission software will be good enough to get started. They also think that SEO is the service they need to offer, however in today’s industry we are SEM’s rather then just SEO’s. On page optimization is no longer enough to achieve good results for your clients, the off page marketing strategies play a major role in getting good SERP’s. In the past it was easier because there was less competition, not many search engines, directories were far few and between. With all of this, it meant less work to be done when optimizing a website to market on the internet. I started out simply designing websites out of my college dorm room for small fee’s back in 1998. Optimizing those websites for the search engines was still a challenge back then, it just did not require as much time as it does in today’s internet marketing world. I see quite a few people asking on forums if they should start an SEM/SEO business because they see how popular it is. Others inquire about it due to the fact they see some companies charging thousands of dollars for there search engine optimization and marketing services. I have even read on a few posts where the author was inquiring about what they can do to optimize there clients website to improve its rankings. The author of course offers SEM/SEO through there website, yet asking on the forums what they can do to optimize a website. So you have started your own SEO company and want us to do the work for you? I do not mind helping people out, new to the industry or old school I will try and answer any question I can. I am just at the point now to where everyone is offering there SEO service with almost no knowledge of what it takes. There are people out there who see the dollar signs of some of the well established companies and think they can open up shop and do the same thing the next week. This industry is an ever changing and evolving business that requires planning, dedication, commitment, knowledge, experimentation, patience, and time among a few others. If allowed by the moderators and you the readers would like me to post more of my article series here please let me know in this post. If not, you can read there rest of the series as it gets published in my blog found below. I hope this series will educate you on the SEM/SEO industry and help guide you in the right direction. Thank You DP Readers
SEMSpot, nice post. I do SEO and SEM training for client companies. People with a pre-disposed set of skills can learn the basics in two days of concentrated effort. This involves both theory and practice. And by and large focusing on real world examples in a relevant market category. However, I'm still amazed that they think they can buy an out of the box SEO or pay per click solution. A sort of Microsoft Office SEO where they load the software, press a few buttons and hey presto, instant SEO!!! The predisposition I referred to in the opening paragraph means an understanding of marketing, an understanding of website technology and most of all an empathy with the end consumer - or site user - who may be a target for your website's marketing. When I explain to people that the bedrock of good SEO or SEM is research - many are shocked. That research is external, in the form of Wordtracker or the Overture or similar services, or internal, in the form of trawling through website analytics. Ask most people some basic questions about their market category, customers or their website and you'll get the immediate impression that they're not cut out for SEO or Search engine marketing in general.
All i can say is WELL SAID. Like you i started out with SEO several years ago before Google was a major player. It makes me sick the number of people claiming to be a SEO expert because they do directory submission with a piece of free automated software. Then post they are No 350 for a phrase nobody searches for and say they are doing great. In under 2 years these people have started wrecking the reputation of the industry, and soon a SEO will be akin to a Viagra salesman.
^ i wouldn't go that far. these services will always be in demand and a few inexperienced SEO'ers won't necessarily ruin the reputation of the entire industry.
What do you mean a few? All i keep whitnessing is 10% of people who really know their stuff and 90% who dont.
There are quite a few SEO companies out there they do not know there a$$ from a hole in the ground. I have a couple of clients I have taken on that had previous "SEO" work done in there site and it is nothing but a mess. The stuff they tell there clients is not only funny as hell (because it is so far from the truth) but at the same time unreal because of the crap they feed there clients. These type of people/companies are the ones that make a bad name for the industry as a whole.
I would say 5% know and 95% don't. I go to conferences and seminars all the time and I am dumbfounded by the schemes and shortcuts people pitch,,,
The excerpt from you search engine optimization blog was a very interesting read. The main blog site is even better, very well written content. Thanks
Why can't SEO just be a click away? Search Engines are just that 'engines', algorithims that make decisions based on data. In theory at least, optimizing for the serach engines should also be an algorithm right? I think I would seperate the 'marketing' point. Marketing is a discipline it itself that requires education, and skills. Applying those skills to search engines, I'll grant as a human endeavor, but I don't see why optimization cannot be automated. And yes, search engines change theire algorthims all the time, so it takes people to keep up with the changes, but I would argue that SEO itself is only guarteened for a limited amount of time. ie: You'll get SERP's for only X period of time, then you'll need SEO again. No offence intended..I just think it might be a good idea to be carefull about hte terms SEO and SEM and what could be automated and what can't. At the end of the day results matter. If $1000 effort gets me $100,000 in new sales maybe it's worth it. If $1000 efforst gets me $0 more in sales...someone's ripping me off.