How long have Google been telling us to do this, do that or do this other thing that we told you not to do last time? How often do people ask questions about PR, Directory Submissions, Class C Ip's, Article Spinning blah blah blah before they see their websites suffer the consequences? It really frustrates me because SEO is easy, it really is, anyone who tells you otherwise isn't 'with the times'. There is one wholesale approach to SEO that works and Google has been telling everyone about it for years, it isn't a hidden tactic, it isn't rocket science, it's actually fairly simple if you do it right. Do what is best for your users. Stop focusing on the things that are only intended to 'game' the system and start focusing on your customers, do that and I promise you, your rankings will fly through the roof. Think about why big brands rank well (it isn't because Google hand-ranks them) then replicate that in your niche. Rant over.
That's all well and good if you have a website in a niche that can garner loyal users AND you happen to be talented/unique/charismatic enough to stand above the competition. But that "build it and they will come" garbage doesn't work when you get in to niches to make a profit. Telling people not to game the system is terrible advice and anything you do to make your site rank is gaming the system. Its all one big game. You have to become better at gaming the system. Whitehat, Greyhat, Blackhat, it's all gaming the system. If you write a post and make it publicly available to the world, you are gaming the system. Tons of SERPS show big brands getting favored rankings for terms they shouldn't. Maybe you get a lot out of those crappy ehow articles that rank for everything. Rant probably never over for me =]
No its because they have a bigger budget then you, and brand weight behind them that earns them the authority and links to rank above you! I know your not saying that seo isn't need, but you really do need to know what you're doing in order to gain the right kind of links and publicity from the right people/places if you want to compete for anything competitive in any competitive niches, which is why it is important to learn the right seo. So yes, you are right in one respect of saying anyone can do it, but that's only if they have the time to spend learn how to do seo the right way! Which is what reputable SEO's do to get their clients ranking above others and keep them ranking their just like we do with all our clients I don't want to argue with you, you're entitled to your opinion, but saying that all SEOs are doing wrong is something that I will not stand for because that's not the case! It's those people that falsely say they can get some ranking for xyz without knowing what they are doing, who I don't class as SEOs at all, I class them scammers!
Apologies if it came across that I was saying all SEO's are doing it wrong, I didn't mean that. What I meant is those people still out there asking the questions about things that can not and should not be their focus (directories, PR etc etc) and its time they changed their ways. Though, I do disagree that those big brands rank because they have bigger budgets, thats nonsense. The 'brand weight' bit is spot on and thats exactly my point, they rank because people naturally link to, share and talk about their business and their products, not because they are in every directory, article site etc under the sun. Thats what I was (trying) to say is the way real SEO's are doing things now and that those people who are still asking those questions highlighted above should take note. Just frustrates me to see people asking questions that are several years behind the times yet still have a thriving client base.
No, you are creating some fresh, unique content for your users. If they then interact and use the site in a way that looks like an authority would, your in business. Keep that up and your mastering your niche. I'm not saying that some of those methods don't work, they most certainly do and are perfect for quick wins on personal niche and affiliate sites BUT its a whole 'nother level when people are using that for clients. Thats what I'm getting at. On another note, completely disagree with this ("build it and they will come" garbage.). It works and always does. Horses for courses I guess. Enjoying the conflab, good to talk opinion.
I thought that was what you was getting at, but the way it read to me was that you where just another person taking a dig a seo as a whole, when in fact what your (rightly) digging at is those who think they are doing seo but are in fact doing more damage then good because they are stuck in the 90's! Really!? So you're saying that big brands don't have an advantage with a bigger budget?! Sorry but that's total wrong, if you have a bigger budget and know where/how to spend it correctly you can boost your rankings so much faster and to stay! Just look at the extra money large brands put into advertising which in turn not only gains them quality links and much great publicity, but also a bigger audience! Some may say that has nothing to do with seo, but it does! Seo is partly about advertising, but in an optimal way! I could give you other examples/reasons as to why a bigger budget is an advantage, but I'm sure you can use your brain to work it out Couldn't agree more, I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to tell people generic link spam from the 90's don't work any more, especially on the seo chat forums to all the wanna-be "seo professionals" lol P.S. Different name on seo chat (NathanielB), I need to get my username changed on here really, but don't agree with having to pay to do it lol
You actually believe people are linking and talking about all the information that amazon or Wikipedia have to offer on camping toilets, causing natural links for them? Google gives places like Amazon and Wikipedia a bonus because they would rather get people used to seeing Wikipedia and Amazon results and click through to them from Google as opposed to starting off at Wikipedia or Amazon. Google wants to be the place that everyone starts every time. Giving huge sites like the Amazon's and Wikipedia's a bonus weighting is brilliant strategy by Google. I agree with SystemOAD. The budget is a huge factor. eHow isn't writing better content than the sites they outrank. They are paying to pump out way more content and paying for way more backlinks than you could ever hope to get "naturally". Their budget is huge. Making a lot of money for Google doesn't hurt either.
"Really!? So you're saying that big brands don't have an advantage with a bigger budget?! Sorry but that's total wrong, if you have a bigger budget and know where/how to spend it correctly you can boost your rankings so much faster and to stay!" No no no, they have an advantage for having a bigger budget for sure but they don't spend it on directory submissions, buying links etc do they? They spend it on 'doing stuff for the customer, not SEO, which is precisely what I'm saying SEO's should/are doing. The same brands are not focused on SEO, they are focused on customers. I worked with a certain high street retail chain in the UK (the biggest) and I was the first ever SEO they employed, that was 2 years ago, taking in to account they turn-over billions a month you can see why I am all for brand-building, not 'SEO'. @ Corestratagems - Have you ever checked how many links wikipedia, amazon etc have? So they are not helping? I dare say they do have millions of natural links for things like camping toilets yes, lots of affiliate marketers using links incorectly for example. And I agree about eHow to an extent, difference is though that they have built an authority, they have a brand, which in most situations is far better than a 'thin' affiliate domain that would moan about being more relevant and ranking below.
Ive seen the monthly budgets at a few big agencies that these big brands spend on "natural" links. Its anything but natural.
I have managed those budgets you speak of, they are a tiny % of overall advertising spend and are in 99% of the time for one off promotions or mini-sites.
I agree and disagree to be honest. Great content is what big blogs etc aim for and that helps them get ranked in google because they become an authority. On the other hand you can create authority sites using seo tactics just the same. You seem to think doing SEO is some blackhat evil thing only crappy sites do. Even if you create the best content ever, there is no reason not to do SEO. Kind of lost where I was going on this rant haha!